Ajax Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 A tell tale CH sign for me(before shadows) is nightmares. Is this common? Two night ago I had my 3rd night of pretty shitty nightmares and yesterday woke up with shadows. Called in sick and crushed 3-4 gram M tea(aggressive for me). Positive the beast was on me if I waited another day so I hit him hard. Thanks to busting I woke up clear with only residual shadows that have that inkling of maybe a slap back headache. Almost positive it won't but have vitamin K if necessary. God bless this site and god bless the good head doctor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherman Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Dreams (good or not-so) seem to have a connection to my CH also. I don't have nightmares, but they are not exactly Fairy Tales with Disney characters either. Since aquiring CH, dreams are more frequent, seem longer (and with color and sound) and are remembered better. I still wake up after a dream and it used to almost always be followed by a K7-8 head crusher. Haven't had that happen in over a year now. On this subject awhile ago, one of the admins forwarded an article to me. It was fascinating!! http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/yabbfiles/Attachments/CH__Dreaming___Neurogenesis.pdf An excellent read and although the author was not a Doctor or clinical researcher, his writings sure made sense to me. Enjoy and dream-on ..... with PF days and nights weatherman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTy2 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I've just read the article: it's really great, and all the scientific/medical statements are quite correct! Thank you, because I really enjoyed reading it through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHurtsMyHead Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Ajax, You should be able to do a search on the site for dreams. There's been a few discussions over the last few years. To answer your question: Yes, some of us get very weird, vivid or violent dreams that start just before our cycle. Mine are usually major catastrophes from a third party point of view. Just watching helplessly or sometimes being in the catastrophe. Plane crashes, boats sinking and people screaming for help in the water etc. They're unbelievably vivid. Needless to say they're somewhat distressing, but I only have them just before a cycle starts. I've noted if I get three of these in a row, I dose immediately. The CH doesn't materialize and the dreams immediately stop. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Isidro Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I never really thought about it until I read this, but YEAH. I did have quite a few really vivid highly detailed dreams. I rarely have nightmares, but I rarely have dreams I remember the next day. But now that you mention it, I did have quite a few just before this cycle. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoxieGirl Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Interesting topic, and something I've also not thought about till reading this. I don't often have nightmares, although my dreams can be quite emotionally charged at times. I've not noticed any different between those nights I have a cluster and those I don't. Although, as I'm chronic, maybe they don't change the way they do for episodics. I wonder, as clusters seem to strike when one enters REM sleep, if the fact that you are woken at that point by the cluster, you simply remember the dream you would have otherwise had and forgotten? Maybe the cluster doesn't make the dreams worse, just memberable because of the timing. If you want to improve your dream memory, there are a couple of things you can try. - I know that when I meditate regularly, 5-10 minutes a day, my ability to remember my dreams greatly improves. - Also, if when you wake up, the first thing you do is try to write down anything and everything you remember about your dreams, the more mornings you make these notes, the more you'll remember of your dreams. You are basically teaching the brain that you want to write down your dreams, so it remembers more and more over time. You need to do this first thing when you wake up, when you're still in that sleep/wake stage, and do it every morning for a few weeks. Granted, if you have scary dreams, maybe forgetting is better. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajax Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Nice to hear I am not alone on this. My nightmares are also CRAZY VIVID and usually catastrophic. I never have them any other time. If I get 3 in a row I know what's coming. Now that I am writing this I am not sure why I need to wait for three... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHurtsMyHead Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Moxie, In my case (and others I've read that are episodic). It's not remembering dreams more because of waking up with an attack. These dreams precede my CH coming back usually by one to two weeks. They're a clear indicator that I know my CH hell is about to start. Been this way for years. My CH (and vivid dreams) started right after being given an experimental drug when in the Army. Lariam... It's some BAD stuff that's banned in most countries (accept the US). It was an experimental treatment (preventative) for Malaria. One guy in my unit went insane (which is one of the side effects they found out). Another side effect is VERY intense vivid dreams. I've always suspected the Lariam triggered the vivid dreams right before my CH cycles start. Though there might not be a direct connection since a fair number of others have similar dreams right before their CH starts. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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