Aspirin-induced nightmares

[Oak Kitten]

When I take aspirin, one of the side effects are these really horrific nightmares, worse than the most gratuitously gruesome horror movies - or so I assume - because I do not enjoy horror movies - which makes these kinds of nightmares particularly annoying.

I've been having these very bizarre and gruesome nightmares the past couple of days - and finally checked the ingredients on the cold medication I have been taking. Sure enough, aspirin is the primary ingredient.

Does anyone else have this problem? One of my siblings has the same problem, but when I tell other people about it, they look at me as though I am nuts. Well, I may be nuts, but that is not the point here. There is a definite link between aspirin and nightmares for me.

Oak

[hoops]

oak, i've never had that experience with aspirin...tho honestly since tylenol came out i haven't really used aspirin. i do know that other meds have caused this in me. i wonder what chemical awakens that area of the brain. sorry you are suffering so.
peace
hoops

[stardust]

I've had similar experience with narcotic pain killers, but not aspirin. I wonder if the aspirin somehow interacts with one or more of your other medications?

[saxman]

I have the same side effects when i include IBuprofen 800 into the mix with the rest of the meds i have to take. ive talked with my Dr. and he doesent see any link. Hmmmm sometimes i wish i could force feed the meds i take to the Drs that provide them to me.and see what they go through. i get a real ride into the bizarre nightmares when i add IB. Its not you Oak Kitten, its the med reacting with other chemicals in your body , thats what i think.

[DaveM]

I've never had any kind of problem with aspirin, but do with generic trazodone (Desyrel), and seemingly only from one manufacturer. My pharmacy switched suppliers and while generics are "supposed" to all be the same, I can only tolerate half as much of the "new" stuff and my nights are technicolor.

Some of the dreams are pretty cool, so I put up with it. But I'd sure love to be able to get the old "equivalent" pill again.

[Eva]

I only have them with Efexor (my antidepressants) Something completely different than aspirine. I have never heard of this to be honest. Can you avoid taking aspirin?

Eva

[Oak Kitten]

I am not taking any other meds, so it can't be an interaction issue. I usually do avoid aspirin for this very reason - but I did not pay attention to the ingredients when I bought the cold medicine. Didn't take any last night and slept just fine.

Oak

[KarenSews2]

Although I don't experience nightmares from aspirin, or anything else that I know of, I do NOT like horror movies. On the rare occasion that I have a nightmare, I usually wake up breathing hard, my heart racing, and have a hard time getting back to sleep.

I have always disliked scary movies. When I was young, we would have slumber parties, and if the other girls decided they wanted to watch Nightmare Theater, I'd be the one in the kitchen whipping up brownies or Rice Krispie treats!*

*(Heh heh! Does this qualify as a "food thread" turnaround??)

[Oak Kitten]

*(Heh heh! Does this qualify as a "food thread" turnaround??)

And a very adept one at that. Kudos. Now I am hungry.

Oak

[Eva]

I am imaginin brownies and whipped cream and all that good stuff. Thanks a lot Karen! :p

Eva

[Bat]

Aspirin usually just makes me very sleepy. I'm supposed to take one baby aspirin a day, so I take it at bedtime...unless I'm deeply immersed in Harry Potter's latest, I usually drop right off.

[DaveM]

Certain Russian novels are very good at inducing sleep. And they probably won't give you nightmares, but they may do odd things to your thinking.

[Eva]

Certain Russian novels are very good at inducing sleep. And they probably won't give you nightmares, but they may do odd things to your thinking.
I have a collegue who wrote a fat report on... well, I am not certain what it is about because it was so sleepinducing and badly written. I was supposed to read it but somehow never managed to do that. No nightmares though. I was asleep before I could get to that stage. If you want I'll send you a copy :rolleyes:

Eva

[Darlene]

Aspirin does not make me have nightmares but any type of cold medicine does. I try my best to say away from any cold medication.

Darlene

[Amy in Vermont]

Oak, I feel your pain.. but I gotta tell ya, I'd give my eye teeth to be able to take aspirin, or Advil again.

While many NSAIDS had a lot of nasty side effects, I was able to tolerate both of these, until I developed a full blown allergy to all NSAIDs. So I am stuck with Tylenol for the most part. If that doesn't work, I have a stash of Tramadol and Flexeril, but only for night time use. It sucks.

[stardust]

You know, thinking over what Dave said, something comes back to me. Oak, maybe trying a dfferent brand of aspirin might help. I had a professor in A&P, and another in psychopharmocology who insisted that all generics are not alike in terms of interaction with an individual's body. It seems that the active ingredients have to be the same, but the binding ingredients can differ, and can change the effectiveness of the drug with some individuals. Makes me wonder if something other than the active ingredient is affecting you. Have you ever tried different brands to know if it happens with all of them?

