extreme tiredness on celexa

any 1 out there feeling like a zombie?when i started taking celexa 4 the 1st weeks i was sooooooo tired,i even had 2 sleep in the day which was a bit mad as i was doing it when i was deppresed!my gym workouts suffered a bit 2,after a while my body got used 2 the 20mg but have just had my dose increased to 30mg and u no what the zombies back!plus when i wake up im sooo groggy and have 2 force myself 2 get up,i also look quite disturbed!

Celexa really seems like a pain. I took it for one day and I was in bed sick all day feeling like I had the flue. Is this better than anxiety?! I started on 20 mg, My doctor told me to stop taking it for a few days to get it out of my system and try taking 10 mg every other day and see how that goes. I was extremely tired as well. I slept all day.

Hi chris u no u sound like such a classic case of the drug b n new to your system,i 2 at the begining was contemplating going back 2 being nuts,but my friend encouraged me 2 keep on taking them and i did,the 1st few weeks a bit mad but i found the 1st week the hardest,but chris try and keep in there and u should find ur side effects will wear off.though as said b4 now i've been put up another 10mg the tiredness has returned,but i no this will soon pass.

ok I'll try that thanks!!

Hey Chris,

I can totally understand where you're coming from. I recently went up to 40mg and I am so tired again like when I first started on them... I just want to sleep in the afternoons. I really hope it goes away, I hate feeling so drowsy all the time!! I'm hoping it's a temporary side-effect and will disappear once my body is used to the dosage.

from what I'm told it does, and comes as you up the dose.

Does anyone know what the difference in symptoms is between lexapro and celexa?

I should say does anyone have any experience with lexapro?

Same things with me. I took Celexa in the morning every day that make me very tired when I feel like to sleep all day but I decided to take Celexa 30 mg bedtime every night but I don't like to wake up at 3:30am, 4am, 4:30am or 5pm but my body won't sleep back right away but back to sleep after two hours in the middle of morning. What can I do with middle of morning that I wake up for two hours? and How???? What can I change better to sleep all full hours of 8 hours?? Thank you.

Chris type in google bar, lexapro forums ,and you will find plenty of experienced people in there.good luck!

Canada Geese, How long have you been taking the Celexa 30mg at night. It may go away as you get use to the drug.

I have been on Celexa for about a month and a half now. 10mg. I am also taking it with 200mg Wellbutrin. Ever since i started taking Celexa though, all my energy and ambition has disappeared. I am completely exhausted all the time, yawning 24/7, and even find it irritable just to be standing more then an hour at a time at work because it will tire me out so badly. Also i have had dizziness and light-headedness ever since I started these. Any movement from a sitting to standing position. I have tried taking celexa at night, and at daytime. I have not seen much of a difference.

Miyth,

Have you discussed this with your doctor? It might be worth considering doing this - write out your list of symptoms in advance if you feel this may help.

Have you also been noticing any differences in your gait? Are you walking less fluidly, perhaps hitting door frames? Been looking down at your feet more?

As far as the Celexa goes:-

Dizziness/lightheadedness are adverse effects.

The constant yawning is a movement disorder (noted by many patients, but doctors are generally unaware of the prevalence of jaw dystonias/dyskinesias in association with serotonin boosters).

The exhaustion, lack of energy and apathy is also a side-effect experienced by many - again, doctors are apt to see this as an increase in 'depression', being unaware of the prevalence of the problem - ask your doctor to do a swift academic paper research on 'frontal lobe syndrome' and 'amotivational syndrome' in connection with the SSRIs (or google yourself, using the 'scholar' search option, and take the papers with you to your physician); alternatively, research drug-induced Parkinsonism. Both are possible explanations for the phenomenon.

I, among others, have had experienced your symptoms i.e. chronic tiredness and sleepiness, apathy and amotivation, dizziness (+/- nausea), jaw problems (yawning, bruxism, clenching).

Check yourself out for other adverse drug symptoms: ear sensitivity, tinnitus, eye sensitivity/problems, sexual dysfunction, joints moving/rattling (perhaps at night?), tremors, twitches, constipation or diarrhoea, skin or hair changes, rashes/itches, emotional blunting, loss of inhibition (behavioural changes, out of character impulse decisions, increases in spending), becoming more irritable or aggressive, pacing about a lot (important side-effect) or a desire to keep moving...

