I’m really prone to “dream themes”, meaning, I tend to dream about the same general topics over and over again, over time. One of my most commonly visited themes is diabetes (SURPRISE!!). I have dreams in which I’m doing shots (sometimes with a pencil instead of a syringe), or can’t find my glucometer, or am on a boat and ALL my paraphernalia falls overboard… Not usually catastrophic, per se, but fairly anxious. I could try to interpret these dreams on a deep, subconscious level, but I think the psychological source is pretty straight-forward: I have diabetes, and it’s on my mind a lot… even when I think I’m not thinking.
Anyone else? Good stuff? Bad stuff? Scary stuff? I can’t be the only one here who thinks about this in their sleep…
I often dream about it! I usually dream that I have catered for a lot of people at a banquet or something - usually a church gathering and I am unable to find any space for me to sit and partake as well and I am in desparate need of food! I usually wake up hot and sweaty - always hypo!
I am in a strange house (but somehow I know it) and there are many rooms and I either cannot find my room where I have my hypokit/insulin/testing kit, or I find many rooms that I did not know existed and find that before I can look for my equipment I have to clean and tidy them and prepare a meal for others (may be family or church people again!)
I have never dreamed about trying to inject for some odd reason. And definitely not with a pencil!! I do dream taht I need to but never quite get that far - because I cannot find it!
I don’t dream about diabetes, but I have awful nightmares when either high or low. The only way to get a good night’s sleep without dreams that haunt me the next day is to go to bed with a “perfect” BG.
My endo in the 90’s told me that diabetics, especially if not in good control, have “bad” dreams. Something is going on and there is no way out or no solution. I recall one dream where I was high up on an unfinished skycraper and someone was after me with a gun. There was no way up higher and no way down. Don’t ask where that came from because it had no application to my life. I had lots of ‘danger’ dreams with no way out. When I asked my endo about it, that is when she said it was common in diabetes. My A1c was in the mid to upper 7s then. I never dreamed about diabetes itself. But some of the dreams mentioned here are of the “no solution” variety. That is, loss of diabetes supplies, no way to eat.
I am frequently diabetic in my dreams – I guess after being diabetic for 27 years and 8 months, it is hard to think about not being diabetic. Last night I had a dream that I was taking insulin at a bowling alley – I don’t bowl! I use a walker because of neuropathy and a common dream will be that I am someplace and my walker disappears or someone steals it. I guess I want to get rid of that thing.
I tend to have a lot of night terrors - I wake up screaming but don’t remember what I dreamt about. After reading these boards, I have learned to grab my meter after that happens. I just had one about a week ago and was in 80s when it happened.
I hadn’t had any Diabetic Dreams until a Guy on another D site asked others this question and explained his dreams. Then of course, I had 3 nights in a row of dreams involving Diabetes(I guess I am easily influenced ). I thanked him for the unwanted D dreams and haven’t had one since then. I do not remember what they were about but I know that they were not any Fun.
I have weird “hypo” dreams that wake me up at night… inanimate objects “morph’…like Cheerios boxes with razor-sharp teeth, dust” kittens" that become tigers. I could be in really unusual settings, like me in a skyscraper getting ready to take a bungee jump without the proper equipment… When these dreams occur during nighttime sleep, I always wake up in time to treat… If I “doze off” in a daytime low on the sofa, I may not wake up,( scary) but have had those type of dreams to alarm me at that time as well…
I have always experienced vivid dreams from the time I could remember dreaming, most having nothing to do with diabetes… I used to have " night terrors" as pre-diabetic child. Not anymore. On occasion I have dreams that are kind of fascinating, like viewing a 3-D total sensory movie; and I wake up amazed and amused…Able to provide my own entertainment without Netflix or a $9.00 movie ticket. LOL
I once dreamt that I was Alice in Wonderland. I fell down the rabbit hole into the room with just one “drink me” bottle. I drank it and shrank down to a very tiny size, I felt helpless and scared. But then the Cheshire Cat appeared and smiled towards a tiny door I had not noticed. On the other side, the March Hare grabbed tiny me and ran saying “we are late, we are late.” He was very annoyed with me He took me to the tea-party and placed me on a chair, but because I was tiny I could not see the table. Then the Dormouse came over and placed several pillows under me, so that my head just peaked up enough to see a huge banquet laid out. Then the Mad Hatter came over and placed a tiny bottle in front of me labled “Drink Me,” so I drank it, and I grew to a normal size. I felt happy and relieved. Then the Cheshire Cat appeared again and smiled at me.
Interesting stuff. Being somehow trapped and/or unprepared seem like common themes, which I guess isn’t very surprising, given the disease. I wonder why no men have weighed in so far? Guys? Any dreams? I’m curious whether men have different themes than women (not that we exactly have a representative sample of all women… My degree is in epidemiology, so I love looking for trends). Does anyone ever have GOOD dreams about diabetes? I don’t think I have. Can’t really even think of what that would be…
I don’t dream about diabetes at all. Not even when I’m low – I just wake up in a sweat. I DO dream about things chasing me, or a tidal wave coming after me or showing up to teach school on the first day with no pants on, though! I’m not sure what my dreams are telling me – maybe I’m ignoring or escaping from diabetes?
). I thanked him for the unwanted D dreams and haven’t had one since then. I do not remember what they were about but I know that they were not any Fun.