Zopiclone while on Citalopram

[wcs2222]

Hi Everyone,


I am 5 1/2 weeks into my 3rd or 4th round of Citalopram. As always, I get the side effect of not being able to sleep through the night. Getting to sleep is no problem, but I wake up 2-4 times during the night and hard to fall back to sleep. Not getting a good night's sleep just makes my anxiety worse the next day. I had moved taking cit in the morning, but no difference for me at different time of day.

My doctor had prescribed me Clonazepam (i.e., Klonopin, Rivotril) when I started cit and said that would help with sleep also, but it didn't work for me. Eventually, a week ago, she prescribed me Zopiclone (i.e., Imovane, Zimovane) to take half of pill (3.75mg) or a full pill (7.5mg). Half a pill did not do much and only gave me ~3 hours. With a full pill, I would still wake up 2 times, but be able to fall back to sleep and get 6-7 hours of sleep total.

I am now a little concerned about Zopiclone addition if I use it nightly ... anyone else have that concern? I know that I should take some breaks, but that would mean not sleeping well on skipped days.

I tried OTC diphenhyradine (i.e., Sleep-Eze,Benadryl) and got good sleep on 1/2 of 25mg pill, but didn't like the hangover the following day. I am also thinking of trying Melatonin.

Please share your experiences on sleep aids while on Citalopram. Thanks.

[NervousKel]

I had awful I insomnia when I first started Citalopram 5 years ago. It was so bad that I've actually developed somewhat of a phobia over it, and when the Citalopram quit working for me 8 weeks ago, the insomnia came back just in anticipation of having to switch to a different antidepressant.

For the first month or so on Citalopram, the only way I could sleep was by taking two 50 mg. pills of Trazedone, and then lorazepam. I'd stagger them a few hours apart. My problem though is usually initially falling asleep; so I'm not sure how effective you'd find this cocktail with staying asleep and not waking up.

Now, with this round of insomnia, I've found the Trazadone to be effective for me. I try to fall asleep on my own, and, when I can't, I take one 50 mg pill, wait an hour or two, and take the other if I'm still awake. Once I'm out, I don't wake up until morning (although I have been waking up a bit earlier than usual).

I tried melatonin a few weeks ago, at 5 mg. It did make me drowsy, and there were several nights I fell asleep without having to take the trazadone. But, I had a day where I was a bit depressed (extremely unusual for me), and after looking online, I discovered that depression can be a side effect of melatonin. I quit taking it. I am open to taking it again though, once the SSRI I switched to (escitalopram) kicks in more.

[wcs2222]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Lulu1960]

Wow third or fourth time on celexa..just curious why come off to only go back on????

[Bogle]

Hi guys. My name is Ian and first time here on our chat room. First of all I'd like to give everyone my best wishes. I signed up to find answers if poss to who I am, at the moment I'm like, not phased by anything and think I'm border line, lost the plot. I have been taken citalopram 20mg for almost 1 year. I guess you guys know were and what stage am at. Hope to chat with other's. X

[wcs2222]

Hi Lulu,

It's my doctor who wants me to get off cit previously ... she is cautious about prescribing meds indefinitely. Next time I see her, I'll discuss about staying on cit "forever".

Regarding my original post, I'll continue to take Zopiclone for sleep for a while longer and discuss other options with her next time also.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Cit was the first antidepressant I tried and my GP put me straight on 20mg. The result was insomnia, amongst other side effects (first time I had ever felt depression). I was lucky to get an hour of poor sleep and it really hit my mood and the lack of ability to get some recovery from my daily anxiety just pushed me further.

I was put on Zopiclone. The first night was great, slept great and woke up feeling refreshed. I had a good week like that although not quite as much sleep as the first night which was more about catching up. But after a couple of weeks it started to do less for me in terms of hours sleep and I would spend the first approx. 6 hours with loads of fatigue, spent up to 2 hours trying to even pull myself out of bed (turning over was hard enough) and couldn't eat more than a few biscuits for a couple of hours.

The Crisis Team who my GP calling out had advised him to tackled my insomnia with Zopiclone as they believed it would give me back some mental resources to keep going through the Cit side effects. They were right. But what my GP didn't tell me, which they later did, was that they advised it to be cycled one day on / one day off. My GP had me on it 5 weeks straight and this led to dependence (Zopiclone is quicker for dependence than many benzos) but I spent about another week cycling on / off as they advised to wean myself off it. This worked but it was a challenge as the first few cycles it really was a matter of hardly any sleep on the off night and enough to keep going on the on night. But after a week or so I was getting enough to function (5 hours).

So, are you taking the Clonazepam & Zopiclone?

As for the cycling I mentioned, I would ask your GP about the best way to do it. But once you are through the main of the Cit side effects you will mentally handle the insomnia and if it means a day on / day off issue, like me, you will cope with it.

---------- Post added at 02:38 ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 ----------

Hi Lulu,

It's my doctor who wants me to get off cit previously ... she is cautious about prescribing meds indefinitely. Next time I see her, I'll discuss about staying on cit "forever".

Regarding my original post, I'll continue to take Zopiclone for sleep for a while longer and discuss other options with her next time also.

My GP was like that. He explained these meds are meant to be used to help us recover so we can come off them rather than stay on permanently.

Some need it though and many a doctor keeps prescribing. These conditions are complex and can take a long time with lots of hard work involved so it's very individual.

[Sleepy]

I was given 3.75mg of Zopiclone in 2001 when I went onto Seroxat (paroxetine). I was on the latter for 6 years then changed to trimipramine (a tricyclic) for 10 years. I have now been on escitalopram for 3 months. I have been on Zopiclone every night throughout all these years. The escitalopram gave me insomnia (I had slept like a baby on trimipramine) so I was upped to 7.5mg which I'm still on.

I'm not advocating long-term use for everyone, but it helped me all those years. I'm undoubtedly addicted to it and will attempt to withdraw when I feel happier with myself, but I have never had any side efects from it.

[wcs2222]

Thanks Terry and Sleepy!
I am quite cautious about taking meds that can be addictive. I am hoping the insomnia will pass.

[wcs2222]

Just a quick update:

My insomnia passed in mid-July and I stopped taking Zopiclone at that time. During the preceding 2 weeks, I was getting better as Cit kicked in and I was able to reduce Z to 1/4 pill (1.875mg) with skipping a few days.