# SSRIs That Don't Cause Insomnia?



## hack646 (Jun 11, 2011)

I was recently prescribed lexapro for GAD and took it for about a week and every day I was on it I had terrible insomnia. Would wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I ingested a bunch of caffeine and It would be impossible for me to fall back to sleep. Since I've never had problems with insomnia before I can only attribute it the lexapro. Do you guys know of any SSRIs or similar drugs to treat GAD that dont have insomnia as a major side effect?


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Statistically, the more activating SSRI's tend to be fluoxetine and sertraline. Escitalopram tends to be more neutral.
Citalopram, the double isomer of escitalopram, usually has more side effects.
The more sedating one is paroxetine.

Again everyone's reactions to the drugs can be different.


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Statistically, the more activating SSRI's tend to be fluoxetine and sertraline. Escitalopram tends to be more neutral.
> Citalopram, the double isomer of escitalopram, usually has more side effects.
> The more sedating one is paroxetine.
> 
> Again everyone's reactions to the drugs can be different.


fluvoxamine is about as sedating as paroxetine.

no word on vilazodone.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

If you've only been on it a week, insomnia is a pretty common side effect fir the first couple weeks as you adjust to the medication. It will disappear if that's the case. If you've been on it 1-2 months the switch to different med. I can't really recommend any particular SS(N)RI because none of them worked for me.

If you've only been on it a week, stick it out for a few more to see if it works. If the side effects become unbearable then call your doctor to try a different medication or start on a lower dose.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

As weird as it may sound, the sedation level won't necessarily decide how much insomnia you'll get. I had the worst insomnia on Paroxetine...


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

paroxetine and fluoxetine don't cause insomnia, citalopram and escitalopram do because they are more activating, zoloft I don't know.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

They are all ****
Activating VS non- Activating SSRI....someone show me the difference
At the end of the day I know Paxil is what you are after


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## hack646 (Jun 11, 2011)

What about SNRIs, tricyclics, and tetracyclics. It think I read somewhere that the latter two classes don't cause insomnia. Are any of those effective for treating GAD?


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

hack646 said:


> What about SNRIs, tricyclics, and tetracyclics. It think I read somewhere that the latter two classes don't cause insomnia. Are any of those effective for treating GAD?


Much less likely to have insomnia. Some people experience a lot of sleepiness on these meds.

I would second that "activating" vs. "non-activating ssri's" is a useless distinction in terms of insomnia everyone will react differently.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Don't drink caffeine lexapro is activating as is i had horrible insomia when mixing the 2 as well.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

what's "activating" to one person will not effect everyone the same way. This is what sucks about SSRI's/SNRI's. I have been on every one of the medications discussed in this thread and my experience vary's wildly from what other posters are reporting.

Lexapro had no effects for me, definitely not insomnia.
Paxil increased my anxiety a ten fold an I couldn't sleep for two weeks, I finally quit when I start hallucinating from lack of sleep.
fluvoxamine again had no effects for me, maybe a little more daytime tiredness
fluoxetine neutral, no effects
Citalopram neutral, no effects
Sertraline neutral, no effects
Vilazodone wow, I actually haven't tried one!

I don't even understand what "activating" and "non-activating" refers to. Is it a medical term? Even if it is I don't see how it refers to insomnia as a side effect. If a drug "activates" you then what, you feel the compulsion to be more active and if it is "non-activating," then you do not feel anymore compelled to be active? What is everyone talking about? Have I just overlooked this throughout all of my research?

If there is some meaning behind this term and it is medically relevant then I would love to know.


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

blakeyz said:


> They are all ****
> Activating VS non- Activating SSRI....someone show me the difference
> At the end of the day I know Paxil is what you are after


generally speaking the citaloprams are more activating then the other drugs in the same class, they give you a big shake since the first dose and in the first weeks of treatment may worsen anxiety disorders.
Smart *** doctors usally tell patients to take their dose at bedtime :teeth


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

istayhome said:


> Lexapro had no effects for me, definitely not insomnia.
> Paxil increased my anxiety a ten fold an I couldn't sleep for two weeks, I finally quit when I start hallucinating from lack of sleep.
> fluvoxamine again had no effects for me, maybe a little more daytime tiredness
> fluoxetine neutral, no effects
> ...


My response with SSRIs has been similar to yours, Paxil for some reason made me feel nuts whilst the others didn't. I'm not sure what it is about paxil.


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## viper1431 (Jun 6, 2012)

As istayathome said it's a normal startup side effect for the first week or two on ssri's. Insomnia is one of the side effects that usually goes away between week 1 and 2.


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## viper1431 (Jun 6, 2012)

istayhome said:


> I don't even understand what "activating" and "non-activating" refers to. Is it a medical term? Even if it is I don't see how it refers to insomnia as a side effect. If a drug "activates" you then what, you feel the compulsion to be more active and if it is "non-activating," then you do not feel anymore compelled to be active? What is everyone talking about? Have I just overlooked this throughout all of my research?
> 
> If there is some meaning behind this term and it is medically relevant then I would love to know.


Take some speed and after it's worn off take a huge dose of a strong sedative. You will soon feel the difference between activating and non activating.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

viper1431 said:


> Take some speed and after it's worn off take a huge dose of a strong sedative. You will soon feel the difference between activating and non activating.


So everyone's talking about stimulating vs. sedating ok. I have never found an ssri to be stimulating or cause insomnia or to make me more active/motivate me to be more active. Nor have I felt any ssri to be sedating or cause tiredness, fatigue, etc. I don't believe that Serotonin in and of itself is related to any of this. SSRI's have multiple effects in the brain other than just inhibiting the re-uptake of certain serotonin receptors. I would suspect that not even Allah (or god) know the extent of all the effects produced by ssri's. They seem to have a pretty wide range of effects on different individuals.

I am not expert on any of this I just think the average Pharmaceutical sales rep, doctor, pharmacist and patient oversimplify the effects of these drugs simple because they don't know what, how and why these drugs do what they do. Why can't we just simply lose the idea that we need to know everything and say, "hey we don't how these drugs work, we just know that they do work well for a small population of those presenting with certain mood disorders, for others they cause a bunch of side effects and don't do anything."

I guess sales would go way down.


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## KramersHalfSister (May 3, 2012)

swim said:


> paroxetine and fluoxetine don't cause insomnia, citalopram and escitalopram do because they are more activating, zoloft I don't know.


Paroxetine may not have caused insomnia for YOU but it had me wired and I couldn't sleep for days on end on that crap. It was too stimulating to the point that my eyes bugged out, my heart was always pounding, and my body was always shaking. Escitalopram was not stimulating at all for me and was pretty much the equivalent of taking a sweet tart as medication. Just goes to show that these meds affect people differently. In order to see how a med will affect you personally you pretty much just have to take it and see for yourself.


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