Citalopram And Diazepam

[JT69]

I am on day 6 and still suffering with bad side effects..i take a 2mg diaz in the morning but try not to take anymore through the day but find myself still getting anxious and panicky. I want to thank everyone who has posted a reply because believe it or not it really does help x

Hi Country girl,

Sorry you are still feeling anxious (blooming horrible side effect). Dont be afraid to take more diazepam if you need to...you wont become addicted, it will help you whilst you are suffering the side effects, even if you need to take 2mg 3 times a day you will soon wean down once the side effects disappear.

I felt like you and was scared to take them but found that I just needed that extra help and as soon as the citalopram kicks in you wont need them as that will help control the anxiety and panic. I tended to take 2mg in the morning and 2mg at lunch time as I felt at my best in the evenings.

I hope the effects soon pass hun and you start to feel better. After about 2 weeks hopefully you should start to notice a difference...I did anyhow.

Take care

Jo.xx

[country girl]

Thanks jo..glad u have got through and like u said the side effects r preety nasty, i think i find the panic attacks worse than anything else but i am only on day 8 so hopefully i will feel the benefits soon. Thanks for the advice and support luv ann x

[country girl]

This is day 18 for me of being on 10mg citalopram and i cant see a light at the end of the tunnel...the anxiety and panic on top of the normal side effects are so hard to cope with and dark thoughts are getting harder to deal with. Should i carry on or is the fact that i am still suffering showing me that these are'nt the right tabs for me or have i just not given them time enough to do their job. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

[Jannie2948]

Hi country girl, I too felt like you when I first went on to Citalopram. I started on 20mg and found it quite difficult for the first 6 weeks. I had 2mg of diazapam to get me through the day, I was told to take them 3 times a day as and when needed. I found like Jo said that I needed one first thing in the morning to get me on the train for work and then I used to take one at lunch time that got me through the afternoon. Once I was home I was fine. After about 3 months my Dr increased my dosage to 40mg and am doing much better, just not quite there yet. Don't feel worried about taking the diazapam because you won't become addicted, my Dr gives them to me as and when I need them and I've not had to have that many and now very rarely have to take any.

I hope you stay with it, but if you find that you are not feeling better have a word with your Dr and see if he thinks you need to up the dosage, my Dr told me that 40mg was the best dosage for treating anxiety. Not sure what you are taking them for but please don't worry, and as I said, speak to your Dr and I am sure his advice will help you to get through this bad time.

I wish you all the very best.

Jannie x x

[JT69]

Hi Ann,

The citalopram can sometimes take 4-6 weeks before getting into your system, but as you are on such a low dose and are feeling as bad as you say you are I would perhaps make an appointment and discuss with your GP. In my own personal experience i have usually started to feel the difference in a couple of weeks but alot of people on here take citalopram and all differ. My GP told me 10mg was a very low dose and 20mg is a more thereputic one, even though I always started off on 10mg as I suffered such an increase in anxiety when first taking them.

It is a hard one to advise you on but definately 18 days is still early days, the fact that you say some of the feelings are getting worse is what prompted me to advise you speak to your GP.

Hope that helps and I havent confused you further, its a difficult one to call hun.

I hope you feel better soon, I know how you are feeling and it is not nice at all.

Take care and let me know how you get on.

Jo.xx

[RichW]

This is day 18 for me of being on 10mg citalopram and i cant see a light at the end of the tunnel...the anxiety and panic on top of the normal side effects are so hard to cope with and dark thoughts are getting harder to deal with. Should i carry on or is the fact that i am still suffering showing me that these are'nt the right tabs for me or have i just not given them time enough to do their job. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

Hi Country Girl

Do not despair or lose hope. It took over 3 weeks for my side effects to settle down, in my fact my first normal-ish day was day 28 (20mg)! A lot of folks here have all said to give it 4 - 6 weeks to start to notice the effects. My mind chatter has certainly decreased and I can now focus on doing tasks and having conversations - I also don't have a problem driving anywhere or eating out anymore. I am however, still feeling depersonalized (I am dealing with this a lot better now and don't fret about it so much) and find I can only give my attention to one thing at a time (if somebody says something to me while I'm watching T.V. it takes me a while to respond to them because I'm just so engrossed in what is going on on the T.V.). I have been back at work for almost 4 weeks and heard yesterday that I might be made redundant. I've had a bit of a wobbly today felling depro etc. but still have hope - it is only day 34 after all.

Personally, I've found getting sleep helps recovery. I tried Zopiclone and Ativan for sleep but couldn't handle the hangover along with the Citalopram side effects. I would highly recommend Atarax / Vistaril which is an antihistamine (pharma name = Hydroxyzine) and is used as a pre and post op sedative as well as tool for combatting Generalised Anxiety Disorder - please research this, it is very interesting. My sleep has been much better since taking this medication and find that on some nights I only need half the dose (as little as 12.5mg) to get a full night's sleep. The really good thing is that it is not physically addictive - I was really worried about that with the Zopiclone and Ativan.

Still not with it but getting closer to being so...

Take care of you


Rich

[Danath]

eya hbe careful they get addictive, my doctor wont even prescribe them except under extreme duress.

[GlasgowGuy]

I'm in exact same boat. Started on 10mg of Cit and told my GP my history of starting on A/d's aint good. He prescribed intially taking 4 x 5mg Diaz a day. I only took 3 a day. Was put up to 20mg of Cit. Told GP my fears about becoming addicted to Diaz. When I spoke with him on Tue advised trying to cut down to two Diaz. I've now been on 20mg cit since a week past on Monday. I know should settle in time and have the same concerns about Diaz as everyone else does. Been told in past by a CPN i don't have an addictive personallity and not to worry.

I hope all going well and I'm sure things will settle down

[demi2111]

Hi all..ive sufferd from panic disorder and servere anxiety for 11yrs now due to post natal depression and other stressful times prem baby,abusive relationship...i tried a anti depressant called zoroxac (not sure spelling is correct) and had real bad side effects so all these years ive tried to cope without and have just had 2mg diazepam as a safty net! i take it and when needed but suffer with agraphobia as i avoid doing alot of thing to prevent the panic attacks ect....today i have been given citalopram 10mg BUT am soooo scared of taking them..does everyone suffer side effects?

[lauz_lea]

Hi Demi, it might be worth starting a new thread in the Cit section, but I started cit fairly recently, started on 10mg, and had very few side effects. I was also prescribed 80mg slow release propanolol which has helped hugely with any physical effects that may have come my way.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress or concerns.