Dreams and nightmares: How many are... - Atrial Fibrillati...

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Dreams and nightmares

annemedd profile image
30 Replies

How many are there like me who have up to 3 different one each night, not so funny as can be very scary, At the moment I am doing Ships cats, the R N has a "Minnie" squadron whose sailors all have hairy trousers, and race horses who will only race properly for a well known lady jockey. are these the products of all my AF drugs?

There are many different stories, I could rival Michael Morpugo if I could write them down.

Or am I going off my head??

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annemedd profile image
annemedd
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30 Replies

I have always had weird and wonderful dreams - as a child l would try to contiue with the previous nights dream but of course could never manage it..As l got older the dreams developed into nightmares....Strangely after my Ablation in 2015 the dreams and nightmares stopped for a while...

I don't know where l found the information but I read somewhere the vagus nerve plays a part in this...

The dreams have started again two nights ago l was driving a tractor pulling a trailor of hay...

Don't worry you are not going off your head - just look forward to the next episode...

Carol

BobD profile image
BobDVolunteer in reply to

Got to love a girl with a tractor!

in reply toBobD

You are as daft as me Bob x

Benny Hill and his combine harvester comes to mind...😀

meadfoot profile image
meadfoot

You aren't going off your head. This is a way of lif for me. Not sure I can blame it on af meds as I have been like this from being a small child.

It's really wearing and although the dreams are interesting it can't be conducive for good restful stress free sleep. Could certainly write a book with very interesting plot lines in fact my mother used to suggest I did just that, build on the dreams and produce a few best sellers.

I’m with you with the dreams, but hopefully also not ‘off my head’.

I’m on Flecainide which I tend to blame, though I started Apixaban a couple of days later, so it could be that. Sometimes I wake with a headache when the dreams have been especially intense. I still consider it a small price to pay for keeping my heart in rhythm and protecting me from stroke.

Last night I was chasing my 3 year old Grandson in the area where I grew up & he turned into a kitten! I also sacked my singing teacher for calling me ugly (which is not far from the mark) & though she’s a trifle bonkers, she would never do. Quite fun, but I do get scary ones too, the ones where you’re stuck in an old building in the dark and wonder what’s lurking behind the doors aaagh!!!

Sweet dreams

Pat x

Jane722 profile image
Jane722 in reply to

I, too, take Flecainide and tend to blame it. However, a sleep study has determined that I have moderate to severe sleep apnea. I had no idea since I don’t fit the profile. Plus, I have restless leg. Awaiting appointment for CPAP and anxious to see if that helps. By the way, I am 75 years old and just diagnosed a year and a half ago.

I always tend to remember mine, and usually write a FB status about them so I can go back later or use the memory feature to see what I dreamed about and when. I find it interesting what the subconscious weaves together.

can I have some of what you're on?

Juliewoo profile image
Juliewoo

Oh my gosh! I could of written this statement! I went to see my GP last Friday due to having some terrible nightmares recently (she seemed to think it could be because I doubled my Flecainide at the end of December). She asked me to cut the dose so I phoned my cardiologist once I got home and she agreed that the flecainide could be causing rhe nightmares. My cardiologist also said that getting my heart under control is more important and that I may just have to put up with the nightmares :/

nikonBlue profile image
nikonBlue in reply toJuliewoo

Interesting this thread is....I too am on Flecainide and having to take that 'extra' pill quite a lot lately and guess what.....the dreams are so weird sometimes not so wonderful and mostly scary and always involve my family!! The other night however I was in a sparkly wonderland with my pet dragon who happened to be pink......I know, I've lost to plot!!!!

sweet dreams everyone

:-) Blue x

Mimiaberdaron profile image
Mimiaberdaron

Are you taking beta blockers? I’m on metaprolol and have the weirdest and most vivid dreams.

007talullah profile image
007talullah

Just thinking about the science of sleep ... You are more likely to remember your dreams if they occur shortly before waking, and dreams usually occur when you are in the stage of deep sleep. So I would guess you are waking fairly quickly from very deep sleep. This can, of course, be the result of meds. Typically, we move from deep to lighter sleep before finally waking, in which case we don’t remember our dreams (which we all have - but typically don’t remember). Waking from lighter sleep could help you avoid recall/awareness of dreams/nightmares. I would suggest setting a gentle/quietish alarm for an hour or so earlier than your wake up alarm to disrupt that deep sleep. Try to doze lightly for that last hour and you may be able to avoid the memory of your unconscious imaginings. Ps if you want to know roughly how deeply you are sleeping and for how long check out the sleepcycle app.

Madscientist16 profile image
Madscientist16

I have always been a strange dreamer, however beta blockers and calcium channel blockers list unusual dreams as a side effect. May be worth a mention to your GP or EP.

Janith profile image
Janith

If you are bonkers so am l! Three different dreams each and every night. I just relax into the dream knowing that l am asleep and it is just an adventure. Some of my dreams are very romantic!! 😚

woody8 profile image
woody8

I have had terrible dreams since starting meds for Afib, my GP thinks it’s the meds. I also have episodes of being anxious and not wanting to fall to sleep. I am new to AF so still getting used to things.

