h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I tried Bach flowers once but stopped immediately because it was giving me strange dreams. They weren't unpleasant, but very odd and vivid. It worried me that these so-called harmless drops were doing something weird to my brain.

Be careful if you do decide to try them out, and get someone to work out the exact type and dose for you.

I'd also suggest checking with your doctor or pharmacist as to whether the Bach extracts would conflict with your medication. I know my doctor warned me about herbal remedies for depression in conjunction with prozac...

hi there,just dropped by to see if the sleeping was getting any better
I do hope that relaxing before bedtime has helped,and that you've had time to put it into practise.I have your addy,so will e-mail you over the weekend

The herbal stuff maybe is more powerful that we think (after all; most medicines originate in some sort of plant)

Le V, who isn't on any sort of meds for his mega-probs, eventually tried St Johns Wort, but came screaming back to me "You try to poison me, i have had evil nightmares for two nights since taking that, have it back!"

I am fine on it; i just take it when feeling in a "down spiral" & don't seem to get any side effects. Who knows whether the effect is placebo or not? Anyway, i have a nice full jar of the things & it's full moon & Bastille day & just chucked totally manic yet depressed & universe hating viking out,i am probably veering into mad stuff, so i think i will treat myself to a couple....

And a martini.

zdt

Terri, the specifically warned me about St John's Wort (or 'wart', as I preferred to hear the word). The dreams were specifically mentioned as a problem.

(But I do like the idea of a sacred blemish, or a holy boil, or something.)

Ah so he wasn't making it up? It certainly doesn't warn you about that on the label; though it does say "consult if taking other stuff"

Yes, a "holy boil" is a delightful concept, very Ken Russell. Buboes!Plague! Pestilence! hah: if you want depression, you can have it covered in nasty slimy stuff which goes pop in the knight!

zdt

'Things that go pop in the knight.'

*struggles to regain composure*

But enough of that. JEllen, how's the sleeping going?

Hello JEllen! I also think that continuing to keep your dream journal will help. You may find some of the sources for some of the content of your nightmares in that way. Also, being more aware of what you are dreaming may also help you gain some control over the dreams themselves. The ideal thing would be if you can, while having a nightmare, realise that it's just a nightmare, and make yourself wake up - or put it to a stop, or change the course of it, while you're sleeping. I've been able to develop this ability, and it helps me out most of the time. I don't get 'really' scary nightmares any more.

At any rate, I wish you all the best with this!

Hi Everyone!

I continue to have very vivid dreams, some of them nice, some of them very scary. I wrote down some of my dreams this morning. Writing them down may help, as some of you suggested.

I doubt my doctor will approve Bach flower remedies, so I guess that option's out.

I've been trying to have a bedtime glass of milk and think pleasant thoughts as I go to sleep.

Oh yes, and Pillowcase, I find that even becoming lucid doesn't always help. I realize I am dreaming, and STILL am helpless to change much, or even to wake up.

Does it make you feel any better to know that your dreaming though?

Yes, a little bit.

My advice is to not forget to take Effexor (Venlafaxine) at night. If I ever do, I get very nasty nightmares and wake up with a headache. So I'm wondering, JEllen, have you changed your medication recently? Incressed or decresed the dosage?

The consensus seems to be Herbal = Good, Big Pharma = Bad, no? Pish!

The first thing I'd say is that the nasty chemicals DO work for most people. For all their annoying side effects, they are often essential. St John's Wort - yes, it can be effective for mild to moderate unipolar depression. But it's no more without side effects than the non-herbal pharmaceuticals - and it doesn't work for bipolar disorder. I also know people who've had very nasty depression triggered by Evening Primrose Oil.

I'm not totally against hippy-dippy stuff, though. A few drops of lavender oil on the pillow works wonders for me.

Thanks for writing back. I hope those horrible dreams will have stopped now. It takes so long to process bad things that happen to you doesn't it? I sometimes wish for a laxative for our emotional 'digestive tract'. Indeed I was still having exam nightmares ten years after my finals!! Love from deepest Dorset

Hi I read your dream about little neglected creatures and I was amazed, I've had the exact same dream myself about guinea pigs and was so distressed... Also I've had a lucid flying dream and always longed to get back to it ... I'm a supply teacher and I know how it feels to be in a noisy, disrupted classroom - I'm in one now! What did you do after teaching, if you aren't doing it now - I need some ideas on how to get out of this rotten job.
josiefrost

Hi Edward, I'll email med details.

Hiya everyone!

here is litle song by Emmylou Harris


Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
make him the cutest that I've ever seen
give him two lips like roses and clover
then tell him that his lonesome nights are over


http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/...s-emmylou/mister-sandman-11140.html

*waves*

While I'm awfully fond of (JEllen's fellow Memphis-resident) Emmylou Harris, who's simply got sexier and sexier as she's aged...she didn't write 'Mr Sandman':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Sandman

(That W***pedia article cites her 'Trio' album with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton as 'unreleased'. Then how come I've got a copy? )

Maybe it wasn't released. Maybe it just escaped when nobody was looking.