[Dee]

Because of the HIV meds I'm on, I can only take Advil, and I rarely need any type of pain reliever.

Although last week when I gashed my shin on the hard edge of an escalator step (I tripped – long story) I could have used a shot of rum or something. Man, did that ever hurt!

Hope you find a solution, Oak.

[RedjackRyan]

Aspirin doesn't bother me, but most cold medicines make me goofy.. well goofier than normal.. (Not a word outta you Agnes!)

[sister rose]

.. well goofier than normal..

you took the words right out of my mouth! :p

[Eva]

Aspirin doesn't bother me, but most cold medicines make me goofy.. well goofier than normal.. (Not a word outta you Agnes!)
*whistles innocently* (well, you said Agnes, not Eva)
Slacker!

Eva

[RedjackRyan]

I'd expect such treatment from Sis Rose, but you too Eva??? Oy Vey!

[Oak Kitten]

You know, thinking over what Dave said, something comes back to me. Oak, maybe trying a dfferent brand of aspirin might help. I had a professor in A&P, and another in psychopharmocology who insisted that all generics are not alike in terms of interaction with an individual's body. It seems that the active ingredients have to be the same, but the binding ingredients can differ, and can change the effectiveness of the drug with some individuals. Makes me wonder if something other than the active ingredient is affecting you. Have you ever tried different brands to know if it happens with all of them?

That's an interesting point, Stardust, I have not explored that. Usually I avoid the problem by avoiding aspirin. But if I get a migraine, I take it. I figure better to have a few nightmares then to go without any sleep due to the pain.

Oak

[Agnes]

Aspirin doesn't bother me, but most cold medicines make me goofy.. well goofier than normal.. (Not a word outta you Agnes!)

I'm not saying a thing, after all, they already know... :D



Amy, poor thing. Tramal sucks too! I was walking around like a zombie when I took that (after the NSAIDs nearly had me choking). Does it help you?

[gisli]

Now about those pills in question here........Uhhhh what colour are they:confused:

Pfffiiiit.....yeah right Aspirin my dogtail.

[gisli]

When I take aspirin, one of the side effects are nightmares.Oak

Ok here is the none rascal answer, clean and sober.

Well, many medicenes have these sideaffects. One of them and the most common to do so are bloodpressure medicenes, and also bloodthinning pills like aspirin.

It is the ingridient acetylansalisylacid that is responsable for them nightmares.

[DaveM]

One can boil basswood or willow bark to make a tea containing salisylic acid, a slightly simpler natural version of aspirin (I believe a common "weed", feverfew, contains the same stuff). I've cured a number of headaches and fevers with it and it doesn't bother the stomach as aspirin can. Perhaps it also does not cause nightmares? Might be worth a try.

It actually doesn't taste that bad, either.

[Eva]

Gisli, the ace... well, that stuff that's in aspirins is a bloodthinner in any case.
Dave, I have heard that more often.

Eva

[Bat]

Dave, the lack of side effects may be due to the fact that when you make the teas, they are not as strong nor concentrated as the aspirin tablets.
I have to take an aspirin a day (and they don't bother me a bit), but I take the half-strength ones (86ml) so hardly know I've taken it. Since it's a daily thing, and I used to not take medicines at all (certainly not on a regular basis)
I'm just as glad to take a reduced dose of anything. So far, I'm maintaining my cholesterol and blood pressure with minimum doses of Lipitor and a couple other tiny little pills. They are doing a fine job, and I never cease to be amazed at how little of anything it takes to affect the human body!!
(One of the meds I take for bp comes from a highly venomous snake in the Amazon Jungle. Glad I don't have to go hunting for it often.)
OK, saga over.
Back to aspirin. Never knew anyone to have adverse effects from it, except possibly an irritation to the stomach, causing bleeding, and causing one to bleed easily, interfering with clotting. Never had a problem with either one.
Marcia can't take it because of a sensitive stomach.
Ol' Cast Iron Bat

[gisli]

Gisli, the ace... well, that stuff that's in aspirins is a bloodthinner in any case.

Eva

Thanks Eva for pointing this out, I have changed it in my post. What was missing was ,and bloodthinning pills like aspirin.

[DaveM]

That's probably true--I have no idea how much of the "active ingredient" may be present in willow bark tea (neglected to specify the INNER bark--using the whole thing will taste pretty bad), but it's probably far less than one would find in a standardized aspirin tablet.

Similarly, I absolutely cannot handle any sort of allergy/cold stuff containing pseudoephedrine. Headache, pounding heart, shortness of breath....a nightmare. However, any number of herbal teas containing ma huang root (which has pseudoephedrine in it) work just fine and no side effects. My guess has always been that the amount must be significantly smaller than in commercially manufactured stuff.

[Eva]

My guess has always been that the amount must be significantly smaller than in commercially manufactured stuff.
I am sure about that. Well, in the case of aspirin that is.

Eva