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Sleep problem: Vivid dreams & waking up exhausted

Posted , 98 users are following.

zeroX14
zeroX14

Dear all, 

Im experiencing the following situation which perhaps some of you can advise me better. 

History 

Back in 2005, I experienced a sleep disorder condition that lasted everyday for almost a year. I would sleep with ease, but would remember my dreams very clearly and wake up feeling not rested and tired through the day. Prescribed medication did not help. I tried all means i.e. exercising, meditation, melatonin etc, all did not work. But after a year of torment, the condition just randomly left me after a year when I started full time work & undergrad studies. 

Over the years 

I do still get this problem especially when Im overseas for short / long trips. It seems quite random as sometimes it happens, sometimes it don't. 

Present 

The same issue revisited me and its Day 6 already. Same thing, I would go to sleep but having very vivid dreams (not nightmares) and wake up feeling tired / unrested. Sometimes halfway through the dream, the ringing of telephone etc (in reality) would suddenly wake me up and it feels as if someone had just pulled you out of the dream. Can anyone advise? Im out of ideas 

 

7 likes, 172 replies

172 Replies

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  • Rintz333
    Rintz333 zeroX14

    Posted

    I am having the same issue. Its killing me now. I am getting no sleep. Only dreams. I am scared now. My eyes burn. I am really 😨 scared. How r u now.
    • franlove
      franlove Rintz333

      Posted

      Rints , When having sleep episodes like this,  is not allowing you to actually have a restful nights sleep, or a normal sleeping/ waking cycle. It causes both mental & physical exhaustion. Please see your Doctor for medicine to help you. I could not take the Xanax, I never could feel awake after taking it. My doctor  prescribed a fast acting  antidepressant that worked for me. I can sleep better, but if I forget my medicine, the vivid dreams that are unsettling are back full force Best of luck to you, it will get better with help!

      .

    • Rintz333
      Rintz333 franlove

      Posted

      Yes dear, i went to a doctor. He diagnosed me as Major depressive disorder. He gave me Venlafaxine 37.5 mg with a benzo (clonopin). In depression u get more REM (dream) sleep and so the exhaustion after waking up and no sound sleep. But these anti depressant will abolish REM sleep and keep only NREM (sound) sleep 😴. So they do work. But if one is long time on ant dep meds, and then quits REM REBOUND might happen again with full force.
    • franlove
      franlove Rintz333

      Posted

      I did not mention the name of the med I was given, trying to stay inside guidelines here, but since you mentioned it, I am on the same med Generic Effexor. After 1 month on the dose of 37.5,  my Doc doubled my dose. It has helped me tremendously. I've had sleep disorders my entire life & this keeps the bad dreams at bay & allows for more restful sleep.

      Hoping the  vivid dreams will settle down soon for you. 

    • carina49480
      carina49480 franlove

      Posted

      Hi franlove,

      I've been having vivid dreams almost every night for my entire life. Although I've grown used to it but it prevents me from being productive in daily life. I'm sleeping 12-13 hrs a day but still feel restless. Does the med continues to work? Could you please share some updates?

    • sparrow-
      sparrow- carina49480

      Posted

      hi carina, any updates from you, how are you doing?

      im experiencing the same sleep problem (too much dreaming) like others in this forum thread, so am currently going to try to figure out some kind of solution (and report here if i am successful.  im seeing my doctor in a few days)

  • diane16781
    diane16781 zeroX14

    Posted

    I had a bump to my head, it needed stiyches but i was scated to go anyway went to the hospital, to cut a long story short i have been having loads of vivid dreams since and wake up feeling shattered, i suffer with depression and anxiety and have for years and i regularly take anti depressants for it, also recently started out in a new relationship and a lot of my dreams are making me insecure where he is concerned but in reality i dont feel that way at all, a lot of the dreams are also about things that have happened or i have planned to do in the future, they are all so real never scaryxxx
    • sparrow-
      sparrow- diane16781

      Posted

      how are you diane?  i know your post is 9 months old but perhaps u could report on how you are doing and if things have got better or any progress etc?

      best regards from sparrow

  • kate758
    kate758 zeroX14

    Posted

    I have always had crazy and vivid dreams. I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't. But, I've been on a mood stabilizer and anti depressant since January and the dreams are non stop! I feel like my brain is on overload. I don't think it takes a break anymore. I need to be on my meds, but hoping the dreams slow down a little soon! Has anyone ever done a sleep study?
    • netta119
      netta119 kate758

