[Tprice]

A few years ago I had fairly severe crohns disease and was put on a high dosage of prednisone for about five months. During that time I had very vivid dreams and, when combined with the right mental exercises lucid dreams. Since I went off of the medication that phenomenon has disappeared. I have been trying to get back into lucid dreaming with limited success. I asked a sleep doctor about whether prednisone would have that side effect and he said that my brain was wired differently and that it would go straight to my limbic system. Which would create the vivid/lucid dreams I had experienced. I googled this and found absolutely no research on it so I was curious. Has anyone else had this particular side effect?

[Travelinglady]

I haven't taken prednisone, but I have taken other drugs such as Seroquel that caused vivid dreaming. So, I wouldn't be surprised if prednisone could, too.

[Tprice]

Interesting, I knew certain medicines could cause vivid dreams but I looked up prednisone to see if it was a potential side effect and I finally found something on it. Either way it was probably the only good part about being sick at the time a few years ago.

[Perna]

He could have been talking about what this paper means by "limbic hyperfunction"? Maybe the Crohn's/Prednisone combo altered you so you were a hyperfunctioner :-)

PsychiatryOnline | The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences | Limbic System Function and Dream Content in University Students

[Tprice]

Thanks for the study! It is very interesting and while I don't remember any more fear based dreams during that time than normal, the combined shock of going from relatively normal to bedridden rather suddenly plus the chemical alterations from the prednisone would make sense.

[Liebran]

Originally Posted by Tprice

A few years ago I had fairly severe crohns disease and was put on a high dosage of prednisone for about five months. During that time I had very vivid dreams and, when combined with the right mental exercises lucid dreams. Since I went off of the medication that phenomenon has disappeared. I have been trying to get back into lucid dreaming with limited success. I asked a sleep doctor about whether prednisone would have that side effect and he said that my brain was wired differently and that it would go straight to my limbic system. Which would create the vivid/lucid dreams I had experienced. I googled this and found absolutely no research on it so I was curious. Has anyone else had this particular side effect?

I'm on it now for an autoimmune disease and started having these strange dreams 2 nights ago-no nightmares. Actually, they are pretty pleasant. Just odd. I may miss them when they're gone :-)