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[Waynester]

Been on 200mg for quite a while now
every night its the same thing, cant sleep, keep waking up 3 or 4 times a night
then i feel exhausted all day and the pattern repeats over and over again
i do feel the drug has made me more balanced in my mind
is there anything else i can take with Sertraline that will help me sleep

anyone on here have this problem?

i always take my 200mg dosage early in the morning

Edited by Waynester, 04 January 2011 - 10:37 AM.

[BetterOff]

Hello, I read your post and yes indeed a good anti-depressant can cause some insomnia because its *stimulating* your brain to produce happy hormones. I take a cocktail at nightime of benedryl (do not take the non-drowsy kind but just regular benedry or a generic) it will make you sleepy and I have a prescription from my doctor for an anti-anxiety medication that makes me sleepy also. Sometimes I take it during the day when my anxiety is high, but it also helps to take one at nighttime and help you sleep. Those two things are very helpful as sleep aides. I dont know how long you have been on Zoloft, but after a while, eventually maybe in three months of starting it, you will start to smooth out and have more natural sleep patterns but the first 2 to 3 months, yeah, it can cause some insomnia but all AD's tend to do that as again they are stimulating your brain to produce happy hormones and fyi... you are doing 100% right taking the Zoloft in the AM, because taking in the PM will only make things harder to sleep. It doesnt matter what time of day you take the medication as long as you are consistant....
Good Luck, hope this helps... and having a good anti-anxiety medication is great if you are out and about and have a panic attack or feel anxious due to a situation and I always keep one in my pocket as a comfort blanket in case I need one for high anxiety....
Good Luck and hope I was of some help.... you are definately not alone in the insomnia thing and if not on the medication for 3 months, dont worry it will smooth out over time as your brain adapts to the zoloft...

[yoshimimi1]

Been on 200mg for quite a while now
every night its the same thing, cant sleep, keep waking up 3 or 4 times a night
then i feel exhausted all day and the pattern repeats over and over again
i do feel the drug has made me more balanced in my mind
is there anything else i can take with Sertraline that will help me sleep

anyone on here have this problem?

i always take my 200mg dosage early in the morning

I had the same problem starting up on zoloft. It did go away for me after about 8 weeks or so. Having benadryl or an anti anxiety med does help alot. I can remember days when I thought I would never make it throught the day, only to come home dead beat tired and wired out and couldn't sleep to save my life. It should go away, hang in there. If it doesn't talk to your doctor about it.

[gingerj]

Me too. There were days when I thought my sleep would never straighten out and I wondered how I would get through the days at work and caring for my girls at home on very minimum or no sleep. But then one day, I started sleeping through the night again. It took me a while but I think it was because I had 3 dose changes within 4 months, now up to 150mg. I tried everything to help my sleep and it would put me to sleep but only to wake up wide awake throughout the night. Hope it gets better soon :)
How long have you been on the current dose?? And when do you take it??

[monstermunch]

Hi, I had trouble sleeping on it for about initially, and then it was ok. But I only ever went up to 50mg. I did find it took away dreaming as well (I am a vivid dreamer usually, but it stopped completely) luckily they returned back to normal as well. Hope you can get some relief soon.

[tryinghard]

Hi, I had trouble sleeping on it for about initially, and then it was ok. But I only ever went up to 50mg. I did find it took away dreaming as well (I am a vivid dreamer usually, but it stopped completely) luckily they returned back to normal as well. Hope you can get some relief soon.

Im new on here, just gone onto Lustral (1 week) and I find that - I used to have very rich and vivid dreams, no (when I eventually get to sleep) its like I just blinked and its wake up time.

[Chipp Zanuff]

I don't wake up more like some people. but I do find it harder to go to sleep and to rest whilst in bed.

