scared by my citalopram!!!!

[miniminx]

4 weeks ago i stupidly started myself on a box on citalopram id got in the house, from when i used to take them i decided to start on 40mg..big mistake!!!! id not had side effects before on them as obviously id not been on such a high dose to start with.......so saw my gp and he reduced them to 20mg 2 weeks ago. i felt i was ok and feelin pretty good but still had the morning anxiety however i felt i was slippng back so my gp increased the dose two days ago to 30mg and i feel horrendous!!!!!!
im scared,im shaking, i feel like im losing the plot all over again!
should i feel like this on an increase of just 10mg in just two days??
Am i going to be ok and settle into them? can citalopram make you lose the plot???????? I now dont know if ive slipped backwards or the citalopram has caused all this again
can citalopram end up making me feel psychotic or end up schiztophrenic , have a total breakdown or lose my memory or something cos they seem to be my fears/fixations now!???
any help greatly recieved folks xxxxxxxx

[Pipkin]

Hi there,

Just give it time. It's completely normal to get increased anxiety when increasing your dose and it's made worse when you're on the lookout for it.

Try to distract yourself and have confidence that you will be feeling much better in a week or so. If it becomes completely intolerable, go back and see your GP but I'm pretty sure it will settle down.

Pip x

[Sophie123]

Just stick with them and the side effects will calm down and you will start to feel better. I felt horrendous when I first started taking them and had the same symptons as you. It will wear off soon. :hugs:

[suzeelew]

same here...on day 13 of citalopram and if it wasnt for the hope given in here i would have stopped taken them immediately...been a living hell and im praying they kick in soon but im confident they will...it helps to know im not alone on the first 2 weeks of hell of side effects from these but saying that id recommend them as a few weeks of hell is better than months and months of misery...i too would like extra reassurance that they will kick in!! have to also take propranolol and diazapam...not good as 2 months ago i was a strong confident leader of a woman who everyone turned too...now i cant barely walk to my local shop without jumping out of my skin and cant bare to wake up in a morning as i know the day will consist of lazing in front of the tv barely able to watch anything remotely upsetting...even certain story lines in the soaps kick my anxiety off...just an utter living hell at the moment but a humbling experience and when i recover i will certainly be taking things much more easier!! thnk u people for the posts in these forums...they have got me thru a torturous time but hoping now as week 2 of citalopram begins then so will my life again xxx

[miniminx]

I first took these 6 years ago and they worked but i cant remember how long they took to work..once were well we tend to not look back dont we?
ive heard others say they had probs settling in with them until side effects went, the second time they went on citalorpam.

[suzeelew]

here is hoping...feel so down today and about to take dose 14...i know on the survival guide it says be willing to stick at it for 2 months so at least im 2 weeks in!! can anyone give good positive stories...ive heard the worse u feel initially the better in the long run as its the brain re wiring...so lets hope so as i feel so down and like im not the gobby confident person i was up until 2 months ago when my brain came crashing in x

[Rushway]

STICK WITH IT, IT GETS BETTER !!

For me too, it was this site that kept me going...after 2 weeks I was ready to not only stop taking them but give up completely...

Everybody has different side effects and over different time spans but it will get better..it has helped me enormously (haven't had a panic episode for weeks and was having them daily, including A&E visits!)....

Please, please stick with it......you'll look back and be glad you did!!:yesyes:

[oldtime]

Those first few weeks are pretty bad, it gets better. But don't expect a 'Sudden Kick in', improvement is slow and gradual and takes months.

[miniminx]

AS YOULL SEE FROM MY FIRST POST IVE MADE A RIGHT MESS OF THINGS but!! even though ive not taken the correct dosage of citalopram etc in 5 weeks that ive been taking them should i not be getting side effects now? after all ive been taking them, just not the right amount.

[Rushway]

These type of drugs should not be messed around with regards to dosage...any increase or decrease has to be carefully managed and introduced over a long period of time..

With your erratic taking, I'm not surprised that you are feeling the side effects as much as you are.....I'd suggest going back to your GP and having him/her re-assess what you should be doing or if the Citalopram is actually the correct drug in your case - we're all different....but please don't mess around with them...:yesyes:

[miniminx]

does any one know if its ok to split doses....like 20mg in a morning and 10mg at night?
im also having dreams now at night where i wasnt before , is that good or bad? xx

[martin-sheff]

hi, im on day 5 of my 20mg citalopram, i also having the headaches,sickness,more anxious/upset than normal,and the diarrhea,reading the posts above ill keep with them for now, i have to go back to gp in 3 weeks to see how things are going.

[suzeelew]

encouraging messages here that give me hope...im on day 16 now and feel so awful but its these posts that keep me going on with the battle...feel very depressed tho and sleeping for england...hope to be bk to my usual happy self but now know itll take a few months rather than a quick fix i was hoping for x