Excessive dreaming - could this be a sign of a health problem?

[Rolypops]

I've never been someone who has a lot of dreams and rarely remember them, however for the last five days every single night I have had the weirdest most vivid dreams, I always remember them too. They seem to occur right before I wake up as opposed to in the middle of the night iyswim. I'm finding it a little scary and disruptive now as I remember them all too. I feel silly going to a GP about this but could it be a sign of a larger health issue? I am overweight so the possibility of sleep apnea is there I suppose and I am hugely stressed at the moment too.
Don't want to waste the Dr's time so want to resolve it on my own but I am so tired!

Sorry to hear it, sounds unsettling. Have you changed your diet or started any supplements recently?

I asked because when I started taking a high strength probiotic supplement, I had vivid, frequent and sometimes disturbing dreams for about a week before it settled.

Hope you get some answers soon (or at the very least, some more relaxed sleep)

Hugely stressed

That's your probable answer

Dreams are one way our heads try to process things

Yes, stress. Do you feel like you're coping with the stress ok, or are you overwhelmed? I think it's a bit like when you change gears in the car to get up a big hill. The engine makes more noise and sounds more troubled, but it's within its realms of power to get to the top, and calm down to cruising again. The dreams are probably just your 'second gear on a hill' noise.

I suppose the issue is I've been hugely stressed since October where I experienced a massive life event and its only this last week that this has been happening.

No new supplements or diet changes to explain it either. Nothing has really changed to explain this!

Maybe it's a good thing, and something in you is now ready to process what's happened, where before, you've been blocking it? We've got very clever subconscious selves, and they have ways of dealing with stuff at a rate they can cope with.

I have sleep apnea and still wake from very vivid dreams on my cpap machine. Record your snoring levels that's how I got very suspicious of sleep apnea

Stress or I had ridiculous dreams when I was going through peri/ Menopause really vivid .are you that age ?

I am hugely stressed at the moment too You have answered your own question.

When I've had this it's been because of taking vitamins before bed/starting sertraline/being pregnant. Could it be peri menopause?

RE the menopause I am probably too young (36) but I am sort of curious as quite a while ago I was also getting terrible night sweats for a while plus weird sleep hallucinations where I could hear the kids calling me/the doorbell etc right before I fell asleep. These ultimately resolved but my nurse MIL did say that sounded like possible menopause symptoms as symptoms can cycle, resolve then come back again later. I can't remember the last time I had a period, though I am on the contraceptive implant so I have always put it down to that. I've also been really irritable/weepy and just generally a bit of a bloody mess!

You could be peri which at 36 is a bummer you might have years of it. One of my sisters did get treatment for it at 38 so don't rule it out or suffer.

Bloody hormones eh!

As there is no specific test for perimenopause (though I could be wrong there!) when do I go to see a GP about this? I suffer with horrendous health anxiety and I don't always know when it is appropriate to seek medical help and hate the idea of wasting a GP's time, particularly as they are all so massively overstretched right now and mine is... a bit mean (in a straight-talking sort of way). I think all things considered stress/hormones are probably the most likely culprit but can't see that changing in the immediate future.

I have seen lots of scary stuff about it indicating heart disease etc amongst other things. I just want it to bloody stop! They aren't nightmares exactly but often intense and unpleasant.

Go to your GP now. I was stressed and it turns out my blood pressure was off the chart. Now I know, I can do things about it and in the last month I've managed to get it down to an ok level. Worrying about what might or might not be wrong is worse than knowing.

Yeah you could go to the GP any time. If it is stress maybe propanolol or something would help.

You can get a blood test to test your hormone levels, I has mine done when I was 40 worth getting checked out.

Ok I will give it to the end of the week and if there is no improvement I will make an appointment with the GP for a blood test etc. I have felt pretty rubbish for a while so can't hurt just to check.

Not at all, and you are not wasting a GPs time .

Have you done a pregnancy test? I dreamed a LOT when pregnant.

Just a bit of an update. The dreaming issue has not resolved and in fact feels worse than it did at the time of making this post. Even if I fall asleep for fifteen minutes I will start dreaming. I know it is probably something simple causing it but I am getting increasingly worried it is something to do with my brain. I did have a CT scan a few months ago due to a thunderclap type headache and nothing abnormal was found, but it was an emergency scan so I don't think the images were gone over for a long time.
I am SO TIRED all of the time due to it and know that it is probably time to see the GP. I just feel so silly saying that I need an appointment for dreaming too much.

Stress. I had the most horrific, graphic dreams all through lockdown. Ended almost as soon as my CEV husband received his vaccine.

Hmm, it's interesting you mention lockdown as the last time I remember vividly dreaming like this (I'm not someone who usually remembers their dreams) was the first part of lockdown when I was convinced I was going to die of covid. I'm considering anti-depressants for stress so it'll be interesting to see if that helps some, if not I suppose I will need to get a sleep study done because I really can't go on like this.