[littleowl52]

I've been on it for about seven months and battling the worst case of insomnia I have ever experienced. As soon as I took my first pill my sleeping pattern went out the window. At the moment I seem to be tossing and turning, wide awake, until about 8am and wake up at 4pm. I absolutely hate sleeping to that schedule so I every time I try and re-balance by staying awake until the evening, I'll either oversleep and still end up waking in the afternoon or take little naps, which are not induced by my conscious but rather more like a blackout. I had a scary moment yesterday where I awoke at about 6pm, completely unaware that I had been sleeping because last I remember I was sitting up, using my laptop. I've alternated between zolpidem and zopiclone but neither of them do a thing for me. I can take 15mg of zopiclone and be wide awake, walking around the house at 6am. I've continued to take it as I've found it helpful for depression and had terrible withdrawal from other medications (duloxetine was especially tough) so was very scared to go off it but it's gotten to the point where I just don't have a life anymore, so I've been tapering off the past few days.

[isayalittleprayer]

I was on 200mg Zoloft for years and did not experience insomnia. However, my friend was on 300mg Zoloft for 3 years and took something called....Busbar???(probably the wrong spelling) with it. Just a matter of patience to get the right combination. Don't give up trying to get what's right for you. isayalittleprayer

[Rose Quartz]

I was on 200mg Zoloft for years and did not experience insomnia. However, my friend was on 300mg Zoloft for 3 years and took something called....Busbar???(probably the wrong spelling) with it. Just a matter of patience to get the right combination. Don't give up trying to get what's right for you. isayalittleprayer

The interesting thing for me is that I take my Sertaline usually after supper or in the evening and I sleep fine. Before Sertaline I woke up all the time and was always anxious at bedtime because I
was afraid I wouldn't be able to fall asleep and have thoughts/anxiety bugging me all night. But maybe I'm lucky....maybe it's the anxiety that kept me awake and now that's is lessened I can
finally sleep. I dream but I can't say they have been horrendous. I've always dreamed in color so that's not new to me but I can't say I have any dreams that I can remember right now.
Hope your insomnia gets better.

[spikel]

I've been on zoloft for about 3 months and have TERRIBLE insomnia too. I tried all the usual sleep meds-ambien, lunesta, etc. but you can get addicted to those and your tolerance builds to them too. my doctor prescribed trazodone and that does the trick for me. 50 mg. When I first tried the trazodone, i was SO drowsy the next day, but that soon disappeared. I take it every night now and my sleep is better. trazodone is an old school antidepressant so there's no risk of dependency.

[MintyFresh]

I'm currently on 100mg and have always slept better than ever while on Zoloft. In fact maybe a bit too well at the moment.

[AquaViolet]

Been on 200mg for quite a while now
every night its the same thing, cant sleep, keep waking up 3 or 4 times a night
then i feel exhausted all day and the pattern repeats over and over again
i do feel the drug has made me more balanced in my mind
is there anything else i can take with Sertraline that will help me sleep

anyone on here have this problem?

i always take my 200mg dosage early in the morning

I take Geodon, Klonopin, and Lyrica along with my Zoloft. I have no trouble sleeping. Probably because of this combo of meds I'm on.

[Nesty]

I have been on 100mg sertraline for 5 weeks or so, and sleep is the major issue. I am not going to resort to taking Banzo's or any other prescription drug due to my high sensitivity to medication. I tried Amitryptaline 1 night !! awful stuff - I am hoping that after a while I start to sleep better (I struggle to get 2-3 hours at the moment).

[Nesty]

I think that the insomnia / anxiety issue is a bit like Chicken & Egg, I had insomnia before I started taking sertraline - I went days without sleep - all caused by anxiety. Interestingly insomnia can cause anxiety, anxiety can cause insomnia and round and round it goes. SSRI's are to treat anxiety, but give you insomnia?which causes anxiety. HELP !!

