Dreams - post-op issue for anyone???

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South Sound Sailor

On the scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being most traumatic, voicing a concern about post-op dreams seems to be kind of pathetic but it's an issue for me so here goes...

Prior to surgery, for a good 3 or more years, my dream activity or at least my ability to recall my dreams was almost non-existent. I figured raising 4 kids and being pretty much tapped out at the end of the day left me devoid of any imagination or ability to dream. But now, post surgery, my dreams consume my night-time hours and directly impact my sleep routine.

I am 6 weeks post op. I have no trouble falling asleep quickly. But I wake up within 2 to 3 hours of falling asleep almost every night in response to having vivid and dramatic dreams. The dreams vary but usually I'm in some kind of crazy predicament. Often times the dreams are dramatic and exciting or exhilarating, not terrifying or depressing (but, unfortunately these are not "Baywatch-type dreams!!:mad: boy, did I just put an age stamp on myself... wasn't Baywatch canceled like 50 years ago?).

In all seriousness, the dreams are having a significant impact on my ability to fall back asleep. After waking from one of these dreams, I'm usually up for hours. When I fall back asleep, I quickly start up a new dream and find myself awake again after just a couple of hours of sleep. The pattern just seems to repeat itself over and over. And I'm stuck with the thought that prior to surgery dreams were simply not a part of my psychic make-up. Almost immediately following surgery, this dream pattern started and continues at the 6 week mark.

I'm aware that OHS can trigger depression and I won't hesitate to see a licensed therapist if I feel like I'm headed in that direction. I don't think that's what is happening but I figure I can't go on much longer with this wacky sleep and dream pattern.

My daily RX includes Metropolol, Lovastatin, Coumadin, multi-vit and an iron supplement. No sleep aids, no pan meds. I'm running/walking daily and eating healthy. And, regretfully, I didn't "experiment" with much of anything back in the seventies (darn!) so I know it's not my past catching up with me!

I'm curious if others have experienced significant issues with vivid dreams post-OHS that impacted sleep patterns. I don't think I'm "going crazy" but it would be reassuring to hear from anyone who had past (or current) experiences with changes in dream patterns post-surgery! Thanks!

Steve C.
 
Many have commented on the three hours of sleep -- that was my experience too. Three hours of wonderful sleep, then awake for a while, then hope to get three more hours of wonderful sleep, and a nap or two during the day as well.
I would suggest that because of the sleep pattern, you are more conscious of the dreams you have always had, but weren't so aware of before. I put $25.48 of gas into my little car yesterday, so I had two cents leftover, so here it is.
 
I had crazy dreams post op....I think it is fairly common.....It may be the high power narcotics we had in the hospital or the trauma or both.......I feel sure it will pass, mine did.
 
here in VR, we have found a common thread of these bizarre dreams with those of us who take atenolol, a beta blocker. I even fell out of bed one night backing away from an electric snake! Bumped my head and it surely was painful. At the time I was taking one atenolol at night. After I fell out bed and got hurt, I switched that pill to a morning dose and had no more bizarre dreams. The dreams are so real and so disturbing, I can see why you don't go back to sleep. Your metopropol might be worth looking into? My dr put me on toprol XL and I had the same dreams - it is the same med as atenolol. Last week my cardio let me go off atenolol altogether, with caution to check my BPM at home, along with my BP. I had been on this med for years and years. So far all is well. Blessins.........

BPM - beats per min
BP - blood pressure
 
Crazy dreams

Crazy dreams

I had my surgery 3 weeks ago today and last night is the first night I don't recall dreaming at all. Like most have said I wake up over night a few times a night, usually in 3 hours after I initially go to sleep and then every hour or two. Up until last night I've had all kinds of crazy dreams. Most have involved being back in the Army. One had me staring out the window and seeing tens of thousands of apposing soldiers coming over a ridge to fight. For whatever reason I think this was the Korean war which was in the early 50s. I was born in 1965 so go figure. No actual fighting happened, I woke up ! I expect that these will all pass and that they are related to the trauma of the procedure.
 
Dreams

Dreams

Steve I was an infrequent dreamer prior to surgery. Post surgery I was put on Carvedilol an alpha and beta blocker (trade name Coreg in the US) I had nightmares, extreme fatigue and constant headaches on this drug. I asked the cardio to take me off it, I was put on Toprol XL (Beta blocker) to remodel my heart. The side effects were less only dreaming and low level fatigue. 1 year post surgery and my heart back to normal size I asked the cardio to discontinue the Toprol XL and she agreed. The dreams and fatigue stopped within days and I felt normal, back to pre surgery normal. I now only take an ACE inbitor to control blood pressure.:)
 
Not to the degree you mention but yes, post surgery sleep was disturbed and i'd get the 3 hour/wake/3hour routine.

I was on antenol initially but got switched to bicor and can't for the life of me remember exactly why...must have been the sleep thing....

Anyway, i'm now on 1/2 the original dose of bicor i was on and sleep is no longer an issue.

Perhaps look at your beta blocker meds as others have suggested, the brand names mean nothing to me over here in Auz..

You are still early doors too, things may improve over time.
 
