Sertraline and vivid dreams?

[ACCx]

I started sertraline around three months ago and Im currently taking 50mg daily. Around a month ago I tried upping it to 75mg but didnt notice any difference so went back down to 50mg. It has really helped my anxiety. A few weeks ago I started having vivid dreams. I had a dream every night and remembered it in the morning. Now for the past week I have had some crazy dreams. Theyre a little scary to and just completley wild. Im wondering if this could be due to the sertraline? I didnt have these dreams when I started taking the medication, Im a few months in so Im wondering if this has happened to anyone else. If so, are there any tips? Its starting to get a little weird.

Hi, just come across your post and not sure if I can be of any help but it has just got me thinking about myself.

I have been on sertraline for roughly a year now. Started off with 50mg daily and it wasn’t really helping so it was increased to 100mg roughly 3/4 months ago.

I’ve never been one to have awful vivid dreams that I remember a lot later however in the last couple of months it’s happened a number of times. Horrible dreams that have made me jump up from sleep shaking and freaking out, asking myself what it meant and why I was seeing these things.

So I can relate to your experiences however I am not sure if it is related to the medication and that never crossed my mind until I read your post.

Very vivid complex lucid dreams here. Highly entertaining if a bit disturbing. 100mg sertraline daily

@Ru28 sorry to hear you experience the same. I have researched it and there’s definitely a link between them and sertraline. It’s just odd that might have only just started.
@Invasionofthegutsnatchers Can I ask did yours start straight away? Ive been on sertraline since end of sept and they only started around 2-3 weeks ago. Think I’m going to call the dr today as I woke up from another disturbing one this morning x

I'm on 200mg of sertraline. Lucid dreams started a couple of weeks after I started taking the original dose (maybe 50mg?). It settles down after a while but anytime I adjust the dosage I get the lucid dreams very intensely. My dreams are very vivid anyway though. Definitely speak to your doctor if it's disturbing your sleep.

@ElevenOG that’s interesting. I’m going to speak to the doctor this morning I think. I’m not sure what she would be able to do though. To be honest it’s not disturbing my sleep as I’m still sleeping all the way through, but I feel weird in the mornings after remembering the dream. x

Interesting. I've always had vivid, disturbing dreams that I remember in detail. Since I was a child. I feel these have happened less since I started on Sertraline! Although its possibly connected to having very disturbed sleep at the moment (new baby). I did have one overnight last night though.

If there's nothing they can do about them, I know it's a bit shit but you will get used to them. I've always had night terrors and vivid dreams. Some good, mostly bad or weird. You learn to just put the most disturbing parts out of your mind. Try not to ruminate on them. Distract yourself as quickly as you can and you'll forget them.

DH doesn't dream or doesn't remember them at all, and I've always been jealous of that.

@ACCx please let us know what your gp has to say regarding, if it could possibly be a side effect of sertraline.

It will greatly help to understand why it happens. If I did have any startling dreams before I don’t remember much as it probably didn’t effect me this severely.
Please share any links that you’ve read if you remember them, thank you.

@SomethingBeginningWithX thank you! It makes me realise I’m not alone so that’s good to know. @Ru28 I have just spoke to the GP and she said it can be a side effect and it can start randomly. She suggested perhaps splitting my tablet and taking half in morning and half at night, or try the full at night instead. She said basically it’s just about weighing up what’s best for me. If the medication helps my anxiety (which it does) then that outweighs the nightmares for me. If it gets to much I can try to come off them and try something else. X

That sounds like good advice. I've been feeling a bit nauseous on and off since starting but for me the mental health benefits outweigh the occasional wave of nausea. I think that's a good approach to take and hopefully they either become less frequent or you get a bit more used to them so they don't bother you. It can be hard when you have flashbacks during the day of doing/seeing something terrible.

Whatever you do try not to let them affect your mental health, they don't mean anything. Deal with them like they are intrusive thoughts - they are not truth or reality. The fact that they concern you makes you a good person. Acknowledge them and let them go, don't ruminate.

Thank you for letting us know, the advice is very helpful and I did have a similar conversation with my gp. Initially I took my medication in the morning and for the last few months I’ve been taking it in the evening which has helped in some ways.

Does anyone just feel really tired some days, constantly wanting to sleep and eyes quivering?
Not wanting or having the energy to do anything in a way that’s not normal or you’ve experienced before.

Love the advice from @SomethingBeginningWithX and I definitely agree with what you’ve said
Dreams are not reality.

@SomethingBeginningWithX wow that’s great advice and really made me feel so much better. I think I’ll screenshot your message a re read it when I next feel rubbish after having one :) Thank you. X @Ru28 Yes I do have days where I’m just so tired. On a few occasions I’ve actually had a nap during the day (weekends) which I never ever do. X

Glad I could help @ACCx

I'm incredibly lucky - I was referred to perinatal mental health during my pregnancy and have been seeing a psychologist since the summer. She's taught me so many techniques for dealing with negative and intrusive thoughts, and anxiety. Together with the sertraline I feel like a different person.

A few more top tips that keep me sane:

If you have intrusive thoughts/memories sing them to the tune of happy birthday. I have lots of thoughts of harming the baby but sing them out to take away their power.

Ask yourself - have you ever dreamed or thought of winning the lottery? Has it ever actually happened...? Dreams and thoughts are not reality. They have not happened. Thinking them does not make them happen.

Remind yourself of these techniques if you find scary dreams or images playing on your mind. Hope that helps x

@SomethingBeginningWithX they’re Some really good tips! Thanks soooo much. I’ll definitely remember this :) x

Yes absolutely to the vivid dreams (just coming up to 8 weeks on Sertraline) - and usually about ex-partners and am terrified I've been sleep talking - they are often so vivid it feels like I'm cheating on my partner :-/
But they have helped my anxiety so much.

I think all (certainly most anyway) antidepressants cause vivid dreams. I was on Citalopram for many years, and have been on Mirtazapine for 3 years. Both cause strange dreams, but they don't bother me.

So good to know I’m not alone! X

It’s definitely a thing (my husband who never dreams and is now on sertraline periodically gets horrible dreams, which were much more frequent at the beginning when his body when getting used to the medication). Are you taking the tablets in the morning not the evening?

I usually take them in the morning. Yesterday the dr suggested snapping them I half and half half in the morning and half at night. I have done that yesterday and today and I’m not sure if it’s linked but I’ve been a grumpy, emotional wreck today!

Hey!

I’ve been on Zoloft (Sertraline) for quite a while now too, and I usually get mine from this pharmacy – mastersupplier.net/buy-zoloft-uk.html. Always had a great experience with them and I trust the quality 100%. The med itself really helps me—like, genuinely took the edge off my anxiety.

As for the vivid dreams—yeah, I’ve noticed that too sometimes. But to be honest, I used to have wild dreams even before starting Sertraline, so I don’t think it's totally the medication in my case. Though I know for some people, it can definitely ramp that up. Everyone’s brain chemistry is its own little chaos, right? 😅 But hey, if it’s helping your anxiety, that benefit probably outweighs the occasional weird dream. I kinda take it as a free movie screening every night at this point, lol.