Posted by jacquie on April 9, 2000, at 6:41:03
In reply to Re: celexa sleep problems, posted by Liz on April 8, 2000, at 10:43:15
> > I have been taking celexa for three weeks now and wonder if
> > anyone else might be having problems with sleep. I fall
> > asleep at 9pm and wake up again at midinight, somethimes 3am
> > or 4am and then just get up at this point. Is it the Celexa
> > or is it me? If someone has some advice I would be most grateful
> **************************************************
> Jacquie, hi. I too have been taking Celexa just a short while, maybe two months now. I was having sleep difficulties just as you describe even before the medicine. However, part of my problem was that I was "self-medicating" with several glasses of wine virtually every night, so I would have no trouble falling asleep, but would always wake up and be wide awake at some point in the night. If it was before 2 AM, I would take some Exedrin PM to get back to sleep, otherwise, if it was later than 2, I would usually just toss and turn or have very shallow sleep the rest of the night. Since starting Celexa, I've been trying to determine if the sleep problem is even worse than before but of course, with the wine, it was just too hard to tell. My doc suggested (!) I reserve the wine for weekends or give it up entirely, which I have done now, for the most part for about 2 weeks. In an effort to help myself improve and feel better, I also started taking long power walks in the early evening, the time I used to spend relaxing with a glass of wine or two. That really helped me get over that hump! Then I found that I was not so sleepy early (duh!) and my late evenings were more fun and productive, which gave me a nice boost. I was also staying up later, so when I went to bed, I was really tired. To make a long story even longer, I still wake up at night, with or without wine, but I think the quality of my sleep is better. I do take Exedrin PM almost every night anyway, as insurance. You might want to try pushing your bed time 'til later and popping a couple of PMs at that time. The upshoot is that I can't really tell you unequivicably that Celexa interferes with sleep, but my suspicion is that it does. Hope this helps; maybe others out there have a less muddled answer. Good luck! Liz
Liz, thanks for your advice. I went to the website mentalhealth.com (it's a good site) and sure enough there have been many complaints about Celexa and sleep problems so they suggest you take it during the day before noon. I started doing that yesterday and hope it helps. Maybe you could try the same? Do you like the Celexa? Have you found it has altered your view on the world or of the world?? I think it has in me. I am not so upset about trivial matters and seem to handle things with more calm and sensibility. I am curious what you think as you have been taking it only one month more than I. Have you had any other side effects and have they subsided?? I have night sweats sometimes and increased excitability...aka mania I suppose. Let me know! Thanks, Liz.
poster:jacquie
thread:29270
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000401/msgs/29395.html