      Posted

      Hi Kate, Ive had 4-5 sleep studies. I have OSA ans severe RLS. Not fun at all! My last study showed that I fall asleep in less than 30 seconds and fall right into deep REM. My dreams are crazy, extremely vivd and at times paralyzing. Im working with 2 doctors to find solutions. What meds are you taking?
    • sparrow-
      sparrow- netta119

      Posted

      hi netta, if you have had any success or news/progress with your sleep problems, i would be really interested to hear (i also get bad RLS, but i have been taking co-codamol (in my country (UK) also called 'zapain'wink, the strength: 30mg/500mg,  2 of those tablets at night, and it has stopped the RLS

      unfortunately, i do still have the vivid/too much dreaming.

  • li98051
    li98051 zeroX14

    Posted

    hey there..

    I can relate to your issue..and can only really relay what ive learned about my own experience with this-

    One thing Ive noticed is the physical-sleep connection. I need daily cardio, with a rotation of 3 physical activities(monday-yoga,tuesday- bike,wednesday- weights) to have deep rests, that seem to be less intense. I think if you are used to a certain physical-psychological-mental level of stress in your daily life ( the hormones being excreted) , your body adjusts it sleep accordingly..if your not getting the regular dose of "stress" its going to create it later while sleeping! ( i notice this sort of pattern for me)

    I can see how meds for depression work because its also working with the chemistry in the body to fix some sort of imbalance, or lack.(.but im am clueless about technical side of it all really)

    Of course, physical conditions can also create certain intense dream periods ( for me) as well- like getting over an illness, or a bad response to medication..being female the intensity can relate to my cycle, hormonal changes( intense dreams night before first day)

    I need closer to 9 hours of sleep, with 10am being my LOW POINT of the day..Its been like this since day 1 for me, and high school was pretty difficult since i was basically falling asleep no matter where or what. As a young adult I tried different remedies for it (going to bed way early like8pm, having a coffee at 945am, or skittles, meditation,water-baths cold showers, intense physical workouts, grounding techniques such as nature walks or farming, too many to list), and in the end, I just gave up and submitted to being asleep at 10am ( which most people think is some luxury sleeping instead of hard to finding those perfect job hours). One way i was able to skirt around the 10am down point was to wake at 930...that was my strongest med free solution.

    The reason I mention this aspect to my situation is because its also possible that your dreams are intense at certain times of the day more than others- maybe not, but its a thought..2 naps might be better for you than one long stretch.

    A jane roberts book called "seth speaks" helped me learn to have a bit more control over my dream states that he calls a1 and a2 states of sleep..basically you can program your "adventure" in a1 and that has also made my dream less "intense" in the sense that im not on some joyride where i wake up exhausted, i might have incredible recognition of the whole dream "novel" but its not winding- i dont feel like i just survived a war.

    also, foods you eat near or around bedtime can have a major impact.

    I am a light sleeper who is super sensitive to light and sound, so for me its a mindfold and 30+ earplugs..so falling asleep isnt always the easiest for me. I have found, for me, that take 1 skullcap herb capsule helps me gently fall asleep without intense sleep with  no side effects. For me, its safe to take every night ( no physical offsets), but I try not to use it daily because it has stronger effects for me when used sparingly ( like asparin or tylenol- how I respond).

    At this point in time, I think a lot of the intense dreams with morning exhaustion is hormonal related(physical exertion)- but could be considered as a depression issue ( which i have found is also related to a d3 issue-pills and also sunshine!)

    One the thc, thc is tricky because not all strains are the same- not the same families, and because its psychotopical can have a malliable quality to it through habitual practices. in other words, not everyone gets sleepy smoking a joint- some people get wired- sometimes the behaviors change surrounding its use and so the physical response also changes ( what once made you sleepy now makes you wired).

    I would say a shot ( vodka, whatever) has more effectiveness than thc (but everyone is wired differently).

    good luck with it!

    If I had a few hours every morning to write the stories out- ide be a well known writer! I dont know- maybe intense dreamers just missed their calling ???:-D

    take care!

     

    • sparrow-
      sparrow- li98051

      Posted

      hi li98051, i liked reading your post, i hope u are getting on ok, any news or anything?

      im currently looking into ways to (if possible!) reduce vivid/over-dreaming/waking up tired etc

      i have tended to be napping in the day, i cant seem to decide if that's a good thing or not, but the 'a1'  'a2' you mentioned was interesting smile

      hope u are doing ok then,  best regards from sparrow

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