Early morning waking on citalopram

[DottyCat]

Hi all,

after a period of terrible anxiety I started taking 10mg of citalopram just over two weeks ago. The first few days were pretty awful for side effects but they’ve mostly evened out and I’m starting to feel less anxious.

the trouble is my sleep is still really disrupted. I take it in the morning, have tried magnesium and melatonin, sleep with an eye mask/ear plugs/avoid screens and checking my phone… but every night I pop awake at 4am and can’t get back to sleep at all. I’m starting to feel really exhausted.

did anyone else experience this? Any tips for how to handle it or how long it might last?

It takes a up to 3 months for the drugs to balance the chemicals in your brain then it should be fine

3 months! Blimey, i’m going to be so tired! Can anything be done to help in the meantime?

What time of day do you take it? If it's in an evening, change it to the morning instead.

Antidepressants can take a while to get into your system and there's a good chance once it settles you'll be okay - lots of people are.

However, I didn't get on with SSRIs or SNRIs at all. They were making my insomnia worse. Eventually the doctor changed me to mirtazapine and it's been life changing because it's a sedating antidepressant that I take at bedtime.