The worrying reason you should go to a doctor if you’ve suddenly started having nightmares

A sudden increase in the frequency of nightmares and hallucinations may indicate that something sinister is going on with your health.

A sudden spike in nightmares and hallucinations has been linked to early stages of autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus (SLE), which affects more than 20,000 people in Australia and New Zealand.

Patients reported horrific visions of their “skin falling off” and “creatures from Alice in Wonderland coming to life” before they were diagnosed with various autoimmune diseases; lupus was the most common.

Lupus is a condition in which the body’s immune system, which normally protects it against threats such as viruses and bacteria, accidentally attacks healthy tissue instead.

“Rheumatologists are well aware that SLE can affect any organ in the body, including the brain, which is called neuropsychiatric SLE,” Dr Sam Whittle, president of the Australian Rheumatology Association, told FEMAIL.

‘Because the brain is such a complex organ, any dysfunction resulting from a disease like SLE can manifest itself in a multitude of ways.’

A recent study from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London found a link between neuropsychiatric symptoms and disease flare-ups.

The study examined data from almost 700 people with the condition and patients were interviewed about a range of neurological and mental health symptoms.

The results showed that people with lupus were often misdiagnosed with mental health problems and hospitalized for months for “episodes of psychosis” before doctors discovered the true cause.

Nightmares were one of the most commonly reported symptoms, experienced by three in five patients, with a third of them reporting disturbed dream sleep more than a year before the onset of lupus.

Patients reported that these nightmares were often vivid and disturbing, involving aspects such as being attacked, trapped, crushed, or falling.

One patient described them to researchers as: “Horrible, like murder, like skin coming off people.”

The patient thought this happened when he was “overwhelmed” by lupus.

“The more stress my body is under, the more vivid and worse the dreams would be,” they said.

Hallucinations are believed to be related to lupus attacking healthy tissue in the brain.

However, some claimed that the visions were not always terrifying: ‘It’s not necessarily scary, it’s like you’ve had a dream and yet you’re sitting awake in the garden.

‘I see different things, it’s like you wake up and you can’t remember your dream and you’re there but you’re not there, it’s like you’re very disoriented. The closest thing I can think of is feeling like I’m Alice in Wonderland.’

Doctors have found that an increase in the frequency of nightmares and hallucinations could indicate that something sinister is going on with your health

Should I see a doctor if I have nightmares?

‘Nightmares and related forms of sleep disorders are common, and SLE is a rare condition, so for the majority of people who experience nightmares, this will not be a sign of an autoimmune disease,’ said Dr Whittle.

‘Anyone who develops new symptoms of any type that concern him or her should discuss them with their doctor, but nightmares as an isolated phenomenon should not be taken as a sign of an impending autoimmune disease.’

However, he noted one significant difference in nightmare-related SLE symptoms.

‘For people who have already been diagnosed with SLE, the neuropsychiatric features that an individual experiences (including, for example, nightmares) are often similar for that individual person each time their disease flares up.’

So a recurring nightmare can be a signal that a disease flare-up is on the horizon.

Patients reported that the nightmares were often vivid and disturbing, with aspects such as being attacked, trapped, crushed or falling

Researchers encouraged doctors to ask their patients about mental symptoms rather than just physical symptoms, hoping to diagnose diseases more quickly.

Professor David D’Cruz, an expert in autoimmune diseases at King’s and author of the study, said: ‘For years I discussed nightmares with my lupus patients and thought there was a link with their disease activity.’

Professor Guy Leschziner, another study author and neurologist at Guys’ and St Thomas’ Hospital, added: ‘We have long been aware that changes in dreams can mean changes in physical, neurological and mental health, and sometimes can be early indicators of disease.

“However, this is the first evidence that nightmares can also help us monitor such a serious autoimmune disease as lupus, and is an important clue to both patients and doctors that sleep symptoms can tell us about an impending relapse.”