Sleep (General)

[Guest]

Hi,

I am so glad I found this forum. For the last 5 years I have been experiencing excessive dreaming. I can fall asleep for 5 minutes and have a full dream. I do have Sleep Apnea, had a score of 155 on my polysomnogram. I use Nasal CPAP nightly x 16 CM/H2O pressure.

I have always been under the impression that dreaming occurs during the REM stage. When I had my sleep study I looked at the graphs, but saw no evidence of REM, despite the fact that I had a full dream 5 minutes into the study. I was fully awake after the first 5 minutes talking to the tech, I remember the conversation and she confirmed this conversation definitely took place. When these short naps produce dreams it is very hard for me to determine if the dream was real or not. The only way I have to determine this is by looking at my surroundings, if the surroundings are at work, and the dream was on a boat, then I know I was dreaming, this works out pretty good, because most of my dreams are very unrealistic, but there have been a few occassions where I wasn't sure what really happened.

I was wondering if ANYONE has had this experience, and have they had a diagnosis given to them by a physician.

[bluejacket]

I also have had (what feels like) constant dreaming throughout the night for at least 10 years. I have not been diagnosed with a disorder, but I definitely need help. The only info i have been able to glean from the internet is that people who dream excessively usually suffer from depression. I do not have depression, but I do struggle with a low grade anxiety disorder. Perhaps they are related. I may need to take anti-anxiety meds to overcome my sleep disorder.

[vlemoine]

I just saw your post and I actually just postedd about the same thing... Ever since I could remember I always started dreaming withing minutes of closing my eyes at night. I have been told its not normal but who knows... The only thing I can think is that I have always had a great imagination and have always loved reading and somehow the two put together my brain work a little different.

[bluejacket]

I kind of think the same thing about my imagination, but 99% of the time, my dreams are nightmares of some kind. "stress dreams" is what I call most of them because they involve trying to get somewhere or do something and not being able to. Last night I got bit by an owl on the hand. Weird stuff that causes real pain!! I think my problem is that I am really good at suppressing stuff while i am awake. It resurfaces when I sleep!