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7th on citalopram-insonmia!!

Posted , 6 users are following.

laura86158
laura86158

HI

It will be my 7th week on cit on sunday and i am still exexperiencing bad insonmia! Is there anyone else who has experienced this? I dont know if its the cit or my anxiety over sleep. Even though anxiety has reduced. im just wondering will my sleep ever get better?

Thanks for any replies xx

2 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

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  • robin67880
    robin67880 laura86158

    Posted

    Laura,  For me after 3 weeks my sleeping started to get better. However I do not eat anything before bed and with have a calming tea before bed and/ or listen to my Mindful relaxaion App on my phone and this seems to help me. I hope you find your solution soon. What dosage of Cit are you on? I started at 10 but was upped to 20mg.   Take care, Robin
    • laura86158
      laura86158 robin67880

      Posted

      Hi Robin!

      Im on 20 mg the last 4 weeks and started on 10mg, i really lke the way the meds help my anxiety but its hard being patient waiting for the sleeplessness to get better. Thanks for your reply! What way did you feel when you werent sleeping on cit? Just want to decipher wether its meds are still anxiety xx

    • robin67880
      robin67880 laura86158

      Posted

      Laura, I was only working on 3 hours a night at first. (thank goodness I was off on sick leave) I was feeling exhausted but yet wide awake.. if that makes sense. I still have some shakes I think that is common for Cit. I take it in the morning which is also when I am at my worst. I was lucky that after a few weeks on it I started sleeping more at night. Have you thought about relaxation music or something at bed time? When I was very bad I would keep my TV on all night. Not a good idea! The TV and Phones etc keep our brains stimulated. 
    • laura86158
      laura86158 robin67880

      Posted

      Yeah i think when ur on sick leave it makes things so much easier, but im back now! But aslo think its good to get back into a routine... Yeah will i developed a bedtime routine which i think helps! See my problem was sleep anxiety before i went on the meds so maybe it's exacerbating that problem! All i can do is stick with it i suppose...thanks robin xx
  • nicola60621
    nicola60621 laura86158

    Posted

    Hi Laura,

    From reading previous posts I'd say insomnia looks like the last thing to ease off.

    I'm on my third week of cit and although I can sometimes fall asleep I keep waking up, so I went to my chemist and the pharmacist recommended the Nytol original 25mg tabs and since taking two of them I can sleep until around 7am.

    May be worth checking if they are ok for you to try. Hope it improves soon for you cause being tired doesn't help does it.

    Take care

    Nicola x

    • laura86158
      laura86158 nicola60621

      Posted

      Hi Nicola

      I know ive been quite the torture on this, haha although its just good being able to go somewhere amd get advice from people who are going through or have gone through something similar. Yes i would use nytol sometimes, they help sometimes.

      I really hope it is the last thing as really want to stay on the meds as i do really think they're helping but sleep is so important too! Especially for anxiety xxx

    • nicola60621
      nicola60621 laura86158

      Posted

      Hi Laura,

      Yeah everything is so much worse when you can't sleep properly, drives me mad sometimes haha. Belly breathing seems to help too, and taking the tablet in the AM helps people too from what I've read.

      I agree they seem to be helping me with my anxiety too, I just hate the foggy head and feeling dizzy part of it. I had that before cit though so hoping it gets better in the coming weeks.

      Hopefully once the cit settles down we'll be back to normal (whatever that is) smile

      Nicola xx

    • laura86158
      laura86158 nicola60621

      Posted

      Here's hoping Nicola! This is a great support though, positive thinking :-) xx
    • amber_6594
      amber_6594 laura86158

      Posted

      Hi its awful not getting any sleep wen on these meds plus anxiety big part in not being able to sleep i found reading a good way of falling asleep a book with meaningful story and also took my meds before bed aswel hope things get better
    • laura86158
      laura86158 amber_6594

      Posted

      Hi amber, thanks for replying yeah its a nightmare! Just hope it settles soon, yeah reading is a great to relax i does work sometimes, do you really think that taking your meds are at night can help? Ive heard it does the opposite, i suppose its no harm in trying!

      xxx

  • David_21660
    David_21660 laura86158

    Posted

    Hi Laura,

    Only 7 weeks?! Give it chance girl! LOL!

    Seriously, it takes as long as it takes, your anxiety, like you have said, is reducing and eventually the insomnia will sort it self out too. The more you worry the longer it will take as we are all different and don't always get the same side effects or intensity of them either.

    Try to be positive even when you don't feel like it, that will be helped by coming here posting, reading or just chatting!

    Stick with it you are doing fine!

    Regards,

    David (9 months in)

    • laura86158
      laura86158 David_21660

      Posted

      Haha David! Thanks for that! This place can be a god send when your feeling at your wits end, appreciate your support! Im not good with patience...

      xx

  • laura86158
    laura86158

    Posted

    Hi guys,

    Just an update phoned my gp today after another bad night, he prescribed me another round of sleeping tablets to get me through next while. He said it was hard to know if it was the meds causing the insomnia or the anxiety. Because i had sleep problems before which had kinda settled before i started taking Cit.

    He said he would up the dose to 30 if it continues, but i surely that will cause it to get worse?! O god i dunno wish i knew if it was meds or anxiety. Could be abit of both! Although anxiety feeling so much better xx

    • robin67880
      robin67880 laura86158

      Posted

      Laura, hopefully the sleeping tablets help! I am in the same boat with the lack of sleep. I am going to see about something to help sleep as well.  Keep us updated if they help!  XX Robin
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