Nighttime muscle jerks...hard to sleep

Posted , 6 users are following.

I've been on 20mg of prozac for maybe 5 months or so, and sometimes i notice that at night i will get a muscle jerk/twitch just as im about to drift off to sleep. This of course jerks me back awake.  This only started to happen when i went on the medicine, and some nights are worse than others (happened about 4 times to me last night, which means it takes forever to get to sleep).

Once I'm alseep it seems ok though. 

Is this a common problem?? It makes me want to stop taking them if it will impact my sleep like this. 

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Michael, I get restless legs some nights, taking a paracetamols usually helps.
  • Posted

    I've been getting muscle jerks too. I only notice them while im relaxing.. I've been on fluoxetine for 5 weeks now and they only started these last few days. Hoping this side effect passes.

    I hope it sorts out for you Michael. It might be worth mentioning it to your doctor. He/she might have a suggestion. Do the pills help you otherwise?

    • Posted

      Hi

      I find they do help, although the jerking does annoy me a bit.

      I find taking magesium supplements at dinner time helps. Hopefully that helps you.

    • Posted

      Do you only notice the jerking when your trying to sleep? I notice mine at any time of day when im relaxing. Hope it goes away. Im supposed up my dose soon.
    • Posted

      Sometimes i notice them during the day when im relaxing (like on the computer) but they're pretty minor. They seem worse at night when trying to sleep. Upping my dose made them worse, i never really got them when i was starting on 10mg. I also accidently took a double dose one day and that made them worse for that day.

      It defintely seems to happen when relaxed, which is why i guess they happen a lot when im nearly asleep.

  • Posted

    Hi Michael - I thought it was just me and it didn't even occur to me that it could be a side effect! My boyfriend can't hug me when we fall asleep anymore because as we're drifting off my muscles go into twitch mode and I wake us both up 😂 I haven't seen him for a while as we are studying in different countries but I haven't noticed myself doing it for a while. I think it may be one of the side effects that calms down over time.

  • Posted

    Did this ever calm down for anyone in this discussion? I'm on week 9 as of this coming Thursday and getting these hypnic jerks as I'm drifting asleep. They only really started in the last six weeks or so.

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