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Multiple Vivid Dreams Everynight......

T

ThePulse

Greenlighter
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6
Hi,



Around 3 months ago I took MDMA and stupidly mixed it with an SSRI ( thought it was going to be okay as I waited 4 hours until I took the MDMA). After half an hour after ingesting it I suddenly experienced some sort of brain seizure - incredible pain in my head, heart went absolutely mental and thousands & thousands of thoughts running through my head (only way I can describe it) - I thought I was a goner - it lasted around 2 minutes and then like a light-switch, it just stopped and the euphoria I was expecting from the MDMA immediately replaced it. After researching the symptoms I assumed it was Serotonin Syndrome.


For days after I experienced terrible anxiety & paranoia, which mostly subsided after a week (though still suffer a bit of anxiety from time to time, which I never did before this incident) - but worst of all I have been having the most crazy vivid dreams every night since then - I wake up around 3 or 4 times a night and every single time I fall back asleep I experience these dreams again - they're so real it's incredible, around half of them are nightmares and are absolutely horrible - they're affecting me so much it's brought me close to depression and I really don't know what to do about them. Really worried I have caused some permanant damage and will have to suffer from these the rest of my life. :( Or could it be anxiety-related?


Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated guys.
 
MDMA and SSRIs shouldn't cause serotonin syndrome, the SSRI should just stop the MDMA from working. Of course it's entirely possible you didn't have MDMA at all.

I would expect serotonin syndrome to last longer then a couple of minutes, sounds more to me like an intense come up, coupled with anxiety from depletion of your serotonin.

How many times have you used MDMA before? How long have you been on the SSRI?
 
Mr Blonde said:
MDMA and SSRIs shouldn't cause serotonin syndrome, the SSRI should just stop the MDMA from working. Of course it's entirely possible you didn't have MDMA at all.

I would expect serotonin syndrome to last longer then a couple of minutes, sounds more to me like an intense come up, coupled with anxiety from depletion of your serotonin.

How many times have you used MDMA before? How long have you been on the SSRI?
Click to expand...


Used MDMA 6 or 7 times before, was only on the SSRI for a few weeks, not touched either since.


It definitely felt more than a lot of anxiety mate - forgot to add my body felt incredibly cold and had a feeling all over that could only be described as painful pins & needles. Scariest moment of my life by a long distance.


At a guess what would you say it was then mate? And what would be causing these dreaded dreams? :(
 
Well without knowing what exactly was in the pill it's hard to say for sure... it could be serotonin syndrome but I doubt it would have been so brief.

I think the after effects you experienced could be related to serotonin depletion, it has brought me untold anxiety and depression many times, never exacerbated dreaming for me but others might be able to give experiences here with that.

If it is related to serotonin depletion, you could look into taking a supplement like 5-HTP to boost your levels back up, it may also help with depression if that's what you were taking the SSRI for.

It might also help to learn some anxiety controlling techniques if it gets too bad. As for the dreams, I'm not sure what advice to give on that... maybe a doctor could help if it is severely disrupting your sleep patterns?
 
Mr Blonde said:
Well without knowing what exactly was in the pill it's hard to say for sure... it could be serotonin syndrome but I doubt it would have been so brief.

I think the after effects you experienced could be related to serotonin depletion, it has brought me untold anxiety and depression many times, never exacerbated dreaming for me but others might be able to give experiences here with that.

If it is related to serotonin depletion, you could look into taking a supplement like 5-HTP to boost your levels back up, it may also help with depression if that's what you were taking the SSRI for.

It might also help to learn some anxiety controlling techniques if it gets too bad. As for the dreams, I'm not sure what advice to give on that... maybe a doctor could help if it is severely disrupting your sleep patterns?
Click to expand...


Thanks for the advice and the quick replies mate - I tried 5-HTP about a month ago and if anything it made the dreams even more vivid! They're so awful because they last for seemingly hours......If I'm asleep for 2 hours.......the dream feels like 2 hours, it's absolutely crazy. Some dreams I'm having conversations with people and I respond exactly the same as I would in real-life, every night is a different dream in a different location, some even where family members are dying/car crashes etc, it's absolutely terrifying.


