Dreams - getting beyond a joke now........very long I'm afraid

[YohoAhoy]

I've always had very vivid dreams. They are sometimes so 'real' I have a few occasions where I'm not sure if something is an actual memory, or something I've dreamt.

Also often troubled with equally vivid nightmares, which have me waking up screaming. (I blame too much Stephen King at an impressionable age!)

Generally though these happen every so often, and other times I either don't dream, or don't recall them at all.

For the past 6 weeks or so, I have had vivid dreams/nightmares almost every night (only 2 or 3 nights 'off' as it were).

The thing is, they are so 'real', I am waking up knackered every morning.

It's seriously as though I am slipping into another world/dimension/parallel universe, and having a series of whole other lives, and consequently getting no sleep.

Sounds quite amusing in a Dr Who-esque kind of way, but it's really beginning to get to me - I am sooooooo tired all the time.

I've tried various techniques for 'lucid dreaming', none of which have worked, and it doesn't seem to matter what time I go to bed/wake up, or how long I'm asleep for.

Anyone had similar, or have any advice?

I had this for years when I had untreated underactivethyroid. I you have any other symptoms you might consider being tested for this. Dreams like that have gone now - I almost miss them!

Good Lord.

I have checked symptoms, and have many of them. In fact I have wondered previously if I might have an underactive thyroid, but have never done anything about it.

Never occurred to me the dreams might be a symptom of something.

Thankyou very much redial - I will make an appointment next week

fascinating - am a (very part-time,admittedly )gp and have never come across this manifestation of an underactive thyroid - do check in again yoho and let us know if that really is what is going on!

I have the same kind of dreams. If you find out it is caused by underactive thyroid or any clues as to the cause I'd be interested to hear.

I joke that I get free entertainment (All in 3D with surround sound etc), but it really is exhausting even if they are essentially good dreams.

I have incredibly vivid drems too, so will watch with interest. I love mine. Sometimes a little horrific, but enjoyably so.

I take daily treatment for my underactive thyroid and I have been suffering from nightmares for years and years. They have been occurring at least 6 nights a week for many months now. They're full on, skyscrapers on fire, a hole in the ship letting in water, I find a lost child but don't know whose child he is and there are baddies around so I have to care for him in hiding (last night's nightmare) etc. I've mentioned it to several docs and one suggested homeopathy. I went several times and spent about £100 on the consultations but it has made no difference. Sometimes I wonder why I bother going to bed when I know what will result from sleeping. It's not nice at all. I truly sympathise with the OP!

simply, just curious - as a gp i dabble in homeopathy too (but goodness knows i fail as often as i succeed with it!)- did you try stramonium at all? it is a classic nightmare remedy. would be interested to know if it failed too. thanks!

Hi katiek123. I don't know what I've taken, I'm afraid. Little white pills are all I remember! It is good to have the name of a classic nightmare remedy. I can ask for it at the health food store as they stock that sort of thing I think. I'll let you know if it is successful. Am I right in thinking, though, that it might interfere with my other (numerous) tablets?

i have loads of these lucid dreams since being on nicotine patches. you sort of know youre dreaming them..

hi simply - don't think stramonium is available over the counter but hopefully i am wrong. if you fancy trying it you could order it online from helios - homeopathic pharmacy - prob 200c strength tried 2-3 times weekly? - forgive me for using you as my experimental guinea-pig and feel free to ignore me. no they definitely won't interfere with your other tablets (since, as my cynical DH would pipe up at this point 'there's nothing in homeopathic tablets anyway')!!

Thanks for the post katiek123. I'm just decluttering and have come across one of the labels from the little white pills "calc 30c". I don't know if that's a specific name or a general one. I'll see if I can get some stramonium. I will post again if I do.

You probably are in a parallel universe - the astral plane - lucky you! They do sound like lucid dreams, of which I've had a few, and I'm also learning how to astral project now. I can't wait to go to bed so I can start meditating and on into AP, it's the most amazing experience and has enriched my life no end.

But, it does make me feel very tired the next day, although I'm also very energised. Maybe taking a nap at lunchtime is the answer! Why don't you try and view the dreams as a positive thing and write them down? You might find you can learn things from them. Loads of stuff online about this.

A neighbor of mine used to have problems sleeping. He learned how to do self-hypnosis and would give the suggestion "you will awake refresh and rested" at bedtime. he said it really helped.

Gosh, just come back to this thread and didn't realise there had been more replies - many thanks all

Well, have had blood test for underactive thyroid and it's a negative, so no further on really!

They have tailed off a bit now - not every night, but more like every other night.

I've always been quite please to have such vivid dreams, (although the nightmares are shockers) but it's the relentlessness of this that's been driving me mad.

They're not lucid dreams unfortunately - I don't know I'm dreaming. They are completely 'real-life' until I suddenly wake up, and realise I'm in bed and not doing whatever I was doing all night! And then I'm knackered!!

There's no consistency either - sometimes they're completely mundane spins on my actual life, sometimes it seems normal then goes a bit skewed, sometimes they're obviously influenced by what I've been watching/reading (I was a very important CSI once ) and sometimes they're just standard horror-fare.

The astral projection thing is interesting, and I wouldn't mind the idea if it was every so often, but every night/every other night is a bit much!

Having a nap in the day is fine in theory but I always feel so grungy afterwards it wrecks the rest of the day.

Oh well, I will try and fiddle with daytime things like more exercise etc.

Thanks again all, and any other thoughts very welcome.

hmm, well the only other thing that gives me nightmares is dehydration. Think about every thing that can make sleep better. A proper wind-down like a 5 min meditation on ipod, window a bit open for fresh air, lavender oil on pillow, complete darkness and the right number of hours.

I do still think that some dreams are there because you need them - like growing pains for the brain. Maybe they are giving you a messgae and won't stop til you work out what it is, can you guess I'm an old hippie?