OT Anyone have experience with night terrors?

[Disneymooner07]

Sorry to hear you are dealing with this!

I had night terrors for about half a year when I was age 4. I scared the bejesus out of my parents because I would wake up screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, and then running all around the house. They said they eventually got used to it and just put me to bed at the same time every night and just watched some TV until I woke up screaming. It was apparently every night, like clockwork. But they just waited for me to come running to them and then they would just calmly let me cry it out and then put me back in bed. I only remember a few instances of the actual crying and screaming, though I still remember the dreams vividly.

All that being said, I just want to tell you not to worry too much! As far as I can tell, there were no lasting effects As my husband can tell you, I am a champion sleeper - I love sleeping, have no trouble falling asleep, and can sleep through pretty much anything (barking dogs, alarms, trucks rolling by!). So I wouldn't worry too much about long-term effects. I think it's just one of those developmental things as the brain grows and processes information. At least, that's how I look at it

Good luck and just stay calm!

 

[smylie1]

DS15 had them until he was about 8 years old. He had them a couple times a month. DH and I would say, "Here we go again." I remember the last one he had. He jumped out of bed and ran down stairs then back up, then ran into the kitchen and opened the utensil drawer and started pointing into it. He just kept saying, "and X mark!" over and over. I finally got him back to his bed and after alittle more shaking and crying he calmed down. It really scared me because he had never ran around like that. I was so afraid he was going to fall on the stairs. Thank goodness he's never had another one.

They must be terrifying for the child experiencing them because they sure are for the parents.

 

[MarthaJr.]

Sorry you have to deal with this. Our son, now 14, had night terrors off/on between ages 5-8. He would have them several times a week for a couple weeks and then maybe not have one for a month or so and then they would return. I know how you feel. It is terribly frightening to watch your child thrash around and scream and not be able to comfort him, especiallly when his eyes are open and he "looks" like he is awake, eventhough he isn't. I would recommend staying in the room to make sure he is safe and just try to redirect his movements without talking. For our son talking to him just seemed to aggravate the situation. We were told that he would most likely outgrow them and he did. Our son had the MRI to rule out neurological issue as well. If we asked our son about how he slept--he never remembered anything about the terror. I know that doesn't help much now.....but it will get better.

We, too, stuck to a strict bedtime schedule with no stimulants within 2 hrs of bed including drinks, food, video games and if you can believe it reading at bedtime. For our son that reading time just fueled his imagination and did not allow him to calm down before sleeping. We did sometimes give him a herbal pill called CALMS if he had more than 1 terror in a week. Our grocery store stocks it and so does Walgreens, CVS etc. by the other sleep aid pills.

Even now at age 14, we don't allow video games within an hour of bed--he just can't settle down. I personally think it has something to do with all the flashing lights in those games and not necessarily the content or level of excitement of the game.

Hope this information helps in some way. Hang in there.

 

[perkinsrose]

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Ch...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231702723&sr=8-1

You might want to look into this book SOLVE YOUR CHILD'S SLEEP PROBLEMS -only $11 on Amazon but I'm sure many libraries carry it too. I had read it for something other than night terrors but found it very informative about baby & kids' sleep issues.

I slept-walk occassionally as a child somewhere around age 6-8yrs but grew out of it quickly. Kids are often more resilient than we think and always changing/growing. I hope you don't let worry bother you too much!