Thinking in dreams???

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RunningGirl85

RunningGirl85

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So I've noticed that in the past few weeks (maybe longer?) my thoughts keep going back to dreams I've had. Like, I'm constantly rehashing dream images, thinking of them like real memories. It's similar to my auras, but these aren't auras... My auras involving dreams are usually remembering a dream I don't think I've ever had, then I get the nauseous, weird feelings. I don't get any of the accompanying feelings, and I'm pretty sure these are all dreams I've had - even dreams from years ago. My dreams have been pretty vivid since increasing Lamictal, and the images that keeping in my head have all been pieces of vivid dreams.

Anyways, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this with increasing medications or maybe they're related to where my epilepsy takes place (left temporal lobe). It's just weird, because this is all kind of new.
 
I think that what you're experiencing must be a combination of the Lamictal side effecr and deja vu partials. There definitely seems to be a link between TLE, dreams, and deja vu sensations, probably due to the proximity to the amygdala (which plays a role in memory and recall). You might be interested in this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8149215 and this one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12181008, which looks at Dream Recall for folks who have Complex Partials vs. Generalized Seizures. The gist is that both groups have high Dream Recall, but folks with complex Partials remember significantly more.

Other studies have suggested that the areas of the temporal lobes that produce recurrent dreams are the same as those that produce epileptic seizures while awake: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1985830 And that certain dreams are actually seizure auras: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/107507
 
This is a really interesting topic you brought up. When I started having convulsions, I seem to stop having my normal dreams. I would start having lucid dreaming/id be partially awake. When I would get off medications or have changes in my seizure patterns. My dreams would randomly pop up in my mind and I would confuse it with a possible real life memory. The strangest thing was, my mind will constantly recall a specific dream. Always the same one, and my mind seems convinced it happened in my past.
 
I can 100% relate and could have written your post.

I've been on the same dosage (150 mg) of lamictal for several yrs. My dream pattern hasn't changed. Still incredibly vivid and I normally recall about 2 every night. I can remember some dreams from months ago, even a few from when I 1st began taking Lamictal in 2009. It's so strange because before this medicine I could recall maybe 2 a year. I don't know if mine are lucid or not, I don't try to control them. I fall asleep so quickly most nights, in less then 10 minutes.

More then you probably wanted to know, but yes...I can relate 100% to what you wrote. Left temporal lobe here too.
 
I've always remembered my dreams, and have always been fascinated by them... Maybe the seizures have made it more intense. It's just so strange that half the time I'm awake my dreams keep flashing through my head. I know my medications have DEFINITELY made the dreams more vivid.

My dream recollections aren't of the same dream, but rather a few dreams. Usually pleasant ones too... It's like I want to go back there or something. I'm pretty sure they're dreams I actually had, but my auras are dreams I HAVEN'T had, or I am remembering an experience I've never had. There ARE times I also confuse dream memories with real dreams. I know when I was explaining my symptoms to my neurologist, he said the "dreamlike" state I get with some of my auras is indicative of left temporal lobe epilepsy, so I guess it probably all ties in.
 
I am right with you! I mentioned to my doctor a couple of visits ago that I was having super vivid dreams that hang around with me for weeks. She said it was a side effect of the meds and asked if they are nightmares. For me, the dreams are for the most part always centered around me getting lost in some way or form. Never scarry though. But I have to say, I can recall these for months!
 
Very interesting! I WAS having nightmares, but thank goodness they are just vivid now, and not so much scary; though, I do tend to have "angry" dreams. A lot of yelling at people and getting frustrated (like being a teenager again!), yet they're people I'm not upset with. Thankfully I recall the happy ones that involve pretty scenery :)
 
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