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KarenNWendyn

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I’ve always had an interest in hearing about people’s dreams. I’m talking about the ones people have during sleep. I actually did a thesis during medical school on dream interpretation.

Last night I had one where I was walking around and realized I was wearing a BiPAP mask. Every time I tried to take it off, apparently another BiPAP mask found its way onto my face.

In the dream, I felt frustrated. When I woke up, I actually thought it was funny. I don’t mean any disrespect to those who must use BiPAP 24/7 because there is a possibility I will be there too some day. My interpretation of the dream is that the BiPAP mask represented my feelings about being possessed and trapped by ALS.

I know other people on this forum have mentioned their dreams. Some are terrifying. It is my belief that if people discuss their dreams, then that may lessen the horror of the really scary ones.
 
Hi Karen,
It just so happens that my dad has had a rather traumatizing dream. It was two nights ago and he keeps talking about it. It went like this :
He was at the market. A very familiar place. He lives just over it and has lived here over 50 years. He was having a treat with oysters and good wine. He had his illness but he wasn't worried because there was someone to help him eat but he couldn't figure out who. Then things got unpleasant. When he wanted to walk, there were obstacles like wood trunks down and above. Then there were these walls that enclosed him and he found himself "as locked in a cardboardbox". So the only thing he could do was wait. It seemed very real to him but he managed to wake up and call for help. Then he was confused. He didn't understand what time it was although he was told. He didn't know what day it was either. He wasn't sure if he had had lunch or not.
The oysters are a treat we usually share with our neighbor friends. They come with the oysters open and good wine.
I had spend almost all summer with him but I wasn't there that night. His legs have been weakening at a frightening speed these past few weeks.
The box is pretty obvious.
What is even more frightening is that he feels it was very real like a hallucination. He has been funny about hydratation so as not to have to "go" so often. Big mistake.
The helper who told him that the depends are ok, it's just that he drinks too much can just ..... ( rude language) I'll buy the nasa ones on internet and tell her what I think she can do with her remarks. ( nothing classy)
I'm here tonight. He drank plenty and we have a stack of depends.
He is worried about he confusion and fears the nightmare will come back. I told him to yell if anything unpleasant happened or seemed to happen.
I'am sure many pals have weird dreams.
Thanks for launching this thread;
ML
 
I forgot to say that is not at all a good season for oysters yet unless you live by the sea :)
couldn't find the winking smiley
 
I used to have a recurring dream several times a month. It went on for years.

I would not remember my age (in the dream.) It seemed like I would have to figure out my age by relating it to events and people in my life. When I first woke up from this recurring dream I would be still trying to figure out my age and would actually keep trying to figure it out for a minute or two after being awake. I always was amazed that I was THAT old when the answer would finally come. I haven't had that dream for at least five years.

I also dreamed several times that I killed my mother and it would always involve blood. I finally figured out why I was dreaming this. Long before she was diagnosed with colon cancer, I took her for a routine physical. Her hemoglobin was low and she was post menopausal. I was only in my 20s but it bothered me that the doctor didn't think it was anything to worry about. That was before doctors recommended routine colonoscopies. She told him she was having rectal bleeding and he attributed it to very bad constipation. He didn't put two and two together. I guess I blamed myself for not figuring it out. I haven't had the dream since I figured it out.

When I was a kid I dreamed about being an NFL player....really! I even saw the number on my jersey (#14) which was Y. A. Tittle's number. In looking back at this dream it may have had something to do with pleasing my father who was a huge Giants fan. By the time I was 13 I knew all the teams, players, records, and coaches. He would march me out like a pet monkey to show off to his friends about how much I knew about football statistics.

I've read several books on dream interpretation but I've always enjoyed trying to figure out the meaning myself.
 
Since I started showing signs of MND, I realize I've stopped dreaming. Aside from a brief period where I was taking a med that caused me to have hypnogogic hallucinations about 3 years ago. Not sure if it's the Tizanidine or my sleep quality, but I very rarely dream now- and only fragments. It's one of the things I miss, as I used to have a very rich dream life. If I do remember any dreams, they are usually brief "clips" of something that is representative of stress, worry or regret.

My usual script is being back at school, knowing I have a test in a class I never attended, forgot I signed up for, did not study for or can't find the classroom of. I usually know what I've been subconsciously stressed about based on the subject of the test in my dream. Usually it's History.

Oddly enough, I used to have repeated dreams of having legs too heavy to take steps with. There was always a sense of urgency in these dreams- where I'd need to go somewhere quickly but just couldn't get my legs to work properly. Sometimes, if I was needing to go up a hill or stairs, I'd try to pull myself along with my hands as well. As soon as this became my physical condition in real life, I stopped having those dreams.

