Sweet dreams with Amiodarone

Day 759.

I have been having really vivid dreams ever since I started taking Amiodarone back in December 2022.

It is so vivid that I have trouble separating the dream from reality.

At first I just thought "Jeez, I am dreaming so much lately". Then I put two and two together and figured out it started when I started Amiodarone. I researched Amiodarone side effects, and low-and-behold: I found vivid dreams and nightmares are found in up to 10% of cases.

No biggie. At the time it was just something novel that I noticed.

Not a sweet dream anymore

Fast forward to this year, and my dreams are getting more and more disturbing.

I am waking up early mornings from terrible nightmares.

This week I dreamt I had a small python slither into my shorts and then out again next to my bare legs. I was terrified it was going to bite me. I woke up, but was still convinced there was a snake in bed next to me and that I couldn't move for about 10 minutes. I was terrified and not in my right mind.

Then I had an even worse nightmare the next night about a person who had their face ripped off, amongst other things.

This is just the peak of the nightmare iceberg. Since February I have written down some of my worst dreams:

• There were snakes in my sitting room, watching me

• My sister committed suicide

• My son was abducted

• I was abducted

• I'm in a rowboat rowing a very long distance

• I mishandled a work pitch and lost my job

• I'm trying to get to the airport urgently with lots of obstacles

• My sister abducted my son

• My father died and I can't get to him

• My teeth fell out

• I had to fire a team member due to a company restructure

• My sister became a drug addict

• My house burnt down

• A serial killer is leaving corpses on the roof of an apartment building

I mean, these were only the highlights. There have been something almost every night.

What now?

I emailed the cardiology nurse in the early hours of the morning one day this week. I just couldn't handle the dreams this week.

She spoke with a cardiology registrar who said it's very unlikely to be Amiodarone. They said nightmares are more likely to be caused by Bisoprolol. They suggested that I drop my evening Bisoprolol pill to see if it makes a difference.

I am nervous about any medication change, but I have to try something. With Bisoprolol I can feel more palpitations if I just delay my medication slightly from when I usually take it. So I hope this doesn't lead to VT. I didn't have the nighttime dose yesterday, and it hasn't made a difference... yet. More nightmares so far.

The cardiology nurse also suggested that I speak to my GP. I really don't want to do that. I don't just want another pill to knock me out at night, or to be dismissed as I have been recently.

I have even tried to look into if this is something that other sarcoidosis patients may experience.

I want to know why this is happening and deal with it. If this isn't caused by medication, why is it happening?