View Full Version : Will citalopram help me?
I know that no one here is a doctor but boing someone has a similar experiences to me. My anxiety is strange as I don't get panic attacks but I get a tense throat and then what can only describe as intense nausea which gets unbearable but usually eases by the evening usually. My doc says these are anxiety symptoms and I was on mirtazapine since July (15 then 30 mg) but doctor does not think its helping my symptoms as I've had no improvement. I've been given citalopram to try after I dropped mirt to 15mg fir two days then two days of taking nothing then start 20mg of cit. I not sure it will help as my symptoms feel so physical and is getting me depressed. Sometimes I feel I have a physical illness rather than a mental one. I'm just so desperate to be well again as my symptoms are so debilating I cannot concentrate on anything.:weep:
willigetwiser
19-10-12, 17:28
citalopram may help and has helped e but you need also to check some other basics:
your diet, I would suspeact you are not eating well but if this is the case for how long? Do you exercise, just walk regularly? What else is going on with you? Work? Home?
On this site Paublo22 suggested magnesium as a booster to your system. I am trying this and so far feel a benefit.
NB Citalopram will have side effects which can be managed and it has helped me but I would prefer not to take it.
Thanks for your response. I've never had a big appetite but I usually have an apple and banana in the morning, drink lots of water have soup in the afternoon then usually have a big dinner in the evening and with lots of sweet stuff afterwards like biscuits or cakes (when apetite is usually at its best) I've weighed myself everyday to make sure I'm not losing weight and I have not. I put on weight when I started mirt and have stayed at around 12 stone 5.10 in height. I try to get out everyday for a walk and was regularly doing pressups everyday prior to when this all started a three moths ago. I have no stresses in life, I have a job (on sick leave now) and have a lovely understanding wife who I married just over a year ago.
Sparkle1984
19-10-12, 21:59
Yes I think it will probably help you. :) I had physical anxiety symptoms as well, such as rapid heartbeat, and the cit did help me with that. I've been on it for 10 weeks now and feel a lot better than before.
I was on citalopram helped with all physical symptoms and pretty quick unfortunately then went to mental ones was changed to sertraline.
J would say you definitely have symptoms of anxiety but I'm not a dr x
When you start the cit, you may have some side effects which seem to make your anxiety worse. It's rough, but you gotta stick with it because the benefits of the citalopram after this has gone far outweigh suffering the side effects for a week or so!
I think the citalopram will help you, they have definitely helped me and lots of people on here with their anxiety :-)
It is possible you will get side effects, took about 10 days for it to settle for me, so as others have said, you have to stick with it. That said, my anxiety presents very physically too, and it has helped.
I'm due to take the first dose of cit today (20mg), not sure what time I should take it. I stopped mirt two days ago.
Took my first dose last night before bed. Felt sleepy but not sure if I was natural so or it had something to do with cit. woke up in the early hours of this morning feeling really nauseated but I just laid in bed not being able to sleep. Just now I felt like my skin on my whole body was burning up and made me really worried my wife felt my skin which was cold but I did not feel that way. The feeling passed within a few moments but has been happening on and off seemly when I get anxious. This must be a side effect as I've never felt this sensation before.
I have had that feeling too and it is not nice but it does pass quickly, I started off on 10mg of cit for 2 weeks and then upped to 20 and the side effects weren't too bad apart from not being able to sleep very well which is only just getting better after 13 weeks. Hope all goes well.
Had no sleep last night and am feeling really rough today constantly anxious. Not sure how to cope. Burning sensation was really bad after taking cit. will ask if I can get some sleeping aid from the doctors today.
I've been on Citalopram 3 times and it got me 100% better each and every time but it did take a little while before I felt totally normal and calm again (about 4 months for me but I always asked for either Zopiclone or a benzo to help get me through the start up and as the weeks go by you do feel less and less anxious and do start sleeping naturally again.) I found Citalopram really hard to start up on though, I won't lie. Hope your doctor gives you somehting to help you through xxx
---------- Post added at 17:02 ---------- Previous post was at 16:58 ----------
I decided to go on Mirtazapine when I became ill again this time and it did absolutely nothing for me either so I totally regret not going back on Cit now.
Thanks for that. Mirt did nothing for my anxiety also although I slept well with them. Docs gave me zopiclone but only 7 days worth so I have to use sparingly. Not looking forward to taking cit tonight as burning sensation lasts for a while. Hopefully my body is better equipped for today.
Yup, the beginning can be rough, but hopefully you can ride it out. It does get better, and if it's the right med for you it can really help.
I had what I would call hot flashes for the first couple weeks. They stopped once the meds settled.
