Sunday, September 26, 2010

My meds might be causing vivid recurring nightmares

I have vivid nightmares every. single. night.
They are so terrifying that I almost always wake myself up from flailing in my sleep or kicking something over.
I've been on a medication/psychotherapy regimen for a very long time but it hasn't helped. Recently I've even begun to suffer from regular bouts of sleep paralysis in addition to the nightmares, so needless to say I'm getting pretty desperate.
Truthfully, I feel like an heroing most of the time, and that's very unlike me.
I'm not trying to act emo for attention or pity. I just want them to stop so I can move on with my life as a regular jagoff.
So... how do I stop the nightmares? What behavioral or medicinal changes can I make to prevent them?




Well, I'd try melatonin- that's pretty much a hit or miss....hell, it might make them WORSE...I don't know much about sleep psychology.
Alternately, there's one thing that I'm almost SURE will help: pot
Pot will help you sleep easy, feel good, and not want to kill yourself.
Go find a dealer or something
(or if you're in California, just get a card),
and smoke, boy, smoke : )

I smoke pot regurally and i have only had dreams every few months when i've been clean for about a week
though i wouldnt reccomend becoming a stoner

"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."
--Hunter S. Thompson

That about sums it up for me.

also, to be considered a stoner (at least in most rational circles), your lifestyle has to REVOLVE around pot use- it's an easy trap to fall into for rookies, but eventually you'll get over the initial I SMOAK MARIWANA IM SO KOOL thing (that is, unless you're a complete f**ktard), and a bowl every now and then will be more like a morning cup of coffee or tea than some super cool status symbol. If you become one of those stoners who identifies his or her entire personality with marijuana use, you'd probably do the same thing with something else anyway and you're probably a douchebag. If that's the case, an hero please.
Otherwise, please don't an hero, and smoke moar.

also, to be considered a stoner (at least in most rational circles), your lifestyle has to REVOLVE around pot use- it's an easy trap to fall into for rookies, but eventually you'll get over the initial I SMOAK MARIWANA IM SO KOOL thing (that is, unless you're a complete f**ktard), and a bowl every now and then will be more like a morning cup of coffee or tea than some super cool status symbol. If you become one of those stoners who identifies his or her entire personality with marijuana use, you'd probably do the same thing with something else anyway and you're probably a douchebag. If that's the case, an hero please.
Otherwise, please don't an hero, and smoke moar.

I had a cannabis permit when I lived in San Francisco 2 years back. I smoked sativa all day and indica at night to get to sleep. Sadly, now I can't smoke even a little weed without getting quite a bit paranoid and suicidal. Somewhere along the line it turned on me, but thanks for the advice anyway.

I have no idea how to solve your problem, but could you post an examples of one of these nightmares? They sound interesting.

a dream interpreter? I recommend you read the theory of dreams by Sigmund Freud.

I have no idea how to solve your problem, but could you post an examples of one of these nightmares? They sound interesting.

Most of the time I'm either running away from something or someone that I can never shake or I am running towards something or someone that I can never catch. Other times I just experience a lot of random Kubrickesque psychotic imagery. I'll usually wake up in a cold sweat.

I have a sever case of sleep para. My mind races, my throat clamps down and all i can move is my eyes. I also hallucinate visually and auditory demons and such things. It use to last 5 minutes when i was in high school, but throughout college it got as long as 45 minutes. I used to be able to break free by wiggling a finger, eyebrow or toe and break free only to be so exhausted from fighting it, i would collapse and it would wash back over me. Ambien works, never had sleep para. on it. the problem was that I wouldn't sleep all the time. I would stay up playing games, talking on the phone, watching tv....only to wake up and not remember any of it. It might be worth it if you don't have a job like me to wake up for at 5am.

i had a dream about killing zombies with double-barrel 12 gauge last night. sh*t was epic.

Maybe your medication is f**king you up. Have you talked to your doc about possibly switching?


Most of the time I'm either running away from something or someone that I can never shake or I am running towards something or someone that I can never catch. Other times I just experience a lot of random Kubrickesque psychotic imagery. I'll usually wake up in a cold sweat.

is this a thought you fear?

I assume you've been tramatized, or have lived in conditions that were less than desirable. Have you moved a lot? Felt overly pressured to do something (well in school etc) and/or failed? Have you been through any severly stressful situtations of any kind no matter how significant? Such as a relationship end, abuse/neglect, losing something of sentimental value?

