Posted by raisinb on October 13, 2008, at 21:22:59
In reply to Re: Does anyone have cronic nightmares?, posted by Murasaki on October 13, 2008, at 21:13:36
This sounds really awful--I feel for you. I'm experiencing something similar on Remeron. I don't have nightmares all the time, but any dream on this med is extremely vivid, so when I do, it's terrible. I also have mild hallucinations upon waking--visual and auditory. It feels like a more intense version of hypnagogic (sp?) hallucinations, which are (I think) normal--it's the voices that people often hear while falling asleep. I've always had those. I hear bits and pieces of strange voices having random conversations right before I drop off. I usually welcome them as a good sign, because they herald sleep, and when I have insomnia, I try to induce them a bit. I thought I was crazy until I researched them on wiki and found out that a lot of people have them.
Anyway, my completely uneducated guess is that certain brain chemicals, when augmented, augment this natural phenomenon until it's overwhelming, and that's what causes horribly vivid dreams. So, either your nightmares are a symptom to be relieved, or they're a side effect caused by a med you're on. It sounds like the former since you've had them for so many years, so I'd ask your pdoc about meds that dampen brain activity during sleep (if that's something they know about?)
It's too bad that in general, science knows so little about sleeping and dreaming.
poster:raisinb
thread:857011
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081006/msgs/857320.html