Sleep Stages And Medication?

[Happy Head]

I’ve only recently been on medication for depression. During this time my nightmares have increased. Some of them are reoccurring while others are new and unrelated to my trauma. Recently when I saw my p-doc, he noted that reoccurring dreams happen in a different sleep stage than regular dreams. He said that it is possible to treat the reoccurring ones with medication based on the sleep stage.
Has anyone else heard of this or experienced this?

 

[just me here]

No, never heard that there were drugs capable of effecting specific sleep stages, but I don't doubt it.

I definitely know that some of the SRI drugs caused so much disruption to my sleep, I had to get off. I had a friend that was American Indian, he placed alot of value in the dreams he had and was totally unhinged by the content of his dreams while on SRI's. He too had to drop them due to the intrusion in his sleep.

Please post more, I am interested in the idea of being able to target specific dream stages with meds.

 

[Happy Head]

I'm on Remeron right now, which isn't an SSRI, but has made my dreams more vivid for sure. I see the doc again a week from today and a decision will be made. He wanted to wait a few more weeks before adding/changing my meds. I will ask more about it too because I find it intriguing. My last appointment went by too fast and I had other questions that came up first.

 

[Manic11]

Wow...that's a good point. I would like to know if there is medication for it. Thanks for posting this.

Manic

 

[Unhinged]

This does sound interesting. I just watched a video about dreams. Explained a lot about the different stages of dreams and how they relate to your sleep pattern. It doesn't really discuss medications and dreaming but I found it to be an interesting watch. I would love to hear more about this too.

"What Are Dreams?: NOVA 2009

The stuff of dreams -- not just the content, but the circuitry and neurological coding, too -- is the subject of this penetrating "Nova" inquiry into the most mystifying of human activities. Researchers are taking a variety of investigative tacks, from "eavesdropping" on sleeping rats to methodical studies of thousands of dreams, in an effort to fill in the blanks of understanding. Their findings give tantalizing glimpses of the mind at rest." (from Netflix)

 

[Happy Head]

Hi all, just got back from the p-doc. The drug is called Prazosin and it has been shown to relieve nightmares in combat vets. Initially it as used for high blood pressure and then prostate problems but was found in various studies to help aid in sleep and reduce nightmares... hope this helps!

 

[Nighthawk]

Good luck with the new med I really hope it helps.

NH

 

[Trinomial]

Several psychotropic drugs are known to alter sleep stages.

Treating drug-induced symptoms with more drugs can create a vicious cycle of symptoms and drugs, so please be mindful of how you react to things. Sometimes the better answer is to lower the dose of the original drug or try a different medication.

Educate yourself on medication before you take it: There are many types of drugs in each class of medication; several types of benzos, for example, or the dozens of different SSRI's on the market. Each one will give you a slightly different reaction. So you you have side effects from one that are bothersome, ask to try something else, before getting put on more drugs.

Just a friendly suggestion. What you do to alleviate your symptoms is entirely up to you.

 

[Happy Head]

Several psychotropic drugs are known to alter sleep stages.

Treating drug-induced symptoms with more drugs can create a vicious cycle of symptoms and drugs, so please be mindful of how you react to things. Sometimes the better answer is to lower the dose of the original drug or try a different medication.

Educate yourself on medication before you take it: There are many types of drugs in each class of medication; several types of benzos, for example, or the dozens of different SSRI's on the market. Each one will give you a slightly different reaction. So you you have side effects from one that are bothersome, ask to try something else, before getting put on more drugs.

Just a friendly suggestion. What you do to alleviate your symptoms is entirely up to you.

Thanks for the info and caution, I appreciate it. I actually opted not to take it for the time being, but wanted to report the info for the others who were following the thread. I agree though that it can be a vicious cycle with meds. Over the past month I found out that many of the nightmares that I was having were caused by enviornmental triggers rather than the Remeron so now I can work on that instead of masking it with another drug.

 

[parkwaytrash]

Prazosin and PTSD thread in the medication forum:
[DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/c/threads/ptsd-and-prazosin.12525/[/DLMURL]