I had lorazepam to help me get through the first 10 days.
Thanks for your response. I have not slept in the last three days I keep jumping out of my sleep just as I'm dosing off and wondering whether I should try taking the cit in the morning rather than the evening? I assumed cit would make me tired so took it in the evening but I get the burning side effect a couple of hours after taking it which does not help sleep. Would I experience an adverse or worse side effects if I taking it tomorrow morning rather than this evening as that means there would be more time between my last does and the next?
Still having issues sleeping. I had 3 or 4 hours last night with the sleeping pills. Still keep twitching out of my sleep as soon as I'm about to nod off and I'm starting to dread bedtime.
I take my cit in the morning and by the time it's time for bed I am ready to sleep and fall asleep pretty much straight away. I thought about changing to evenings but the more I thought about it, the better I felt on it so left it as it was.
Not sure about the changing from evening to morning question? Maybe someone else who has actually done will be able to advise. Unless you take it a little bit earlier everyday until you get to the time that you want to take it every day? That would be my suggestion!
Simms,
How's it going with the meds?
I did as Laura suggested and early on backed it up an hour every day until I was taking it with dinner. I originally was taking them right before bed. It's good to take them the same time every day.
My understanding is that the med stays in your system long enough that eventually the amount in your system remains constant...
They have definitely made sleeping more complicated for me, as I used to be an excellent sleeper..
But the positives have definitely been worth it.
Hopefully the side effects are wearing off for you. Takes awhile for some people. Took a while for me.
Still getting nausea and tense throat but I was getting this before the medication. My sleeping is quite disturbed and am suffering from sleep deprivation. The only good thing is that the burning sensation has slightly decreased. I've been taking cit for 11 days now but can't say I feel any difference yet.
little scientist
01-11-12, 11:38
11 days is still very early Simms, what dose are you on?
Thanks Little scientist I'm thinking that as well but its tough no knowing when or if they will work. Was on Mirt before for near two months which only really helped with sleeping and appetite. I'm on 20mg cit. The tense throat and nausea are worse in the morning and afternoon and usually ease by the evening but then I usually have trouble sleeping. Tense throat and nausea is the way my anxiety manifests itself so not caused by the cit. Sleep issue has only occurred since taking cit.
Hi Simms,
Little scientist is right, still very early days.
I didn't even start to get past the side effects until 10 days in, and so up to that point, really only felt worse.
I didn't really feel much of a change until about 2weeks in - And it took a month to feel a big difference.
Glad to hear at least some of your discomfort is improving.
I've managed to get some sleep over the last couple of days but not as yet seen any other improvements.
Sleep has improved but waking early. Burning sensation has greatly reduced but still suffering from nausea and tense throat which is what I was suffering from before cit. I've been on it around three weeks now and yet to reap benefit. Another side effect which I'm worried about is sexual dysfunction whereby a can perform but not finish. I feel well in the evenings only which is odd but I was like tat before cit. just hoping their effects will kick in soon. I've spoken to the gp who it's best to wait 6 weeks then perhaps a dose increase after that. I want to hopefully be back on here soon to say what a wonderful drug this is :weep:
hi simms . snap it all happened to me , give it at least six weeks to kick in , i been on them 12 weeks and morning are still the worse.. but day gets better. i feel like a zombie some days , like a numb feeling.. not happy or sad just numb... sex drive gone too... always stick to the same band of cit never change brands ,,,,,,,
After being off work for 3 months I'm going back tomorrow on a phased return. 4 hours a day for the first week then a build up to 7 hours. I'm not sure how I'm going to function with the nausea as its effects my concentration but I'm hoping the distraction of work will help. Given a choice I would take another few weeks so that the cit has time to kick in but unfortunately I have reached the limit of where my employers will keep me on full pay. Any more time off and I'll be on SSP which will be much reduced and theres also the threat I could lose my job (my employers alluded to this in a letter to me) I'm hoping tomorrow will be the day where cit works its magic but I'm probably being unrealistic. Times are tough when you don't have a job and I'm going to do everything possible to hold on to my job but I'll pace myself.
little scientist
11-11-12, 15:06
Hopefully the phased return will work for you Simms, I too am going back to work although have been off for a much shorter period of time (into my 3rd week now) but am also going back phased, doing alternate full days for a couple of weeks, then returning full time in the run up to christmas, where I will then get a break :)
Keep us posted on how you go!
Just got home from work. I worked from 8.45 - 13.45. I'm not going to lie it was difficult at times as my nausea comes on in waves and can last a while and it did today. My colleagues were brilliant, very welcoming and I did not realise how much I was missed. I bought in homemade cupcakes as a thank you for a get well card & gift they sent to me while I was off work. Time went quite quickly and I did not do anything too intensive. I glad I made it through and just hope it gets easier.
