My trauma is not like yours. (Are you an EMT?) However, I DO wake up as you describe. I keep Zanax right next to my bed, and if I can, I write down everything I dreamed RIGHT THEN!! I turn on the light and do it, shorthand sometimes. For me, it\'s like \"putting\" it somewhere, so I can deal with it later. Also, Risperdal works well for the \"racing thoughts\" we all deal with. I\'m surprised more of us are not on that.
Take Care of You

thanks for the note on the meds .i have tried them alland no relief yet but if i sit quietly for a while with out being bothered i start dreaming about it when i am awakeall this trauma i have had to deal with is so firmly imbedded in my mind maybe there is nothing i can do about it what is your opinion

First keep trying differant meds differant doses differant times taken ect.. don\'t give up on them yet.
I too struggle with the nightmares so real,too real.I do not know yet how to make them dissapear.I am now starting a thearapy where I wright my dreams down ( awake or the ones I dream ) an burn them.I also talk them out at a pace I am comfortable with at my therapist\'s office, right now twice a month.It\'s to early to tell if this is going to work but you might give it a try.It\'s supposed to desenseitze your reaction to the event over time.
I have had some help with meds, still looking for the right combo.Just don\'t give up .Being here discussing thing here has helped alot we all have this PTSD demon incommon.We may not have arrived her the same way but if yu look closely we all share the same experiance.

Let me know if you ever need to talk.

I am having the same problem, but the nightmares come and go. I wish I could help you more, but i can't even control my own nightmares at this point, except with drugs (Klonopin) and that is only a stopgap measure in my mind. I need to find a way to control these nightmares long-term.

Uther

talking with some of yall helps some of it i think is yall dont think i am full of crap so many people even shrinks and councilers look at me like they dont believe me like i would make things like the things i went through up people in my family call me a wimp and things like that but yall understand and that tends to help and i thank you from the bottom of my heart god bless yall nite

so far I haven't dealt well with nightmares ... and it seems like lately, the better things are going in my waking life, the worse things are going in my sleep.

But then, that seems to be true of my whole internal thought process. My outer world used to be totally chaotic ... and I thought I had it all together ... now my family, my home, my situation is calm, together ...chaos is gone ...

and the internal chaos has erupted to ... ACK!!!
The nightmares are a nightly experience.

Does anyone wake up in a full blown anxiety incident. It is like your intrusive thoughts have went wild during the night. I wake up from the pain with my chest lit up like a Xmas tree. I try to settle it down with all my techniques. Sometimes this leads to a bad day. How can you control your thoughts in your sleep or how do you prevent this