Karen, thanks for posting this.
 
I also stopped dreaming but regained occasional dreams when I took zinc. Now I think magnesium helps. Related to sleep quality I am sure. My dreams are virtually always related to something I am worried about and the connections are pretty clear

When I was convinced there was something else wrong I had a very vivid dream where I was attempting to find my way from JFK to Laguardia on foot and kept meeting up with beings with neurological issues for whom I searched for help on my journey. There was a pilot who was clearly having a CVA and a dog with seizures. Weird but clearly representative of my search for an alternative explanation for myself
 
Interesting stuff.

I, too, used to have a very rich dream life (which I generally enjoyed), bit have noticed way fewer dreams since developing ALS. I’m guessing that could be from some of the supplements I take — maybe the CBD at bedtime. And also ALS is likely messing with my sleep cycles.

Shiftkicker, the one about being back in school and realizing you have a test coming up or a paper to write (often when it’s too late) is a recurring one I have too. I think it represents a manifestation of anxiety.

I’ve heard that the emotion in a dream is really what the dream is about. The images usually relate to things you have seen or thought about lately. I find the metaphors fascinating and also how the mind puts together all these images.

MarieLaure, with your father’s dream, reassuring him that you’re there for him is important. He’s clearly frightened. I think his sharing the dream with you was probably helpful to him.

Kim, I don’t know what to tell you....

Fascinating stuff you guys. Keep it coming....
 
Kim shiftkicker and Nikki your dreams are very powerful.
Shift, do you mean you had the heavy legs dream before you had neuro issues ? That is most troubling.
Have sweet dreams now all.
 
Well to my relief my dreaming has all but dried up,

I am a vet and ha e had combat ptsd dreams for 40 yrs always running,hiding,fighting,shooting,crazy $hit

So no dream is good side effects of this other real nightmare

Lol. Good topic

Love ya all
Chally
 
i get dragged away by one heel and can do nothing
 
my dreams very vivid again. The bad ones involve teaching, not being prepared, showing up late, forgetting my subject matter.

the good ones more frequent and always take place in my childhood home. Playing golf or tennis matches and recalls recalling every point or stroke when I awaken. The best part I'm always strong and healthy. Comforting to see my deceased relatives showing up!
!

pretty sure it has to do with sleep quality n


ps. I'm a damn good golfer in my sleep!
 
I have had a recurring dream of attending an out-of -town meeting and not being able to find the airport for my return home. in subsequent dreams I could, with difficulty, find the airport but discovered that I had not made reservations for my return trip home. had variations of this dream, sometimes substituting a train rather than a plane. a few years ago when waking up from one of these nightmares I said to myself that I have had enough of these dreams and I would no longer accept them. knock on wood but I have not had any more of these unwanted dreams. but wait, since bringing up this subject let us see what dreams I have tonight ! ! !
- - - also had recurring dreams about not being prepared for classes that I had absolutely no knowledge of. cause? stress and anxiety perhaps?
 
CHALLY, I, too, had a problematic dream for 40 years. Always the same: I'm captured, in a jungle prison, and being tortured in the face in some grotesque manner.


That dream ended when I got EMDR therapy. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming. It worked great!


Maybe you could find a therapist who does EMDR therapy.


Now my dreams are all happy. The best ones involve flying. In one, I am given a tour on a giant, giant military jet so big it has an auditorium. I'm a crewmember, operating equipment.


The other flying dream is cool. I fly like Peter Pan, zooming high above the ball of planet Earth, and then zoom down through the clouds, soaring low, within inches of the grass and flowers. That's my favorite.
 
So I had one last night. A bassoon anxiety/ frustration dream.

I can no longer play bassoon (in real life — thanks ALS :-( ). Major, major suck!

In the dream, I was at a band rehearsal, trying to assemble my bassoon prior to the the rehearsal. I had opened the case, and each piece was oddly entwined with thread (the sort of thread used for wrapping bassoon reeds). So I had to undo the thread from each piece before I could assemble the instrument.

Well it took me forever. I was getting so frustrated. The rehearsal started without me as I struggled to remove all the thread. By the time I finally got all the thread off, hours had gone by and the rehearsal was over. I never got to play. Then the dream ended.

I think the symbolism here is obvious — feeling frustrated, trapped, panicky. Definitely feelings of angst and struggling. Perhaps also struggling to get things done before time runs out.

Funny things dreams are.
 
Oh what an anguishing dream!
Do you sometimes imagine- not dream- that you are actually playing? If so, does it make you feel good ?
Hugs
 
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