Posted by zeugma on September 27, 2004, at 20:51:36
In reply to Re: Cymbalta and REM sleep - dreaming?, posted by lemon68 on September 27, 2004, at 20:24:36
> I have been taking Effexor Xr for a few years @ 225 mg, and I have always noticed a lack of dreams -or the ability to remember them. I considered this unfortunate, as I really like to dream ( I'll take a really memorable dream over watching a good movie any day). My doctor recently prescribed me Risperdal to curb some of the angry tendencies, and bang, my dreams were back.
>
> I think the importance of dreams and dreaming is severely understated, and it's too bad some meds kill 'em....Some forms of depression are associated with an excess of dreaming. The draining quality of my sleep when not on an AD cannot be described. not to mention the disruptive, and even painful character of my narcolepsy symptoms (tactile sensations of extreme pain, 'brain zaps' like those have described withdrawing from Effexor).
Yes, I enjoyed the brief spell of having 'normal' dreams. But it is not normal for me to have normal dreams. I had almost forgotten what it was like. But the abnormality of my dreams cannot be blamed on meds, as I had spent a decade off meds while the character of my dreaming became progressively more abnormal. I am not typical of most who take AD's as I believe I have narcolepsy as well as depression. My waking life is 'dream-like' anyway, as I feel like I am half asleep virtually all day, every day. The ritalin is beginning to help in this regard finally. Without meds to wake me up and to help me sleep dreamlessly but uninterruptedly is essential to my functioning anything like a normal human being.
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:395372
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040927/msgs/396048.html