New anxiety sensations

[xvolatileheart]

I'm on day 2 of citalopram and having some weird sensations I have never had before. I feel very nauseated and don't have an appetite, which I was warned about so not too worried. I cannot sleep, wake up a lot throughout the night and have extreme restless legs. I've gotten 4-5 hours sleep per night. Again, was warned about this so not too concerned. The weirdest thing is that I had a panic attack in the middle of the night and it felt like fire was surging through my nerves, all down my body, then it turned icy feeling. It went away after the panic attack ended but I'm still getting some of the hot feeling throughout my body today. Am I crazy? It feels so weird.

[Davit]

I think that is normal. It never did stop the panic attacks for me, and on top of that because I had a badly infected broken leg I had suicidal thoughts I didn't want. I certainly knew they were just side effects but still....so I quit taking it. Turns out it was the wrong antidepressant. All SSRIs are for me. I can't take any of them. SSRIs take two weeks to adjust to, yuk, and six weeks for full effect, more yuk. But for those they work for they work well. Some would say too well.

[xvolatileheart]

Sounds like you went through a really rough time. :( I hope you're doing better now. Thanks for the reassurance about the symptoms. I'm expecting the first few weeks to be unpleasant but I'm prepared to ride it out, just weirded out by the fire and ice sensations.

[Logan_Five]

Yup - just got to bat through as best you can and stick with it. I've had a tough few weeks, but it's improved in the end.

[Pinguanxious]

This lasted a month for me, woke up body surged with adrenaline. Then got the trembles. Used to scare the life out of me. But one day I woke up .... And it didn't happen and hasn't since, after two-3 months of this (before the cit and my first month on it) it was a relief to not wake up to it! Stick it out and I promise u won't regret it. And read the citalopram survival guide ....it's worth it x

[xvolatileheart]

Oh yes, I practically convulse after a panic attack, the shaking is so intense.

Thanks everyone again for the reassurance. Today I've woken feeling dizzy and off-balance. This is a fun journey, isn't it?! Ah well, going to carry on with life as normal and try not to think about it.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I took Citalopram first back when I had my first breakdown. I knew nothing back then and relied solely on my GP.

I had bad insomnia at first, sleeping maybe an hour, and it really affected my mood & ability to cope so I was prescribed Zopiclone to help.

Since joining this place I have seen others advise that if you take Citalopram at night its likely to cause insomnia but they have taken it in the morning and it hasn't happened.

The issues with sleep are bound to have an impact too, especially when it comes to things like dizziness and nausea.

[Pinguanxious]

I actually take mine at night, reason being is if I take it in the morning I find myself zoning out too much at work. But I do wake frequently, I think it's a toss up between what's going to affect you more. I also take propranolol and magnesium at night and since then I've found in ok with sleep.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Pingu, mine went away aafter a while because it was just the onset side effects. That and taking Zopiclone for a month messed my sleep up a bit for months though. After that I was taking it at after tea in the evening and it didn't cause any problems.

[johnmd91]

Hello, I got all of the side effects you are describing, especially the restless legs and insomnia. These side effects all settle down after about 3-4 weeks and you should start to feel the positive effects of the medication by then.

Hope this helps

John