How long will these Night Terrors go on???

[Corie]

My 6 yr. old son has been waking up every single night with
night terrors. The night terrors are really freaking us out! He is screaming, crying, yelling out our names, etc.
This has been going on now for over 2 months. When is this going
to stop? Is this normal to last this long?

What should I do?

[minnie-zb]

Have you talked with your pediatrician?

[JBaxter]

I would call his ped. 2 months of every night it a bit long. There may be something going on he isn't dealing well with on his own.

[daisymommy]

I agree. Every night (or close to it) for 2 month is not typical at all. Something else may be going on.

[Katigre]

Does changing the room where he sleeps make a difference? I would do an experiment and try to have him sleep in your room (sleeping bag on the floor) and see if he still gets them. When DS was 3 he would wake up crying with fear over nightmares every.single.night between 12-1am (right when DH and I would be falling into a deep sleep cycle too...fun times!). This continued for months. Finally, we moved him to our room for a different reason (I had to put both kids to sleep at the same time and didn't feel like moving him) and he didn't wake up with a nightmare that night. I was shocked and tried it again - same deal. He hasn't had a nightmare like that in over a year (the time he's been back in our room). It was a total win/win situation for us.

[Corie]

Does changing the room where he sleeps make a difference?


The room doesn't matter!

He slept with his big sister in the guest bedroom and he still
woke up.
He sleeps with me/DH in our bed and he still wakes up.

[mom2binsd]

It doesn't sound like typical night terrors, they usually start around age 2-3 and tend to be sporadic, not every single night. Most kids I know who had them, DD included began them as toddlers and they continued to but less so until age 6 or so......but never every single night.

Call you ped to see what else could be going on, can't be good for any of you not to be getting quality sleep, DS most importantly. I feel for you, they are scary, and can't imagine them every night.

[buddyleebaby]

DD2 has frequent nightmares. Recently she has dreamed about alligators, dinosaurs, someone trying to "fire" her, someone in her room trying to steal her piggybank, hunters coming to get her.

Things that help her are limiting food before bedtime (I don't know why it helps, but it does) and making sure she gets to bed fairly early. If she is extremely tired/overtired she seems to have bad dreams.

We also encourage her to talk about her dreams (she has decided that if she talks about it, it will not come true) and crawl into our bed when she needs us.

I used to have frequent nightmares as a child and night terrors as a teen. My father as well. We also both suffer from chronic migraines and I have always wondered if they are related.

I hope Knox is feeling better soon.

[arivecchi]

I did not realize that older kids had night terrors too, but according to this website they do:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/night-terrors/DS01016

My DS had them whenever he was overtired, but given the frequency with which your son is having them, I would definitely call his ped.

Good luck.

[willow33]

My oldest DS gets them several times a week...he's almost 8. His eyes are open, but he is not awake and he makes strange noises/yells, shakes, runs around. It's very unnerving. We find that they tend to happen when he is overheated and overtired, but sometimes that doesn't seem to make a difference either. One way to help end the terror quicker is to have him go to the bathroom.

Here's a great article on it:
http://www.drgreene.com/qa/what-are-night-terrors

[craftysierra]

My sons night terrors started early, well before 2. We found for him getting to bed early is essential. Also for him one late night is not bad but if you chain together very many that is what seems to trigger his. I feel for you two months is too long. I hope you find answers soon.

Sierra

[HIU8]

DD had them last January post surgery for adenoids, tonsils and tubes. The ENT told me that night terrors can be a side effect of anethesia for children (he did not mention an age). They were horrible, but only lasted 3 weeks. Two months is a long time for them to go on. I hope they end soon.

[Corie]

My oldest DS gets them several times a week...he's almost 8. His eyes are open, but he is not awake and he makes strange noises/yells, shakes, runs around. It's very unnerving.


Yes! Exactly! My son almost looks like he is possessed. He has
absolutely no clue that we are talking to him or holding him.

[Corie]

I used to have frequent nightmares as a child and night terrors as a teen. My father as well. We also both suffer from chronic migraines and I have always wondered if they are related.




We have a strong family history of migraines in my family as well.
(maternal grandfather, mother, siblings, myself)
And DS has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome which is in the same family
as the migraine. It is sometimes called an "abdominal migraine".

I wonder if there is a connection.

[BabbyO]

My oldest DS gets them several times a week...he's almost 8. His eyes are open, but he is not awake and he makes strange noises/yells, shakes, runs around. It's very unnerving. We find that they tend to happen when he is overheated and overtired, but sometimes that doesn't seem to make a difference either. One way to help end the terror quicker is to have him go to the bathroom.

