day 5 and not sleeping

[NoPoet]

Hi, as other members have said, sleeplessness is a very common side effect in the early days. I went up to 40mg 2 weeks ago and I find it harder to fall asleep. This side effect should pass in time, just like the rest, so keep going, you're not far away from adapting to the med

[Redrainbow]

Hi Jem21, Yes the not sleeping thing is the worst isnt it, i tried alsorts apart from the medication i was on, Citropram. I tried going to bed early hours of the morning, lots of exercise in the daytime. I found i was still up every two hours, i would lay awake for about half an hour and then fall back to sleep and that would be all through the night. I could have carried the shopping in the bags under my eyes. I suppose sooner or later we have to go to sleep though, that's how i look at it now. I try and empty my mind at night, that helps a little,
Best Regards Wayne.

[KK77]

Oh dear Jem, I know how you feel. I've been having terrible sleeping patterns: going to bed at weird hours, waking up after a couple of hours, falling asleep again, waking up late......

I'm also on a low dose SSRI AD and I know it's partly caused by that - although I've been on it for months now and it should have settled.

I've noticed that I'm also getting into the habit of sleeping in bad positions. I've been told by my osteopath that sleeping on your back is the best position, but I can't sleep like that unfortunately ... check it out on the net though.

Hope you're feeling a bit better anyway and you adjust to the med soon.

PS. Be careful with the Zzzz drug use - they too can cause problems later.....

[Jem21]

Well I only woke once in the night last night, so looks like its showing signs of improvement... and am now on day 11 i think. It's all about waiting for them to work... which is the hardest thing for us anxiety sufferers i know, but hang in there and we get there in the end!!! I hope you are all well and things are improving for you all also x

[megan143]

Hi Jem

Well day 15 for me, I am still feeling better today, went back to work and coped really well no major panicks just a underlying anxiety but that could be because it was being back at work.

Main side effect for me now seems to be the clenching jaw thing, which I think is one of the side effects, but that is more annoying that worrying. I occasionaly still feel a bit sick, seems to be worse if I haven't eaten, but all this I can live with as I do feel a bit better than I did.

Sleep pattern ok again last night wakened up early and couldn't get back to sleep but slept ok until that point.

[snakie_87]

day 7 and i've started eating again but my jaw and the shaking has become unbareable. i was sat in college to day and i was nearly sick, does any one find it hard to9 keep warm?

[Jem21]

Hi all... Well done on going back to work Megan thats fantastic, I would imagine it's completly normal to feel a bit of anxiety on going back, i go back tomorrow and im feeling a bit the same.

Snakie, I did struggle to keep warm for a bit, i found myself walking round the house fully dressed with my dressing gown on top... the shaking will strat to subside your still early days into the med.

Ok it's day 12 for me and last night i went to bed with no sleeping tablet and only woke up once due to my son wanting a drink, i managed to go straight back to sleep till this morning... I've also had a bit of a lightbulb moment. I got my test results yesterday and everything was all clear... My whole family were in shock that I didnt feel imediate relief... but hang on why would i??? I've spent the last 3 weeks in an extreme state of anxiety with hardly any food or sleep, I am not suddenly going to become me again instantly or over night in fact! I've realised my brain and body have thought of nothing else the last few weeks, it's not suddenly going to dissapear. You break your leg it takes time to heal, as do we. I actually think I should still be panicking about it but I think thats normal, as it takes time for our bodies to calm down or become de-sensitized. My life will not suddenly flip back to normal BUT and here is the important part I now need to let other things start to take over. I laid in bed and watched a film with my son last night which was the first time for ages and yes i did still think about it but not quite as much and tonight it may be a bit less, as long as i keep busy with things normal life will start to take over slowly. So i'm not expecting to be me again right now, or even tomorrow or next week, i'm going to take each day at a time and let it take over gradually as it should.

Sorry for the long waffle on there... I hope that maybe helped some of you, and I hope you are all well. Citalopram is a god send for me but its not a miracle cure give it time to work its magic!!!

Jemma xx

[megan143]

Hi Jem

That is great news that your test results are fine, I agree with you though you are not suddenly going to be fixed, it will take a bit of time, it does sound though the meds are doing their stuff as well, I stuggled on so long not wanting to rely on meds and now I wish I had taken them sooner.

2nd day back to work and had a much better day today, anxiety is not on my mind so much all day, as before it was the first thing I thought about when I got up till I went to bed where my last thought would be hope I feel better tomorrow. I am also doing a relaxation CD every night which might be helping as well.

Hope you are ok today

love

Megan x

[Jem21]

Hi Megan, I'm ok thanks, I've had quite a good day and kept myself busy and i dont even feel that worried about going back to work tomorrow.

I'm glad today was better for you at work, and just think that if your not thinking about it as much as before at the moment just think how even less that will be in a few weeks... and eventually you wont even hardly think of it at all. I went for years not taking meds but then i though you take a tablet for a headache so whats the difference? I'm so glad I did now.

Hope you have another good day tomorrow, let me know how it goes.

Jemma x

[Angela0872]

Hi
I've just been started on citalopram not for the anxiety but for cluster headaches (the suspected cause of my anxiety). I've been taking them 1st thing in the morning and have had difficulty getting to sleep at night. I go to bed at my normal time and am feeling really tired but it takes me over an hour to dose off. Sleep has been disturbed also, I've not had a full nights sleep since starting citalopram. I am hoping that once my body gets used to it this will settle down.

I also feel quite shaky, almost hyperactive for a couple of hours after taking. I use this as an opportunity to get jobs done around home and this takes my mind off feeling shaky.

Also, like clairebear I have been feeling quite nauseous and find drinking heaps of water helps.

I'm going to perservere with the citalopram as hopefully it will work in preventing cluster headaches and it also seems to be lifting me out of the depressive state I was in a few days ago.

Take care
Ange