Galantamine is one of the most well-known drugs for stimulating lucid dreams (LD). Quite a large number of studies have been devoted to it. However, recently, medical practitioners from the Cancer Center in the USA under the leadership of Meghan F. Haas decided that another drug also deserves the attention of the scientific community—pregabalin.
When treating a patient with multiple myeloma, doctors gave her methadone and pregabalin (initially at a dose of 50 mg three times a day, orally). Five days after the start of the pregabalin treatment, the dosage was increased to 100 mg.
While in the hospital, the woman reported lucid dreams. At first, the doctors chalked the effect up to the influence of methadone. They reduced its dosage, but this made no difference—the patient continued to experience LD. On the thirteenth day of hospitalization, the doctors reduced the dose of pregabalin to 75 mg twice a day, and after another five days—down to 50 mg. However, it was only after the complete cessation of the pregabalin treatment that the patient ceased to be conscious in her dreams.
As the authors add, this is the first reported case of a connection between pregabalin and lucid dreams known to them. Pregabalin is a widely used medicine, which explains their decision to present their findings to scientists and medical practitioners.
Have you ever experienced lucid dreams under the influence of medications?
The article was published in June 2022 in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy.
The drug may have side effects and should only be used in consultation with a doctor. This article describes the research and does not call for independent experiments.
