Should I change the time I take it?

[Gardener89]

Hi everyone, ive been taking 10mg of citalopram for 19 days now. I started off taking it at 9am but after a few days started taking it at 7am. I feel so tired in the mornings it's difficult to keep my eyes open. More often than not I will fall asleep again.
Taking them at 7am I feel I have a little energy by around lunchtime then it dips a little then feel a bit better in the evening. I have a little trouble getting to sleep but not too much. No matter what time I go to sleep I will always wake up at 5am but can usually get to sleep again until 7.
Just wondering if I should change to taking it in the evening? It would maybe make me more awake when I need to be.
Thanks in advance

[panic_down_under]

ive been taking 10mg of citalopram for 19 days now

When are you due to increase it to the 20mg minimum therapeutic dose?


Just wondering if I should change to taking it in the evening?

Within about a week plasma levels of most antidepressants stabilize to a steady-state of between 2 to 3 times the peak from a single dose and then don't vary much across 24 hours. So in theory changing the time of day shouldn't make any difference, but in practice it sometimes does, so it's worth a shot.

[Gardener89]

Hi, thanks for your reply. My doctor gave me 4 weeks worth of 10mg tablets but didn't mention anything about going up to 20mg. I did wonder after reading elsewhere on this site why I'm only on 10mg for so long. I did consider phoning the doctor to find out when I was having a particularly bad day but someone on this forum suggested I stick with 10mg for now.
I'd be worried that if I did go up to 20mg it would make me even more tired.
I just received a packet of inositol powder that I ordered yesterday and going to give that a try too.

[panic_down_under]

I'd be worried that if I did go up to 20mg it would make me even more tired.

It might do, but staying at sub therapeutic antidepressant doses for long periods may be unwise as it could increase the likelihood of the med pooping-out.

Also, while increasing doses at less than weekly intervals may increase side-effects severity, delaying increases won't significantly reduce them no matter how long the delay.