Citalopram & Diazepam suicidal thoughts

[Rambolm]

Hi all,
I have been suffering with anxiety for 15 years and recently decided to seek help from my GP after a particularly serious bout. I have been put on citalopra
20mg and also diazepam 5mg. I have been taking citalopram for 24 days now and over the last 3 days I have been having suicidal thoughts.
The instructions said it is advisable to avoid alcohol but it did not say I could not drink on them. I have been having a few drinks but had a lot the day before the horrible thoughts started to enter my mind. I have never had suicidal thoughts before and my wife is very worried.

I am due to see my GP next week but I am wondering if anybody has had similar side effects and could this be related to the medication alone, or is it the alcohol that has made it worse.

I have not been taking the diazepam very often.

The citalopram has really help with the anxiety and life seems so much better on that side, although I am suffering from severe fatigue since starting.

Sorry to ramble on, it's my first ever post!

Thanks in advance for any help/thoughts:D

[pooh]

Hi There I'm about a week ahead of you on starting citalopram 20 mg also. Started off at 10 mgs for first 4 days then upped to 20. 10 days later I absolutely couldn't handle the side effects and phoned my doc in tears. I wasn't just having suicidal thoughts I really had the desire to carry them out. This of course scared the hell out of me which pumped up my anx and had me tripping in and out of panic attacks right left and centre. I was given 15 mgs of diazepam a day to take. Because of the severity of my reaction two health professionals were put in place. My health visitor comes weekly and is also on call and I also have a support worker assisting me to get back out and about. prior to starting these meds I never had a problem going out. I was also terrified to be on my own. Suffice to say my introduction onto citalopram was a torturous hell, however, I have persevered and for 4 days I've taken no diazepam I have managed out the house a few times and in general I am starting to feel that bit better. What I'm trying to say is that the suicidal thoughts are a very very common side effect of the drug initially. if concerned at all contact your gp. Unfortunately, sometimes gps forget to tell you how hard an ssri can slammed you down before it starts to pick you up again although this isnt true for everyone. Its great that you have been open with your wife about your thoughts and I really do recommend you also be equally as open with your gp. The tiredness is a weird one when I was taking both diaz and cit I was so tired all the time without the diaz I find it hard to sleep lol Please please do not think you are alone in this experience many many others in other posts on this forum have experienced the same. Oh! as for the alcohol its not recommended with the diaz as for the cit not so sure I'm not to knowledgeable about taking meds and drinking as I'm teetotal myself. Take care and alwyas speak to your gp if concerned :)

Pooh :)

[william wallace]

Hi Rambo, and :welcome:
I for one would not dare to try and preach to you about drinking alcohol while on Citalopram. Best suggestion I can offer though, is make sure to take your tablet in the morning if you plan to have a drink at night. This will give the drug a chance to work without being hampered by the alcohol.

As for the suicidal thoughts, think about this; You're of no use to your wife and loved ones if you're dead. You're no use to yourself if you're dead. You just have to keep plodding on until the thoughts subside, and they will:winks:

[Rambolm]

Hi both,
Thank you so much for your response I really appreciate it. Poo I am so glad you are starting to feel better and getting out of the house now. You have both really helped and I feel much more positive today. I have researched the alcohol issue some more and I will steer clear as much as possible. The suicidal thoughts just scared me so much and as there have been some high profile cases recently, one which is very close to where I live it added to my worry. I will preserve with the meds and I am seeing the GP next week.
Thank you once again :D
Than