Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Cluster Headache Specific >> CH and Dreams
        
(Message started by: circus1031 on Dec 19^th, 2007, 9:27pm)

Title: CH and Dreams
Post by circus1031 on Dec 19^th, 2007, 9:27pm

Hi all,

Been dealing with the Beast for about 7 years now (I'm 25.) I only started recently making notes about daily life trying to determine if anything will specifically trigger my headachee (food, chemicals around house, etc.) I'm now starting to look at emotional, stress, or life events as triggers. (All my CH had happened when I was in college, grad school, recently when I'm applying to go back to school but NOT during the 18 months between my master's and quite recently.) Anyway, I'm sure some of you are like me who try to find triggers in the most absurd things hoping to find a miracle cure. Well I've been trying to remember my dreams and the subject of them before I've been awakened by a CH. I don't think there is a relationship but I just wondered what everyone else's experiences between CH and their dreams were. For example.

A few times my dream self has noticed the pain in the dream, "Oh shit," and I'll wake up. The sleep apnea post has a study that briefly mentioned CH during REM sleep. This definately seems to be my case. Anyone else? Though I'm not giving anything any credit or positive consideration to CHs, most of the time after an attack I'll fall into a very deep and heavy sleep, the kind of sleep I love. Sometimes experiencing lucid dreaming. Anyone else notice relationships between their headaches and their dreams?

Matt

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by Linda_Howell on Dec 19^th, 2007, 9:38pm

Nope, and I've been chronic for 21 years.

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by Ray on Dec 19^th, 2007, 11:53pm

Kind of....

I'll find that the pain integrates into the dream, even if it doesn't make sense. I think that's the real pain trying to wake me up. Since when do dreams have to make sense anyway. I don't feel that a dream is a trigger for the headaches, although there seems to be a relationship between sleeptime hits and REM sleep.

Ray

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by George_J on Dec 19^th, 2007, 11:54pm

Well, REM sleep is dreaming sleep. About ninety percent of the hits I get are nighttime hits, and they almost always occur during REM sleep. So yeah, I'll wake up with a headache in the middle of a dream pretty often.

As for falling into a profound and dreamless sleep after a hit--no. During a cycle, I usually end up sleep-deprived in a major way. I get gunshy about sleeping, and sometimes go for days and days with only a few hours here and there.

Best wishes,

George

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by BarbaraD on Dec 20^th, 2007, 7:37am

Several years ago I started taking Melatonin at night and have about killed the nighttime hits (one every now and then, but nothing to write home about).

Why don't you try Melatonin and see if you can get thru the REM sleep. Take 12-15mg before bedtime (have to keep it up for a while till it gets in your system). It works for a lot of us. If you can get thru the night with some sleep, you'll not be so exhausted during the day.

Hugs BD

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by Guiseppi on Dec 20^th, 2007, 10:46am

I didn't start getting the nite time hits until my 40's. Then the problem is I would incorporate it into my dream. In my dream I'd pop a cafergot and in my dream I'd start the 02 and in my dream it would keep getting worse. By the time I'd wake up I would be getting slammed!!!

Don't exhaust yourself looking for triggers that start a cycle. Do pay attention to what starts a CH while you're in cycle. For most it's alcohol, significant disruptions of sleep patterns and stress. Stress is the weird one because for some stress brings it on, for others it's when they relax from stress! Go and figure.

Hoping you have a short cycle followed by a lengthy break! ;;D

Guiseppi

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by Miz_D on Dec 20^th, 2007, 2:08pm

on 12/19/07 at 23:53:40, Ray wrote:

Kind of....

I'll find that the pain integrates into the dream, even if it doesn't make sense. I think that's the real pain trying to wake me up.

Ray

This is what happens to me also.

I am a very vivid dreamer and I do find that when I am getting hit in my dreamstate, my dreams always take on "stressfull" overtones. (ie: I am arguing/fighting with someone and getting very upset) Whether this triggers a hit or the hit triggers the stressful state in my dreams, I don't know...its kind of the "chicken and the egg" to me.

I have noticed this with some curiosity over the years. Interesting, thanks for posting the topic.

