It’s three years post-injury and I’ve just started to dream again. My neuro says this is a sign that there is some recovery in my parietal lobe.

These dreams, however, are the more literal pre-Rem dreams. Like many brain injured folks, I wake several times a night because, even with drugs, my brain won’t let me go into the deeper, more restorative REM sleep.

While I’m excited that my brain seems to be working more, my dreams are unpleasant. I’m in considerable pain from my other injuries and that’s all I dream about. Of well, I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

How about the rest of you, do you dream? Have you always dreamed since your injury? Can you enter REM sleep?

Cheers

Hi Hockey,

Yes, I do dream occasionally as I did before my concussion a year ago. I'm not sure if it stopped for awhile after the concussion, but I do notice that I'm sleeping much better now than I did in the months immediately following the concussion. I remember early on after the fall, I would wake up feeling scared and disoriented and not knowing where I was. I consistently had feelings of gloom and wooziness upon waking. That went away after a few months and now, I'm starting to feel more normal. I wake up more relaxed and rested.

I would say that I'm getting good REM sleep on most nights. I've been taking magnesium for headaches, but I think that has also had an added benefit. It has had a relaxing effect on my body as it is known to work as a natural muscle relaxant.

I hope that helps.

Don

I have crazy dreams all the time. I wake up often from them because they are so vivid and feel like they are really happening. I feel like I dream and remember my dreams more since the concussion then ever before.

I've brought it up to my neuro before, and he doesn't give it too much attention. That's interesting that your neuro says it's a sign of recovery. I wonder if it can go both ways?

I have just recently started dreaming normal dreams. Prior to lately, I would dream stressful dreams.

I attribute my recent improvement to something I have added to my daily vitamin and supplement regimen. About 2 months ago, I added B-2, D3, Omega 3 Fish Oil with DHA and EPA, DHEA and testosterone to my morning ritual. Now, I am taking 24 pieces plus the fish oil in my juice and T cream on my butt cheek.

Hockey, has your doctor tried you on Neurontin for night time? It helps my brain let go so I can sleep. It also helps my muscles relax. It has very minimal side-effects, if any.

The only issue with Neurontin (gabapentin) is how it interacts with magnesium. You should not take magnesium at the same time as taking Neurontin. I take my magnesium in the morning because I take my Neurontin before bed.

Mark,

You hit the nail on the head for me when you said "stressful dreams"! I've been trying to find the right word for my dreams for a while now. They are so vivid, but they are always stressful.

Last night I dreamt that a good friend of mine who died 4 months ago was alive and only pretending to be dead. It felt so real, but was awful!

Thanks for writing that! It's amazing the little victories I will find during a day!