An unsettling introduction to my husband’s Parkinson’s night terrors

Yes, I am prone to shouting in my sleep several time a month. I also deliver serious lectures and training sessions in my sleep. My wife says it's hilarious. Fortunately I'm not very physical in my sleep (for now). I'm taking c/l orally and have not had DBS.

Go to the National Institutes of Health or Mayo Clinic and read up on REM Sleep Disorder. I too was screaming out in my sleep and falling out of bed. I was also having nighttime “visitors” that I recognized as hallucinations. Since I started taking clonazepam at bedtime all of my symptoms have stopped. Hope you find some peace and quiet.

My husband has the night terrors too. It’s called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. The terrors and acting out have been significantly reduced using a combination of Melatonin 10mg and Relaxium. He takes both every night.

Prior to discovering the Melatonin/Relaxium combination, my husband would scream and kick and hit me in his sleep. Once, I woke up to him on his knees in bed, punching me in my ribs. He is not normally a violent person and he would never engage in domestic violence. Also, my husband would sometimes throw himself out of bed and on one occasion, he dislocated his shoulder when he landed on the floor.

REM Sleep. Behavior Disorder is a prodrome of Parkinson's disease and several other neurodegenerative conditions. After reporting my dream enactments a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with probable Parkinsonism. A year later, the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease was made. For the past year and a half, I have bee take g 6 mg Melatonin about 15 minutes before bedtime and the yelling out and the arm and leg movements have been eliminated. I do not take Clonozepan and was not directed to do so by my neurologist. I understand it was once the first line of treatment for RBD and now melatonin may have taken its place, but your doctor will have to determine what is best for you.

My husband has active dreams. Usually involving talking, kicking, punching. Once he dreamed he was fighting someone in a stairway and threw himself out of bed, cracking his head on a nightstand and requiring a trip to the emergency room. Once he grabbed my arm and I thought he was going to break it. I yelled at him to let me go. He did, and said that he dreamed he was collecting firewood and snapping it over his knee. I am lucky that my yelling awakened him. His neurologist, a specialist in Parkinson's, had me attend a visit for a discussion on protecting myself from his active dreams. 1) Do not touch him. He may think you're who he is fighting. 2) Get out of the bed, beyond his reach. 3) Call his name, and ask him questions that require logical thought. Not "What were you dreaming about?" That can keep them in the dream state. Ask their birthday, occupation, day of the week, etc
Some nights I take my book and go to the living room to read & hopefully get some sleep.

Hi Jamie and other followers of this astute posting. I've experienced REM-SBD symptoms since I first noticed I suffered with sleep aponea back in 2008. I was later diagnosed with PD in 2019. I've been taking c/l since the neurologist announced I had it. And like Arman (bless his soul) I've been told I've preached sermons, screamed vile obscenities at someone (who knows who I was offending) at the top of my lungs, and flailed my arms and legs around as if slaying imaginary dragons in order to protect my loved ones. It happens so often these days that the family has gotten used to hearing me bellow in the middle of the night. My antics can wake the dead almost, and it has prompted my spouse to sleep in separate beds from me. I find this affliction extremely frustrating as I can't get it to diminish! Unlike Arman, I can't have DBS surgery. Wish I could. But I'm pleased to hear that it has helped him (and you) to sleep more sound at night these days. We need good doctors who understand PD and the more wretched parts of the symptoms experienced by PwP. Stay well Arman!!

You're describing REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD), which is one of the precursor symptoms of Parkinson's that often precede PD by months or even years. I have had it for several years and was diagnosed with mild PD only about a month ago. Scientific American had a great article on it about a year ago, and reading that article put me on a path to understand other precursor symptoms I had such as constipation. It is caused by the misfolding of the alpha-synuclein protein molecule, which is apparently what causes PD as well as Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy. Two standard treatments for RBD are melatonin (5mg seems to be the standard dose and helps, but I find that 10mg is more effective). Another standard treatment is clonazepam, but the last thing I want is to be on a benzodiazepine. I strongly recommend reading the Scientific American article.

I have had Parkinson’s for about 20 years. I get those dreams, I called them adventure dreams. I take Melatonin to control them.

About 5 years ago, before Parkinson's was even on our radar, my husband would have violent dreams with physical running in bed and arm swings (he hit me in face with one) and even falling out of bed. Not one to ever see a Dr., I asked my GP what it could possibly indicate. He immediately predicted that within 5 years he would be diagnosed with PD. Now I realize it was REM sleep disorder, a precursor or early indicator of PD. In 2023, my husband was diagnosed with PD. Was there something we could have done for him then--should I have pressed doc to do something??? I'm not sure there was anything to do but I still wonder...

Reading these comments on dealing with this PD behavior and noting what has helped has been very enlightening to me! Thanks