Well finished the first week of work. I've found that if I can get through the first 2 hours or so then I'm okay. It's still hard and at times cannot concentrate at sit staring at my screen or go for a break. Manager is very good and is always asking how I'm feeling but I want to say I'm feeling great but I usually tell her how crap I'm feeling. It's really hard at work but when I feel rough I tell myself it will pass and if I was at home I would still be feeling rough and probably dwelling on it more. This is my 4th week of cit and do not feel any benefit yet.
I'm so fed up of feeling this way. I always wake up early which then the nausea sets in where I have no appetite and feel so rough it's almost unbearable. I usually then force myself to eat fruit like a banana and apple just to get food in my belly. The nausea then makes me dry retch violently to the point my belly aches which makes me more anxious. I never have a panic attack even though I have had these in the past. I have a tense throat throughtout the day which is usually managable. Picking out the positives I can sleep okay perhaps not as long as I'd like. From mid-afternoon to evening I start to feel better sometimes like my old self. But I dread waking up in the mornings. Sometimes I feel there is a physical problem but my doctor insists its anxiety. I have had general blood tests and I am hypothyroid which is stable and with normal ranges but no digestive investigations have been suggested or undertaken. Sometimes I feel it may anxiety as there have been times where I will suddenly feel better and I would probably feel bad the whole day if it was a physical problem. I just hope cit kicks in and does its magic as I am pinning my hopes on it. I due to go to cbt sessions on 4 dec, I have been on an anxiety workshop and have read the Claire weeks book.
Today Im working from home. I have the horrible tense throat issue from when i woke up but I find the ache also runs up the back of my neck towards the base of my skull and I have this feeling of a heavy head. I'm on my 5th week of cit
Over the last few days my symptoms have lessened. Don't want to count my chickens but I may have turned a corner. Whether this is down to cit or not, I'm not sure. I 've started full time hours this week and it's been going well. My motivation and concentration is not 100% but getting better. Thankfully my manager has given me a reduced workload. My colleagues have been great. Hope I can steadly improve and have a good Christmas. I've yet to do Christmas shopping and have booked off the Christmas week. :)
It's been a week and I've been feeling better. Full time hours went well at work this week I even stayed back late one night to finish bits and pieces. I met a friend up for a bite to eat and drinks (no booze) last night which is the first time in months I've been out but was exhausted by 9.00pm and had to come home to rest. Got a friends wedding to go to today which I was dreading just a couple of weeks ago but feel quite relaxed about attending. My appetite is much improved and side effects from cit have disappeared except for the sexual dysfunction which is a shame as it may become frustrating and force me to come off cit and/or try another med. Still cautiously optimistic and will wait another few weeks before claiming cit a success. I have CBt next Tuesday after work so hoping that will iron out remaining any remaining fears. All in all I'm in a better place than I was :)
Is it a problem if you miss a dose? I cannot for the life of me remember whether I took my cit this morning. I'm scared to take another one. Do withdrawal effects kick in quickly?
Hi Simms- glad to hear you're getting better with the Cit! When I was taking mine, (60mg at the time) if I missed one dose, I didn't notice too much of an issue, except maybe a bit of dizziness or occasional lag in my vision. It has a 'half-life' of around 36 hours, so you shouldnt experience much discomfort, but I cant say for sure as everyone is different. I think it's better to miss one than take too many, but that's just my experience!
I had a similar time taking Cit for the first time from what I have read, but it helped me massively over the years, and after 2 months without meds I am now back on 10mg Citalopram. I hope they help you as much as they do me!
Also, referring to the change of time dosage...I changed mine from morning to night, as Cit doesn't tend to affect my sleeping much (a hurricane passes my house to wake me each morning :P) and I just changed the time by not taking it one night, and taking it in the following AM instead. Felt a bit dizzy/sick for a day or two but nothing major.
Thanks dread feel better for reading your post. I took my cit this morning and have not notice any ill effects. It's been almost two weeks were I have felt mostly fine. At work I just need to remember to take regular breaks as I tend to sit at my pc for 2-3 hours at a time doing work. My concentration is so much better. Annoyingly my CBt to session was cancelled yesterday but rebooked for next week. Doing yoga a couple of times a week. Looking forwards to Christmas were I have booked Christmas week off work. My missus had bought me the new nintendo wii u game system for Christmas. I'm a bit of a gadget freak and big kid :)
---------- Post added at 22:36 ---------- Previous post was at 22:14 ----------
Forgot to mention that I enjoyed myself at the wedding I went to last Saturday. It was a lovely day for the bride and groom. The speeches were heartfelt and emotional. Me and the wife danced well into the evening up until just past midnight. I drove us home and was exhausted and could not move from bed in the morning, I did not feel bad but was just a nice tiredness if that makes sense as I had not felt tired like this over the last few months since anxiety has sunk its claws into me as I was always on edge. Nice to see myself doing the normal things that I did not think I'd be able to do again.