I have always had dreams like Caromia, I have now gone back to work full time so I am hoping they will settle down. This forum really helps as you realise you are not alone

Linda

Fastbeat profile image
Fastbeat

My latest i( in Australia at my daughters) sitting in an office facing a woman who was telling me you won't see this year out.Anyway rubbish I'm here for a long time yet,so all get used to it. Ha! Ha!

Denise- profile image
Denise-

Last night a crocodile was helping a man catch huge fish in the sea! Always dreamed but since having AF it's almost every night. Last night's was mild compared to some I have 😂

mavisrich profile image
mavisrich

yes I too have lots of weird dreams and wake up quite a few times in the night!! Not nice but have to put up with it. I think it is the beta blockers... bisoprolol. Thank goodness for this site because we find most of our frights are normal for a fibbers xx

Thomap profile image
Thomap in reply tomavisrich

Yes I get weird dream most nights and I'm on Bisoprolol.

Harfly profile image
Harfly

My worse dream whilst on amiodarone was dropping a new born baby into an open fire 🔥....... still haunts me!!

healme profile image
healme

Your obviously not crazy as it seems we all have weird and wonderful but sometimes scary dreams. The only problem I have with them is I wake up exhausted from running away from ET and other odd creatures. I didn't have such vivid dreams before they put me on beta blockers though. How I long for the days when the only pills I took were vitamins. Sweet dreams everyone x

jeanjeannie50 profile image
jeanjeannie50

I often dream that I'm going on holiday, but haven't packed my suitcase in time and we need to go, or miss the plane. I'm just wildly grabbing totally unsuitable clothes.

Another is that I suddenly remember that I have a baby, but haven't fed it for days. That one is really upsetting!

Or it's late Christmas eve and I suddenly remember I haven't bought my young children any presents.

The toilet dream - It's either in a strange place like the corner of someone's kitchen, or in a disgusting state and overflowing.

Think I need help!!!

Jean

sewingscissors profile image
sewingscissors in reply tojeanjeannie50

Hi Jeanjeannie,

I too have anxiety dreams and often the toilet ones you described! Or I can’t find my way home and there are loads of people waiting to be fed and of course no food in the house! I am always leaving my bag somewhere, but luckily only occasionally in real life! I have several each night and usually amuse my husband with the one I wake up with - if it’s suitable or even if it’s not!

Keep smiling. You are quite normal!

Luludean profile image
Luludean in reply tojeanjeannie50

O my good grief!!

People having the same dreams as me!

I never knew anyone else who dreamt of not feeding babies or pets. I find the rabbits and others( not cats or dogs) invarious stages of rotting..... I may/ we may be deeply disturbed!

I get very embarrassed telling any one about my dreams because I think it will reveal some awful psychotic disfunction !

Now I feel positively boring. It is tiring though!

reinaway profile image
reinaway

I had awful dreams and nightmares when I was on Sotalol and also on Bisoprolol but now I have changed to Nebrivolol (all beta blockers) I have had very few.

fifitb profile image
fifitb

I have extraordinarily bad dreams, really scary and several in a night! I suffer from chronic insomnia. I have read all the latest sleep books on the topic and we have dreams NOT in the deep sleep but in the lighter REM sleep as stated in Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. I think I rarely get to the deep NREM sleep as I keep having dreams, in the mini-times I do sleep! Often I only have 2 hours - 4 hours is amazing to have and very rare! Why do beta blockers cause bad dreams and why aren't we warned? I wish I could come off bisoprolol, I rather dread going to bed as it is can be a scary experience, and not just because of dreams but Atrial Fibrillation can decide to visit me, as it did in the early hours at the weekend - !!!

C66t profile image
C66t

I so understand annemedd, pharmacist told me to take the bisoprolol early eve due to vivid dreams. That was grand until I started Sotalol which I feel is causing my 3d dreams some are scary and I end up awake for an hr or more. Its crackers.😠

annemedd profile image
annemedd in reply toC66t

Its so disheartening that so many of us are stuck with this awful nightime horrid stuff. I would love just one night without it, I wake up about every 2 hours and think what time is it and then Oh no its only 1oclock etc , This has been for at least 3 years now despite drug changes since having 2 mini strokes in Nov and dropping Bisoprolol. Not much to look forward to is it. could someone send round to me with a rubber hammer to knock me unconcious for a night!! I am nearly 82 now but still do financials for a charity etc and am looked to to keep on going like clockwork. One Day I will blow up.

Maddocks profile image
Maddocks

dreams Can be scary when they feel real. I am not aware of my dreams, but we all have them. I read a really good book called ‘why we Sleep’ and it explains a lot of the things that go on in our brains when we sleep. A very interesting rad. Xxxx

Luludean profile image
Luludean

Like you I dream every night!!

At least three . I wake up with pounding heart beats.

I should get up and write them down but I don’t.

Often same sort of dream, Eg, I have forgotten to feed pets for months . Or, I have a child who I either forget to feed or does not ever start to grow beyond 18 months.

Sometimes can’t find my car .....

Sometimes I dream in a series, ie next night it follows on.

It is exhausting , none of my friends dream like this.

I think it started when I had Mitral valve repair in 2000. A F came 8 years later.

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