Posted by Liz on April 9, 2000, at 8:45:21
In reply to Re: celexa sleep problems, posted by jacquie on April 9, 2000, at 6:41:03
Jackie, nice to hear from you! I have always taken Celexa first thing in the morning, on the advice of my doctor. It was prescribed for me for OCD w/ underlying depression. I had just been in a rut, unmotivated, obsessive about some things and totally disinterested in other things, things I used to enjoy. I felt like I was just going through the motions of living - it was like watching someone else in a really boring movie. I felt detached from everything around me. Celexa alone may have taken the edge off things... I don't know. It sure made me tired during the day; I felt at times like I could fall asleep standing up. Of course it didn't help that I wasn't sleeping great at night. On my next visit to the doctor, he prescribed adderall, a stimulant. Now this combination has really helped me - my particular needs - I think. This is also about the time I found babbleland. Prior to this I think I believed that medicine alone was going to work some magic without any involvement from me, but after reading all the recent posts here, it began to occur to me that to feel better, I was going to have to do more on my own behalf than swallow a couple of pills. Perhaps the two drugs, or even the Celexa alone, got me to the point where I could think - take some sort of purposeful action - that would help propel me to where I wanted to be. Does that make sense? After reading some of the stories on this board, it occured to me that those who seem to have coped best with their disabilities were those who got pretty aggressive about their recovery. So I see the meds as a catalyst for that battle, not a cure. As to side effects from Celexa, I really hate the dry mouth thing and I also have had a feeling of stuffiness in my ears, but that is not constant. Night sweats? I had those before...I thought it was possibly hormonal. I just throw the covers off for awhile, then pull them back, then throw them off again - I get some exercise even while I'm in bed! I did not have any mania on Celexa alone, but shortly after I started adderall, I had two days of hypomania that my doctor said could have been triggered by the combination of the 2 drugs; they have been known to throw people into a bipolar episode. However, on those days I also had the first two days of my period and am convinced that had something to do with it. I had been taking 10 mgs. of Adderall twice a day with little or no noticable effect (much better concentration is about it) and then had several days on 15mgs, again the effect was not dramatic, then I had this hypomanic phase lasting about 2 days, then CRASH! Now I'm back to "normal" So even though my doctor asked me to stop the Adderall, I started taking it again after a few days. I know, I'm bad....but I like the two together. I think I was too mellow on Celexa alone. The only other problem was the delay of orgasm (or no orgasm) and that was a real bummer. I was in denial about that 'cause I didn't want to believe it was going to happen to me. Anyway, I think my husband and I have resolved that problem!;-) Take care, Liz (and let me know how things are going)
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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:Liz
thread:29270
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000401/msgs/29400.html