Fluoxetine and sleep...
 

I've been on fluoxetine for just over 2 months now, and I have noticed that ever since I started on the med I have been having problems with my sleep. I wake up many times during the night, and find it hard getting back to sleep. It's hard for me to get to sleep and any sleep I do get is extremely light and filled with tossing and turning.
I spoke to my psychiatist about this and he said that he'll wait a few months to see if it's still unsettled then, and then maybe try me on a different med.

Has anyone else had sleep problems with fluoxetine?

Although I have not been on Fluoxetine, it is an SSRI. All SSRI's have sleep problems as a side effect, unfortunately.

SSRIs may give some people sleep problems but like all side effects only some, usually a minority, are affected. When I first went on fluoxetine I had some trouble sleeping but now I sleep like a baby. Side effects usually wear off after about 8weeks or so apparently. So just try and stick with it and hopefully you'll get used to it, also make sure that you take it in the morning as taking it later could worsen sleep problems I think.

Fluoxetine .. I was up every night for weeks on my dance mat and thinking I could fly. Personally would not recommend.

Hi, been on 60mg for about 4 months. Did take a while to settle sleep patterns but my psychologist thinks my sleep issues are related to the anxiety rather than the meds - maybe both? I do remember the first week being rough though. Sorry not much help. Hope you managed to get some rest soon.

When i was on fluoxetine i was also on quetiapine at the same time so my only trouble with sleep was I couldnt not sleep.

However, with sertraline and citalopram, I did get such effect.

Hey guys, thanks for the responces!! I hope it settles soon, because it's driving me up the wall haha :/
Whenwillitend - I have spoken to my doc, but he's reluctant to do anything about it at the moment.
thanks again xx

i got this from citalopram as well as fluoxetine. actually, unfortunately i always have trouble sleeping, but i know these medications list that as a general side effect. sometimes if you wait it out it will abate a little, but sometimes it wont which is when you should either urge your doctor to do something about it, or stop it. just suggestions, though.

When are you taking it? It may be that you need to take this first thing in the morning.

I know when I was on fluoxetine I had a lot of problems, but that is in part because it was not suited to me and did not help me. It is worth mentioning this to your prescriber, who can keep an eye on it with you and maybe suggest an alternative if it does not go away with time.

Roiben x

not sleeping is a sign of depression. keep an eye on your sleep and be mindful of other symptoms of depression. if things don't improve talk to your doctor about all the other options available, it may be that there is something that will work better for you.

in the first few weeks I had lots of trouble sleeping. I was fall asleep fine at the normal time, but wake up a few hours later and be wide awake. I also had very surreal, vivid dreams for a while, but all these wore off as the side effects wore off.

Rioben - I'm taking it first thing in the morning :)

I'll stick with it the now, maybe it'll wear off a bit. (hopefully!)

yep, i suffered from pretty much zero sleep for the first 4 weeks. as it has been said, any sleep was disrupted and MAN i had some crazy ass dreams!! i could have been a film producer!
it settled down after about 3-5 weeks but after that i found i had no emotions at all! i absolutely completely could not cry. i was screaming inside but no tears, nothing. weird.
but everybody is different. no anti d's worked for me really.
good luck
don't give up xx

I had this for ages - (until I stupidly took myself off of Fluoxetine), and would wake up at 5, 6, 7 and sometimes even earlier. When I came off the pills, I slept fine but I have been so depressed lately that I couldn't bear it any longer and refilled my prescription. I have only been on it 3 days but the first two I took it at night and it gave me such bad indigestion pains that I have changed it to the morning. No problems so far :)

Oh, I haven't had that problem with this med. Since it started killing my depression, I slept better than in several years.

Hopefully it settles down and you can sleep well :)

My GP's answer was sleeping pills, but yeah I couldn't sleep well on them.