Advice Please: Bad dreams/ Nightmares

[dippy1]

Hi. Posted this question on the depression forum but you guys seem more in my zone when it comes to meds and side effects. Am on quetiapine , reboxetine, citalopram and some benzos. Does anyone have any good advice or ideas that have helped them to deal with bad dreams and nightmares. when I was really ill last year I went for several months without any dreams (p.doc said this is normal)  however now I get runs of nights where am plagued by horrible dreams- always different but common theme of shame/guilt/inadequacy. I have worked out that this is sometimes worse if I've had a glass of wine but not always. Also, obviously worse when I'm less good than when well. But dreams are so vivid they haunt me in my waking hours, sometimes for days. The CPN suggested I might write them down but I wonder whether that will help or make things worse. All suggestions gratefully received- thanks.

[cowgirlnerd]

It's not fun - I think I would rather know - but who knows!  It's weird!  A lot of them are those kind of dreams where you think you are awake and you can't move your body - kind of like being paralyzed.  

I have always had bad bad nightmares, but these recent ones are HORRIBLE.  I have been told the paralyzed ones are caused by "feeling powerless" and not being in a deep REM state.  

There aren't any side effects for my Lamictal, but the night terrors (as my doctor calls them) have started since taking it.  They are less frequent now that I am on a stable dose and I am farther than I was in therapy - so I don't know if it's my subconscious getting better with therapy, or the drugs!  Oh well!

BP is so much fun!!  NOT!

[dippy1]

Yikes  those sound unpleasant.

Not sure whether I'd rather remember them or wake up with all those feelings and not know why... heyho

[cowgirlnerd]

I can relate and wrote a similar question on the forum.  I think it must be a part of our inablity to get to that deep sleep and our mind keeps working.  I actually have nightmares that I don't recall at all - just awaken to being terrified - jolted out of bed and my hear racing.

I wonder if it has something to do with our disorder?

[LetaB]

  Wow! You weren't kidding about the originality of your dreams. I believe they are saying lots of things to you that you can work on. I mean I don't think that dreaning of an egg means you're pregnant (who dreams about eggs anyway?) but individually they add a demension to what is on our minds. I relate to the part about your cousin blaming you for what transpired between her husband and you. We, as women, always get blamed for men wanting us. Look at Muslem culture! But I digress....

[dippy1]

Thanks for your interest and help. I will try a journal but had been worried about that increasing the effcets of the dreams on my coming day.
Delusion, my p.doc seemed to think I was so low that my brain wasn't working well enough to dream, it certainly couldn't d much for a while, sometimes breathing was an effort. I certainly felt as bad as I ever had but that was before I'd been put on all of the meds and begun to improve. As for common themes- I often find myself embarrassed or shamed..not hard to explain but nothing recurrent, one day in a warehouse in America and trying to integrate my family in a new community but keep suddenly realising I have no top on! (have never been to America and not usually seen topless!) Another time thought I'd bumped the car, then found my window being broken by emergency services who tried to drag me through the window, I was furious and resisted, when they finally pulled me out I realised the car was completely smashed front and back, next thing I'm running down the road being chased by an unknown stranger who's throwing loads of scalpels at me and as I run I'm feeling the pain and being stabbed repeatedly, all superficial cuts but bleeding and keep running.. Like LetaB I am struck by the creativity- I'm not normally a creative person, last night I had moved to Queensland, Australia with a cousin I haven't seen for ages, her ex husband and some children, who were sometimes mine and sometimes hers. Then something really embarrassing happened between me and the ex-husband (too ashamed to describe any details!) my cousin saw and became furious and was telling the children what a bad person I was (though I'd been more passive than active in what had happened).

.......well you did ask..........!!!!

thanks again folks for your thoughts.

[Delusion]

I get exactly that on a dailey basis but i have to say when your p.doc said it was 'normal' to go without dreams for such a long time did he say it was bad for you? Starving your brain of REM sleep can have devestating effects on your body i hope he has made this clear to you i know first hand what it feels like. It really depends when you ask do daily events influence your dreams because in some cases yes they do but severe nightmares are a little harder to figure out.

It would be helpful if you could perhaps describe any common themes that happen in your nightmares and perhaps explain if you suffer from any recurring nightmares?

[LetaB]

  I too have weeks where I'm having vastly different dreams that all seem to play on my worst fears and sorrows. I have to say that some of these dreams are intensely creative and are enlightening to me when I wake up in that they show me just how deeply I was dreading (resenting, hurting) over a situation or person. The worst dream to me is when I wake with, perhaps, a single image in my mind but the depth of feeling - usually regret, loss, or embarrassment - is beyond description and I'm crying and unable to pull myself together for the morning. I, unfortunately, am not on ANY meds for bipolarity at the moment so I don't think these dreams are a side effect of your meds but a symptom of your condition that is breaking through.

[Bear13]

I would definitely suggest journaling your dreams... I really don't know what else you could do regarding the nightmares... sometimes you just have them, but they seem to be centered around your feelings of shame, guilt and inadequacy....  I wish I could help you more, but I don't have any other suggestions but journaling.  I also take Seroquel (200mg/night), and no other medication, but do experience recurring dreams of relatively the same nature....  it's depressing but I've yet to figure out how to stop them... perhaps what happens during the day contributes?