Im glad to see you're getting better Simms, it's amazing the difference just a few weeks can make :)
Still going well with work and generally feel well. I thought I'd run out of cit today and tried to order a repeat perscription but the docs would not authorise any more cit as they said I should of had another few days worth. I was a bit shocked as I thought I need to take this medication to function and feel well but I'm being denied for ordering some more a few days before I run out. Anyway I managed to find the remaining three day worth of cit in my pill box (forgot I put them in there). Got a work Christmas party to go to this week and am still wondering whether I'll go as I feel exhausted this week for some reason.
Started feeling a little nauseated today and was retching because of it. Hope it just a blip as I'm terrified of going back to how I was a few weeks ago. I'm going to try and remain positive. I just cannot understand as I've been sleeping well and eating well I felt like I was enjoying life, so so upsetting.:weep:.
I did not go to the work Christmas party the other day. Not because I was not feeling well but I've been feeling quite tired of late. Maybe I just need to take it easy.
I felt nauseated for most of the day yesterday which is worrying as previously i would feel fine in the evening. It was a real struggle to eat. I keep burping a lot so probably full of wind.
I hurt my back taking the christmas tree from the basement which does not help. Hope today is a better day.
I'm working from home as I cannot walk far without pain. I'm starting to feel depression setting in with the nausea, tense throat and back pain. I'm hoping that once back pain eases so will the anxiety and depression. I don't want to say its all doom and gloom as the anxiety symptoms and depression are more bearable than before but still unpleasant never the less. I coud not sleep last night so resorted to sleeping tabs and got a few hours sleep at least. Its disappointing that I'm feeling this was as things were on the up but I remain positive that this is just part of my recovery and it's was not likely to be perfect. I've booked an appt to see the doc about my back and anti-depressants but they are not available until next Monday.
Did not sleep a wink last night and am feeling really depressed right now. I cannot understand how I have come full circle it just does not make any sense to me. Maybe it does but I cannot think straight right now. I guess anyone is going to feel down without sleep. On the plus side my back seems to be better but I having scary suicidal thoughts and it terrifies me as I love life (at least when I feel better).. I feel so exhausted but I cannot drift of to sleep. I took diazpam to calm me down but its not really doing anything for me other than making me sleepy. I keep telling myself these feelings will pass but it so difficult when your in the moment.
Spoke to my GP over the phone and he advised that its likely to be a blip brought on by my injured back and lack of sleep. I will see how I go over the next couple of days then he may recommend an increase to 30mg on Friday. Must admit today was quite a bad day but only due to lack of sleep don't let my blip put you off starting or continuing cit as I has an amazing run of 3 or so weeks where I was more or less back to normal and I'm sure I'll have many more in the future.
I managed to sleep last night but unfortunately nausea settled in once I woke up. One theory I have as to why I've had this blip is last Friday I took a different brand of cit. I spoke to the Doctor about it who was quite frank and says they has been studies to suggest that different generic brand may have slight differences but said it should not matter overall and my body will adapt. I'll give it a few couple of days then speak to the Doc on Friday.
---------- Post added at 10:04 ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 ----------
I pretty much seem to be the only contributor to my own thread. Feel free to offer words of wisdom. I feel a bit alone at the moment.
Hi Simms,
Have been reading your thread with interest. I was on Cit. for 18mths about 4 years ago. But never had any side affects such as yours, just jaw clenching and low libido.
Have you thought that Cit. my not be the SSRUI you need? There are others which are similar and may suit your system better.
You say that you have hyperthyroidism - I'm guessing you need medication for that as well? If so, could that unbalance your system combining two types of medication I wonder.
Great that you are using this as a journal of your experiences, thank you for sharing. :D
Thanks for responding Dreamer71. I was feeling a bit alone in my thread. I am hypothyroid but I've been on medication for that for the last 7 years without many issues. Since this whole episode I initially thought that the dose of thyroxine may have needed to be adjusted and we I did explore this with the doc but it did not seem to be the issue and tried addressing anxiety/depression separately. I have had blood test done to show I'm within range. According to the docs there are no interactions between cit and levothyroxine. I've been taken cit for around 7 weeks now and had tried Mirtazapine for around 2 months prior so I wanted to give cit a full chance before trying something else again.
