upping dosage-delayed side effects??

[wize_guy]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I was on cipralex 10mg in the last 5 months for SA and OCD and it was good. 3-4 weeks ago I increased to 15mg.

At first I noticed a positive difference(calmer, better!!) with no side effects. But now since like a week I'm getting huge amount of anxiety and I just feel like doing nothing when before I was doing too much!

Please help to make me understand WTH is going on and usually side effects appear at the beginning?!

Did anyone go through that??

[swgrl09]

this sounds normal. I am on 10 mg, but there are a few people on this forum who recently upped their dosages and are experiencing some side effects. They will pass with time!

[wize_guy]

tks swgrl for the quick reply. But I did have side effects at the beginning of 10mg that lasted 2 weeks but at 15mg, it's like the effects i had prior to taking cipralex are appearing at a higher dose and after 3 weeks of upping. At the beginning of the 15mg I was fine ...

The people you heard from, were they having side effects not right away but after??:shrug:

tks

[laura442]

Hi Wize guy,
When I first started upping my doses I got side affects straight away but after ths recent increase I felt good for the first few days and like you now its like im not on them ! My anxieties and obsessional thoughts are back :( im trying really hard to not worry tooooo much and just hoping its some kind of blip. We are all doing well, just gotta hang in there xxx

[Serenitie]

Hi,

I increased last week and the last few days have not been great for me - lower energy and motivation, increased anxiety and very vivid and bizarre dreams. I think it takes time for this medication to settle and we need to be kind to ourselves as our body adjusts to it.

Try not to be too hard on yourself or worry about these side effects wize guy, swgrl and Laura. They do level out with time :hugs::hugs::hugs:

[Hellobubs]

I have just been upped dosage of Citalopram, it is only the second day so havent noticed anything yet. Is there anyone else that has been on citalopram and had their dosage upped?
I know everyone is different but it would be good to know what to expect in case it does happen.
Hope the side affects dont last long wize_guy ! We are all here if you need us

[laura442]

Good to hear from you serenitie, glad youre hanging on in there.
Does anyone else HAVE to have an afternoon sleep ?
Since Ive been taking them Im finding I have to or I cant cope. I hope my body gets used to them I cant carry on doing this I eventually hope to get a job when I am better x

[swgrl09]

I do, I am so sleepy all the time now. It is a little better than the first two weeks, but still there. I don't know if it is from my hectic schedule, the meds, or both ... Last night I slept a good 9 hours and I am still so sleepy today. What the heck!

[wize_guy]

Wow, thank you all for your replies:blush: ... The thing is it's the first time i miss work today, called in sick. Never happened to me before and I slept 13 hours. Because of the anxiety, didn't want to get up. Anyway, it's good to hear that it can be normal to get side effects not right away when upping the dose.

But all pharmacists that I spoke to yesterday were all saying that it's not suppose to be like that ... Maybe they never took cipralex themselves and just tell me what the literature says about this med.

Again thanks to all, very appreciated :)

---------- Post added at 18:01 ---------- Previous post was at 14:32 ----------

Laura442,

by the way, what dose are you on now?

[wize_guy]

Guys just to let you know, I feel way better today and I cornered the reason or the reasons why I was so anxious. There are 3 possibilities ... 1) I started school (university) last week and it's been 6 years I haven't been to school. 2) I drank 10 beers and 1 shooter of tequila last Saturday. 3) Both combined is guaranteed anxiety.

I think the main reason was the huge amount of alcohol I drank last Saturday which probably messed up my brain chemistry for a while. Guys be careful with alcohol while on this type of medication or any medication. Trust me it felt like cipralex stopped working for a full week.:ohmy:

But now it's better! :yahoo::yesyes::shades:

[laura442]

5mg in the morning and 2.5 before bed so = 7.5mg but am going up to 10mg his week

[wize_guy]

Hey Laura,

Well that's a really small dose ... my psychiatrist told me that people that take 10mg are usually children or elderly people. For adults, a higher dose is needed and he told me that especially for people with ocd(obsessional thoughts). I have ocd and apparently we need a higher dose than people that are clinically depressed.

[laura442]

Well my doctor told me 10mg is the lowest effective dose. I am VERY sensitive to medication, even 5mg helped a lot with my anxiety and depression. I am going to get to 10mg and stay at that for 4 weeks and see how I go. All trial and error I guess x

[Hellobubs]

I don't drink on my meds either. Had some awful experiences from it. I'm glad you found the reason though! And good luck with uni :)

[wize_guy]

Thanks hellobubs!

By the way laura, how do you manage to make yourself the 2.5 doses, you cut them in 4? If so what's the best way?

Thing is for me 15mg I find it's a bit too much and libido has decreased when on 10mg I had immense libido. I guess I'm sensitive to these meds as well.

So since I have those 10mg ones, I take one whole one and I cut another in half with my fingers. I tried cutting 1 in quarters but it becomes a bit of powder.

Any suggestions?

[laura442]

Yes they are very fiddly and I have 5mg tablets. My other half uses a stanley blade to cut them into quarters for me but its not easy and we do lose an odd one here and there.

[wize_guy]

Right so we're in the same boat. :D

Thanks for your input.

[Jmac]

word to the wise... best to avoid booze while adjusting to these meds. Eventually you may be able to tolerate a bit but not in the early stages. Glad to hear you're feeling better.