I think ive made a mess of pill taking

5 weeks ago i started myself on 40mg of citalopram and they made me worse,more anxious
Then 2 weeks ago GP lowered em to 20mg?
Then after id been on them 2 weeks, last week i had a wobble and panicked so went rushing to docs telling him i was scared of slipping back, and he increased them to 30mg
so in 5 weeks ive gone from 40 to 20 to 30mg of citalopram
well today cos ive felt awful for last 2 days ive decided to take JUST 20mg again...now im feeling scared as im not sure if its side effects or not enough and its my anxiety
any ideas on what i should do? stick with 30 or 20?

ive ended up taking a diazapam as ive worried myself into a state

dont know where you live but is there walk in centre near you or out of hours gp?

---------- Post added at 18:03 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

ps i would try riding the 30 out though as more than likely side effects but im not an expert only been on 20 for 6 weeks x

Personally, although I have never taken citalopram, 40mg starting dose seems far too high. Many people start on 10mg. I am no professional but I would stay on the 20mg for a few more weeks - they do take time to work - then gradually raise to 30mg - give yourself another couple of weeks on 20mg. Just see how it goes - you are getting yourself in a panic - phone your doctor on Monday if that helps and even ask for some extra diazepam for this moment in time.

Good luck

Laura

---------- Post added at 18:07 ---------- Previous post was at 18:06 ----------

ps 20mg seems the norm for this medication

Hi there,

I understand that you are getting anxious about this and I know how it feels.

I posted something similar the last time you were asking for dosage advice, that is it's only your GP who should be advising you on this. You've only just increased your dose and you will get increased anxiety but you must give it a fair shot at working before changing again.

It will work for you so just stick it out at 30mg, as your GP recommended, and you'll really see the benefit in a couple of weeks. I know it's easy to panic about the side effects but to keep changing the dose definitely isn't the answer.

Take care

Pip x

I totally agree with Laura....40mg is far too much to start with. I was on 20mg for 2 years and never needed to go up. Is this your normal gp? Sometimes they're not very wise when it comes to prescribing!

Stick with 20mg minimum for a while. Remember they also take weeks to show results so taking more wont be encouraging at this stage.

Kel