Living with REM Behavior Disorder

My husband and I have been suffering from his REM Behavior Disorder for 32 years. He first became aware of it when he was 16-years-old. He kicks, screams, sometimes jumps out of bed and acts out his dreams almost every night. He also has a Black Belt in martial arts… this is not a good combination. When he is under stress he sleeps in the other room because we can almost guarantee he will get wild. After hurting me several times we began to sleep with a huge wall of pillows between us so that I am protected.

He has tried every type of sleep aid that is made and none have helped this problem… until now. In a bizarre, serendipitous series of events we heard about a medication that is sometimes used for people suffering with severe nightmares from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We asked his MD to prescribe it and it is the first thing we have tried that has ever helped. It is a Beta-Blocker normally used for high blood pressure It’s called Propranolol. Taken at a low dose of 10 - 20 mg it can help calm the nervous system associated with this sleep disorder. In 32 years, I have never seen him sleep with his muscles so relaxed and feeling so calm. Another good piece of news… it is on the $4 prescription list at Wal-Mart. Thank you Wal-Mart for helping make this medication possible!