I'm 5 1/2 weeks post op and I have the dreams as well. I don't think that I have them as badly as you, but I do have vivid, weird dreams. I tend to wake up between 5 and 6 am with the dreams, but usually do fall back to sleep. Weird how this happens....thought it was just me.

Thanks for posting...
 
A had a lot of vivid and weird dreams post op. In fact, at 2 years out I still dream more than I recall doing pre-op although not as much as I did in those first few months after OHS.
 
What really bugs me is the dreams where someone is chasing you and you wake up with
a HR of 150 bpm:eek:
Anyway, I have been on Metoprolol for over 2 years and I'm convinced that it is cut with LSD.:rolleyes:
 
".... cut with LSD..."

OK, I had a good laugh over that comment! And who the heck really knows what goes into these prescription drugs anyway???

Thanks for all the responses! It's always reassuring to hear that you're not alone with these issues. Unless the dreams become nightmares, I won't have much more concern. And I'm still holding out hope that I may find myself on a Baywatch beach!
 
It's the beta blocker. I got so bad with the dreams that I was having trouble distinguishing between what had actually happened to me and what I had dreamt. If you need that beta blocker for your heart, and so close out of surgery, you just may, then there may not be much to do but work around it. I ended up trying a different beta blocker (changed from atenolol to ToprolXL) and noticed some relief. But I still hated them and eventually (12 months out) convinced my cardiologist to up my other blood pressure med if I could just go off the beta blocker. She agreed. Dreams now normal.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE YOURSELF OFF OF A BETA BLOCKER!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: This med is very tied in to the electrical impulses/ reactions of your heart. It needs to be very very gradually diminished...over many weeks. It can really throw your heart into problems with rhythm and firing off. If the cardio says, sure, just quit....don't!!! Wean yourself off of it by tapering down the doses over several weeks. Otherwise, see if a different brand of beta blocker might not agree with you better.

Good luck. Let us know.

Marguerite
 
Steve,
I too have had very different dreams than before surgery. In fact too much of my dreams these days are the nightmare variety, which is OK --I can deal with it--but it does wake me up and sometimes I have trouble going back to sleep and sometimes I just cant falll back asleep. My meds are similar to yours. Some days are better than others--but I could do without the troubling, dramatic dreams that I now have more often.
Take Care Zack
 
South Sound Sailor said:
".... cut with LSD..."

OK, I had a good laugh over that comment! And who the heck really knows what goes into these prescription drugs anyway???
Click to expand...

Waking after three heavily sedated days in ICU, there where for a while some pleasantly odd visual happenings. Nurses I knew to be wearing powder blue uniforms occasionally wore shimmering pink ones. Plain white textured ceiling tiles would become pastel coloured moonscapes. The Consultant Anaesthetist checking me out,; did he really have a diamond studded bling front teeth?? :cool:
 
Oh...

Oh...

I forgot to mention...about a week ago, I woke up mad because I had finally made it on The Price is Right and I never got off of contestant's row. :mad: I woke up and swore that I had been on the show. LOL!!! Too funny...
 
Post Op Dreams

Post Op Dreams

I fell out of the chair when I saw this thread. 13-14 months after avr surgery, and I am having epic nightmare dreams. I do not take any other drug other than warfarin. I only can average 4-5 hours sleep if I am lucky some nights and wake up sweating and can recall the details and makes for a shaky start to the morning. Is there a time frame on these dreams going away? It is affecting my work. Since most of you are on other drugs, is there a place, person or method to stop having these? Any suggestions welcome.
 
I had frequent dreams post op. Not as many as you report. Activity was defiantly increased.

Jim L's comment about the sleeping in spirts (sp) is a good one. Get it while you can. Uninterrupted sleep is almost impossible during the recovery period. Just had a recent reminder of this while recovering from the flu. Don't think I have been this sick since OHS 9 years ago! I have been sleeping short nights, waking up in a pool of sweat. Brought back memories. Hubby even asked why I was wide awake @ 4AM (he was in London) so the phone call worked for me!

You will return back to a new 'normal' soon enough. This will all be a distant memory!
 
It's the Metoprolol. I only take a tiny dose, but my dreams are very vivid. I've seen other people mention beta blockers causing vivid dreams as well.
 
Although you wouldn't have had any pregnancy dreams, it's kind of the same. Many of those focused on the baby, but not all. I remember dreaming that my baby was born with Elvis sideburns. There were also the many dreams of going places and forgetting the baby. I also once dreamed that I was being buried alive.

I wasn't on Atenolol until about 12 months after surgery, and don't remember any weird dreams, but I was sleeping good by then. I did have some in the few weeks after surgery, but I don't remember any of them now. I just remember the feeling of waking up and thinking that I was somewhere else.

I think when you are uncomfortable sleeping, you wake more often, so you have a much better chance of waking in the middle of a dream and therefore remembering it. Also, when anything major happens in your life, your mind tends to "freak out" and you have a tendency to have weird dreams. I guess it's a way of dealing with trauma, stress, or any major changes in your life. Treat yourself like a baby. Sleep when you're tired, no matter what time of day.
 
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