I assume you've been tramatized, or have lived in conditions that were less than desirable. Have you moved a lot? Felt overly pressured to do something (well in school etc) and/or failed? Have you been through any severly stressful situtations of any kind no matter how significant? Such as a relationship end, abuse/neglect, losing something of sentimental value?

My nightmares are definitely PTSD related. That I know for sure. It's just too bad my PTSD is comorbid with so many other conditions. Otherwise my nightmares might be easier to treat.
I have a sever case of sleep para. My mind races, my throat clamps down and all i can move is my eyes. I also hallucinate visually and auditory demons and such things. It use to last 5 minutes when i was in high school, but throughout college it got as long as 45 minutes. I used to be able to break free by wiggling a finger, eyebrow or toe and break free only to be so exhausted from fighting it, i would collapse and it would wash back over me. Ambien works, never had sleep para. on it. the problem was that I wouldn't sleep all the time. I would stay up playing games, talking on the phone, watching tv....only to wake up and not remember any of it. It might be worth it if you don't have a job like me to wake up for at 5am.

I've taken most sedatives and hypnotics (including Ambien), but I haven't taken it in probably 4 or 5 years... well before my trauma, so it might be worth another go.

Nice, we should have /x/ threads in advice more often.


My nightmares are definitely PTSD related. That I know for sure. It's just too bad my PTSD is comorbid with so many other conditions. Otherwise my nightmares might be easier to treat.

I've taken most sedatives and hypnotics (including Ambien), but I haven't taken it in probably 4 or 5 years... well before my trauma, so it might be worth another go.

You don't have to, but it would really help if you shared your story. Medication just masks the problem, it does nothing to treat or cure it. You need to fully accept, and god forbid, embrace whatever you've been through if you don't want these subconsious demons haunting you.


You don't have to, but it would really help if you shared your story. Medication just masks the problem, it does nothing to treat or cure it. You need to fully accept, and god forbid, embrace whatever you've been through if you don't want these subconsious demons haunting you.

I had a bad reaction to the medication "adderall" roughly 2 years ago. I had just recently been diagnosed with ADHD and was totally naive to the dangers associated with this drug, which is basically meth-lite fyi. My heart started racing, I couldn't breathe, I had a gigantic pressure in my head, and my hearing and vision were distorted. Finally, after enduring increasingly disturbing symptoms for about 6 hours I called the amberlamps. My internist said that my symptoms would go away within a couple of days, but here I am 2 years later and I still have vision and thought issues. With all these persisting problems it's been very hard for me to put that event behind me.


I had a bad reaction to the medication "adderall" roughly 2 years ago. I had just recently been diagnosed with ADHD and was totally naive to the dangers associated with this drug, which is basically meth-lite fyi. My heart started racing, I couldn't breathe, I had a gigantic pressure in my head, and my hearing and vision were distorted. Finally, after enduring increasingly disturbing symptoms for about 6 hours I called the amberlamps. My internist said that my symptoms would go away within a couple of days, but here I am 2 years later and I still have vision and thought issues. With all these persisting problems it's been very hard for me to put that event behind me.

Yeah, one of my friends just got an Adderall prescription...he's got to decide between selling it to college students or keeping it, now.
ADHD drugs are all in the amphetamine family and will f**k you up.

Wow, that is some commerical worthy adverse reactions... Sorry you had to go through that. I myself have been through so many medications that have caused anywhere from intense hallucinations to seizures. Don't lose faith though. Do you still have the same psychiatrist? You should talk to him/her about it, and directly mention the cause.
I don't have much advice further than that since my major is psychology, not psychiatry. I do hope you find a way out of your suffering. I do have a question, have you been more anxious while your awake? What are your symptoms other than the impaired vision/hearing?


Yeah, one of my friends just got an Adderall prescription...he's got to decide between selling it to college students or keeping it, now.
ADHD drugs are all in the amphetamine family and will f**k you up.

Yeah, my doc told me I was just having a panic attack, and I definitely was... but panic attacks don't cause vision loss. The worst thing about it is that I have no clue what is causing these physical symptoms. My eyes are structurally normal. I had a normal MRI, normal hormone levels and vitals etc. It's the "not knowing" that's what's driving me crazy.