[starr]

Hi,

I am on 150mg of zoloft and it is working
great for me but I do take a mood stabilizer
(neurontin) along with it at night to help
me sleep. Without it I just stare at the
walls all night. It also helps with anixeity.
I hope you find relief soon,

best wishes,
starr

[Nesty]

How long before I get some sleep !! ARRRGGGH - another night of 1 hour here 1/2 hour there, until I finally gave up at 6:00 - then I get sooo tired by bedtime and the anxiety rises. I am not giving in to more tablets - but when does the sertraline make me relax enough to be able to sleep ??

[Nesty]

sleep getting worse !! , I have started taking 2mg valium 3 times a day - but still nowt. I dont want to get addicted to a drug that does nowt.

I'll try a hammer I think and knock myself over the head

6 weeks on Sertraline and the insomnia is making the anxirty/depression worse

[Rahul]

valium takes time to build up in your body. it has a half life of 36 to 200 hours. so in a few days you'll have double or triple the dose of 6 mg valium in your body. since it has a long half life, you need not space it out and can take it all at bedtime. it's effect should last whole day while giving you a good sleep.

Edited by Rahul, 11 April 2012 - 06:47 AM.

[Nesty]

Rahul - that is very helpful - I willl give it a try..I have been googling to try to find an answer to the fact that it builds uo in your body to a "therapeutic" level and could not find any re-assurance.

Bless you my son !! Best regards

[Rahul]

6 mg diazepam (valium) is roughly equivalent to 0.25 mg clonazepam/alprazolam (shorter half life benzos).

here is an equivalency as per NHS: http://www.cks.nhs.u...nal_information

however, this equivalency is for people withdrawing from benzos and might differ from those starting benzos. these equivalencies are by trials of substitution of benzos (say clonazepam to diazepam) on patients withdrawing from benzos. patients withdrawing differ from patients starting a benzo. the former have developed a benzo tolerance unlike the latter.

Edited by Rahul, 11 April 2012 - 07:30 AM.

[Rahul]

what i meant to say is that, for you, 6 mg valium might have the same effect as 0.5 mg clonazepam or alprozolam. anyway, this is all speculation i am engaging in. trust your doc.

[elisaac2629]

Nesty,
I feel so bad that you are having a hard time on Zoloft. I too have had a hard time but not like you. It seems that with every dose increase I have experienced insomnia on like day 3-6 of the new dose but then it slowly diminishes. I'm experiencing it right now since I just went up to 75mg 5 days ago. I'm hoping it goes away soon too.

[Nesty]

thanks Elisa - I went through all this 3 times in my life spread over 20 years - I feel so much more clued up this time so hope to spank it soon !! - I am going on hols Friday 13th - so hope to catch up with some sleep on the sunbed ! - zzzzzzzzzzzz

[Nesty]

Elisa - are you taking anything with the Zoloft? and how long altogether have you been on it ??

If you can tolerate another AD some of the older TCA's like Amiltriptaline (sp?) give relief from insomnia - it didnt seem to suit me - but works welll apparently. Others are Trazodone and Mirtazapine (Zispin)

[Nesty]

took 2 x 2mg just before bed - zilch - not funny now ......... ah well.....

[rachface]

ugh. zoloft kept me awake for 4 days. i was going so insane i was manic (which i never am). psych just switched me to something else and i'm fine. (haha this 5am post is rare)

[Nesty]

its good news you are now ok -

[Nesty]

I now feel I have made a BIG mistake giving in to the lure of Banzo's

I have taken 2mg tablets for three days (3 times a day)

Can I stop ? they are doing nothing to assist the anxiety or insomnia

HELP PLEASE - am I already addicted and should I wean myself off them slowly (how slowly) ??

[elisaac2629]

Hi Nesty,
I really don't feel that you are addicted to Vallium yet but if you would like to wean off of them just in case, start taking 2 a day for a couple of days and then finally down to one. You probably just have a high tolerance for the medicine and that is why it is not working. I am the complete opposite. I take 1/4 tablet of the lowest dose of Xanax and it works for me. Some tell me its just a placebo effect but I know its not. I think I'm starting to build tolerance though because it is not working as well for me anymore. I hope you and I both start feeling better soon on this Zoloft. How long and how much Zoloft do you take now?

