
The Dreams of a Man Asleep for Three Weeks - yobananaboy
https://kotaku.com/the-dreams-of-a-man-asleep-for-three-weeks-1833572960
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mhalle
The article ends with:

> Only now I can wake up any time I want.

The author talks about dreams, but dreams are just one aspect of the ICU
mental experience. The line between dreams, hallucinations, and memories can
collapse.

Delirium in intensive care units is extremely common, affecting up to 80% of
some patient populations. It is the result of a combination of highly
vulnerable patients, extremely stressful situations, abnormal biochemistry,
and powerful pharmaceuticals. It is poorly understood.

This delirium can pose danger to staff and patient in hospital, and can have
lasting cognitive impact on patients once they leave. PTSD-like symptoms are
not uncommon and are certainly under-treated. Given how common delirium in
ICUs is, most facilities have limited or no psychiatric staffing for ICU
mental health support.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391269/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391269/)

I spent three days in a coma as a result of hepatic encephalopathy, among
other episodes related to end stage liver disease. Some day I'll write more
about the experience. Incredibly vivid dreams are just one piece of it.

~~~
Ntrails
The first time they gave me a bunch of morphine post-op, a nurse kept
wondering by. After a few checks, getting slightly more in explicit, I asked
"why". She explained that there was a fair likelihood of hallucination with
the drug, but _if they warn people in advance it is significantly more
common_.

There is obviously more risk to unexpected hallucination, but always some risk
if it happens. I still think it's a really interesting risk minimisation
proposition.

~~~
dTal
I wonder if that phenomenon is explained by people being more willing to admit
to hallucinations if they've been told it's an expected result of the drug,
and not because they're crazy or weird.

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voldacar
This was a really enjoyable read - thank you for posting. I've always had
difficulty remembering my dreams after waking, so I'm almost jealous of the
amount of detail and realism he was able to retain, but then again, I guess 3
weeks of nothing but dreaming would do that

~~~
bfrydl
If you want to remember your dreams you can train yourself to do so. Keep a
journal on your nightstand. The moment you wake up, write down all the details
you can remember. After doing this for a while, you will remember more and
more and the memories won't fade so easily.

You can also cheat a bit in my experience by waking up maybe 45-90 mins before
you normally would, then going back to sleep. The dreams you have in this
period should be more vivid and easier to remember.

~~~
Broken_Hippo
How do you ever remember to write in it after waking?

I'm lucky if I remember deodorant first thing in the morning. I'm usually good
5-10 minutes after waking, but before then I rarely do things like shower and
sometimes won't even make coffee. I guess I can talk to folks and be really
mean at first - I don't remember these outbursts, though. It gets worse with
bad sleep hygiene.

~~~
bemmu
Have the notebook next to you in bed with a pen ready. If you need to get up
to do it, you'll often forget all or most of your dream by the time you get to
the notebook.

~~~
Broken_Hippo
That's the thing: I do have a pen and paper by my bed - mostly for those
"going to sleep" thoughts but also so I always know where one is.

I never remember until I've been awake and moving around for a bit. :)

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agentofoblivion
I get it, I’m cynical. But am I the only one that wonders how much of this is
true, and how much “poetic license”?

~~~
PinkMilkshake
It might be hard to believe if you have fairly normal dreams. I can easily
believe it. My dreams are much stranger than that. The last vivid dream I had
was of Anubis looking men emerging from eggs laid out in a grid. They clapped
their hands chanting 'wolf men, wolf men, wolf men' while I had to fight their
normal looking wolf pets.

~~~
whalabi
Any ideas what might be causing your.. imaginative dreams?

Cheese before bed? Art-house movies? Art-house substances?

~~~
ianai
I’ve had some great dreams with taking b12 right before bed. Or waking up then
going back to sleep + b12.

~~~
joecool1029
You sure it was b12? b6 is known to increase dream 'weirdness'. I ran a not so
scientific trial 15 or so years ago with around 30 individuals where we kept
dream logs and took various dosages of b6. Small amounts do have varying
effects on people.

I really do not recommend high dosages over 50mg, peripheral neuropathy is not
fun to have.

~~~
ianai
Yes, it’s the best b12 I could find.

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scoutt
I rarely read articles that long, but I found this one fascinating.

I can believe it, since I (both unfortunately and fortunately) have the most
vivid, realistic, extremely detailed (and sometimes weird and frightening)
dreams. Dreams that I can remember after years. Sometimes they change the
course of days decisions, even life decisions.

I can remember almost every detail, except for one: every time that I wake up
in the middle of the night after dreaming the solution to a big (mine or
global) problem, or an idea for "the next big thing". I recall saying "Yes! Of
course! How could I not think about it before?!". The answer is there, at the
tip of my fingers, then I wake up and, frustrated, can't remember what it was.
I can remember though that feeling of having the _click in my mind_ about the
idea or solution being so rational and possible.

