I was taking chemo treatments more than a year ago and the pain was excruciating...more than the surgery itself. So I had to take pain meds almost daily until about four months ago. One side effect was that I got some really way out there nightmares but some were realistic. Lately, I've been gaining weight but trying to not retain so much fluid. So I got water pills but they are giving me strange dreams. I only take one because I drink a lot of water and water-based foods. Besides going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I can't sleep much. Lastly, when I take Cold-Eeze, I don't have this problem.
I have had that problem recently with prescription pain medicine I was prescribed for a shoulder injury, so much so that I stopped taking the medicine. The side effects, for me, were way worse than the benefits. I had such intense, horrible dreams that my heart would start racing and I would be hyperventilating while I slept, yet I was in such a deep sleep that it only woke my husband up and he was then able to wake me up to get my breathing regulated.
I do not take heavy medication that would give me strange dreams. In general though, I am a very vivid dreamer, so strange dreams are the norm. I will say that the first time I took melatonin I had very strange lucid dreams that were more colorful than usual. It hasn't happened again though.
I have had really strange and scary dreams since I was about 20 years old. I was not on any kind of medication so they had to have just been in my own mind. Since my father passed away eight years ago I started dreaming about him repeatedly lying in his grave with the coffin open. He would reach out hi hand and say "help me out of here I am not really dead. It is all a mistake". I would take his hand and help pull him out of the ground and we would walk away together. I started taking Melatonin several months ago because I started a new job and had to be up at 4am. Since I have started taking the Melatonin the nightmares have virtually disappeared. I love this amazing side effect!
I can't take anything at bedtime unless I expect to have some really bizarre dreams. Cold meds, benadryl, Tylenol P.M., and even Melatonin all cause me to have nighttime disturbances, either causing me to wake up at various times, or just straight up nightmares. I wish I could sleep without taking anything.
I don't take any sort of medication if I don't have to. I don't trust medication, and if I am not dying then I usually will not take the medication, especially before bed. All I have before bed is hot water, as it prevents strokes and such, and helps the body with its nightly processes. Never noticed any dreams that are stranger than normal.
I'm luckily very rarely ill, so I have no need to take any medication, let alone strong medication. If I'm ill it's mainly ailments such as a cold, a headache etc nothing too serious. But I remember once I had the flu and was dosed up to the eyeballs. This is the only time I was delirious and hallucinating. It was very weird.
I stay away from prescription drugs, since I don't just get strange dreams but also some worrisome side effects. A few years ago I suffered from stress-related stomach aches, and one time the pain got so bad that I decided to go to a hospital to get myself checked out. They gave me some drugs that should have had an effect of calming me down and taking away the pain. But that one tablet that I took, put me into a state of paranoia, where everything around me was closing in on me, giving me anxiety and making my head spin. It was a terrifying experience.
It's interesting that it's never the herbal supplements that cause these types of issues! For this reason, I also try to steer clear of prescription drugs. Unless I'm seriously ill, which is hardly ever. I always go the herbal route first before I see my doctor. The good thing about herbal supplements is the fact that they are not addictive
I was using the nicotine patch last December and you are supposed to leave them on all night long. I was having crazy vivid dreams and ended up having to remove the patch before I went to bed at night. My mind was going so wild that I did not feel like I was getting any sleep at all. The dreams were so vivid and realistic that I still remember parts of them to this day.
Oh yeah, I've definitely experienced that before. When I first started taking one particular medicine, the dreams were so vivid for the first couple months that I had no idea what was real and what wasn't any more. They were so realistic that I'd remember them a few days later still and I couldn't actually distinguish/remember if the incidents happened or if I'd imagined them in the night. It was scary sometimes.
Medication does affect the body, not only with side effects but also how the body reacts to food and the environment. I really am against taking any medication unless you have to. I find the drugs in the US are a lot stronger than ones in the UK and can be addictive as well as having hallucinogenic effects. It does effect people differently and also it depends on what else you have been taking. I would always advise finding another method rather than mediation if possible.
I guess it depends on the medicine you took to alleviate the pain. You may have taken a psychoactive drug, which tends to stimulate the brain (even as far as the subconscious region). Or, it could be a medicine with sleep-inducing properties. Regardless, the strange dreams may have something to do with your inner hopes and wishes - or something lodged deeply in your hypothalamus. You may seek advice from an expert for more elucidation.
