Has anyone had panic attacks whilst on citalopram?

[PoppyC]

Hi
Ok I have been praising the virtues of citalopram for days like I was an advert for it!
I was so up and so happy and have not felt so good in over a year and a half and then out of nowhere last night I had the most awful hour long panic attack with full blown symptoms. I was on the verge of going to the hospital as I was in so much pain with my chest and my whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I was sick so much and eventually after the hour from hell I slowly began to improve.
I am exhausted today and again earlier I started with another panic attack this time a minor one compared to yesterdays.
I have not had a panic attack since last August when I was not taking medication.
Does anyone else have panic attacks on citalopram? This should not be happening should it after being on them for a month? Is this 'normal' ?
I am all for hanging on in there and giving the tablets a chance to work and I can put up with minor side effects, but never expected panic attacks from hell.
I still feel very anxious. my chest hurts, and just 'feeling strange' and I am still taking my tablets. I am more or less on my own - so when the attacks happen I feel really vulnerable.
Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Budgie]

Hi Poppy

I've begun to have full panic attacks again recently I've had that edgy, agitated feeling thats like an attack bubbling under the surface for weeks. Its exhausting. A part of me is starting to wonder, do I need more cit? Or less? Or what? Is it just me not trying hard enough?

[PoppyC]

Hi Budgie!
Your post is exactly like how I am!
I cant understand it - I rarely have panic attacks - I had a few last August when was in middle of a breakdown and I wasnt on medication then.
I feel so anxious and my chest hurts with the anxiety. I feel terrible!
I am so sorry you are feeling as you are...its awful isnt it. I really did not expect panic attacks on cit.
I dont know what to do either - whether to up the dose - but maybe that will cause the panic attacks to get worse. I dont understand how these tablets work!
What will you do? I really feel for you - its horrid isnt it?

[nomorepanic]

Have a read of this page - it may help..

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/NMPcms....age=medication

[nomorepanic]

This bit ...

The medications may significantly ease symptoms and give you a well needed break from feeling so terrible each day but they will not cure you of all your problems or symptoms. Using medication can prove to you that the symptoms you are experiencing are indeed anxiety and not some other dreaded lurgy as many of these symptoms will lessen or disappear whilst you are on the medication.

If you go on medication but do nothing else constructive to help yourself, you may find the initial symptoms reoccurring once you stop the medication. If your issues are caused by something that may improve naturally over time like a bereavement then medication may be all you need to see you through a particularly difficult patch but medications are not a permanent solution to an established emotional problem.

[PoppyC]

Thanks Nicola...will have a read!

[Budgie]

Thanks for that info

I've always said to my gp that I am reluctant to just use medication as for me it feels like putting wallpaper over a crack in the plaster, but I agreed to try cit. back in January as I'd been feeling really low and suicidal, and the wait for a mental health assessment/talking therapy is so long

I'm really confused about what to do about my cit situation. I feel embarrassed and like a failure to be so stuck like this still even though I'm taking a medication I've got a GP appointment on Friday afternoon but I get flustered about the possibility of saying I don't feel so good, I feel like I let myself down

[PoppyC]

Hi again Budgie
I read the notes and yes it was helpful but it was nothing I didnt already know.
You are not a failure and nor should you be embarrassed! You have not let yourself down! You should be proud of yourself. You are doing the best you can to help you get to feeling better. You are not burying your head in the sand...you are accepting help by medication and future therapy. It shows that you are being positive.
I am having CBT and also I do all the self help there is. That does help.
I am giving it 3 more weeks and if the panic attacks keep on then I will go back and see my gp. I will have been on them by then for about 7 weeks.
I feel more anxious now on them than I ever did before and having worse panic attacks than I have ever had...so whats the point?
I know anti depressants and anti anxiety tablets dont cure everything but neither should they make us feel worse either after we have been on them for many weeks.
Maybe another type of med will suit me more.
Dont feel like a failure..what works for 1 person doesnt always work for another. Just because loads of people say cit works for them doesnt mean we should feel bad because we find they dont work for us. There are other meds out there which may really help us. I have never taken medication before.
How long have you been taking them for?

[NoPoet]

Hi Poppy, wow you really are up and down on this stuff aren't you??

I still find myself experiencing anxiety and depression but in a much reduced form. I have suffered anxiety attacks for years and am very hardened to them by now. Occasionally they come back differently and I have to adapt to them all over again.

Hope that things improve for you as you continue to recover.

[PoppyC]

Hi Poet!
How are you today? Did you have a good day?
Yes, I never know how I am going to be from day to day it seems.
I had for no reason at all - I was perfectly relaxed last night - the most horrific panic attack I think I have ever had. It lasted an hour.
I was really anxious today and had another attack earlier.
I am taking my cit properly and doing everything by the book and not drinking alcohol.
There are problems in my personal life - but who hasnt got them! we all do -
I dont expect the cit to work to erase all my symptoms out but I dont expect it to give me panic attacks!
I have never had them before apart from last August and I wasnt eating back then due to how ill I was.
I will stay on for a while longer. Its really frustrating!
How are you getting on with them?