[dexter]

I've been having consistant insomnia... every night, takes me 2 to 4 hours to fall asleep. Very frustrating. Once I am asleep, I sleep well, and feel rested in the morning.

I was taking Wellbutrin XL in the morning and Celexa at night. The Wellbutrin was to help "activate" me during the day. The Celexa to help me sleep. The combo seems to be very effective for my depression.

I recently switched from Celexa to Lexapro.

I was worried that the Wellbutrin might be giving me the insomnia. I know it would do that if I took it too late in the day, but I have always been OK as long as I take it early enough in the morning.

Tonight is worse than usual. But it suddenly dawned on my that maybe it has nothing to do with the Wellbutrin, maybe it is the Lexapro giving me insomnia. It is supposed to be the same "active" ingredient as the Celexa but delivered in a more effective form. Could the Lexapro be giving me different side effects than the Celexa? Also the Lexapro doesn't seem to interfere with my sex drive as much as the Celexa did.

I think I will try taking the Lexapro earlier in the day. The insomnia I have been having is NOT the same type of insomnia that comes as a symptom of my depression. In that case, racing thoughts and anxiety keep me awake. What I'm having now is no racing thoughts... just inability to fall asleep, and a little bit of "restless leg" at times.

This has been happening even when I manage to stay out of bed all day and have an active day... so it doesn't seem related to my daily napping which I am still working on. It is frustrating because when I nap (during the day, when I'd prefer to stay out of bed) I get overwhelmingly sleepy, drawn to bed, and I fall asleep quickly. So at night I wonder how come I can't do the same, especially if I don't nap? Bingo, I take the Lexapro right before I go to bed. I can't believe it took me this long to make that connection. I'm hoping this helps, because otherwise I've been doing well.

[(JD)]

WOW such deep thinking at that hour! I'm impressed.

[LMo]

OMG - with Lexapro, my problem was the OPPOSITE -- I couldn't stay awake! Even though I was taking it at night, it took me probably a month and a half before I could make it through the day without yawning every 10 minutes.

But it was swell otherwise...

[CedarS]

When I took Lexapro at night, I was way too jittery and weird feeling. When I took it in the morning, I was yawn city.

[dexter]

Well I took my last nightime dose this morning instead of last night. I fell asleep MUCH easier, so I think that was the problem. Tomorrow in partial I am going to talk to the doctor about taking it in the morning or early afternoon. Since at night I would fall asleep in about 4 hours, I'm thinking at the very least if I took it 4 or 5 hours before bedtime I might be OK (Either the jitters wear off in 4 hours... or else maybe by 4 hours my bodies fight to sleep won out over the jitters? So maybe the morning is still better.)

In any case so far I don't feel sleepy from the morning dose (I took it about an hour and a half ago) but I'll watch and see how I feel. It might be difficult because I feel so sleepy during the day anyway. Also I take Wellbutrin in the morning so maybe the Wellbutrin will counteract the Lexapro sleepiness. Or something. But I'm thinking maybe the Lexapro just doesn't make me sleepy.

Anyway a lot to consider. I still feel like this is a good medication combination for me depression-wise... if I can also solve the insomnia problem I may be on a good road. Only problem left may be the tiredness I feel during the day. If that is depression related, maybe if and when I can get my finances straightened up, and that stress reduced, maybe I will be less sleepy. If it is a medical problem, I still have a doc appt to schedule, so maybe he can shed some light on it and find a solution for me.