Vivid Dream Hell

[steveo]

I understand that vivid dreams are a side effect of SSRI's but they are really really bothering me and seem to be getting worse.

Been back on Citalopram for 2 and a half months and then switched to 10mg Lexapro and been on for just over a month, probably 40 days now.

My vivid dreams seem to be getting worse and I'm really struggling with them. They seem to last all night and are so bad when I wake up. Sometimes I wake up, close my eyes again and instantly am back in a strange dreamworld before I've even fallen asleep properly again.

The dreams are so life like that I am very confused when I wake up and it takes me hours to come to. They also make me very tired for the entire day and the tiredness is not helping my anxiety or DP/DR feelings.

I don't know what to do. It's very scary and it's making me feel very unusual indeed.

Help?

Steven

[justbreathe1]

Hi Steve, I'm so sorry your still feeling so awful. If it were me I would be going back to my G.P ASAP. It does seem to me getting worse for you.. Maybe there is something else you can take in conjunction with the Lexapro to ease the dreams?
Sorry I have no real advice for you but I can offer you my support x

[steveo]

Thanks JB.

I feel like I should give the lexapro a bit longer first. I just don't know why the dreams are getting more vivid. They are so so powerful at the moment.

I might be the diazepam though too. I'm slowly trying to ween myself off diazepam even though I'm only on a very small dose.

I do sleep OK. I had a tiny bit of trouble getting to sleep but I think that's just reluctance due to the inevitable dreams, but 99% of the time, I sleep all night and don't wake up particularly early.

The dreams are making me so so tired that I find I'm sleeping in the day alot too.

I just don't know what to do. A GP would only offer me a different SSRI though I would guess. I know that SSRI's can take up to 6 weeks to have a proper effect. I'm not quite at the 6 week mark yet. Nearly there.

I just don't know what to do. Had a horrible panic attack tonight too. The depersonalisation got too much for me.

x

[justbreathe1]

It's not easy is it :( hopefully things will level out soon..
I've been up and down too. Anxiety is not so bad but I'm still getting all these physical pains and sensations. It's a rollercoaster ride.
Just a thought.. Would you listen to come relaxation hypnosis while drifting off to sleep? It might help to calm your mind.

[steveo]

I do most nights.

Some nights I'm too anxious for it and my mind is racing so I listen to a podcast of some sort.

Just about to go to sleep now. Absolutely petrified to do so!

[nicola1980]

Steve i get the most awful vivid dreams on my meds, venlafaxine, and the more I've increased the worst they've got, they only started when i reached the 150mg dose, some nights they really freak me out but its a known side effects of many ADs Im afraid, i don't think its your diazepam taper as Im also tapering off diazepam too at the min x x

[Ingenious]

I had bonkers dreams on Mirtazapine, including dreams within dreams, dreams which seemed so vivid I thought I was awake (when I wasn't), dreams in which I lost my memory, lucid dreams, all kinds of weirdness.

This might sound counter-intuitive, but what I did was start a dream diary. Basically, getting friendly with my dream mind, befriending it, accepting the dreams and taking an interest in them. This just helped lessen the fear, in turn the dreams became nicer. If you become less frightened of them, they'll not be as much of an issue. Worth a try maybe?

[buckeroo]

im on mirtazapine and i love the vivid dreams, only thing is i keep dreaming of an ex that ended 10 years ago lol.

[karenp]

I dream a lot too and then feel exhausted the next day but don't have bad dreams...last night I was in a pet store all night buying guinea pigs, baby ones that were just running about the pet store and you had to catch the one you wanted, how weird! My ex Husband had rang my little boy though and mentioned he'd had our 4 guineas out in the garden so that's the reason they popped into my dreams all night I expect worrying over them no doubt and if he is looking after them properly until I can get them back. I must admit, dreaming such a lot is exhausting though but have never had a nightmare, except one and I have no idea what it was even about now on Lexapro.