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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Since my comment the other day I have in the past few days changed my diet and lifestyle. I have done a dog walk for approx 30 minutes a day, I have ensured I am drinking at least 2 litres of water a day and eating less calories... I have slept SO much better, the dreams have been less intense and been more "normal ". Sharing this encase it helps anyone else. The only other thing is I've been sleeping with a fit bit on which monitors your sleep...

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@singhp

Hi @katiesp ,
I am 27.I am also experiencing same. Racing thoughts , dreaming extensively everyday for years now every night.I have lost my job few months ago and I think due to this condition i can't decide what to do, not able to focus on anything.Feeling like I am living a dual life, I dont think i can tell this to family members as they will think I am making excuses, or is this something that happens with everyone. Dont know . Can you please tell me if You have found any solution to this..

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I also don't know if it is related but in 2020 I was diagnosed with ADHD. I suffer with racing thoughts etc. During the day and it appears my brain is over active day and night, it might be worth you looking into whether you have a neurodivergent condition - I have posted another comment just a few moments ago that changing my diet , ensuring I don't go over my calories, doing at least 30 minutes walking and increasing my water intake to at least 2 litres and I have noticed an improvement in just a few days.

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@katiesp

I also don't know if it is related but in 2020 I was diagnosed with ADHD. I suffer with racing thoughts etc. During the day and it appears my brain is over active day and night, it might be worth you looking into whether you have a neurodivergent condition - I have posted another comment just a few moments ago that changing my diet , ensuring I don't go over my calories, doing at least 30 minutes walking and increasing my water intake to at least 2 litres and I have noticed an improvement in just a few days.

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Thanks for the quick response. I think these dreams are the basis of the disconnectedness I am feeling on daily basis. I don't think there is any long term solution to this and I fear I might have to live a loser like life where everyone looks down upon you. I have been diagnosed with depression 2 yrs ago and the medicine they gave just aggravated these dreams and lethargy. I think this over dreaming thing is causing memory loss kind of thing . Any way thanks again for the quick response.

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@mbg1

I dream all night long even after waking up every 2 hours to urinate. I am exhausted every morning and depleted. I drink coffee but it does not help for long. I don’t want to take any more pills. Any suggestions ?

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It's so nice to find out I'm not alone with this crazy thing. Every doctor I've mentioned it to just kind of smiles and says they have never heard of such a thing. I also get hypnic headaches during the night every night and was wondering if there was some connection but my migraine specialist has never heard of it. I also get up a lot during the night to urinate but thought it was from my old age but could there be some connection to that also?

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@mazeppabob

The DR who made the diagnosis of Epic dreaming described it as non-REM dreaming. I can take a short nap and dream. They seem to start as soon as I nod off. The dream continues for what seems like hours. I can be drifting in and out, partially awake, and go right back to the same dream. The only way to end it is to physically get up and walk around. When I return to bed a new dream starts and goes on and on.
This has been going on every night basically my whole life. I can't believe that I have been stressed every single day or that it is medication related since I wasn't on any when younger.
I asked the DR if there had been any research for cause and treatment. His reply was that no one wants to spend time and money on rare disorders.

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Every morning when I was a child I would wake up and over breakfast tell my mom my dreams, I would go on for an hour, finally one day she told me to stop lying , that I was making it up. I’ll never forget that. I’m 43 years old male, Every night I dream the most incredible crazy adventures, meet and interact with people I’ve never met, I’ve never had a recurring dream. I explain it like this…
“If you took a Wes Anderson, Magnolia Pictures, Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski Films, horror, drama, sci-fi, porn, daytime tv including commercials, Epic Shit, Low budget shit, and throw a mishmash of every other film, wildest thing you've ever thought of, and then max that by a million, shatter it into a billion pieces, throw them in a kaleidoscope.
And as I fall asleep even before l'm really dreaming, the kaleidoscope starts turning…I wake exhausted every day, they are giving me Modafinil and that helps but other than that I’m an anomaly. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. I wish there was a medication that helped me get into slow wave sleep but there isn’t. I’ve tried everything from meditation, to gabapentin, exercise, everything..nothing has ever come close to helping me feel rested. It’s a gift I feel but many days I wake and wish I hadn’t dreamed so much. I love them but it’s wearing my brain out and really starting to catch up with me…

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@gussie

It's so nice to find out I'm not alone with this crazy thing. Every doctor I've mentioned it to just kind of smiles and says they have never heard of such a thing. I also get hypnic headaches during the night every night and was wondering if there was some connection but my migraine specialist has never heard of it. I also get up a lot during the night to urinate but thought it was from my old age but could there be some connection to that also?

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Same!

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@potatobug

Every morning when I was a child I would wake up and over breakfast tell my mom my dreams, I would go on for an hour, finally one day she told me to stop lying , that I was making it up. I’ll never forget that. I’m 43 years old male, Every night I dream the most incredible crazy adventures, meet and interact with people I’ve never met, I’ve never had a recurring dream. I explain it like this…
“If you took a Wes Anderson, Magnolia Pictures, Guillermo del Toro, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski Films, horror, drama, sci-fi, porn, daytime tv including commercials, Epic Shit, Low budget shit, and throw a mishmash of every other film, wildest thing you've ever thought of, and then max that by a million, shatter it into a billion pieces, throw them in a kaleidoscope.
And as I fall asleep even before l'm really dreaming, the kaleidoscope starts turning…I wake exhausted every day, they are giving me Modafinil and that helps but other than that I’m an anomaly. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. I wish there was a medication that helped me get into slow wave sleep but there isn’t. I’ve tried everything from meditation, to gabapentin, exercise, everything..nothing has ever come close to helping me feel rested. It’s a gift I feel but many days I wake and wish I hadn’t dreamed so much. I love them but it’s wearing my brain out and really starting to catch up with me…

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I forgot to mention, I’m very healthy, I’ve never taken medication until Modafinil, and have had a very stress free life..

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It’s extremely rare, I’ve only met one other person in my life that has what I have. My friends all wish they could study my brain..I tell pretty much everyone I know on a personal level and they have never heard of what I experience. Nor my doctors.

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@potatobug

It’s extremely rare, I’ve only met one other person in my life that has what I have. My friends all wish they could study my brain..I tell pretty much everyone I know on a personal level and they have never heard of what I experience. Nor my doctors.

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This started with I was 65 and I was also diagnosed with CVID. (The boy in the bubble disease). It means I don't have a complete immune system to fight bacteria and viruses. I am now 81 and except for osteoarthritis which hurts, I am pretty healthy and outwardly am taken for a sister to my 58 year old daughter. I may look good on the outside but this sleeping condition is just wearing me out. I don't work anymore so I can nap during the day if I need to. But even with an hour nap I still dream. I have done some crazy higher math and spoken languages I've never spoken in my dreams. My neuro suggested a sleep lab but I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway with all the probes in my head with someone watching me.

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Hi @mazeppabob
I have just woke up from another one of my dreams absolutely exhausted. This happens to me all the time. And then I found your post. Can we talk? I'm sorry I've literally just signed up here to speak to you so I have no idea how we communicate privately?

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