[gr53315]

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate if you could share your experiences with us, just so that we know what to do and expect.

Some background info: my husband had a major anxiety episode last year, and was originally prescribed Zoloft with Xanax. He eventually switched to 10mg of Lexapro, and had to take Ambien to counter the sleeping problem. He was on Lexapro for 6 months and then stopped taking it.

NOW, he had another episode about a month ago. He got prescribed 10 mg of Lexapro again and has been on it for about 3 weeks. He is experiencing sleeping problems again, but doesn't want to take Ambien because it didn't help too much last time, and was very difficult to get off. Basically, it's the same story every night - he falls asleep without any problems, wakes up about 3-4 hours later, and then sleeps in 1/2 hour stretches for the rest of the night. Obviously, this is not very restful and he is getting very frustrated with it.

The questions we have are:

1) If you had the same sleep problem, how long did it take for it to go away?

2) Is there something he can do to improve the situation? He is already taking it in the morning to allow the side effects to dissipate before bedtime.

3) Did any of you go down to 5 mg as a result of sleeping problems? How long did you stay on 5 mg before going back up to 10?

Thank you very much for your advice!

[najiwench]

i never really experienced any sleep problems i directly linked to taking lexapro...however i always took it in the morning and then there were times when i did have problems sleeping at night, but i took melatonin which helped a lot. i don't remember what my dosage of lexapro was, but it was at least 10 mg..

[kare]

as far as im aware of side-effects like insomnia can last 1-2 weeks, sometimes longer.. it depends on the person taking them.

im on lexapro at the moment and the first 2-3 nights were exactly what you have explained and yet since then i have slept like a baby..

the only other effects ive had are a stiff jaw and sleepiness throughout the day and i take the medication in the morning as soon as i wake up, usually around 6 or 7am.

i was hoping to try taking the pills at night to stop feeling some of the sleepiness during the day, though maybe then i would experience a difference in the sleeping pattern i have now?

just depends on the person i think. check the lexapro website for more info, though they usually only give estimates. sorry i cant be more help.

[jessi_lynn]

I have generalized anxiety disorder. I used to suffer panic attacks, which worsened when I moved far away from all of my family. I had trouble sleeping as well. My doctor prescribed my a low dose of Xanax to combat the effects of Lexapro. I take Lexapro at night due to it making me nausea during the day. The small dose of Xanax does relax me and combats the sleeping problem I did have. I am doing really well now. I have not had a panic attack in over a year and I am generally a very happy person now! I cannot and will not take a sleeping pill. I had a bad experience with a sleeping pill which caused hallucinations when I was much younger. Xanax does not make you sleep, it just takes the edge off that Lexapro puts on there. I hope this helps.

[MICHI4240]

I have the exact same problem. In fact i couldnt have stated it better. I have been on lexapro 2 months now and it has been going on for the past month I am normally a morning person, but latley i have not even wanted to get out of bed. My dreams have also been much more vivid and i tend to wake up after each dream. I talked to my doctor and he perscribed me ambien, tonight will be the first time i am going to try it.

[no_more_tram]

Originally Posted by MICHI4240

I have the exact same problem. In fact i couldnt have stated it better. I have been on lexapro 2 months now and it has been going on for the past month I am normally a morning person, but latley i have not even wanted to get out of bed. My dreams have also been much more vivid and i tend to wake up after each dream. I talked to my doctor and he perscribed me ambien, tonight will be the first time i am going to try it.

I am a bit similar, I am on 10mg, and although I sleep ok, I have always had a problem of being tired alot due to pain med addiction, but I do have very weird, obsurd dreams, and for the most part I remember them. And I sleep so hard that I drool like crazy

[sayyadina]

When I was on Lexapro, I did occasionally have trouble sleeping. I tried pretty much every medication there is for insomnia, and quite a few other things too, and nothing helped me at all. Just had to let the insomnia run its course.

Now that I've been off the Lexapro for almost 5 months, I'm also having trouble sleeping again.