I'm going mad from lack of sleep...

[funkychunkymunky]

Graphic dream warning

Since DD, 10 months, was born I haven't had a decent night of sleep. It isn't because of her - she's a princess. She goes to sleep at 7pm every night and wakes up at 7.30am.

The trouble is I wake up every few hours with strange dreams. I sometimes find myself wandering around my bedroom half asleep and dreaming and half awake.

Sometimes the dreams are just strange and sometimes quite disturbing.

EG
I had a dream that DD was on the floor of the bedroom so I picked her up and her leg was caught in my bedside drawers. As I picked her up I ripped her leg off and could actually see her in my arms with her leg ripped off and bleeding. That was really quite traumatic. It took a good 30 seconds to realise it wasn't true.

I dreamed that the floor was electrified and I had spilled lots of water and it I touched the floor I would be electrocuted. I could see the floor and the water etc when really I was just looking at the floor.

I regularly dream I have rolled over and crushed DD even though we don't bed share.

I regularly attack DH to stop things "getting him" and it takes a while to realise it's just him.

I have grabbed DH thinking it was DD to stop her falling off a cliff.

I could go on forever!

I have tried not drinking any caffeine or alcohol. I've tried a hot bath before bed, not watching TV, reading etc.

I'm at my wits end.

Anyone else had a similar problem???

You have a fear of not being able to get to her or hurting her. Could you move her crib/cot closer to your bed?

I did think that but it happened when she was in a moses basket at the side of me too. I moved her to her own room so she was further away!

I have had dreams like these before but only randomly. I had some just after I married DH an d I almost suffocated him on our honeymoon cos I thought he had scorpions on his face

...that was the night before I almost jumped off the balcony

Anyone had a similar experience?

Poor you! Sleep deprivation is terrible. It sounds like you're having night terrors. My father has these and they are quite awful. There is a medication for it. Your doctor might prescribe it for you right away or order a sleep study first.

Thank you for your responses.

Do people having night terrors remember them? I remember most of my dreams and episodes which I think makes it worse

I don't want to take any medication that means I won't hear DD if she wakes as DH works away quite a bit.

I do have a doctors appointment on Friday but was hoping there was someone out there that had suffered the same thing before...

He does remember them but is generally able to go back to sleep.

That sounds really bad,you could try hypnotherapy cds to lessen nightmares, I'd talk to your gp first though, good luck.

I'm quite chatty in my sleep but nothing as interesting as what you do. My cousin sleepwalks but wakes once outside the front door or just finds his way back to bed.

There was a programme on television a while back about sleeping disorders including a man with similar sounding sleep disturbance to you. They filmed him talking, shouting out of a window, wandering around and being agitated - what he was dreaming was a v real to him.

Have you ever been referred to a sleep clinic?