Night Terrors?

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I didn't know if I should post this here or on the CB.

Several times now (probably 3-4 times in the last 2 mos) we've had some rather bizarre nighttime experiences with DS. ALWAYS on the weekends, when he's allowed to sleep in bed with us, never during the week when he sleeps in his own bed.

DS will wake up (or we think he's awake, anyway) and become very restless, not wanting to go back to sleep (despite it being the middle of the night), very combative (which is not typical of DS) and he will use a very strong, almost angry tone of voice which we almost never hear out of him. Usually he also cries to the point we can't understand what he's saying either.

In the morning, however, he has no memory of this happening at all. Is this what night terrors are? When do kids outgrow these things?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I don't know if that's exactly what happens during night terrors, but I think you're definitely describing something like sleepwalking/sleeptalking.

My older son never did it but the younger one (he's now 10) has done it from time to time. Just last week, he came into my room around 10:45 p.m. My husband was still downstairs and I had just dozed off. I woke up to find my son standing in front of me. I said, "What's wrong?" He said, "What do I have to do now?" I said, "Go back to bed." He said, "But what do you want me to do?" I realized he was actually still asleep so I led him back to his room and put him to bed. The next morning, he didn't remember a thing. But he did say he dreamed that I was having him do a bunch of chores. In the dream, he kept asking me what to do next and I was having him change light bulbs and smoke detector batteries (which he's never done)!

It sounds to me like your son is going through the same type of thing but just in a different way. I wonder if he's having dreams that he's acting out like my son did? You might give a call to your pediatrician's office and ask them. I'm sure they hear about these things all the time and can give you some advice. Good luck!

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I will call them on Monday, because it's just really..strange. He yells and screams that he doesn't want to do something (I DUN WANNA DO IT NO SIR! NO SIIIIIIIIIR!!!) and when we try to force him to lay back down and go to sleep, he thrashes around like he's fighting demons.

Last night it got to the point that I KNEW I was getting frustrated with him, even though I know DS can't exactly help this behavior. DH told me to let him handle it, which I did. I went into the living room and grabbed a book and I have NO idea what he did because lo and behold, fifteen minutes later, DS was sound asleep.

 

[Twende]

Our son had night terrors when he was just over two years. Finally after months of trying to console a screaming child in the middle of the night, our doctor figured it out.

We had delayed vaccinations until he was older. Each time he would get the DPT vac he would run a high fever and form a lump the size of a softball on his thigh. This lump would be red, hot, and very tender to the touch for weeks. The night high pitched screams would correspond with the shots.

We eliminated the P(Pertussus) part of the vaccine and no more screams or physical reactions.

What relief for us! I hope you can figure this out too!

 

[mechurchlady]

It is obvious that the change of rooms is the cause. You need to let him sleep in your room alone. That way you can see if it is the room itself that is the trigger or the sleeping with other people. It could be a night terror or it could be a bad recurring dream where as a little kid he cannot explain the dream.

Good luck with this. Make sure there are no hidden triggers. I recently had a very vivid dream that was so real and the trigger was that I was sugar saturated. My trigger is sugar, one candy bar and I have night mares.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

He's slept in our room alone,so I know that's not it. He's slept with us every weekend (Fri and Sat night) since he was small, so I know that's *probably* not it.

I called the dr's office, but since it's not an emergency they said they will get back to me some time today.

 

[mechurchlady]

Then something in his life has changed. Finding that trigger will be hard. It could have been a television show, a book, or something someone said. I was driving across Arkansas in a horrid lightening storm when my Uncle Bill said something that freaked me out so bad that I pulled to the side of the road and then crawled through the window into the camper and into bed with covers over me scared.

I dont think you all sleeping together is the trigger. It is something probably not even related with the bedroom. Good luck and sending you hugs and prayers.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

The dr finally called back. He proclaimed it to be night terrors and there was nothing we could do except wait for DS to outgrow it.

Lovely.

Oh well..at least he'll outgrow it.

 

[kent285]

My daughter had them on and off when she was around 5. I don't know why I did this, but I would walk her into the bathroom and put her on the toilet. And, yes, she had to go. The way I understand night terrors, is that you are in a really, really deep sleep. In my daughter's case, she had to use the bathroom, but she was in that deep sleep and couldn't wake up to go. After she would use the bathroom, I would walk her back to bed and she would go right to sleep. These lasted for about a year. They are frightening because you feel like your child is trying to communicate something to you, but they just can't. She never remembered anything. Good luck to you.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

That's weird because sometimes, they happen after I try to get him out of the bed to go to the bathroom too. We've been trying to get him out of bed 1 1/2-2 hrs after bedtime so he would go potty and not wet the bed. And maybe I don't notice that he has these night terrors because he's in his room asleep with the door closed (to keep the cat out..he freaks out if the cat comes in his room). I only notice it when he's sleeping in our bed and disturbing my sleep as well.


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