Coming up to week 4 since my HA (NSTEMI, no stents). Usual cocktail of drugs - Lansaprozole, Bisoprolol, Clopodigrel, Aspirin and Atorvastatin plus existing BP meds Telmisartan and Felodipine. I'm also part of a trial which might be Dapaglifozin or a placebo. I also started rehab last week.Like many others I have good and bad days whilst I get used to the meds and come to terms with what's happened. Early days still.
I do find nights hard at times though. Some days I'm almost afraid to go to bed. It can take a while to fall asleep and I lie there worrying. Sometimes I leave the bedside light on and have put the radio on in the middle of the night to help calm me down. I've started, as others have suggested, keeping a diary. Writing things down helps massively. I've also enrolled on iTalk which was suggested to help with the anxiety side of things.
And, as for the dreams. Some seriously weird sh..e stuff going on there :-).
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Hrty
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Hello
I feel for you , I had 3 heart attacks and a triple Bypass and that was 16 months ago
I am like you I dread evenings even now and go to bed very late as if I went to early I know I would not sleep
I to leave a little light on and have an app on my phone I play which actually works for me to help me drop of
The weird dreams could very well be due to the medication you are taking
I used to get a lot of them but they have actually settled down and rare now I get them so it maybe that you just have to get used to adjusting to the meds
It is very early days for you though and you are doing all the right things
I suffer with anxiety anyway but as this has started since your heart attack with all the things you are doing just give it time and things will get better and if you have to have a light on the radio on or whatever helps to settle you to go to sleep then that is fine but you are not on your own and good for you sharing how this is affecting you and I hope members will give you some more good advice x
I had some weird dreams while taking Bisoprolol. Not disturbing, just strange. Oddest of all was going to see some sort of specialist in a new medical section attached to a John Lewis department store. Have I dreamt up the future? 😂
I’d never had any issues with sleep whatsoever until I was prescribed statins.. Queue insomnia, anxiety and vivid hallucinations to the point of literally being seriously afraid to even turn lights out or to go upstairs to bed, let alone actually having anything like a peaceful much-needed good night’s sleep! Horrendous. It seems some people suffer these known side-effects very badly. For me, it didn’t stop until I eventually stopped taking them after (my Cardiologist and) I had tried and failed to find one that didn’t cause this terrible effect on one’s usual peaceful state of mind and normally great sleep.
Thanks for your response, interesting points you make there. The weird dreams could well be one of the meds (statin) but I still think much of the anxiety stems from what happened and me not yet quite coming to terms with it. I'll definitely bear what you've said moving forward.
Yes, that’s completely understandable too.. having an MI is truly a traumatic event physically, emotionally and psychologically. BUT, it’s early days for you still and the anxiety levels do lessen over time. I really hope that you feel much ‘better’/calmer very very soon, Hrty and I wish you a speedy return back to your normal self and sleeping well.. 🙏🏼💗
Hi hrty, There is a way of controlling recurring dreams/nightmares. This may sound simple or silly. Firstly find out the time usually you experience your dreams. This is the difficult bit, wake your self up during the dream if you can and write down the time for example 02:35. Is this time repeating each night, or similar? Set your alarm clock for between 20/30 minutes before your dreams occur. Alarm rings. Put the light on for 5 minutes do some simple gentle breathing - in through the out of the mouth Then return to sleep.
Rationale:- The above actions will interrupt your sleep pattern. After a few nights there maybe significant improvement.
I was a night nurse for many years and had many successes.💤regards Stewart
I’m on the cocktail of ramipril, aspirin, avostatin and a bit later bisoprolol. I’ve had dreams as you describe and would wake up really anxious but not know why. They lasted for about 8 weeks but have settled back to normal now so I hope your do too in time
I had my heart attack over 6 years ago now and, like you, suffered from bizarre dreams for a while. It took a while but it did get better. In my case it was definitely the meds but possibly underpinned by the trauma of such an unexpected event. I have found the ‘headspace’ app to be really helpful.
Hi, it’s early days, I promise you it will get better, you’ve had a tremendous shock to your body and mind. The meds are just bedding in, you may have to make some changes before you get the mix which is ideal for you.
I had to stop Ivabradine as I was hallucinating that there were bars on the walls and the hallway was full of black snakes at night, even now I put my slippers on at night just in case there is a stray snake about! There’s some deep thoughts there.
Amongst strange dreams I sometimes dream in French, I’m far from fluent in real life but in the dreams I’m perfect. Now what is that all about?
Things will improve for you, if night lights and radio help that’s all to the good.
