Unusual powerful, vivid or weird dreams associated with migraine headaches

"Migraine - Ugh, that was terrible. I’m going on the assumption that it's a migraine. I think the worse is over. I feel a bit better although my head still hurts a bit. I ended up going home and taking a sick day. I have to get up early tomorrow and vote anyhow, so I'll just go straight in from that."

(Elana Shenton, Clamp Campus Adventures, September 10, 2001)

"Stress Induces Weird Dreams - I'm pretty sure that the migraine I had yesterday was stress related. Things that have happened before when I've been stressed include sleepwalking (including dialing people I know's phones in the middle of the night and babbling nonsense… watch out!) and strange dreams (probably what brings on the sleepwalking).

Last night I had a WEIRD dream. It involved a couple of segments. My sister apparently ruining my parents' plumbing by flushing things she shouldn't down the toilet. Then I got fed up and went shopping with my friends (don't ask me who they were. I think one was Queen Latifah, which is weirder than you can imagine). While shopping for Gucci handbags, we ran into Carla from Cheers who I apparently worked for. Somewhere along the way I had bought an abundance of baby clothes. Apparently, I have quintuplets. I tell Carla that she thought having them seperately was bad, she should try having them all at once. Carla seems to be working as an Avon lady now and she put weird makeup on my face, which I wiped off. Then Chii pounced my feet and I woke up, which was probably a good thing because it was just way too weird."

(Elana Shenton, Clamp Campus Adventures, September 11, 2001)

"I haven't dreamt (that I recall) in a week or more, but last night was a wild and crazy ride. (Okay, so maybe part of it was migraine induced.)"

(JL, Esoteric Renaissance, By My Hand, Sleep is Wonderful, August 5, 2003)

"Have you noticed, when a migraine wakes you up after 4-hours sleep, that just before you're conscious, the dreams become vivid and almost 3-dimensional? Not pleasant, but powerful."

(Ligeia, BrainTalk Communities, Subject: What's "Weird" About YOUR H/A's?, March 31, 2004)

"I dream in Excitocolor. When I wake up, I have blinding migraine..."

(Xkeeper, Acmlm's board – Craziness Domain - On that note, do you dream in color or monochrome?, July 30, 2004)

"I went to Kwiksave after it had been refitted and couldn't find anything.
I was preparing to go to america.
I found out that my friend Nicky had been having an affair with graeme, and this made me angry and jealous.
I resolved to go to america and never come back.

This was an interesting dream, i'm wondering why i dreamed it, particularly that bit about my friend and graeme...weird the things your mind throws up. I think it didnt' help that i'd suffered yet another migraine, and the painkillers i take either stuff my recall totally, or give me weird dreams like that one... however, it was pretty vivid...

well, it was fascinating, but also rather alarming... it's weird, i think, that around the time of a migraine, my dreams get really vivid and unusual... wonder if it's related... they are also more 'spiritual' in nature.."

(irishcream, Lucid Dreaming Forum, My Dream Journal, August 13-14, 2005)

"Migraine, Dreaming & Depression.

There seems to me to be a definite link between my migraine, dreaming and depression with brain chemistry. I am very careful to manage my physical and mental health. Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that Serotonin levels have a big part to play in my being susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and depression.

I make sure I eat a balanced diet, avoiding food groups to which I am intolerant (nightshade plants, dairy and wheat) and also take regular yet gentle exercise in the form of yoga and walking. These produce endorphins without tiring me. I also think positively, focussing on what psychologist William Bloom (2001) calls 'Strawberries' in chapter 5 of his book The Endorphin Effect. I make sure I get enough sleep. I meditate.

Dreaming, as remembered on waking to find an advanced migraine attack, is distinct from my normal (or even lucid) dreaming states. The main difference is what I call the Technicolor imagery and ultra-fast pace (or highly accelerated time scale) of these migraine dreams. They are more like hallucinations, or perhaps drug-induced experiences. This is why I feel they are the result of some temporary chemical imbalance in my brain. The palliative drugs I take are based on Naratriptan hydrochloride. I know these are in some way connected to the 5HT mechanism or process but don't fully understand how. It's still a brain chemistry thing in my model of reality."

(Peter Bryenton, Email to Klaus Podoll, October 28, 2005)

"I have seen no recurring dream themes. The unifying factor in my 'migraine' dreams is merely the presence of the unusually vivid sensations."

(Peter Bryenton, Email to Klaus Podoll, November 1, 2005)

References

Bloom W. The Endorphin Effect. Piatkus Books, London 2001.

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