New on here but old to panic attacks. Need a question answered please

[Jules1974]

Ok so basically my dr put my citalopram up to 40mg about 6 months ago, I have noticed that I get more palpitations on this higher dose, so I decided to google it and see if the was any relation to increased dosage and palpitations, to my horror I read that high doses of citalopram can cause electrical defects in the heart and can be fatal!!!! So now I am panicking as you can imagine. Now I am thinking omg am I going to have a heart attack and drop down dead! Has anyone had the same thing? What shall I do???

[nomorepanic]

Hi Jules1974

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[BobbyDog]

The doctors would not prescribe it as readily as they do, if heart attacks were a common occurance. All medications have side effects, as you know, the risks must be minimal. Check with your doctor if it is worrying you so much, perhaps he can give you more information.:shrug:

[Jules1974]

Yeah my doctor just rang me and I have an appointment in the morning. That's as long as I survive till then. ;) , thing is why are they allowed to print this stuff on google, they must realise that the people taking the citalopram obviously suffer with anxiety, so telling them something can be fatal is the last thing we want to read. My boyfriend thinks I should go to a and e but then I feel like the panic has won, so I am going to do some deep breathing and try and relax and put things into perspective and go to my appointment in the morning. Thanks for listening xxx

[Pipkin]

Hi Jules and :welcome:

There are so many side effects listed, and most are incredibly rare. Discuss it with your GP but I doubt if it's a cause for concern. Mine say they can increase blood pressure and cause strokes - I'm still here!

Pip