Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

SSRI Sleep Problems

Two years ago my life changed. My quick background. I was on an SSRI for at least 20 years. I stopped taking it for I guess about a year or less. Life had more downs than I could handle.

Zoloft caused me to not sleep

I went back on Zoloft. First day pacing for hours. Stress started to go up. Later during that first-week sleep was disrupted badly. I thought it would pass. The doctor raised the dosage. That first night zero sleep. I thought oh well next night I'll just sleep better. I was calm and not worried.

Well, every night that week was just the same. I could not drive, I called a ward to ask if they had space for me. I had no idea what was going on. I felt calm but was freaking out. I could hardly close my eyes or lay down but was not running around. I did not have mania. The ward could not figure it out for a week and let me go. So many pills were not working. Ambien kinda was till it stopped. I had to go back to the ward for another week. They put me on Zyprexa 15mg. It never made me tired but knocked me out. I did not want to be on it.

Finding others with the same reaction

A total of nearly 30 types of scripts tried on me. My original doctor who knew me for 20 years never saw anything like this. I had a MRI, did lots of blood work. The sleep doctor gave me a hug and sad sorry I can't help you. Online I met possibly 3 others like me with my same story! Yet the doctors only pigeonholed us and they never asked around to question. So I don't know if this triggered my insomnia or hurt me. Or if current meds are safe. I slept fantastic my entire life! I can't even describe how strange and fighting all this is.

The others I met, we still talk for a year so far. I wish someone would take a better look at our cases. Why were so many pills used on us and nothing worked? Or helped? I thought this would have gone away by now. I lost jobs, I am all alone. I don't know what is safe to take now. I know I must have a mixture of damage and primary insomnia. That is all I can think of.

Sorry for this long message. Something just does not feel right. No doctor cares and says sorry can't help. I have been trying CBT-I for a year. I have anxiety and some OCD and situational depression. That is all I ever had in my past. I am 37. This is April 24, 2021. This happened two years ago the last two weeks of May.

Has anyone else had a similar reaction to an SSRI? Share advice in the comments below.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Insomnia.Sleep-Disorders.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

Have you taken our In America Survey yet?