I have vivid nightmares every. single. night.
They are so terrifying that I almost always wake myself up from flailing in my sleep or kicking something over.
I've been on a medication/psychotherapy regimen for a very long time but it hasn't helped. Recently I've even begun to suffer from regular bouts of sleep paralysis in addition to the nightmares, so needless to say I'm getting pretty desperate.
Truthfully, I feel like an heroing most of the time, and that's very unlike me.
I'm not trying to act emo for attention or pity. I just want them to stop so I can move on with my life as a regular jagoff.
So... how do I stop the nightmares? What behavioral or medicinal changes can I make to prevent them?

I have vivid nightmares every. single. night.
They are so terrifying that I almost always wake myself up from flailing in my sleep or kicking something over.
I've been on a medication/psychotherapy regimen for a very long time but it hasn't helped. Recently I've even begun to suffer from regular bouts of sleep paralysis in addition to the nightmares, so needless to say I'm getting pretty desperate.
Truthfully, I feel like an heroing most of the time, and that's very unlike me.
I'm not trying to act emo for attention or pity. I just want them to stop so I can move on with my life as a regular jagoff.
So... how do I stop the nightmares? What behavioral or medicinal changes can I make to prevent them?

I have vivid nightmares every. single. night.
They are so terrifying that I almost always wake myself up from flailing in my sleep or kicking something over.
I've been on a medication/psychotherapy regimen for a very long time but it hasn't helped. Recently I've even begun to suffer from regular bouts of sleep paralysis in addition to the nightmares, so needless to say I'm getting pretty desperate.
Truthfully, I feel like an heroing most of the time, and that's very unlike me.
I'm not trying to act emo for attention or pity. I just want them to stop so I can move on with my life as a regular jagoff.
So... how do I stop the nightmares? What behavioral or medicinal changes can I make to prevent them?

I have vivid nightmares every. single. night.
They are so terrifying that I almost always wake myself up from flailing in my sleep or kicking something over.
I've been on a medication/psychotherapy regimen for a very long time but it hasn't helped. Recently I've even begun to suffer from regular bouts of sleep paralysis in addition to the nightmares, so needless to say I'm getting pretty desperate.
Truthfully, I feel like an heroing most of the time, and that's very unlike me.
I'm not trying to act emo for attention or pity. I just want them to stop so I can move on with my life as a regular jagoff.
So... how do I stop the nightmares? What behavioral or medicinal changes can I make to prevent them?

Sheeeit, I had sleep paralysis 3 times during an extremely stressful time of my life. I thought I was dying the first time.
F**king scary bro.

Try marijuana. I'm not joking, it will help you sleep like a baby.

Wow, that is some commerical worthy adverse reactions... Sorry you had to go through that. I myself have been through so many medications that have caused anywhere from intense hallucinations to seizures. Don't lose faith though. Do you still have the same psychiatrist? You should talk to him/her about it, and directly mention the cause.
I don't have much advice further than that since my major is psychology, not psychiatry. I do hope you find a way out of your suffering. I do have a question, have you been more anxious while your awake? What are your symptoms other than the impaired vision/hearing?

I don't see the same doctor. She actually wasn't a doctor at all but a nurse practitioner... and nurses aren't allowed to prescribe schedule 2 narcotics. She went to a doctor friend of her's to get it for me. In hindsight I can see that she didn't practice very ethical medicine.
Now I see a team of shrinks at UAMS, who are among the best clinicians in the country. I definitely feel like I'm in good hands.
-------------------------
Other than visual problems I have little concept of time. Days seem like hours and such. I hurt all over. I feel like I'm on autopilot and disconnected from reality much of the time. I still have panic attacks occasionally. I have a very poor memory. My imagination is not what it used to be. I sometimes feel lightheaded. Light hurts my eyes and causes me to see constant photo spots. I see floaters and my vision is very hazy, etc, etc.

Speak up and tell your doc you think its the meds, get them changed or temporarially stop them under their supervision. They are humans, they can be wrong. If they refuse, find another doctor. They aren't interested in treating you, just drugging you.

Speak up and tell your doc you think its the meds, get them changed or temporarially stop them under their supervision. They are humans, they can be wrong. If they refuse, find another doctor. They aren't interested in treating you, just drugging you.

This. This so much.

some foods are more likely than others to cause nightmares. It could be a big one like wheat or milk or soy or sugar.
you also might want to get black out curtains to help you sleep in a room which is pitch black.

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