Lexapro and Insomnia - Anxiety Message Board

jitteryme · 08-17-2005, 01:05 PM

It seems that I am one of the rare ones that has the insomnia side effect from Lexapro. I have been on it for 14 days now and CANNOT sleep. I take it in the morning and have been taking 7.5 mg. I am getting approximately four hours of sleep per night and that is only with the help of xanax. I would NEVER fall asleep without it. My doctor also gave me a prescription for Lunesta but after using it for two nights, it does not provide any more relief. I still wake up after four hours and cannot go back to sleep. I am a mess and am really starting to get scared that I am going to completely crack up.

Is it too soon to give up on the Lexapro and try something else? With the current lack of sleep, I don't even know if I am getting any benefit from the Lexapro whatsoever. I just know if I could get back into a normal sleep pattern, I would feel so much better.

Any comments or advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

hry33 · 08-17-2005, 05:25 PM

I suggest you swap to someother SSRI or prozac type med, this can be done overnight, avoid citalopram which is very similar to lexapro
generic prozac would probably be as good as any and is cheaper

often several of these meds need to be tried to find 1 that works and whose side effects can be lived with