Fluoxetine and sleep!

[MintyChapstick]

I was prescribed fluoexitine on Monday for ongoing anxiety issues. I've taken it before about five years ago, and it worked really well then. I already feel better in that I'm not as panicky anymore, but my god my sleep pattern is all over the place.

I'm generally getting tired about 10.30 ish (early for me) so I go to bed around then and will go to sleep almost immediately, but the I wake in the early hours and I am wide awake for ages tossing and turning. I do go back off eventually and am waking around 7.30am, but I don't really feel rested in the mornings. When I am asleep I am having the most bizarre and and vivid dreams.

I know this is normal, I remember sitting in my GP's room after a week last the last time nearly crying that I coulndt sleep. It did right itself in the end but I can't remember how long it took and I'm at my wits end as I know I would feel really good if I good just bloody well sleep all night. I take the tablet around 3pm which tis the same time I took it last time, but now I'm wondering if I should take it later? Could the meds be peaking in my system around 12 hours later, hence the early hours waking up? Then when they start to wear off I doze off again?

Any advice appreciated.

The docs say you should take fluoxetine in the morning as it can be 'alerting' but I have always taken mine at bedtime. My sleep pattern is messed up at the moment anyway but last time it seemed to work having it late. Could you try that? Or could the docs give you a sleeping pill until the effects wear off?

I tried taking it a bit later yesterday and within about 20 minutes of my usual time my head started spinning, so I had to take it. I find I feel a bit woozy for about an hour or two after taking it, which is why I don't like taking it in the morning because I need to drive.

This morning I seem to have loads of energy though, despite not having slept very well. Well I do sleep I suppose, but not continuously all night. I should say that before I started taking itI was having problems with waking up really early about 4.30am and not being able to go back to sleep at all even on a weekend. So I could argue that my sleep pattern was messed up anyway.

Maybe I need to give it a bit longer as it's not been a week yet?

Minty I'm finding this a bit too (and also take it at about 10-10.30pm). Might try and take it very early morning instead and see if that helps. TBH it's not doing much good all round.

How long have you been taking it for notagireffe?

Had another appalling nights sleep last night, Howveer the other weird side affects like the woozy head, feeling like I'm going to fall over, muscle aches etc have all vanished now.

Today is day 7.

Four weeks on 20mg and a week or so on 40mg. Tbh I don't think it's for me. I'll have to go back to Citalopram and put up with the weight gain and sleepiness. :(

Minty I'm glad most of your side effects have gone. I've had extra ones since upping the dose, but not much mood improvement. Maybe you could experiment with taking it at different times of day (after you've driven in the morning perhaps?) and see how it goes?

I had a better night last night. I was so exhausted and went to bed at 10.30 which is very early for me, went straight to sleep and slept through till about 4am. I know that's early to wake up but I ususally get 6 hours most nights so I think I'd had what I needed for the night and I've felt really alert and not sleepy at all today, unlike yesterday when I felt like a zombie.