Anyone Else Having Nightmares

[ByteMe58]

Before getting POTS, I didn't even remember my dreams.

Now I have nightmares. I mean real bad. And I remember them vividly when I wake up.

Most involve me not being able to walk or having some kind of handicap like being blind.

I won't bore you with any of mine (yet).

Anyone have any they'd like to share?

Frank

[Detrick7]

I see on your "scripts" it says Paxil, are you still on that med? When I was on Citalopram (Celexa) which is an SSRI I had much more vivid dreams and remembered them more than I ever had before.

[MomtoGiuliana]

Hmm, I do recall having vivid dreams about physical struggles when I was very sick with POTS. I remember feeling very wired and exhausted at the same time and I think it impacted my sleep (also I had a newborn and was not getting any deep sleep for quite a few weeks).

[ByteMe58]

Detrick7,

Yes I still take Paxil, 20 mg daily. You think that could cause the vivid dreams and intense nightmares?

Frank

[Detrick7]

Detrick7,

Yes I still take Paxil, 20 mg daily. You think that could cause the vivid dreams and intense nightmares?

Frank

Yes, shortly after starting Citalopram I noticed the extremely vivid dreams, describing them in detail to my wife in away I had never been able to do before. My dreams had always been very hazy, but after starting citalopram the best I could describe it, it was like I was living in a movie. The dreams seemed so real, which was fine, except unpleasant dreams were much more scary. I looked it up and vivid dreams were a "side effect" of SSRIs. I only took it for a little over a month because of sexual side effects (I am 31 and we would like to have another child). Once I quite taking Citalopram the vivid dreams stopped.

[firewatcher]

Hi Frank,

Welcome to the club! Your beta blocker also neutralizes all the natural melatonin in your system, so you won't sleep as deeply or get to sleep as quickly. I have the hyper-tensive POTS, so melatonin helps me tremendously (but it lowers BP, so it may not be good for you if you are a fainter.) I also have my waking life intruding on my dreams, I kept dreaming of doctors' appointments and all my stress played out in my dreams.

I also have a sleep disorder, many of us do. Have you seen a sleep specialist? Did you have any sleep issues (apnea, snoring, restless legs, etc.) before your dx of POTS?

[kayjay]

firewatcher- do you take a supplement for melatonin?

[firewatcher]

firewatcher- do you take a supplement for melatonin?

Yes, I take 1.5mg every night. I can only take my BB in the morning due to nocturnal bradycardia, so it doesn't effect the supplement. I now sleep better than I ever have! But the dreams are crazy!

[Maxine]

Strange that I should find this POST----this morning I went back to sleep to catch another hour or so, and I had a really vivid dream. It was kind of a nightmare in that I went to a government funded therapist to dicuss how overwhelmed I am over multiple health issues, and how I'm not taken seriously by local doctors, and how I have to go out of town to see other doctors who specialize is EDS, spine instability---ect. He was so apathetic, and I turned around to find that he drifted into another room.

The next thing I know I'm with another therapist who is worse, and carrying on a conversation with her friends. I left and drifted down the road walking in no particular direction. I also have the same recurring dreams of being in some kind of college campus-----I'm either lost, or have anxiety of not being able to handle the courses. The weird thing is these dreams have been on going for years, although I do have other strange dreams.

I do see a therapist on occasion, but he's been great. I have another one that I saw earlier when I was first diagnosed, and she's the one who validated my physical problems, and encouraged me to move forward finding the right doctors to help me. I recent went back to her, as insurance covers her better, and this time she seemed a bit disconnected----then I had this dream.

I know beta blockers can make people dream, and so can klonopin, and I take both. I take wellbutrin to help constrict my blood vessels, and I haven't noticed it affecting my sleep. I find it strange I sometimes have the same recurring dream about being on some kind of college campus.

I guess I'd rather deal with the dreams then the symptoms. I don't have them every night.

Maxine :0)

[sue1234]

I dream horrendous dreams almost every night! And I remember them vividly.

One of the most recurring themes is I am somewhere and find I have to walk a great distance to get back home. Or, I have to drive to get back home(I don't drive anymore).

Almost all my dreams are nightmares, running the gamut of everything you might see on tv in any given day. It's awful, and the first few months, I let them bother me. Now, it's just another dream, I think about it, then go on with my usual day.

I take xanax at bedtime, but I've taken it for years. I just started the bad dreams within the last two years, so don't really know what might be causing it. I know my female hormones are screwed up.

[ByteMe58]

While in the hospital, I had this dream or a similar one a lot.

I had this nightmare that I couldn't walk, I was crawling on my front lawn trying to get to my door. As I crawling the door kept getting further away. If I stood up to walk to the door, I would pass out and fall down. Once down on the ground I would crawl and the door would keep getting further away again.

Very vivid where I could tell what cars were in the driveway, and which neighbors saw me crawling. Woke up sweating and shaking, thinking, I have to be able to walk to get home.

Frank