Cymbalta and Insomnia

I go to bed and sleep does not come. Last week it was 4 am one night. Well past 2 am on most nights. And I'm totally off caffeine.

Last night, I was feeling sleepy. It was just a wee past midnight and I was thinking "Tonight's the night. I'm drowsy, I will sleep!" And then I hear a moaning from the bathroom. Needless to say, someone needed loads of parental help involving massive amounts of cleaning spray, comfort and doing laundry. Wes took care of most of the "eeeeewwwww" parts, but I was up for the drama.

Then I remembered my meds. Forgot to take them earlier, so I took them. Instantly my heart started racing as if I'd had a cup of coffee. Bam, bam, BAM! All drowsiness was GONE and I lay in bed for a long time waiting to fall asleep.

4:48am. More moans coming from sick kid in the bathroom. Wes is asleep. I wake up. More cleaning spray, more paper towels, more fetching clean undies, more laundry.

And then there's just me: Unable to get back to sleep. Watching the clock tick towards 6am. So here I am, not-so-bright and oh, so early!

I am going to call my doctor and talk about getting off my medication, or switching to another one. Something. Because this insomnia is interrupting my LIFE. And yes, I'm writing this so that someone doing a google search about their own symptoms will have my story, too. Cymbalta, I just learned, causes insomnia in 16% of users. Apparently I'm one of them.

Comments

elizabeth said…
Lord have mercy. Good you are realizing the med is not working for you.
Alana said…
I'm gonna start by trying to take it in the morning instead of at night.

It's good for me in so many other ways. My depression is totally gone.
I wonder if cymbalta comes in a lower dose? Maybe a lower dose taken in the morning like you mentioned might work even better.

Hopefully the nasty virus will be banished soon. :(
Unknown said…
Many years ago, I took Ally, the weight loss medicine. I took this along with Cymbalta. The mix messed me up. I was suffering with great anxiety, could not sleep, muscles twitching. Finally, when I thought I was having a heart attack, my wife took me to the hospital. Ally causes anxiety 25% of the time. Mixed with Cymbalta, it causes anxiety to heighten. I am now on Nortriptyline. I take this at night with Ambien to sleep. I still suffer from anxiety. Anxiety about work, about my family, and even about my salvation.

I am using the Jesus prayer a lot now as well as immersing myself into the Scriptures and Orthodox literature. I still take the Nortrip/Ambien combo though.
fresh vending said…
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When are you taking your Cymbalta, and what dose? I'm taking 60mg, and if I take it any later than about 1:30pm I am up half the night (usually past 2am). But if I take it at noon, it is perfect. Also, if I forget to take it, I just miss a day. I find that the insomnia from taking it late isn't worth it.

I hope you find what works for you!