Danielle

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by circus1031 on Dec 20^th, 2007, 8:19pm

I started Melatonin a few days ago, I'll keep it up.

It's interesting to hear about everyone else's dreams. The other night myself in a dream was talking with some friends, I started to get a headache, told my friends I had to leave and woke up. The brain is pretty funny.

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by starlight on Dec 21^st, 2007, 3:04pm

I could put a big ditto after Miz D's post. What he wrote is exactly what happens to me. I can remember dreaming about stressful things, even as he said specifically arguing with someone right before the hit comes on. I've wondered about it, and even sometimes have wondered if it could be some strange defense mechanism to stop the dream or stop whatever is in the unconscious that might be coming up. But I don't really put much credence in that.
There have been some researchers who have said that CH is a kind of sleep disorder, where the brain confuses different sleep stages. Why it leads to pain I don't know. But I can believe that--I find that I have noticed many times that right before I get "hit", I am dreaming and thinking at the same time as if awake where you are just thinking but at the same time I will still be dreaming. That never happens to be except for in cycle before a hit. Normally if I'm dreaming, I'm just dreaming. I think what I had read about CH being a possible sleep disorder was that the sleep phase and the arousal phase (telling you to wake up--the signal that naturally wakes you up in the morning and says OK sleep is over time to get amoving are being confused in CH). Maybe the brain overreacts to whatever is going on with confusion of sleep stages.
I don't know if anyone else has ever had this happen, but during cycle a couple of times I have been just sitting down wide awake and actually had my arm just jerk like the same way a person's leg sometimes jerks right when they are falling asleep. It's only happened to me a few times and it was pretty freaky b/c I was wide awake. It makes me think that it is a sleep disorder of some kind. Star

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by Kevin_M on Dec 21^st, 2007, 7:44pm

on 12/19/07 at 21:27:20, circus1031 wrote:

I don't think there is a relationship but I just wondered what everyone else's experiences between CH and their dreams were.

Dreams just take a time for me to figure out the pain is real before I awaken and sometimes resist acknowledging the pain until it's bad enough and I remember I have CH. Or else I just didn't want to get up unless I really have to, which happens also when I don't dream and get hit while sleeping.

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by circus1031 on Dec 21^st, 2007, 9:49pm

If anyone else is from Pittsburgh, I had dream last night before being woken up about Mike Tomlin asking me to fix the Steelers' defense. Definately stressful.

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by kyitb on Dec 26^th, 2007, 2:28pm

Only thing I can add to this is that the rare nights when I don't get hit. Those are the nights that I remember my dreams...

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by DennisM1045 on Dec 29^th, 2007, 1:38pm

on 12/20/07 at 10:46:51, Guiseppi wrote:

Then the problem is I would incorporate it into my dream. In my dream I'd pop a cafergot and in my dream I'd start the 02 and in my dream it would keep getting worse. By the time I'd wake up I would be getting slammed!!!

This exact thing happened to me Saturday morning around 3:00am. I was dreaming that I had a handful of Imitrex cartridges and couldn't find my injector pen. My wife said she threw them out thinking I didn't need them any more. I was so pissed! Then I woke up and realized I was getting slammed. Goofy huh.

-Dennis-

Title: Re: CH and Dreams
Post by maryo on Dec 30^th, 2007, 2:10pm

Well I have had the rare daytime cluster triggered by something I could identify. Other than, ch seems to have a mind of its own. I went w/out headaches during an emotionally abusive relationship, and was hit with one of the worst attacks the night after a very relaxing massage. We would all like to solve the puzzle of ch, and if you do, let us know. After 27 years of them, I no longer need to solve anything except getting relief with the fewest side effects.

By the way, stress has gotten a bad rap. It's stress that keeps us walking and talking every day. Some times people do their best work under stress. I guess for me stress is bad when I'm not coping well -- a case for increasing self care measures.

Re: night time -- I used to fall into a good deep sleep after conquering my clusters, but not now because they're so close together. So I am dealing with major sleep deprivation. The other night I was awake for hours, then fell asleep for about a half hour at 6 a.m. and during that time dreamt I was in the room with an out-of-control domestic abuser who pointed a shotgun in my direction and fired! But I think that just reflects my general state of mind.

Lots of luck.