Nightmares
Alternate Names : Bad Dreams, Dreams - Bad
What to Expect at your Health Care Provider's Office
The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.
Medical history questions documenting nightmares in detail may include:
- time pattern
- Do the nightmares occur repeatedly (recurrent)?
- Do they occur in the second half of the night?
- quality
- Is there a sudden full awakening from sleep?
- associated complaints
- Does the nightmare cause intense fear and anxiety?
- Is there memory of a frightening dream (one with vivid visual imagery and story-like plot)?
- aggravating factors
- Has there been a recent illness?
- Has there been a fever?
- Has an emotionally stressful situation occurred recently?
- other
- Is alcohol used? How much?
- What medications are used?
- Are "street drugs" being taken? Which?
- Are natural supplements or alternative medicine remedies used?
- What other symptoms are also present?
Physical examination may include a physical, neurological, and psychological examination.
Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:
If treatment options addressing stress and anxiety, medication side effects, and substance use do not resolve the problem, your health care provider may want to send you to a sleep medicine specialist who will perform a sleep study (polysomnography). In extremely rare cases, a patient needs to take special medications that suppress or reduce REM sleep, thus preventing nightmares. After seeing your health care provider:
You may want to add a diagnosis related to recurrent nightmares to your personal medical record.
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