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Nightmare caused police to be called

Last night the police were pounding at my door at 3.00am, apparently I was screaming so loudly in my sleep that my neighbours who dont even live close, all thought I was being attacked so rang them.

I thou when I remember my dreams they are very bad (I keep dreaming about the bad things Ive experienced or that Im in fires or drowning), its got to the point where I dont remember them no more and block the memory out, so I wasnt even aware I'd been having a nightmare and disturbed all my neighbours.

My insomina has been heaps bad with me only getting 3 hrs sleep the night before as I couldnt go to sleep till day break and then had to get up for medical tests, then with the police waking me up last night there went my sleep from 3.00am onwards. Im so sleep deprieved.

I actually think I have PTSD so I guess that screaming so bad that police are called is just another symptom of my suffering.. but my doctors dont think its possible to have PTSD with CFS/ME, they have no idea how traumatic things have been for me. I also worry if I get as sick as I was in the past that I'd die, as my children dont live home no more to help me and I live alone here. In the past, I was basically left to die by my doctors.

My doctor is away right now, which is great as Ive booked an appointment in with his fill in doctor who I may be able to get the melatonin I need from, fingers crossed that he will say yes when I see him Monday. (my current doctor wont do scripts for it and my specialist who may is a couple of hrs travel and Im unable to get there). I so need that melatonin so I can start having some decent sleep again.

Comments

but my doctors dont think its possible to have PTSD with CFS/ME

When Dr. Bell wrote up my diagnosis, included was PTSD. There is help for PTSD.
 
Wow - your system is just going nuts isn't it? Hang in there! You will find some peace!

Why would CFS preclude PTSD? (Why would it preclude anything?) I don't get it?
 
Dont quite know wat PTSD is but I do know that violent nightmare dreams are included in the symptoms - Canadian Consensus - Melvin Ramsey Royal Free etc. It is an awful stage to be going through. I couldnot sleep either and eventually upped (Doc took some persuading) my low dose Gabatin to full dose. That is for epilepsy. It did allow sleep and that in itself must have done the trick (bed bound all the time rising only to eat). It is a ghastly period and hope your Doc can bring relief.
 
Hi Taniaaust,
It certainly sounds like PTSD--you might also want to check out C-PTSD. It isn't officially recognized yet, but I think it is coming in the next DSM manual. (I fully appreciate that your sleep deprivation may mean not doing anything other than putting one foot in front of another for as long as it takes...). I know you've mentioned BPD before and I thought you might be interested that, while taking an abnormal psych class, it is now being considered that BPD is actually PTSD, and that women respond with different symptoms and have been classified as BPD. Another provocative and substantial idea I think. I don't know your other meds, but I wonder if Inderal might be something you could try for nightmares: it might be totally inappropriate, but it is used for PTSD in various ways, but it is a beta blocker, which is not good with low blood pressure. Hope for a better night's sleep for you tonight :)
 
Hope things go better, Taniaaust.

I have complex PTSD and was lucky enough to have a decent doctor who ordered a sleep test done, for which Medicare paid. The test showed that I had very little deep sleep, far too much REM, and was having 30 sub-waking events per hour. So I am on trazodone, which is an antidepressant sometimes used for sleep--it has helped a lot! And it's inexpensive.

Absolutely certainly people with PTSD get illnesses like ME/CFS--we have been under so much stress for so long that our bodies become severely compromised. This is well known in the vet community. I was labeled with CFS and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I hope you can find a good therapist to help out with the trauma-stuff--I have one who has literally saved me. I am so grateful!

There is an excellent book by Judith Herman about PTSD called "Trauma and Recovery" that you might want to track down.

I hope you know how brave it is just to get by with all the burdens you bear. it sounds like you are alone, too. I wish you the very very best.
 
zoe.a.m.;bt4279 said:
....I thought you might be interested that, while taking an abnormal psych class, it is now being considered that BPD is actually PTSD, and that women respond with different symptoms and have been classified as BPD. Another provocative and substantial idea I think.)

BPD can be a form of Complex PTSD, but not all Complex PTSDers have the particular pattern that has traditionally defined BPD. I have been told that I am Avoidant, for eg. But I despise the arrogance of psychology that dares label people with "personality disorders". "Disordered behavioral patterns" would be more accurate and less demeaning to the person as a person. My 2 cents :-}
 
Do you mean that your Drs don't think it is possible to have PTSD and CFS at the same time, or do you mean that your Drs don't think it is possible for CFS to cause PTSD?

It is definitely possible to have both concurrently, and it may be possible for CFS to cause it as well.....CFS can certainly exacerbate pre-existing PTSD and it also most certainly can cause a lot of similar symptoms that arise from feeling like one's life or the integrity of one's life is being threatened (which are PTSD criteria)....many Drs do not realize this, though (surprise, surprise!)