As I said, I'm really hoping it's anxiety related and not any permenant brain damage, though I can't find any other similar cases online so that's even more worrying. If it still persists in the next few weeks I'm defintely going to the doctor.
 
I've had similar dreams to that when I was taking my anti-psychotics, risperidone, which if I remember correctly acts a serotonin antagonist as well as a dopamine antagonist...

I think it could be related to serotonin depletion and the effects the SSRI had, I don't think it will be permanent but I am not a doctor... hopefully it resolves itself and if not I'm sure your doc can help you. :)
 
:(What is MDMA I lost touch somewere between shootin dope and becoming clean I heard of MDMA but what is it and what does it do for you? NOT TROLLING just curious..I asked the same qeustion on another thread but no one sees me !!!:( Am I that annoying ??? HELP I NEED A FRIEND <3;) lol I am just fine but still need a friend or two..don't all bombard me at once though!!=D
 
^^ Bluelight is too ;)

missunderstood, MDMA is the predominant ingredient in ecstacy pills. As Mr Blonde said, there is a whooooole heap of information about MDMA on Bluelight (and Erowid) so have a search and a big read! :)


ThePulse, your dreams could definitely be anxiety related. We dream in the REM phase of sleep which mainly occurs just before and just after the deep phases of sleep (like, the real sleep phases, when we get the most beneficial rest). If you're continually waking up after dreaming during the night, it could be that you're not actually getting in to those deep sleep phases enough through the night.
How long ago did you take the MDMA? i.e. how long have these vivid dreams been going on for?
Whenever I take MDMA I suffer from sleep paralysis for a few nights afterwards. No-one is really sure why sleep paralysis occurs but there is a strong link to MDMA use and increased sleep paralysis. Does this sound like what you're experiencing?
The vivid dreams should begin to subside after a week or so. If it's been longer than that perhaps you should mention it to your doctor.
 
I hope I am not usurping this thread, OP. If so, just ignore me.

Before I sleep, while falling asleep, or shortly after falling asleep, I often get these nightmarish, sleep paralysis, terrors. It seems as if a spirit is crushing me, levitating me, spinning me around, to move my jaw to scream or yell for help causes intense, aching, pain, and no sounds really ever come out (I may think I have said something, but then I realize I am asleep and paralyzed again).

I had my first episode when I about 12, then again at age 18. I hadn't really done many drugs until age 22-23. Then at age 28, 30, 31, had many many episodes (house shaking, scary noises, deafening tones, crushing feeling on chest, feeling asphyxiated, levitated, body is being controlled/manipulated by another while I am helpless), then age 32 in rehab for heroin/crack, had them again really intense -- fought a spirit, then the dreams turned serene and lucid, had many dreams with full tactile and auditory and visual sensations -- felt real as real can be.

Now, age 33, being having them about 1x month, the freaky ones where I am levitated and spun around and hung upside down and utterly helpless. I am so used to these that I give up being scared and try to enjoy the ride (what else can I do?). I also occasionally get vivid dreams with full auditory and tactile too, but these are mostly positive dreams that I control and love.

Never thought of them as being related to drug use, but are my experiences similar to N3ophy7e's sleep paralysis or the OP's nightmares?

I don't feel like I have anxiety, but maybe this is the way my anxiety manifests.... I really don't know. I looked at the DSM IV definition of night terrors, but they are not suppose to occur as one is falling asleep or in the beginning of sleep.
 
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^^ Yep, you got it. Sleep paralysis occurs when we're either falling asleep (most commonly) or when we're just waking up, or in those brief dozing phases in between. Night terrors occur during the deeper phases of sleep, which is why people don't usually remember having night terrors. And regular nightmares are different again.

Your experiences sound like typical sleep paralysis. I suffer from it regularly as well. I've found that it's something I've gotten used to over the years, and if you can recognise that the hallucinations are NOT real, and that it WILL end, and like you said, just relax and ride it out, I find it can be quite enjoyable to a certain extent. You've probably found that if you try and fight it, it just increases the amount of panic and vulnerability you're feeling?? So, just do the opposite: relax, let it run its course, and you'll soon wake up for real.

Are you taking any drugs at the moment??
 
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