Citalopram Sleepiness - Advice Please

[Berlioze]

Hi All
I have been on 10mg Citalopram daily for just over 3 weeks now.

I take it before bed, around 11pm/midnight and it seems to be working ok for me - I feel a bit more relaxed and my mood is better. I've started noticing some positive differences last week.

However, come 8pm I am extremely sleepy. I fall asleep until around 11pm-midnight on the sofa cause I'm so exhausted. Then I wake up, get myself ready for bed, take Citalopram and sleep like a baby. 6am I am fresh and full of energy ready for the day which is the right time for me. This is nearly good, however I have no evenings at all as a result and can't do anything around the house or go to the gym etc (I start work early). I don't know whether this will likely settle soon or shall I ask GP to change my meds at my review? Anything I can do not to crash early every evening? Curious what your experiences have been.

The only other issues are that I had a very, very heavy period (leaked through my clothes) and I seem to have tension headache at the back right side of my head. Again, not sure if anyone's experienced similar and if it settles over time?

Thank you for your advice.

No advice with the sleepiness I'm afraid as citalopram had the complete opposite effect on me. Gave me insomnia.
I found after about 6 weeks the sides effects like the insomnia and headaches went away, just takes a while for your body to get used to it.

Also got insomnia but I take in the morning first things

I started on 20mg Citalopram about 7 years ago and continued to take it for about 3 years.
I remember how tired it used to make me when I first started on it and whilst my body adjusted. I remember feeling like I just needed to sleep, v lethargic, heavy and relaxed. It did pass, I don't remember the tiredness lasting long at all. I know insomnia and restlessness are quite common symptoms but what you are describing was a very relatable side effect for me. Speak to your gp if you are concerned but I would maybe give it another couple of weeks and see if things improve as it wasn't a long term reaction for me.

Thank you for your responses. I know insomnia is a more common side effect and I suffered from it too when I was taking it in the morning. However since gradually moving on to taking it before bed, this is not a problem. Extreme tiredness in the evenings is though. Tonight I'm proud of myself as I went out with friends and didn't fall asleep. Tiredness is really hitting me hard now but at least I had some normality tonight. We'll see tomorrow, I am not going out in the eve but I'll be swimming late in the afternoon. I wish I could do sports during the day, maybe this would help, but it's impossible during working week.

Sorry I can't advise although falling asleep 11-12 on the sofa is normal for me 😂 what time do you usually go to bed ? Maybe you just need more sleep? X

For me I wasn't getting to sleep due to anxiety and citalapram helped me with that up I wasn't falling asleep at 8pm. I was also on 10mg and then went down to 5mg when I started to feel better. I'd probably give it up to 6 weeks and then go back to gp. Its a low dose already. I think its such a great medication for anxiety and I wouldn't hesitate to go on it again if I needed to.

It’s a low dose so it might just be your body starting to catch up with restI found I was less tired eventually as obviously anxiety is tiring.

Strangely I forgot it yesterday morning and spent the afternoon and this morning as well in a complete brain fog. I didn’t realise why until I saw the tablet on the side where I’d left it yesterday. It’s cleared now but it’s given me a good reminder of how I used to feel, I could barely function. And I was very tired.

Hi anyone have experience of citralopam making you feel more depressed. Have been on 20mg for 2 weeks and feel terrible have had no other side effects.

Hi @Lilacsta sorry to hear this. I think you ought to mention this at your medication review, I think for some people it can be a side effect unfortunately and you may need different meds. However, I'd stick with it for a little bit longer if you can - our bodies take time to adjust to SSRI medication. You may feel rather different in few weeks' time.

For anyone reading this thread - the sleepiness is finally nearly gone. I'd say it took 4-5 months but I didn't want to give up Citalopram as I think it has made a difference to how I'm feeling. It was a long slog but worth it.

About 3 weeks ago I've really started noticing I'm a lot less anxious, irritable and the fog has lifted for me. No panic attacks for a long time either. I haven't felt this good in years.

However, I'm still struggling with concentration and I feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have on my plate and juggling it all, and I procrastinate. So still some typical anxiety symptoms are there. I'm thinking about increasing the dose and might ask for 15mg at my next review if that is possible, I think 20mg sounds like a big jump to me.

If anyone's struggling like I did before, please persevere - hope it works for you.

Just found your post. I’ve just started citalopram and am on day 6 today. I am completely zonked all day long. I have terrible anxiety most of the day and am so nauseous I can’t eat anything. All worse than I was before starting the tablets. My anxiety was due to lots of things- country/house move and then 4 new jobs in 2 years, and some of the most difficult parenting issues I’ve ever had- these issues haven’t gone away and I’m having to deal with them still.

i started as I had 2 panic attacks over a few days- and thankfully haven’t had anymore like those.

i was just wondering how you are doing now? I really need some hope that things will get better for me, and i haven’t gone down this road for no reason.

I take the tablets in the morning, but struggle to get to sleep at night and then wake up a few times in the night. I’m on 10mg

It settles with time. However, could the heavy periods actually be down to peri menopause? Ads are often prescribed when it is actually hormones that are needed.

Hi, I'm off Citalopram now. It helped and some symptoms settled for me, however I decided to take them in the evening. The extreme sleepiness improved after 4-ish months maybe.

Periods were extra heavy when I was on it and back to normal (ie still heavy but normal for me, not extreme) since I came off it.

I think it helped at my worst time but overall I realised I wasn't being myself, it numbed me and made me feel sluggish. I gained a lot of weight. I decided after 8-9 months I think to move away from it and instead started natural things like adaptogens (tulsi), hormone balance supplements and probiotics plus various stress release physical exercises. Good luck to you.