Jess

[Nesty]

Hi Jess thanks for the feedback - I will cut down ..

50mg Sertraline for 1 week
100mg for 6 weeks -

And you ??

[Rahul]

I now feel I have made a BIG mistake giving in to the lure of Banzo's

I have taken 2mg tablets for three days (3 times a day)

Can I stop ? they are doing nothing to assist the anxiety or insomnia

HELP PLEASE - am I already addicted and should I wean myself off them slowly (how slowly) ??

if i were you, i'd just stop it. it might make me suffer for a few days.

Edited by Rahul, 12 April 2012 - 08:03 AM.

[Rahul]

tapering is for long term users (the period spent in tapering does them no harm). for a 3 day user, 5 days spent in tapering is fraught with risk. just my layman opinion.

[elisaac2629]

Hi Jess thanks for the feedback - I will cut down ..

50mg Sertraline for 1 week
100mg for 6 weeks -

And you ??

Thanks for asking Nesty. I started sertraline march 22--25 mg first week, 50 mg second week, and now currently on 6th day of 75 mg. I'm hoping not to have to go up any higher. This anxiety is ******* me. I wish my brain would give up in trying to fight these meds as they increase but I know it happens and just takes time. I hope you are able to somehow fight off that insomnia that you are experiencing though. I think I've been a little lucky. It takes me awhile to fall asleep but when I do its pretty deep. I just hate getting woken up and then going through that whole process again. Which, it has been happening quite a bit lately because of my allergic son waking up and needing breathing treatments. Thankfully, my husband wakes up to get it done (he's stay-at-home) but I still wake up and have trouble falling back to sleep. Oh well, ....what can we do?!

[Nesty]

keep hanging on in there.............

[Doeshaa]

Hi Nesty,
I my self are having trouble sleeping with sertraline. I started on April 2, 2012. It's seems I go to bed at 12am and by 12:40 I wake up and 1am I fall back asleep and about 2ish am wake up again it sucks and the pattern continues. Not to mention the nausea and loss of appetite and the nervousness the side effects the pill gives you. I hope this goes away soon.

[leila24]

Sleep doesn't seem to be an issue at the moment, I'm only a week into Sertraline and I'm exhausted ALL the time, even more so soon after taking it so I take it at night, the only issue with this has been that if I wake up during the night things can look a little strange which happened when I started Citalopram a few years ago although this isn't too bothersome.

[addict1968]

Hi All,

Friday I met with my psychiatrist and he prescribed 5mg Olanzapine every night. I am on 100 mg of Sertraline since 6 weeks and insomnia and loss of appetite were the most severe side effects. Now I sleep well - am asleep by 10PM. The problem is I wake up around 4 AM - but am getting good 6 hours of sleep and am ok. The other thing I noticed was increase in appetite and that is also good. Read here that increase in appetite and weight gain were side effects of Olanzapine - so the side effects are actually working for me :) I had lost a great deal of weight over the last 6 weeks so now I feel am on the right combination of meds. Finally!!

[leila24]

Apparently I jinxed it with my last post, after 2 sleepless nights I apparently spoke too soon about Sertraline not giving me insomnia, that was a quick change I'm telling you! Project "change to taking it in the morning" is underway, moving it forward by 2 hours a day so hopefully by the time I go back to work next week I'm sleeping again, fingers x

[Rahul]

it never goes away. period. when i started my lex 4 yrs. ago, after 2 weeks of good sleep it robbed me of total sleep. my doc. added mitrazapine which gave me 9 hrs of sleep. 2 months ago i upped my dose of lex. the higher dose has truncated my sleep by 2 hrs. (the mirtazapine is still in effect) -- i sleep 7 hrs. now and i am afraid it is permanent (for as long as i keep taking the higher dose). however mine is an individual experience.

Edited by Rahul, 19 April 2012 - 12:25 PM.