Here's a great article on it:
http://www.drgreene.com/qa/what-are-night-terrors

I don't have a lot of experience with night terrors but I used to babysit a boy, about 6 or 7 who's night terrors were exactly like the post above. I remember his parents telling me that there were times he's have them every night, then times where he'd go a month with out them. I think I'd talk to my ped or ask for a referral to a specialist if your ped doesn't know much about them.

Good luck.

[willow33]

And I find holding him makes it worse..at least for my DS. In the past we would try to hug him and comfort him, but he would fight back. We now give him his space and keep him safe until he wakes up. He never remembers anything and usually just goes back to bed.

Good luck Corie! It's upsetting as a parent to watch your child like that.

My MIL told me that my DH had these same terrors as a child and that they eventually went away as he moved into his teen years. He also suffered from major migraines as a child.

[daisymommy]

Corie~ When I did a quick Google search, a few things popped up saying migraines can be a risk factor for getting night terrors, and that it is speculated the same brain chemical comes into play.

Also, certain medications can cause night terrors--is he on any for the cyclic vomiting?

[rlu]

Corie,

I've posted in the past about DS's night terrors - going on 7 and he still has them. As other pp have said, this is too much too long. I agree with Willow33's posts (everything from the overheated and overtired to the bathroom or drinking water resolution to the inability to hold him, touching upsets him) and am hoping you find the trigger soon.

Every time DS has one (maybe once a month, depending on triggering events) he doesn't remember but as parents we can't forget our helplessness when these occur.

I hope you find answers soon.

eta: DH used to talk in his sleep (before the CPAP) and MIL walked in her sleep as a teen and since these "can" be related appears the predisposition is genetic. Also, DS's occurances happen almost always 60-70 minutes after going to sleep - once we hit the 90 minute mark we can relax. Once he had two in one night - the first about 70 minutes after going to bed (overheated by using sleeper) and then 70 minutes after putting him back to bed (not sure on trigger - still hot maybe?). The potential link to restless leg syndrome is relevant in our family as well.

[wimama]

No word of advise just sympathy. Even once knew what they were they were still scary and heart wrenching to watch.

My DS had night terrors from about 1 year old until he was 3 1/2 years old. The first few times I couldn't figure out why he was crying uncontrollably and I would check his diaper and undress him and try to figure out what was wrong. As a baby, sometimes he would literally snap out of it when I tried walking with him outside. I think it actually woke him up, he would give a little look around and then his body would relax in my arms and go to sleep. At 3 1/2 he would talk and look straight ahead, not acknowledge our presence and his cry was different than any of his normal awake crying. We would do talk about comforting things and massage his back and try to coax him to lay down again. It seemed to calm him even though he didn't really "hear" us, some part of his brain must have perceived what we were doing. DS seems to have outgrown it.

[Corie]

Corie~ When I did a quick Google search, a few things popped up saying migraines can be a risk factor for getting night terrors, and that it is speculated the same brain chemical comes into play.

Also, certain medications can cause night terrors--is he on any for the cyclic vomiting?


Yes, he takes Zofran as needed for an episode.

Thanks so much for your help! We have a doctor's appt.
on Thursday.

[Corie]

eta: DH used to talk in his sleep (before the CPAP) and MIL walked in her sleep as a teen and since these "can" be related appears the predisposition is genetic. Also, DS's occurances happen almost always 60-70 minutes after going to sleep - once we hit the 90 minute mark we can relax. Once he had two in one night - the first about 70 minutes after going to bed (overheated by using sleeper) and then 70 minutes after putting him back to bed (not sure on trigger - still hot maybe?). The potential link to restless leg syndrome is relevant in our family as well.


This is all very weird!! My DH was a sleepwalker when he was
young.
DS always wakes up 1.5 hours into his sleep. He goes to bed at 8am
and his night terror is usually around 9:30pm. We just sit and wait
for it.

[rlu]

This is all very weird!! My DH was a sleepwalker when he was
young.
DS always wakes up 1.5 hours into his sleep. He goes to bed at 8am
and his night terror is usually around 9:30pm. We just sit and wait
for it.

You might try waking him up 15 minutes before (I think that's from the Mayo link) and see if that forestalls the terror. I can't imagine going through that for 2 months. I thought our 3 day period was awful.

[kboyle]

oh HUGE HUGS to you and Knox :(

i thought that Max's MJ Thriller nightmares were bad and they only lasted one full week, i couldn't imagine terrors for 2 mos!

[rlu]

Yes, he takes Zofran as needed for an episode.

Thanks so much for your help! We have a doctor's appt.
on Thursday.

Corie - did I miss your update? Hope all is well with your son.