Hey Everyone, Hope you guys are doing good!

Does anyone experience really bad insomnia since being on the meds? I mean I try and go to sleep at a decent hr and some nights can lay awake for 3 hrs just thinking and not being able to sleep. Then I start to get anxious cause I keep looking at the clock and as I see I'm going to have less and less time to sleep before I get up and then I start getting panicky which of course doesn't let me sleep! Sometimes Lorazapam helps me to sleep, but I have to take it hrs before I'm supposed to get up, if not I'm out like a light and sleep through my alarm and then am late for work! (As that happend to me this morning) But usually when I wake up late I start to freak out, get all anxious about being late for work and usually have a panic attack, but not today. I mean I was freaking, but it wasn't the same. Slowly, maybe the meds are helping..... but still to slow for my liking!!!

That's my piece for the day!

Hi Tinkerbell,

How long have you been on meds?
I take Citalopram which is different but it gave me terrible trouble sleeping in the first month or so. Taking it in the morning definitely helps and it did wear off after a while. I still don't sleep great, but I get enough.
I definitely think lying awake isn't the best strategy though. Maybe you should just give up and do something and see if that works. the lorazepam are effective though. xx

Hey PRT!

I have been on them for the past 3 weeks. I take my pills at night. How do I go about switching the time? Wont that mess me up?? Is it better to take them in the morning??

Thanks!

YES! I started taking it two days ago and the first night I woke up at 2 am and never could go back to sleep. So yesterday instead of taking it at night, I took it at lunch, but then last night I barely got any sleep at all. So today I switched to the morning. Hopefully I get past this because it is awful!

Definitely take them in the AM tinkerbell. It helps so much with the insomnia. Also, the first few weeks can be really rough on your sleep. I too suffered from insomnia on Zoloft when I first started taking it. What I did was use Benedryl to help me sleep. It was OK'd by my doc because it's better than taking a benzo to help sleep. Taking a benzo to sleep can lead to dependency fairly quickly, where as Benedryl isn't habit forming and can be taken as long as you need it. I took it for almost 3 months to help me sleep and the last week I haven't needed it really at all, unless my allergies were bad.

I'm not sure how to go about switching from night to morning, but I think you should give it a try for sure. Also, look into Benedryl or Tylenol PM if you're wanting some help getting to sleep. Expect your sleep patterns to be a bit whacked out for a while too. Even when I could get to sleep, I'd often wake many times during the night. Only recently (bout 2-3 months in) have I been able to get a full nights rest without waking up 5-6 times a night.

Thanks Darc, I can't remember the last time I slept more than 2 hrs at a time. Gone are the days of an 8 hr slumber! I wake up every 2 hrs when I actually do get to sleep. It's like clock work. And then somenights just don't fall asleep at all! So you say Meds in the AM eh? I wonder how I go about that. I usually take them every night at 8:00pm. Would I just not take it and then take it at 9am in the morning? I'm sure I'll be feeling s***ty by then. Or do I take my 8pm one and then take the 9am one. That would be a double dose though no? lol I'm confusing myself here...... What is the benefit of taking it in the AM anyway?

If it was me, Id just take the one at 8pm and take the next one at 9am the next morning. I dont think it would be that big of a deal. But if you're worried about it and want to move back slower you could take your regular dose tonight, maybe take your dose tommorow at like 3pm, then noon the next day, etc....

You could always do a half in the AM and a half in the PM for a couple doses too. Then move to the AM totally. My wife has to do 500/500 am/pm with her Depakote because it causes major drowsiness.

Hey Darc,

Last night I took it 2 hrs earlier and I think I'm just going to do that until I get to the time I want it at in the morning, less of a shock to the system that way I think! I hope! lol We shall see. I did sleep a little better last night with taking the earlier dose, so I'm hopeful this will work out. Maybe I can finally get a good nights rest!!

Thanks!

Hi sorry for the lack of response before - sometimes I miss things!

Glad you got a bit more sleep, hopefully it will sort itself out once you get to an early enough time. xx

lol no problem PRT!

I know when I take lorazapams I get a good night sleep. I've just refilled my prescription for them so I'm stocked up! I can't get to see my doc till after July 15th since she is on holidays. Who says doctors can go on holidays!?! Especially when I need help with my meds! lol just kidding. But it's frustrating. When I do go and see her though I think it's time to up the dose, as I'm not feeling much of anything and it's already 4 weeks in. From what I've been hearing from everyone else on the site is that it may take the full 6 weeks, so i'll wait it out but if it's still nothing then I'll talk to the doc.

I just want to feel BETTER!!!!

I hope you are doing well!

Yeah it can actually take 6-8 weeks. No harm in upping the dose though to get more of a reaction if your doc agrees.
Lorazepam is great but I only have about 4 left so I try to only take them when I'm desperate! I have some other sleeping tablets for the less stressful times!

xx

Well actually I have been on Lorazapams for years ever since I got off Paxil to help with the the mild anxiety I would feel. So I've been taking them for years, but until a couple of months ago they started to make me feel sick. So then the doc prescribed me Xanax and they were amazing! I have run out of those, but still have a bunch of refills for lorazapam. So, sick or not these days I'm still taking them, I need something to help with the anxiety. When I get to see her after the 15 I'm going to ask her to up the dose and hopefully for some more Xanax, since I find they really help with the morning anxiety.

How are you feeling these days? What do you suffer from again? Anxiety? Depression? How long have you been on your meds and have do you find they have helped you?

ttysooon! Take care...

This post has been edited by Tinkerbell_kal: Jul 3 2009, 12:20 PM

I didn't know you were allowed to be on lorazepam for that long - I'm going back to the doctor!!!

I mostly have depression. I have some elements of anxiety but it's only really bad when I'm very depressed. The rest of the time I can cope with it although it does stop me making phone calls or going places sometimes.
I take citalopram but I don't really think it does that much for me. It does blunt the emotions but I still feel rubbish, just without crying if that makes sense. I'm about to come off them and go med free as I've only been on meds for 6 months and have survived the rest of my life without them. I'd like to be off them if I can, seeing as they don't do that much.

I think at the moment my biggest problem is the lack of sleep I'm getting as I feel I can't cope with stuff because I'm tired. I try not to take a pill unless I'm really struggling as it makes it hard for me to get up for work in the morning. I dream all night and they really disrupt my sleep.

God I bet you wish you hadn't asked!!! I'll shut up now xx