Citalopram and sleeping.....

[warmsummersday]

Hi. I have been on Citalopram for 3 months now and for the past few weeks have had terrible trouble sleeping. I find it hard to fall asleep and also wake constantly throughtout the night and laying awake for ages. I told the doc last month and he said it wouldn't have anything to do with the tablets. How does everyone else sleep?

I thought citalopram could cause insomnia and sleeping problems..I'm sure my Dr told me this when I had them, because I already suffer from insomnia.
Not 100% though, maybe google for side effects?

DH had problems with insomnia whilst on citalopram. I'm sure it's listed as a possible side effect. He ended up with sleeping tables to counter balance them but that was a nightmare in itself tbh. Sorry, that doesn't help with solving it, does it?

I have only been on citalopram for about 5 weeks but haven't had any problems with sleeping. I was told before starting it could do that, and I did get asked quite a few times by my Dr if it was affecting my sleep, so I would say it is a rather common side effect.

I don't know about sleeping pills, but if you need an occasional night of sleep you could look into trying passionflower tea. You don't need a prescription for it, and I have found it worked well for me in the past. Don't use it every day as it's effects start to wear off with daily use. Another natural alternative I have heard of is to use half a teaspoon of nutmeg in a glass of warm milk just before going to bed. I haven't tried that, and I can't imagine it would be all that tasty! Maybe try it with a bit of honey too?

citalopram caused insomnia with me. came off it within a few weeks.

escitalopram is more tolerable.

As for putting nutmeg in warm milk, where do u get it from?

warmsummersday, im quite surprised your doctor said your sleeplessness was not down the the tablets. I thought it was listed as a common side effect. That is, in more than 1% of patients (if i remember from the data sheet!). I have been on it for 3 days, i didnt sleep well last night but then i dont sleep well anyway. The only reason i can think of why your doc thinks it wouldnt be the pills is because the side effects are supposed to wear off or lessen after the first 2 weeks. I think it is really important to break the cycle of sleeplessnights as i find, even when im not depressed, if i get into a pattern then my body clock sticks to it. Saying that, im not very good at breaking the cycle

I don't remember Citalopram causing any sleeping problems when I was on it, but it was four years back now.

More recently, I was prescribed Dosulepin, which is an AD that actually helps you to sleep at night.

I'm on Citalopram and for ages I had problems staying asleep...was waking constantly in the night...tossing and turning....

However, now I've been on them for nearly a year and am feeling much better in myself, I'm not waking in the night half so much so I'm wondering if the fact that the tablets have helped my PND so much, that when I do wake up to turn over, I don't end up waking right up anxious and mind buzzing with worries iyswim??

It exacerbated my insomnia.

Keep pushing to change.

It took me three meds the first time to find one that worked for me and two this time round (PND).

I have an understanding GP and consultant, however, so I also have a small supply of supplemental meds to help me sleep when the non-medical stuff doesn't work.

I had it years ago and it gave me nightmares to start off with.

It soon got better and I found overall it was a very useful medication.

But then not everyone's the same, so if you don't feel it's working for you, go back to the doc.

wiki lists sleep disturbances as a side effect. I think it's definitely worth seeing the GP again.