Thanks, i will check that out when I have time. Quite a lot of words I will have to google to. Ha.

As for other symptoms, i have noticed that my ears do seem a lot more sensitive. A lot of my own music and whatever is playing seems to affect my ears and cause a slight pain, or discomfort. I have had some discomfort with my eyes lately and they seem to be causing some mild headaches for me, mostly when I am driving or outside in the light. I have noticed some mild twitches occurring in my hands, neck, and legs at some times. I have had my ups and downs of emotions. A little bit of impulse buying (nothing that seems out of the ordinary). Oh and a lot more aggressiveness and irritability to a increased extent. As for pacing about, i do have a little of that. When sitting down my legs are constantly shaking and it drives me insane to not have them shaking. I do have urges sometimes to get up and run a marathon, but I will just tire myself out after even standing up for more then 10 minutes without the run.

I also have been keeping a log of what time I take my medicine and what effects I have been feeling throughout the day, so I could show my doctor at my next appointment. Most of what I listed in the last post are the ones I have written down.

Chris wrote:

Canada Geese, How long have you been taking the Celexa 30mg at night. It may go away as you get use to the drug.

Sorry, I started to take celexa 10 mg to 30 mg since April 3, 2007. that is your question for 30 mg. that was seven weeks ago... so I use to take 30 mg celexa bedtime since seven weeks ago of middle of May 2007.

Well it sounds like it's been a while. Your patient to wait 7 weeks! Maybe you should ask your doctor about a sleep aid or something. Unfortunately I only took it for 1 day so I am not the best to give the advice. After I get back from my trip I am going to try it again on a lower dose (It gave me severe nausea) I hope I can function ok!

Miyth,

Given your extra descriptions of side-effects, it sounds like you have akathisia (a form of neurological agitation), which is always drug-induced. Having a desire to move about... is classic presentation, and it is a fairly common effect seen with these antidepressants.

It was often (possibly deliberately) miscoded in the drug trials, and many docs are unaware of the presentation & significance. Read the Wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akathisia

and associated refs, then read Ch 1 of Glenmullen's book on SSRI side-effects, which describes many of the associated effects you describe...

http://www.prozacbacklash.com/prozacBacklash....

Akathisia is one of the side-effects that are considered to be inherently very dangerous (I know, I had it, I was disbelieved, I nearly died), and as such should be immediately reported to your doctor. Hopefully he/she will be aware of the phenomenon, and you can discuss how to proceed.

Thank you for the information Ezin.

It looks like I will have quite a bit to talk to my doctor about on my next visit.

Well my anxiety slowly seems to be slowly creeping back. I have been getting a little more depressed and each day, along with a lot of apathy. Also I just seem to be completely exhausted. I might have to change medication just because I am so tired.

i have been taking celexa for a couple weeks and yes iam significantly feeling better but tired all the time. sometimes i get bursts of energy but by 10pm iam exhausted!

Miyth wrote:

I have been on Celexa for about a month and a half now. 10mg. I am also taking it with 200mg Wellbutrin. Ever since i started taking Celexa though, all my energy and ambition has disappeared. I am completely exhausted all the time, yawning 24/7, and even find it irritable just to be standing more then an hour at a time at work because it will tire me out so badly. Also i have had dizziness and light-headedness ever since I started these. Any movement from a sitting to standing position. I have tried taking celexa at night, and at daytime. I have not seen much of a difference.

I just stopped taking Celexa 3 days ago. I was on it for about 10 months. I felt great in the beginning on 20 mg and I feel that it has really helped me with my worrying and moodiness. I got tired after upping my dose to 40 mg. I was like a zombie for the last 6 months. I quit my gym membership and I gained 15 pounds. I lost all motivation to exercise. I was also very hungry. I ate all the time. I was so sick of feeling this way that I decided to quit taking the medication. I've been off of it for 3 days now and today I have had so much energy and have felt so much like my old self again. I've not had any side effects to coming off of the med. I'm hoping I can stay off of all meds for a while and just feel normal. I tried everything to get my energy back while on Celexa, such as taking vitamins and other energy supplements. Nothing worked. Good luck with yours. I hope that you get your energy back.