To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Last night I had a dream! That may not seem so phenomenal to most people, but dreams are incredibly rare for me.

For most of my adult life I have suffered from extreme insomnia. For the past few years I have been averaging about 4-4½ hours each night. I’d been to doctors, a Sleep Clinic, but nothing seemed to help.

Then last fall things digressed to where I was only getting 4-4½ hours 2 or 3 days a week, only 2-3 hours 2 or 3 days each week, and one night each week I didn’t get any sleep at all – and all of that only when taking Ambien CR and 9 mg Melatonin. So I decided to try more radical measures. I went to a hypnotherapist, a Naturopathic Nutritionist, and consulted with an ENT doctor. The doctor recommended surgery, so even I had some pretty intense sinus surgery in December.

A few weeks ago I had my first dream in years. It was very short, but in it I was with both of my parents (who have both passed away) – and I woke up with this wonderful feeling afterward. Not only had the surgery worked and I had finally been able to sleep deep enough to dream, but I had gotten to see my parents again.

Little by little over the past few weeks I have had a few more dreams. None of them very long, but each one always leaving me with a euphoric feeling. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed dreaming until I finally got it back. I may still only be getting 4-4½ hours each night, but at least I can now do that without any pills at all. And there is the hope that I may catch a glimpse of a dream – and that is absolutely a dream in and of itself.