I'm hoping that others with dementia will share interesting dreams, including through telling someone else about them who then posts, whatever gets the dreams to the screen.

In the past couple of years, I've had many, many dreams along this line: I'm in a dark room, and I can just barely make out some details. It's extremely cluttered with furniture and boxes, and lots of lights. Lots of light fixtures, lots of ceiling lights with wall switches, all turned off. I start finding and turning on the switches, but nothing lights up. After a while though, a light will glow dimly, not enough to illuminate its surroundings. Maybe another one or two will glow, but still too dim to help with seeing my way around.

Recently, a television has been added to the scene. The set is on, but the screen is dark. I try to change the channel, but I can't figure out how to work the controls.

Thoughts are welcome, and I especially hope to hear of other dementia themes in our dreams.

Alan,

I have had strange dreams since I was told I had EOAD. In my dreams there is always confusion, such as I'm lost and can't find my way out of large buildings, I can't find my car, I lose my purse. At times my children which are all grown are small, I'm in a house and there are so many people and everything is a mess. I could go on and on. I have trouble finding my husband in some of the dreams. The strange thing is when I wake up I can remember these dreams to the last detail. The best way to sum up my dreams is everything is out of control. I ask my neurologist at my last vist about the dreams, he said I think of the alz so much and the things I can no longer do is why I dream these things. After thinking about what he said, I do think of the things I can longer do. Such as, drive my car, lost my career, bad math skills, bad spelling, and how my handwriting is so bad at times I write something and then can't figure out what is says, how bad my short term memory is these days. I try to stay postive, but heck it is hard living a life I'm not suspose to have at 58. I told my Dr. I am not dealing with this very good and it's been over a year. I try to joke about it but these day's it's not very funny. I wonder why these dreams are so vivid and so many dreams I have I can't remember.

Sharon

The first few months I was on Acricept I had some of the craziest nightmares.One woke me up & I was beating the tar out of my nightstand.Had a sore had for a week,lol......The dreams abated after awhile.....

Sharon, I go weeks without remembering many dream details, but then I'll get lucky and have a vivid one that I wake up during, so I can remember it. Makes sense, we can't remember our dreams any better than our memory while we're awake.

Snowy, I've heard of Aricept and sleep disorders, but you really had a strong reaction. What would you call it, "violent sleepwalking"?

Today was my first time on the Caregiver message board. I read a post which explained something about my dreams that I had been puzzled by for several years. A woman wrote about her father's agitation and paranoia, because he was ranted about being accused of stealing. He had been given a Perry Mason book to keep him occupied. Another caregiver wrote and stated that what the patients see becomes their reality so television and books should be limited.

This was like a big "a-ha" moment going off in my head. For years, I have avoidedtelevision and movies because if I see something dangerous or noxious, I will dream about it. And not in a good way, but in a terrifying, trapped way. For example, if I saw a lion chasing and eating a gazelle, I would dream of a lion chasing and catching me. Of course I would awaken before I was eaten, but the dream would be frightening.

In addition to avoidiing television shows, the news, and movies, I had to ask people I knew to be careful in their conversation with me--not to talk about anybody or any animal being hurt. They didn't understand that the problem wasn't just hearing something unpleasant, but having a terrifying (sp?) nightmare.

A psychiatrist I consulted said something to me about anxiety and avoidance, but he never included the terrifying nightmares. Now I know the nightmares are related to the dementia brain pathology. It's a relief to understand after all these years. How many years I spend isolating, thinking I was developing agoraphobia. I think this contributed to insomnia, because I was reluctant to go to sleep. That's probably why I needed sleeping pills for so many years.

Iris L.

I also have what I call my is Cecil B DeMile dreams.
They are in this large closed in area Vast in size a lot of them seem to take place back in my Navy days 40 years ago plus I speak to people who were aboard ship with me.
I also get the Can't find my Wife dreams I know she is there but when I get to where she is supposed to be she has left. It's always an effort to get there.I am not really frightened,just frustrated.I was wakeing up in a sweat,turns out its andropause[spell] and I am getting testeosterone shots once a month.This will be interesting One Caveman coming up!!!!.I have noticed that[nocturnal visits to the bathroom have been normal for a while.]I can go right back to the dreams after waking and I remember the dreams very well.
Sven Dorsey