I also have some very weird dreams which I put down to the statins (I also take aspirin, ramipril and sertraline) and like you when I began this journey (about 2 years ago) I developed a terrible fear of going to bed, everything seemed worse at night, and I found it so hard to fall asleep and hated being the only one awake. This was really weird for me as in the past I’d quite enjoyed being awake after everyone else was asleep! I woikk look d often suddenly feel terrible at bed time and convinced I was about to have a HA. It took me a while to get through it - a combination of talking therapy, listening to sleep stories (I find’the honest guys’ sleep stories really soothing) meditation all worked together to help me overcome this. I still gave my moments when I feel very anxious at bed time but 95% of the time I don’t even think about it. I approached my GP and he put me in touch with the talking therapy people, this was probably the most helpful aspect. Good luck and hopefully it will help to know a great many of us feel the same way about night time.
I can remember after my bypass in hospital seeing hanging flower baskets🙂
Dear Hrty
Thank you for your post, it reminds me just how lucky I am that my dreams, although weird and wonderful , hold no dread or fear for me.
In fact its been the opposite and I am fully immersed in light, floating feelings and incredible colours.
Maybe its because I was a product of the hippy generation .
But I feel for you and others that have poor sleep as it affects your whole day/life.
I know this is not a popular suggestion, but when I could not sleep because my mind was rolling and over thinking, I opted for a short course of sleeping tablets from my Dr that really helped.
Certain heart drugs, for example Sotalol (although I doubt you are on that) have as listed side effects nightmares, vivid dreams etc.. Advise discussion with your GP.
I've always had weird dreams, so can't blame them on my HA meds but I too struggled in the dark for months after. I was offered counselling through my rehab which I took up. I was diagnosed with PTSD due to the severity of the HA. The counselling helped so ask your rehab team about it. I was also offered an ICD by my cardiologist both as a support for the PTSD and also because my EF was low. Within days of having this fitted My anxiety dropped massively and the night fears went . Best decision post HA that I made .
The introduction of Bisoprolol to 4 other BP drugs gave me weird dreams. As someone who normally only remembers about one dream a year, it was quite obvious for a few weeks, rather claustrophobic not really nightmares.
I feel for you, having had loads of weird dreams since my HA almost three years ago. It should get better over time as your body adjusts to the meds.
You have to remember it’s very early days and you have had a huge shock. Give yourself time to recover and I’m sure you will get used to the drugs before too long.
Hi there I'm on same meds as you and also suffered with weird dreams and would wake up with a fright going to bed made me anxious also I used to listen to books on utube lord of the rings ,the hobbit by the fire side , at moment I'm listening to the godfather and sherlock holmes things will defo improve ,after I woke up in night I would eat some dry bread with some water and it helped me drop back off wired I know also listening to lbc and football on radio 5 also helped me All the best
Hi I’m now 6 months post HT, quadruple bypass then another HT. Things are better then they were but still to right I can’t sleep. I’ve been seeing a councillor but have now been diagnosed with PTSD so I’m awaiting a different councillor something to do with following fingers and lights sounds a bit strange but apparently it’s really good.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, when I started out my journey in June everyone said the mental side was worse then the physical side and you think it can’t be but it is.
I hear you loud and clear on this, in 3 days it will be exactly one year since my heart attack, and I've spent so many nights awake for fear of what might happen if I sleep...
I have finally reached out to my doctors and understand I have anxiety issues now , so hopefully he will help me deal with that .
Hello there. I do empathise. I'm guessing it's the side effects of your meds - I read up the leaflets in the boxes far more these days as I always seem to have SE! I have to say, I was on fluoxetine for a while (for my v bad raynauds) and I had the worst nightmares ever... I couldn't stay on it as a result. Awful. Looks as if everyone here has advised you, so I do hope you've identified the rotter that is upsetting your nights... and wishing you a return to more blissful restful slumber. D
I suffer from some crazy dreams but they are not really nightmares. They can be very scary because they are not connected to any specific systemic illness but generally connected to non specific lack of wellness. More research required in this direction. Good to share our problems.
I am taking a similar concoction with bisoprolol, artovastatin, prasugrel and lansoprazole and i was getting weird dreams but not every night. I spoke to the pharmacist at my local surgery as part of a pill review several months after my HA and mentioned it. I had previously gotten into the routine of taking the statin late afternoon as that was supposed to be the right time but occasionally missed doses. I changed and now take it with the rest 1st thing in a morning. I have had a lot less dreams since however the pharmacist said that one of the side effects of bisoprolol is dreaming. I am supposed to come off it next month but think the doc wants me to keep it on if i can cope with it. Time will see.
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