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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by halcyondaze on February 19, 2007, at 14:40:23
Currently, I take Seroquel (50 mg) every night. Four nights out of the week, I take Halcion (0.5 mg) and the remaining three nights I take Ambien (10 mg). This is so I do not develop a tolerance to Halcion, which I was already beginning to see after about a month of taking it. Thankfully, 0.5 now works like it did in the beginning, and 10 mg Ambien (though not nearly as good for sleep) works on the nights when I do not have to be at work or class early the next morning.
However, I've been having disturbing dreams for a while now. They happen on both Ambien and Halcion, so it may be the Seroquel being combined with both - when I was just taking Seroquel, I didn't really dream, just slept this black sleep, after the first few days, so I'm thinking that Ambien and Halcion are creating some kind of lucid dreaming situation.
The dreams always seem to be negative, for the most part. The sensory information is the most clear when I wake up - bright colors, smells, sounds of voices, even emotions - but their content is what stays with me. Oddly, if I wake up (as I do throughout the night, to go to the bathroom or get some water to drink), the dreams resume where they left off. Even this morning, when I was up for about thirty minutes before deciding to go back to bed, my dream resumed from approximately where it had ended. They have plots, subplots, storylines ... it's like going to a movie for eight hours. The scary thing is, I'm the star and I never know what's going to happen next.
I often wake up talking out loud or crying as I emerge from sleep. In my dreams, I am frequently physically paralyzed, which is usually a sign I am about to wake up. However, it lasts for an uncomfortable period of time and I usually wake up crying when it happens - literally, with tears streaming down my face. I have even had an orgasm in my dreams recently (obviously this dream was not so bad)!
The disturbing content is what bothers me. Has anyone experienced anything similar and found either a pharmacological or behavioral solution to such "lucid" nightmares? Or should I just be thankful that I've finally been insomnia-free for a month now?
Posted by Phillipa on February 19, 2007, at 14:55:03
In reply to Sleeping meds and disturbing dreams., posted by halcyondaze on February 19, 2007, at 14:40:23
Added lunesta about a month ago and dreamed my Brandy first dog who died and I loved more than anything in my life was leading me on a leash and I was happy then woke up. Does that mean I'm going to die and be with him. I'd go if I could. I cried on his fur every night. I have two pups now not my baby. I don't know about the seroquel . Love Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on February 20, 2007, at 20:34:36
In reply to Sleeping meds and disturbing dreams., posted by halcyondaze on February 19, 2007, at 14:40:23
Increased lucid dreaming is always a possiblity with enhancement of ordinary dream cycles with sleep aids. I take a fair amount of Valium, far more than most people, because it is one of only two main modulators that help me keep some sense of sanity (not that I'm psychotic) from my visual Somatiform condition and there are studies of Valium that indicate its use in psychotic and other disorders so its not completely out there. I also take Ambien and Rozerem.
I use sleep as a tool sometimes to relieve anxiety and return to a better place (its random) than I was when I hid my face under the pillow because of fatigue and pain in the evening from my Somatiform condition.Invariably, I will fall asleep instead of just doing relaxation therapy and I wake up in a lucid state, a hypnagogic hallucination that I have some sort of special powers or I have to do something and then I realize that I am awake. I'm sure this has to do with my psychotropic soup.
Fortunately they're not frightening, although I on occasion have the wake up and freeze problem. Fighting it just makes it worse, eventually although an eternity seems to pass, the body's natural shutdown system comes back to the present. The human body naturally paralyzes itself to some extent during sleep to prevent excessive tossing, although I am somewhat of a tosser anyhow. That's what causes that phenomenon upon waking at times.
Halcion has been known for some odd reactions though that has been overblown, but you may be getting something off of it. Ambien in some people even causes sleepwalking though that's fairly rare.
I hate to say it, but if you're getting good sleep, that's the most important thing. I don't get the best quality of sleep, perhaps from sleep apnea due to weight, perhaps thats been the way for years (not the weight but the sleep apnea).
Dreams can be disturbing and yet revealing at the same time. There are lots of myths and urban legends surrounding them, superstitions, etc. Like the classic if you die in your dream.... etc.
Some people, especially a former significant I had, are able to channel their lucid dreaming. I sometimes can change the plot, but that's beyond the scope of my knowledge as to how that really works. Maybe finding a good book about sleep would help.-- tidings
Jay
Posted by Phillipa on February 20, 2007, at 21:05:30
In reply to Re: Sleeping meds and disturbing dreams. » halcyondaze, posted by yxibow on February 20, 2007, at 20:34:36
Jay don't laugh but the night before last I dreamed that my baby dog Brandy who died was on his leash and he was leading me with him. I love him like I've never loved another in my life. I have two pups now and then also had Sheeba but no one will ever be Brandy. Was or am I going to die is it like the bright light he's leading me to it? I wanted to go but woke up. Love Phillipa
Posted by laima on February 20, 2007, at 21:35:35
In reply to Sleeping meds and disturbing dreams., posted by halcyondaze on February 19, 2007, at 14:40:23
Wow, I don't know. But nightmares are a problem, I suspect they can encourage daytime anxiety- at least that how it was for me. I also developed a severe dread of sleep while experiencing them. When I had developed a high tolerance to clonazapam, which I was using for sleep, I entered a phase of really ghastly, violent nightmares. Amazingly, they vanished after I tapered off the clonazapam. What I wonder now is if some sort of withdrawal related phenomena was causing rebound anxiety and nightmares late in the night? Pure speculation- but I didn't have a nightly nightmare problem either before clonazappam trouble, nor after I went off of it.
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