My dreams are actually getting to the point where i can't stand them anymore. Sometimes i cant sleep during the night except for 2 or 3 hours which doesnt bug me, or i wake up constantly, but it seems like everytime i do manage to fall asleep i have such weird vivid nightmare type dreams..its happened for the past few weeks now and they keep getting worse..ive started cipralex about a week and a half ago and that has helped me get more sleep then before but sleeping more makes my dreams even worse..i thought i could handle it but im starting to not be able too..im going back to my psych on wednesday and plan to tell her but i have a feeling shes just gonna say the same thing and to stay on it and blah blah...if i do stay on it is there ANYTHING that i can take or something that stops these realisticly weird dreams?

britbrat,

Sorry about your troubles. I remember taking Chantix (anti-smoking) and remember telling my doctor they should put a clear statement saying that if you want to have the weirdest , oddest , most intense dreams , then take this medication .

You got a couple things going on here ,
your apparently weaning off Effexor..? What dosage where you taking, for how long? and were you experiencing these dreams?
I hope your Dr. is weaning you off slowly..

Also, most of the SSRIs can cause sleep problems, ... Lexapro tends to be more of an "activating" stimulant so you may have that increase in insomnia.

Also, many people start on 5mg , even though 10 is the usual. Maybe you could drop down to 5 for a couple weeks.

Your body is probably just adjusting. There is sleep medication, but I don't know if it would be that much benefit , and with you changing up meds. you might want to wait another couple weeks...

take care, Kyle

Britbrat,

You didn't mention if you're going through any other stressful problems, other than med changes, etc.

Have you had a full physical lately as well? Any health issues?

Try writing down these dreams, if you can remember them. Sometimes writing down what they're about takes away from the weirdness of it. While getting it on paper.... almost like telling someone else your dreams. It helps to lessen the them. I've written down dreams myself and felt much better after doing so.

I hope the situation improves... please keep us updated.

kyle:
You got a couple things going on here ,
your apparently weaning off Effexor..? What dosage where you taking, for how long? i was always increasing for about 10 months? and the highest i got to was 450mg and i was on that for like 2-3 weeks, but it had no effect on me i didnt feel anything, we've been weening for about 2 weeks and i'm at 150mg..its not too fast i don't notice any withdrawl effects or anything
and were you experiencing these dreams?
the dreams started when i was on 450mg of it and has continued since and at first she thought it was because the dose was too high, then thought it was because i was weening off, but they're getting worse as the change is more stabalized and has on effect on me

Lexapro tends to be more of an "activating" stimulant so you may have that increase in insomnia.---cipralex is supposed to make you tired, which i get, but i only get tired i dont manage to actually fall asleep

Also, many people start on 5mg , even though 10 is the usual. Maybe you could drop down to 5 for a couple weeks.--i started on 5mg when i began weening for a couple of days because it made me really sick then i started taking 10mg again and was fine on it

Mary:
You didn't mention if you're going through any other stressful problems, other than med changes, etc.
i am but its not as big and its not as stressful and the only plus of cipralex has been that my anxiety has benifited from it greatly so i dont get anxious anymore but theres still the depression that feels like its not getting any better and feels like it gets worse

Have you had a full physical lately as well? Any health issues?
I have a physical on thursday actually but i dont have any health issues at all

Mary:
You didn't mention if you're going through any other stressful problems, other than med changes, etc.
i am but its not as big and its not as stressful and the only plus of cipralex has been that my anxiety has benifited from it greatly so i dont get anxious anymore but theres still the depression that feels like its not getting any better and feels like it gets worse

Have you had a full physical lately as well? Any health issues?
I have a physical on thursday actually but i dont have any health issues at all

K, Britbrat, that could be as Kyle says, that you're body coming off meds makes it a more heightened feeling. Hopefully the doctor can figure out the right combination to help with that. Make sure you mention it .... again and again if need be.

I hope the physical goes ok for you. Keep us posted.

thanks but ive been really stabalized with the 150mg of effexor and the 10mg of cipralex..the only combination that i noticed that had an effect on it was my adderall but i didnt take it for a couple days to get my body used to the other stuff and felt better and taking my adderall hasnt effected it...but yeah thanks im gonna mention it to her tomorrow when i go...2 nights ago i actually woke up and i realized i almost dislocated my shoulder because of the position i was in, i was like bending my arm the wrong way cause of my dream it was weird.. i want off the meds..i cant sleep but im tired alllll the time, my joint pain is actually terrible im constantly stretching cause i feel soo stiff, the moodyness ugh..the only good thing about this drug was it got rid of my anxiety but id take anxiety over my back pain anyday!