Also, as someone who had PTSD (complex PTSD actually......though it is true that it is not an official DX yet, many therapists have been differentiating between the two for some time now)...anyway, as I am someone who had mostly recovered from C PTSD far before getting CFS, and have had it triggered again since getting sick, as well as being someone who is a counselor (though too sick to work), I would say that there are many many similarities, but I also feel that the feelings that arise specifically from CFS and the way that we are treated is possibly distinct from the type of PTSD that arises from other situations

There almost needs to be a separate category or maybe better would be a sub category.....like I would put PTSD as the main DX and then Complex PTSD and illness-related PTSD as subcategories....other diagnoses work this way when they are similar but also have some clear differences
 
hey Tania,
it's taken me about 3 times reading this recount of your incident, plus today & yesterday there were some well-thought comments, so now I'll offer my thoughts,too.

first, if there are actual memories of this life's past traumatic events that are showing up in nightmares, that's a classic sign of PTSD.
if you are having nightmares about fires and/or drowning, etc., but your life's events don't actually include these happening, then that's a case of bad nightmares but likely not PTSD.

In reading Tammie's prior comment, the description of subcategory"illness-related" does make sense to me. When I first met you and heard about the epic struggles with your doctors and their "basically leaving you to die", I totally understood what you meant. now That is traumatic, and certainly since you have survived and are looking back in horror, you are in a post traumatic time. Being "left to die" because doctors don't know about ME is life-altering, no doubt. also since then, things really don't seem to have been on the proper level of treatment for you, if I've been hearing you right. In other words, if it were possible to mentally heal from the trauma of inadequate treatment/no treatment, that's on slow track for you because basically you still have to fight like hell to receive, melatonin? btw, in my own experience, with a severe sleep issue, melatonin doesn't really cut it.

if you are more likely to get better medical care by having a diagnosis of PTSD, you truly seem a legitimate candidate. perhaps that may buy you a better cushion of time and availability to different doctors other than the One in your town who needs to further his education. ?

as always , best to you.
5150
 
zoe.a.m.;bt4279 said:
Hi Taniaaust,
It certainly sounds like PTSD--you might also want to check out C-PTSD. It isn't officially recognized yet, but I think it is coming in the next DSM manual. (I fully appreciate that your sleep deprivation may mean not doing anything other than putting one foot in front of another for as long as it takes...). I know you've mentioned BPD before and I thought you might be interested that, while taking an abnormal psych class, it is now being considered that BPD is actually PTSD, and that women respond with different symptoms and have been classified as BPD. Another provocative and substantial idea I think. I don't know your other meds, but I wonder if Inderal might be something you could try for nightmares: it might be totally inappropriate, but it is used for PTSD in various ways, but it is a beta blocker, which is not good with low blood pressure. Hope for a better night's sleep for you tonight :)

That's extremely interesting. .. and I do think there is a connection between BPD and PTSD (if im right in having that) in my case.
Issue here in Aust seems to be that BPD isnt treated like a serious illness and instead, one in which one is just told one needs more self control and that one can help the bad reactions one gets cause its just a personality disorder. I thou know when i flip out, I cant help it.. i completely like loose myself and what is happening about me (like go back into past times or something to the point i can become unaware of my environment).
 
Tammie;bt4293 said:
Do you mean that your Drs don't think it is possible to have PTSD and CFS at the same time, or do you mean that your Drs don't think it is possible for CFS to cause PTSD?

It is definitely possible to have both concurrently, and it may be possible for CFS to cause it as well.....CFS can certainly exacerbate pre-existing PTSD and it also most certainly can cause a lot of similar symptoms that arise from feeling like one's life or the integrity of one's life is being threatened (which are PTSD criteria)....many Drs do not realize this, though (surprise, surprise!)

The second thing Tammie.. i think my doctors dont think it is possible for CFS/ME and all the experiences around it to cause PTSD.
 
5150;bt4296 said:
first, if there are actual memories of this life's past traumatic events that are showing up in nightmares, that's a classic sign of PTSD.
if you are having nightmares about fires and/or drowning, etc., but your life's events don't actually include these happening, then that's a case of bad nightmares but likely not PTSD.

I dream about my bad eperiences too.

I do wonder thou if im PTSD if one can end up blocking out the nightmares?
i know i get them but usually seem to block them out so i wake up usually unaware so when psych asked me if i got bad dreams, I said no (cause i usualy dont remember them). (when i do on chance remember thou, it is always bad dreams so i must be consistantly dreaming bad ones). Maybe i should of explained it better to the psych who was assessing me at time (im not good at explaining things and as I hate to think of the bad dreams.. I like blocked it all and just said no). I dont like to think about or remember the things.
 
Tania I think that CFS could well cause PTSD i know its made a wreck out of me, all the symptoms, the way we are treated etc, the unknown, all of it combined is traumatic without a doubt. They say someone who has had surgery can develope PTSD so i think its highly likely. Try some mindfulness and try keep your stress as low as you can befre bed time hugs ~Sleepy
 

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