[Juliana]

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I have been having weird dreams -- all on the same theme -- since about 2 weeks after I started taking Lexapro. It also coincided with me starting a new job, so I don't know if it's the career change or the Lexapro.

I have always had very vivid, strange dreams, but not every night. Plus, the dreams I'm having now are all about the same thing -- animals turing into other animals. Every single morning I wake up and remember a very vivid, complicated dream that's about animals changing form.

For instance, a recent one:
I gave my sister a necklace made out of a dead snake. She loved it and put it on, but then I noticed that the snake was still alive. So, we took the snake outside so he could have some fresh air and find some food. Then the snake turned into a sheep and attacked a pack of wolves... and the sheep was winning the fight. While I was trying to break up the fight because I didn't want the wolves or the sheep to get hurt, the sheep turned into my childhood dog, Rimsky. The wolves ran away and Rimsky was fine. That's really weird, right? I just wake up every morning thinking WTF was that?? And I usually feel kind of worn out from these incredibly detailed dreams. They seem like they go on for so long and I feel like I haven't really gotten much rest.

Has anyone else experienced really strange dreams on Lexapro or other SSRIs? Do you find it tiring?

[Pughead]

I too have very weird dreams from time to time, and I was on Lexapro for over a year. I didn't notice any increase in intensity or weirdness. The one thing that has giving me the most intense and frightening dreams is nicotine patches. Though, I'm on wellbutrin now, and have been for about a month. Two nights this past week, I woke myself up my performing the action in my dream physically with my body.

The first was I woke up kicking and jumped out of bed. I was dreaming that I was kicking a guy's winshield in. The second was someone offered me a cigarette. I kept trying to put it in my mouth, but I couldn't do it. I'd get my hand right up to my mouth, but something was blocking me. I wear a special mask at night for sleep apnea and my hand kept hitting the mask until I woke up!

Having said all that, it's certainly possible that lexapro is having an effect on your dreams. I just didn't notice anything when I was on it.

[Juliana]

Thanks for the response. I had really wild, active dreams and nightmares while I was on the nicotine patch too... I also dreamed about smoking. I quit smoking about 5 years ago. The patch made it SO much easier. Unfortunately, and stupidly, I started again after a little over two years as a non-smoker. Good luck with the quitting!!

[Hopefull]

A book that I have lists "dreaming abnormal" as a possible side effect of Lexapro (Drug Information Handbook for Nursing, 2005). So I think it is possible that Lexapro could be causing the strange dreams. I normally have strange dreams. But, I think I have had an increase in frequency of odd dreams. I had a similar one to the changing animals one. I dreamed of some mosters trying to penetrate my flesh. Then, I discovered that I was changing into something. I got away but I foolishly returned home when I went back to sleep. Then the same monsters started trying to get me again. I have also noticed that my dreams (even non-odd dreams) sometimes seems to be longer in duration. I half wonder if Lexapro can increase the length of the dream stage of sleep. The dreams seem to wear my eyes out at times with the movement of REM sleep.

[The_Matrix]

I have been taking Lexapro for 6 months and I didn't notice any vivid or unusual dreams. Then I started taking Abilify AND Lexapro and I started having strange and vivid dreams every night. When I stopped taking Abilify they went away. I don't know if it was just the Abilify or if it was a combination of both the medications that caused the dreams.

[LMo]

Wellbutrin gave me very strange, vivid dreams. Didn't like that at all. Loved my Lexapro sleep, though!

[drunksunflower]

I have been having odd dreams after starting to take Celexa. I do go through phases of having such dreams but it seems kinda correlated. It's like normal situations that are made totally wack.

Kinda entertaining but not very restful ...lol.

I had very vivid & strange dreams on all the AD's I tried. I usually don't remember any of my dreams, but on the AD's I ended up being somewhat awake while still dreaming & insisted to my husband that we had mice in our walls playing on a swing set! I kept insisting that it was happening & he couldn't wake me up & get me out of that place of half asleep & half awake.

A friend who has studied Jung says that the reason I have vivid dreams on AD's is that they take away some barriers in the subconscious. I certainly would be interested in how a Jung dream expert would analyze the mouse dream!

Really didn't like the vividness & realness of the dreams. Don't have that now that I'm off AD's & am on meds for bp (Abilify, Lamictal, etc.).--Suzy