1. < Sleep Health

Anyone wake feeling exhausted after seemingly dreaming all night

Posted by mazeppabob @mazeppabob, Jul 26, 2022

I never wake refreshed/rested. It has been like this for as long as I can remember and I am 77 now,
My sleep medicine DR called it EPIC dreaming. A rare disorder with no known cause or treatment. His only suggestion was to prescribe Modafinil (a stimulant) taken in the morning to perk me up.
I have tried CPAP and other meds to no avail.
I wonder if this is really that rare.

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aforadham | @aforadham | May 28 5:25am

Guys, has anyone found a solution? I’m 25 now, and this problem has been with me for more than 5 years. I really need help. If I don’t force myself to wake up, I won’t get up at all because I’m always tired in the morning and feel sleepy. I need caffeine just to feel fully awake.
And the dreams are too many and too vivid. I love it, but I’ve had enough—I just need to sleep.

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2 replies
covidstinks2023 | @covidstinks2023 | May 28 5:58am

I have found that Zyzal at night causes this with me. Constant dreaming and bad dreams.

Blessings & Prayers....

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SusanEllen66 | @SusanEllen66 | 6 days ago
In reply to @aforadham "Guys, has anyone found a solution? I’m 25 now, and this problem has been with me..." + (show)
@aforadham

Guys, has anyone found a solution? I’m 25 now, and this problem has been with me for more than 5 years. I really need help. If I don’t force myself to wake up, I won’t get up at all because I’m always tired in the morning and feel sleepy. I need caffeine just to feel fully awake.
And the dreams are too many and too vivid. I love it, but I’ve had enough—I just need to sleep.

Jump to this post

I did a sleep study and they said I have idiopathic hypersomnia. My brain doesn’t sleep when I am sleeping. I don’t dream but I’m always tired.

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margydavis | @margydavis | 5 days ago
In reply to @jemarkman "@mazeppabob I'm the only person I have ever met with this condition. I'm 47 and have..." + (show)
@jemarkman

@mazeppabob I'm the only person I have ever met with this condition. I'm 47 and have had it my entire life. I can tell you about dreams I had going back to the age of 4. I sometimes remember them better than reality. I also sleep 10+ hours a night and have just dealt w the exhaustion. I know how horrible it is, but I'm also relieved to hear that it's not just me. 🙃

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Why am I so relieved to know there are others out there with this as well. I've had it my whole life and never met anyone else with it. Sooo exhausting and too weird to bring up with friends. Anyone with a solution would make alot of money!

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bells93 | @bells93 | 21 hours ago
In reply to @dianepyz "Same here. I dream constantly. Both at night and during a nap. As soon as I..." + (show)
@dianepyz

Same here. I dream constantly. Both at night and during a nap. As soon as I drift into sleep, the dreams start.

It might be very rare but you're not alone. I have the same condition.

I definitely think it gets worse when I'm experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. However, the dreams are constant regardless of my emotional state.

I think it could be related to ADHD and/or a very active brain.

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Same, I never wake up feeling refreshed. Are your vivid dreams emotionally intense as well?
I'm 32 was diagnosed with ADHD ad 21

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bells93 | @bells93 | 21 hours ago
In reply to @aforadham "Guys, has anyone found a solution? I’m 25 now, and this problem has been with me..." + (show)
@aforadham

Guys, has anyone found a solution? I’m 25 now, and this problem has been with me for more than 5 years. I really need help. If I don’t force myself to wake up, I won’t get up at all because I’m always tired in the morning and feel sleepy. I need caffeine just to feel fully awake.
And the dreams are too many and too vivid. I love it, but I’ve had enough—I just need to sleep.

Jump to this post

I feel you, I'm 32 and have had this since I was a kid. It's so difficult waking up, if I don't force myself in the morning for work I can keep going back to sleep and dreaming. Sometimes it feels impossible to wake myself up and I oversleep. Do you crash in the afternoon as well? I usually get tired so have a power nap, but i'll vivid dream during that as well.
I tried sleeping pills, and although they knocked me out for hours, I still had a full night of vivid dreaming.
One thing that seemed to be effective for me, was blue lotus tea when I was in Sri Lanka. I live in the UK though and I can't find it here. It's the flower which is dried, and you put it in a cup with hot water. I found it quite relaxing and it I woke up more refreshed and didn't remember my dreams. My friend on the other hand, got wired and had trouble sleeping on it.
I have ADHD since I was a kid, and overthink ALL the time, brain never shuts up. Tbh though, I smoked weed for a few years in my late teens, and even that didn't stop me from dreaming so.

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bells93 | @bells93 | 21 hours ago

I have had this since I was a child as well, in combination with vivid nightmares. I'm 32 now. How has this affected you during your life? I read later in the comments that you were on antidepressants (I currently am and wish to stop), was that the cause of you starting the medication?
I've tried sleeping pills for a short period and it did nothing, knocked me out for 10 hours but still had the vivid dreams.
I've done quote a bit of therapy and even therapists don't seem to understand the extent of how exhausting this is / feel like i'm exaggerating, it gets quite lonely. My new partner this morning kept asking what is wrong, and when I mentioned it was because I had a bad dream (which seemed to last for hours and hours) they didn't understand at all, "it's just a dream", ah, it does get lonely. Wishing you all the best

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