Nightmares?

[katydid]

Hey everyone!

The past couple weeks have been rough! I normally don't dream, used to all the time but since my pain issues started, I don't sleep deep enough and either don't have them or don't remember them I guess? Lol

But the last couple weeks, every other night or third night it seems, I will wake up an hour or two after I've fallen asleep in a terrifying nightmare... I haven't started any new meds in the last couple weeks, but I've heard medications can cause night terrors..

Just last night I had one, woke up out of breath, scared to death, clamy, I could tell I had been crying in my sleep, and I was terrified to go back to sleep! And I end up being completely exhausted the next day because of the nightmare and that I don't sleep even close to well enough after them.... Not that I sleep well any other night, but you know what I mean... Lol

Has anyone else experienced nightmares as a result of medications? I'm not sure that's really my problem, but I'm curious....

 

[Loftpat]

I had very vivid and strange dreams with trazadone. Also had dreams like this and interrupted sleep when anxiety and pain attacks were crazy. I'd suggest checking side effects of meds you are taking to see if nightmares are listed.

 

[Siderea]

Are you sure medications are causing the night terrors? I went through a bad stage of night mares and wasn't on medication. They can be related to over active adrenal glands, digestion troubles, and anxiety issues. My husband can't eat any sugar at night because sugar gives him nightmares. Also, I was taught that as our bodies heal, our minds heal too. The brain heals by resurrecting old anxieties and fears and processes them. I've been getting lots of flashes of past issues that I would rather forget about. I've been dreaming about things in my life best left in the past. I hate it, but I feel a lot better after I'm done processing it.

Medications can easily be the cause, though. Cymbalta turned my insomnia into general restlessness through the day and night, but when I did sleep my dreams were horrible. I was on Zyrtec for allergies one week, and it gave me freakish hallucinations, made me really grumpy and angry, and nightmares at night.

 

[katydid]

I'm not sure if it's my meds or just me to be honest.. I've been on the same meds for a while so I can't imagine that's the reason but you never know... It could be stress related,as my great uncle is dying of cancer (hehe's going to pass any day now) and I don't want him to go, he's been more of a grandfather to me than my own grandpa... But the dream I had that prompted me to create this post: I dreamt I was possessed by the devil and he was forcing me to scratch a 'spell' into this old family desk with the words "666 Katie csncer" so that I would die of it...
It felt so real and I was absolutely terrified waking up.... What a sick nightmare if you ask me..
Another one I had a few day ago, there was a woman who cam to the door at my house and she was trying to get me to help her with her car, I said no because I had a bad feeling, so then she tried telling me a man on the road was having a heart attack and to come give cpr, I said I couldn't come out but would call 911 for the man, she started yelling at me about being a horrible person and then she had a knife and was trying to get I my house to kill me because I didn't come out side for her to harm me....
That one was scary too!


I would think k if it were my medication, I'd be having these almost every night?... But I'm not.. And again, no new meds.. So I'm not sure..

 

[Trellum]

I had very vivid dreams back when I was taking the meds a psychiatrist gave me. I had the most weird and freaky dreams ever, so freaky I was afraid to go to bed fall asleep and then dream. Some medications give the weirdest and most surreal dreams ever, I swear!

 

[1sweed]

I usually have very vivid in full color dreams that when I wake up I am disappointed that it was a dream. I don't have nightmares very often but I had one the other night that was really weird. It started out that I had lost my purse that had a big check for someone in it. I was trying to remember in the dream if my checkbook was in my purse. Anyways i went in a big hotel looking for it and then I could not find the right door or staircase to get out of it. Finally I got outside and saw my purse sitting on the ground, but just then a creepy man told me he wanted my purse for money to buy drugs. I took off running and was scream for someone to help or call the police, as the man was chasing me. I ran through our town but the stores were all empty or boarded up. I got to the police station and it was empty too. I was so upset I woke up and then was unable to go back to sleep. I had a headache all day and was very tired and grumpy too.

Thankfully the next night I slept much better. does anyone know what causes dreams and where does our brains come up with the stuff we dream about. Dreams that are so lifelike with people we know or seem to know and places and things we do that are so different than real life? If you know please enlighten us with your knowledge of dreams or your best wild guess. lol

 

[katydid]

I usually have very vivid in full color dreams that when I wake up I am disappointed that it was a dream. I don't have nightmares very often but I had one the other night that was really weird. It started out that I had lost my purse that had a big check for someone in it. I was trying to remember in the dream if my checkbook was in my purse. Anyways i went in a big hotel looking for it and then I could not find the right door or staircase to get out of it. Finally I got outside and saw my purse sitting on the ground, but just then a creepy man told me he wanted my purse for money to buy drugs. I took off running and was scream for someone to help or call the police, as the man was chasing me. I ran through our town but the stores were all empty or boarded up. I got to the police station and it was empty too. I was so upset I woke up and then was unable to go back to sleep. I had a headache all day and was very tired and grumpy too.

Thankfully the next night I slept much better. does anyone know what causes dreams and where does our brains come up with the stuff we dream about. Dreams that are so lifelike with people we know or seem to know and places and things we do that are so different than real life? If you know please enlighten us with your knowledge of dreams or your best wild guess. lol

Omg 1sweed! That would scare the pants off me too!
That's how these nightmares have been for me also tho, where they bother me so much, I am unable to go back to sleep any time soon and I have horrible sleep, tossing and turning the rest of the night, if I sleep at all!

They say our dreams are our subconscious, either how were feeling about situations I our real life, or reoccurances of our real life experiences exaggerated etc... Which is why I think my cancer dream could be related to the issues with my great uncle and how upset and stressed out I am about it...

I'm actually really Glad I'm not the only one with crazy messed up dreams tho that cause such terror I can't sleep after! It's good to know I'm not a big baby about it! Hahah

 

[athena_]

I seem to be super susceptible to nightmares too. Normally if I sleep even lightly I dream. Things that set me of are melatonin, valerian and other natural sleep aids. When I tried lyrica the nightmares were bad at first. But even without obvious stimuli I have the occasional nightmare. Some days I wake up and think about my dreams and when I try to describe it to my husband they don't sound scary but the feeling you have while in the middle of the dream is terrifying. Good luck.