Citalopram........tiredness and vivid dreams...is this normal?

[dreamchocolate]

Hi

I have been taking Citalopram 20mg for about 6 weeks and have been through the initial nauseous/vomiting/dizzy stage. Now I feel a bit better and they have certainly taken the edge off my depression, but I keep having really vivid dreams every night that seem to go on for ages and leave me feeling tired when I wake up. The dreams are not bad they are just quite epic and I don't feel rested afterwards. I have always had a busy mind at night but I am sure it has become worse since I started taking the tablets.

Anyone else experienced this or am I even madder than I thought (not comment please NASWM if you're reading this!!!)

Dreamchocolate x

Both tiredness and vivid dreams are known side-effects of Citalopram (in fact, SSRIs in general). Usually the side-effects disappear within a couple of weeks, but some side-effects in some people can be long-term and last for as long as the person takes the medication.

If it's causing you a problem (and it sounds as if it is), go back to the GP - there are other ADs they can try which might not give you the same side-effects.

Funnily enough, when I started getting vivid dreams when taking an SSRI, I felt that this was a good sign, because it meant that I was finally getting some decent, restful, deep sleep again.

The depression had been causing insomnia and the AD's helped to correct that.

Dreamchocolate - of course I wouldn't dream of making comments about your epic nighttimes. How else are you going to get that novel written? . On a serious note - you are not mad, you are very sensible, for doing something to help yourself. I only hope you can cope with the dreams - if not, maybe you need to try a different AD, as others have suggested. naswm xxxx

I get the vivid dreams too (on Citalopram 40mg), but like VVV the AD's seem to have helped me to sleep better. I do get very tired after taking them, though, but I find it's worth it. I tried taking them before bed, to mitigate the tiredness side-effect, but that just made my sleep even more weird, so now I take them in the morning.

I have the same thing with the dreams. I have had some really odd ones, like you say they are epic and tiring in themselves.

Tiredness is a side effect of citalopram in itself and may not be connected to the dreaming, although I did see on another thread on citalopram where a poster said that she took the tablet in the morning so that it didn't disturb her sleep so much. I tried this but found I felt more tired during the day so I went back to taking them in the evening.

Obviously I can't speak for anyone else but I have found that the positives of the medication far outweighs the negatives, so I have persevered with it as I can function when I am taking them, whereas I can't when I'm not.

I'm taking escitalopram rather than citalopram but they are very similar.

i found that taking the ad's wasn't the reason for the strange dreams biut it's the fact that your depression is lifting that is giving you the strange dreams, almost like the lifting depression is allowing your brain to work through all the crap (which is waht dreams are about aren't they?)

Thanks all, glad to know I'm not going mad! If the dreams are a sign that the depression is lifting then that can only be a good thing. I'll keep going with the Citalopram as they definitely seem to be doing something positive.

x

Hi Dream Chocolate

Have only just joined mums net and was was searching to see if anyone had written anything regarding citalopram and vivid dreams and came across your thread....

I have recently increased my citalopram from 10 to 20mg and have noticed the occasional vivid dreams becoming much more frequent and scarier... I am planning to go back to my doctor to see if there is anything that can be done or whether its necessary to change my medication completely. My most recent dreams have been that my partner has left me and my baby has been adbucted and murdered... very morbid. They tend to stay in my mind for several days after and am sure this is not helping my PND. Have you found the dreams have stopped or what did you do to remedy it? I would be interested to hear from anyone else as well who has these side effects.

Caroline x

I had very vivid dreams on Citalopram and I even used to wake up and see my DH stood by the bed etc so I'd sit up and say oh has DS woke up and then realise he was still alseep next to me!! Thankfully it did pass but was quite freaky for those first few weeks!!

Has anyone found it hard to shift weight while on Citalopram??

I have found that even cutting down on food and walking everywhere I still seem to be putting on weight... I did wonder if it was the Citalopram as in the past I have found it quite easy to lose weight and managed to shift all my pregnancy weight just a few weeks after my baby was born. However, now I feel I look very pregnant!

That's reassuring....I used to shift weight very easily too - I've never yo yo dieted so when I'd over indulged on holiday or something, a few weeks of being sensible got me back on track but now....

I have just tried doing a search on google with "citalopram and weight gain" I found the results show that there is a connection.. although these are mainly on American sites. It has actually made me feel more positive as I really couldn't understand why I was putting on weight. Am going to try and see my doctor tomorrow and discuss this with him and maybe see if I can change medication. Hope you start feeling better soon too. x

Oooh...maybe I should think about changing mine too......