Hello, I'm new and on citalopram

[colnelkurts77]

Hello, I'm 37 male and dont think ive had depression or anxiety before accept when i was in school i kinda had the same as im feeling now.

I returned to the uk after living abroad for years in dec last year, i was teaching english as a foreign language although im a chef by trade. moved back in with my parents and still havent found a job, most of my friends are married or moved away and i live in a small village. i was fine first but the novelty wore off. started worrying about my future and that ill never find a job and get out of this rut. My appetite went, i started getting bad insomnia, a horrible feeling in my stomach, became agoraphobic to a certain extent. I was prescribed citalopram and now feel even worse (I've only been on them for 2 weeks and have to go and see the doctor again on Friday this week) since then i stay in constantly, appetite is bad, mostly eat once a day, cant concentrate on anything, feel really shaky in the morning and dont even want to get out of bed, cant face talking to people, cant see the positive in anything, I really feel suicidal, although i wouldnt cause it would kill my parents who are 67 and 70 years old. I had some agency work last week and felt terrible, sleeping for about 3-4 hours, feel tired constantly, yawning all the time and my eyes are watery and my whole body aches, all i could think of was getting back home and curling up in bed on my own. would love some feedback, i feel like im getting worse not better :(

[obsessive b]

Hi Hun

I am in week 6 now of 20mg of Citalopram. You will feel worse at fits. I couldn't eat felt terribly panicky and generally like I was getting worse. Don't give up the side effects wear off after a few weeks. They do take a whil to get into your system. It seems like a horrible long wait at first because you just wanna get better straight away. Make sure you talk about how your feeling don't bottle things up. Don't get me wrong I am far from being 100% but I'm not giving up.

Let me know if you need any advice on side effects.

B

[cathycrumble]

Hi I am new on here myself and i have also had to same symptoms as you not eating, sleeping lots of fears i have had a bad few years on my marriage splitting up which i was wanting for years and i lost my job in november. I have been on citalipram for 3 weeks and i am afraid u will feel worse before u start feeling better. I started them last sep and i started getting better after about 2 months but i made the mistake of coming off them cold turkey last easter wrong move so i am back on them at 30mg and i am starting to feel bit better and when i do come off them i will do it prperly. But i am afraid when u start them u do feel a bit worse i am having bad headachs and clamy feet and hands lol. and i also yawn alot but thy will pass just stick with it and there is a book which has also heped me called self help for your nerves by Claire weeks. Good luck I hope this has helped.

Cathycrumble x

[no_name]

Just have to wait the awful side effects to go away, it could take up to several weeks, so don't worry. Tell your dr. how you feel, but maybe you should give the medicine a chance. These pills take a little long to accumulate in your body and make you feel better, everything depends on the person and the condition so keep up!

[colnelkurts77]

Thank you obsessive, cathy and no name, I'll stick at them but i feel so lonely and feel like i have no future, so down, living with my parents doesnt help either..... thanks for the words of encouragement nice to know that people who dont even know me care makes me feel a little optimistic.

[cathycrumble]

Nervous illness can be lonely. but joining nmp is the best thing you can do, as it makes u realize u r not alone and i to am not working and that doesnt help. I am having counciling and i have joined an anxiety group i also have hypnotheropy and reflexoligy. I dont pay alot for the treatments as it is a chartity based project run by women. All you have to do is ride the SE and keep as positive as you can and maybe buy a relaxation tape. I am sure that will help xx

Cathycrumblex

[obsessive b]

Ah hun don't feel alone - honestly I mean it if you ever want a chat or a bit of suport send me a pm etc. Thats' what friends are for :-)

[Ingenious]

Yes to second the comments above, two weeks is very early days on medication and some people do feel a bit rough for a while, this will get better day by day.

I remember my first problems with mental health and anxiety while I was living at home, whilst parents can be supportive in some ways, if they don't have any experience with it (or are "that generation that doesn't do depression and anxiety") they can be as useful as an inflatable dartboard

But don't feel alone, please go easy on yourself, you're fragile at the moment and adjusting to new and powerful medication, as time goes on you will get stronger, you'll make friends here and your confidence will grow. You have one great thing on your side - a roof over your head at your parents. Use this time to rest and repair yourself.

[saro]

Hey,

I am 6 weeks into citalopram 20mg and although I have been a little paniky here and there.. it seems to be starting to work. I had no side effects at all though so maybe you need time for it to settle in.

[Vinitharya]

I am also new to citalopram. I'm going into my fourth week now, the first ten days I was on 10mg and I upped it to 20mg then as per doctor's advice. My personal experience is an extremely positive one - I had some diarrhoea and funny little mood swings the first week (which involved feeling worse than usual occasionally) but these have now subsided, and I didn't worry about them as I was expecting some side-effects and was informed of them before starting.

I have so much more energy now, I'm calmer, and my thinking is much clearer - it's been a success so far. I still have some residual anxiety and some off days, but it does take a while to stabilise, and I should be going up to 40mg in a week or two, which ought to continue my improvement.

One thing I would say as a caution - if you start on 10mg and get told to increase the dose after 5-10 days, do the full ten days before increasing. I tried to double up after 5 days and I felt like I'd been hit with a plank of wood! I was fine when doubling up after ten days though.

If you've been recommended it, do give it a try - obviously it's not for everyone, but there are many other types of antidepressants which may work, should it not agree with you. I've found citalopram to be an absolute godsend and it has started to give me my life back. The internet is full of drug horror stories which are enough to put anyone off a bit, but like hotel reviews, people only tend to comment when things are bad, rather than good.