I’m on my 9th day completely sober for the first time in my life but, suffering from awful nightmares. I have 3-7 different ones per night, forget them all in a matter of minutes upon waking up. Just read that withdrawing from alcohol or prescription drugs makes this happen, also eating too close to bed time makes your brain overactive, noted, going to try and stop doing that.
Anyone else suffer(ed) from the same? Any tips?
Holy moly do I remember those. In rehab I was having night terrors that made sleep sparing and I even feared going back to sleep after they happened . Then I would have dreams where I would relapse and wake up convinced that it was real. Melatonin definitely helped and not taking sleep meds (no tramadol or NyQuil) I think not eating has helped a lot too before bed. Justst talking to someone about what’s your mind or writing/journaling can help too so you get some of those thoughts out of your brain before you sleep. Exercising tires the body and mind as well, just do it early enough in the day.
Best advice I can give is they DO get better and happen much less often. Post acute withdrawals can cause all sorts of wonky stuff depending on your usage history but each day that passes. I’m at 6 months and I sleep like a baby most nights. You will get through this 
My nightmares were nasty af and I had them for two weeks after I started sobriety. All the emotions coming up, horrible memories, deep fears, and the dreams of using suddenly attacking me in a place and time I didn’t feel like I could stop it or escape from.
And the worst part is when you wake up and you can’t shake the emotions. Made me want to go back to using.
Best tip I can give is meditation, to help recognize that they are just nightmares. And that this is the first time you’ve been completely sober. Makes sense to me that you’re experiencing these. Would be a variety of all different things like your body getting rid of all the shit, and you beginning to be open to your mind and heart.
Keep safe and know this isn’t just you, and it will stop.
Im 27 days sober. I have been having nightmares like crazy. I am glad i am not alone. Thank you for posting. Keep your head up!
Melatonin gave me vivid dreams as well as other sleep aids. Pretty much EVERYTHING gives me vivid dreams with the risk of night terrors. I have heard that valerian can cause these things. It is possible that the natural anxiety remedies you are taking are helping to cause this. Honestly, anything that helps with anxiety/sleep is a potential problem for this. It has something to do with how they work in the brain.
Also, like everyone else said, there is a high probability that most of it is the early sobriety.
Yes, my doc was heroin and meth. Im on day 72 and sometimes I have using dreams still but the first month I’d say I’d have very vivid nightmares
I had the exact same, but they went after a few days, hope yours go soon!
No. Last night I did not take anything.
What about during the day? I’ve not been able to take more than 10mg of lexapro because of what it does to my dreams. I take it in the morning.
I don’t take anything.
The only thing I tried t take was that bean extract, and I stopped that.
Only things I take is Advil, camomile and valerian.
It might be the valerian. But probably more the sobriety. My doctor won’t let me take it for a few reasons, and the dreams is one of them.
I haven’t taken valerian for 3 days, it’s in a tea I drink that also has chamomile. But like I said yesterday I took nothing, just my vitamins. It’s the eating too late before bed, keeps the brain too active. Going to stop eating around 7 tonight and see if it makes a difference. Will update. 
I had same issues. Nigthmares about relapse. Lot of in my first 2-3 weeks or so. It will pass. 
(funny thing my roomate said I was screaming last night, although I can’t remember anything. 
Lucky for me, unlucky for him I guess 
)
Hi Ally,
When I decided to get sober, I was in withdrawal as well as battling PTSD. I had nightmares, about using, at night and flashbacks during the day. As I began to work steps and go to meetings, the dreams became useful reminders of how dangerous my use really was and how important it was to stay sober. The same went for the flashbacks. They weren’t pleasant, but I found a way to change the way I thought of them and that made them useful to my sobriety.
ALSO, I took these at night. They worked really well to help me fall asleep.
Natural Sleep Aid, Lights Out: Contains Melatonin, Valerian, Passion Flower, More. 60 Sleeping Pills, Veggie Capsules, Non-Habit Forming Sleep Supplement https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0744QYJLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NZuxEbWXG9C0D
Lol! That reminded me of a FRIENDS episode when Chandler dated the girl that talked and screamed in her sleep. Lmao
Powerful words. Thank you for your reply and support.
I will have to try those pills! Right now I use a sleepy time tea that has chamomile and valerian, I can’t take melatonin, it messes me up for the morning.
I’m so bad about eating before bed. Why must sleep be such a hastle!!! Haha, that thought can make me so anxious about going to bed sometimes. We are all a work in progress.
Seriously. Especially in early sobriety, I’m going to eat when I want and what I want, though, I don’t eat so much now that I’m sober, when I would get messed up I would eat everything in my fridge, it’s fun watching the weight just fall off, but eating so late at night is definitely not healthy, it makes our bodies work when we should resting while we sleep.
I wish I would have kept the weight off that I lost in the first 2 months of recovery. It was extremely unhealthy loss, like 30 pounds in 2 months, but I still didn’t want it back! I hardly ate anything because of the long detox and anxiety. Now, thankfully, I’m working a much more physical position at work (working manager type thing now cooking at a diner type restaurant) and I’m eating more full meals and burning it off. Slowly.
Well. It’s true. Ate dinner at 7 and slept much better, still woke up twice to pee but other than that my dreams were…nicer, no horror dreams.
I do intermittent fasting, I started the 16:8 in January, I’ve lost 20 pounds so far, it just falls off. Try it.