SopuliSusie's dreams

Having suffered from persistent vertigo and dizziness since the onset of her 8th episode of persistent aura without infarction in March 2006, SopuliSusie (subject #405) experienced the onset of her 13th episode of the aforementioned migraine complication with a significant worsening of the given vestibular symptoms during a lucid dream whilst taking a nap on February 9, 2007.

"Last weekend [February 9, 2008] I had a dream I was spinning around in circles uncontrollably (hovering over my bed, no less) and then I woke up dizzy and stayed dizzy for two days. Actually, I'm still dizzy."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Experimenting - Ability to change magnitude of VS, February 12, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

"I do have vertigo and dizziness every day, but the worsening on Sunday was enough that I was falling down and crashing into walls. I'm maybe 70% back to baseline now, but I'm having to rehabituate to my new rate of vertigo and rely on all those tricks the physical therapists taught me for walking around being super dizzy.

The dream was during a nap on Sunday [February 9, 2008]. I kept falling asleep Sunday midday into really deep, coma-like, dream-filled sleep. I often have dreams where I'm falling, sliding down floors that are tilting, levitating, flying, and other such fun. I've had spinning before too, but not like this. This was me horizontal on my back and spinning around a point in my waist. Awful."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Question to SopuliSusie, February 12, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

"How bizarre. I'll check back on Sunday [i.e. after a week], but as of today, I'm still the same as yesterday. I do hope it gets back to the way it was- at least I was used to that."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Question to SopuliSusie, February 13, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

Over a week (February 18, 2007) after her dream featuring a significant worsening of the persistent dizziness and vertigo, "It is still at an unfortunate and nausea-inducing level. Luckily I discovered some gummi-like bears made of ginger, which help a little with the nausea. I don't want to take my metoclopramide unless I'm super sick, since it does wacky things to my blood pressure."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Question to SopuliSusie, February 18, 2008)

"I'm hoping the [intense] vertigo and dizziness slowly go away like it did the last time. I've noticed I'm unconsciously swaying my head around in what I guess is an attempt to match the moving world."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Email to Klaus Podoll, February 19, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

Luckily, "That dream-induced vertigo finally went down to normal levels" on February 29, 2008, indicating full remission of the 13th episode of persistent aura after a duration of 20 days.

SopuliSusie [subject #405], Odd dream scotoma thing, 2008. "Here's a picture. It isn't perfect, but it is pretty close. Hard to figure out how to do scintillating things." © 2008 SopuliSusie (larger image see here)

About 2½ weeks later, SopuliSusie (subject #405) recorded:

"BUT, it happened again yesterday, so now I'm back to yucky levels of vertigo. I had some super cool scotomata during the dream - that was nifty. I have to wonder why this happens during naps when I can't stay awake and then fall into a coma-like sleep where I can't wake up, even though I am conscious of being asleep. Ah well, the mysteries of the brain."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - quick update: March, March 16, 2008)

"In my dream, I had a couple of aura features (that I remember). One was of everything becoming tilted. So in my dream, the world tilted and I started sliding off my bed, tumbling on the floor, and falling more. At some point in my dream, I get up, go to another room and try to open my eyes, but everything is blank. Then a point of light in the middle of the field of view starts to open in a scintillating way, and as it opens up further, I see a very vivid Asiatic lily. But, it wasn't real and I knew it wasn't real - it was that part vivid, part fake way that a positive afterimage has. That is very different from my usual grey spot scotomas, and more like the transitory ones I get (big, obvious, colorful, very scintillating).

In both this dream, and the other one from before, I was conscious of being asleep and dreaming. As far as the lucidity, I am not sure at which point it started, or if it was there all along. And with this one, it was like I was keeping mental notes of what I was seeing because I knew some of it was different. So odd.

After I woke up, which took a while, I was dizzy and had vertigo, and had a general worsening of my visual symptoms. I have a migraine headache today. I'll try and get a picture together."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Email to Klaus Podoll, March 18, 2008)

"I never remember seeing VS in my dreams. I've had scotomas and aura symptoms that get incorporated into dreams, but that seems to be rare."

(SopuliSusie [subject #405], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - I don't understand why I don't see VS in my dreams?, March 29, 2008)

top