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insomnia with citalopram taken at night ??

Posted , 6 users are following.

natasha70054
natasha70054

i have been on 20 mg of citalopram for over a week now .I take mine at 9pm everynight to sleep through any possible side effects .Anyhow im not getting any side effects anymore apart from the nnot sleeping .I think my citalopram wakes my body up so much i cant sleep .I get to sleep but then wake about 4 and cant go back .ive thought about moving it back to the morning but im worried about on work mornings taking it at 6am and then on days off it could be anytime (say 11am when i get a lay in ) then surely the different timings could mess it up ? i just cant go without enough sleep as i feel like a zombie and have to work 11 hour days .if not is there something i could try to help me sleep ??

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • joe73594
    joe73594 natasha70054

    Posted

    I had the same situation and the following helped my sleep:

    1. Excerise, I feel tired before sleep.

    2. Take a hot shower 60 minutes before sleep time.

    3. Do meditation 30 minutes before sleep.

    4. Play meditation music (low volume), try not to pay attention to the music. Just play the music.

    The key is to calm the raising brain down.

    In addition, after 4 weeks on the med, your body also get use it and the insomnia is reduced in my case.

    Hope helps.

    Joe

    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 joe73594

      Posted

      hi joe , i already exercise allot and relax before bed .Im really thinking of taking it again in the morning as my anxiety is set off from little sleep too .So may have to think about it .Its my jumping in my sleep and the citalopram seems to give me a boost of energy so its impossible to go to sleep .
    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 joe73594

      Posted

      hi joe , i already exercise allot and relax before bed .Im really thinking of taking it again in the morning as my anxiety is set off from little sleep too .So may have to think about it .Its my jumping in my sleep and the citalopram seems to give me a boost of energy so its impossible to go to sleep .
    • joe73594
      joe73594 natasha70054

      Posted

      I also switched to the morning. Are you referring the jumping to the sudden twitching whiling sleeping or almost falling sleeping? If so, I had the same problem, but after 5 weeks, this problem is gone. I sleep well now.

    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 joe73594

      Posted

      i get to sleep fine , but wake about 4 in the morning and have cramps in my legs .Its like im running in my sleep .my body wants to be up .
  • New85
    New85 natasha70054

    Posted

    Hi Natasha. Trouble sleeping seems to be a common side effect in the first few weeks taking Citalopram. I already had insomnia caused by the initial anxiety so doctor advised me to definitely take it in the morning. I think you should take it at the same time everyday if possible - if I leave mine a bit late I start to feel a bit odd so I wouldn't want to mess around too much with the timings. Maybe gradually bring it forward a bit as I found my anxiety heightened pretty dramatically for a few hours after taking it in the first few weeks (agitation/raised heart rate/dry mouth etc...) so that might be preventing you sleeping if you take quite late. I did take sleeping pills to help get me through the first few weeks as the insomnia really was a huge problem for me (I didn't sleep at ALL!) Id try taking it a bit earlier to start with but if your still really struggling that might help in the short term. Hope it gets better soon x
    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 New85

      Posted

      see if i moved to the morning i dont want to be waking at 6am to takr it on a day off because this is when i would take it for work ??
    • New85
      New85 natasha70054

      Posted

      Do you finish work at a regular time every day? Perhaps you could take it then? Not as easy to remember I guess but you could set a reminder on your phone. I see why you wouldn't want to wake up a 6am on your day off! I'm on week 5 now and it's much better, the first few weeks are tough, it messes with your head but push through and it will get better - in a few weeks you'll probably be fine taking it at 9pm anyway so I wouldn't change it too dramatically. Just shift it forward a bit for now x
    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 New85

      Posted

      if im working an 11 hour shift which i usually am then im finished at 6:30.May e i should just keep going and hope my sleep improves as its only been a week .I wonder if its as efective in the day if taken at night too ?
    • crest
      crest natasha70054

      Posted

      Ho natasha, how.is your insomnia now? I'm still struggling at 4 amd a half weeks!
  • sarah57117
    sarah57117 natasha70054

    Posted

    I take mine in the morning 40mg and my insomnia is horrendous , i.e last night was tired , got in bed , wide awake till 2pm - head racing . woke at 2.30 ,3.10.4.15,5,30 then 7.10 , have been like a zombie all day , had day off work but had lots to try n get done , just out my son to bed and now im wide awake again - yet struggled all day , to the point i dozed off when on hold on the phone earlier, 

    ive had this with all anti d's . except mirtazipine which he gave me to take at night buit couldnt stand the weight gain so stopped after a short time , hoping i can get somehtign to help on my next apt as im now fed up with the ' you look so tired ' comments and feeling so tired from lack of sleep 

    • crest
      crest sarah57117

      Posted

      Hi Sarah, how lojg you been on cit? My insomnia is bad. I started taking at bedtime and swiftly.moved it to the.mornings in an attempt.to curb the insomnia but no luck. I was given zoplicone for the first week bit had to move to phenergan which is an antihistamine after that as zoplicone is addictive. I do sleep now.with the phenergan but am groggy half the next day. Although I'd.rather that than the 2-4 hours sleep I would get without it! How are you doing now? P.s same thing for me on mirtazapine. Great for sleep horrid for groggyness and appetite surge!
    • laura86158
      laura86158 crest

      Posted

      Hi crest! Did thing's improve for you?? Xx
    • crest
      crest laura86158

      Posted

      Hi laura, unfortunately after 6 weeks on citalopram the insomnia from it was so bad the doctor took me off it and told me any other ssri would probably give me the same problem. Maybe it would have gone away in time but 6 weeks was just too much for me with mixing in sleeping pills too. I was a zombie and then some! But for most people I hear the insomnia dissipates after a while. I was soooooo wired constantly 24/7. Just too sensitive I guess.
    • laura86158
      laura86158 crest

      Posted

      No you weren't, it is one of the most torturous things so i can see why you stopped. I hope you are doing better now. Thankyou for replying back to me, getting other peoples stories helps alot xx
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