I glad people are following my experiences and if it may help someone then I've even more pleased. I just don't want to it scare anyone as I'm just going through a blip right now on my road to recovery. Cit may have given me my life back for a short time so far so I'm looking forward to many more good days.
Felt better by afternoon yesterday but I'm having another rough morning with tense throat, neck, shoulders and like a pressure in my head. Sick of all these symptoms. I've been working from home since Monday just trying to ignore the symptoms as best as possible but its so hard. Its like I'm beginning to hate mornings and cannot wait until the evenings were I usually feel better. So confused as to what to do as doc says if I'm still like this tomorrow he can write me out a prescription for 30mg cit to try but I'm worried as to whether this will do add more physical symptoms via side effects. Poor me.
Hi again, that's interesting about the increase in dosage. It might suit you better. There's a a very informative thread on Citalopram, have you read through it?
I imagine also that nutrition plays a very important factor with anxiety. May I suggest James Duigan Clean and Lean, merely for his words on de-stressing your body.
Have noted a common theme on this forum, is that we only see the side of the suffering in the person, and not when there are good days, I do hope there is a balance in your life.
Take care :)
Thanks Dreamer71. I try to include the good in this thread rather than the negative but I think once I get better again I will update to with the good stuff. :)
I'm on my 8th week of cit actually rather than the 7 weeks I originally thought. Time has flown by.
Woke up early at around 4am today with a slight panic attack as am anticipating feeling unwell again this morning. I know I'm feeding my anxiety by anticipating but its hard to not think about it. I feel so bad as well with aches. Again felt good just before bedtime but always seem to be waking up feeling like crap. Will call the doc today but still confused as to whether increase dose.
---------- Post added at 10:25 ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 ----------
I'm off work now until the 2nd Jan. Hopefully I can get myself back on track soon. I called doc and am waiting for a callback. I think I'll try an increase in does to see how I get on maybe I need a slight boost from 20mg. Back is getting slightly better.
I've now got an added worry of my wife not coping with my symptoms as when I felt better we got back to the way we used to be. She is sometimes withdrawn from me when I feel bad and I usually cry a lot in front of her it upsets her but she says she feels like bursting into tears herself but does not want to make me feel worse. Her younger brother is getting sectioned as he started becoming mentally unwell this year. This horrible thing I have is testing of our relationship but I know that we are strong enough to get through it.
---------- Post added at 14:01 ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 ----------
Just had a nhs cbt session looking into health anxiety.
Taken my first dose of 30mg just now. Hopefully I feel the good results soon.
Have had a really bad night and still feel bad now. Have vague feelings and feeling as if I'm being smothered. Perhaps I'm feeling the effects of the increase to 30mg as I was having hot flushes earlier which I felt in the beginning when taking 20mg.
Im really struggling and could do with some words of wisdom. I feel like I'm heading into deep depression as I do not enjoy life at the moment. What's so distressing is that I was feeling well for 3 weeks then took a downturn last week with my symptoms coming back now their back with a vengeance as last night I was looking for my usual respite from it all as I usually feel well in the evenings but I've has these crappy symptoms since yesterday morning and its becoming unbearable. I went to A&E this morning as I was so distressed to get a check over but left with a anti sickness pills, gerd meds. Advice was to go to my gp to get and ent to look down my throat. I did not want to tell the docs at A&E I have anxiety and depression but had to let them know I was on cit. I'm trying to be strong but it's hard. I could cope if I was having one or two panics but I feel these horrible symptoms the whole day and nothing seems to work to remove them.
Hi Simms,
I wanted to reassure you that you are definately not alone and this is just a blip. Try to accept and float with the horrible feelings rather than searching for answers and ways to remove them. Try to distract yourself by keeping active but do not fight the feelings. It is incredibly hard when you feel so awful but we will get better, its probably the increase in meds and your bad back that are contributing to you feeling bad today.
Take Care
Love Sam
Thanks for your feedback Sam. Believe me I've tried to distract myself by going Christmas shopping with the wife but I cannot snap out of it. I'm just hoping ill get back to the way i was but every minute of the day is so hard. And when I wakeup after sleeping its like I'm waking up to a nightmare.
Yep, know that feeling, had it for 24/7 yesterday - every second was a living nightmare, today I've had a respite from it for 4 hours or so. It cannot last forever, it will always pass, try your best to tolerate the moment and not add to the fear thinking that you'll be this way forever because you definately won't.
Sometimes I think the drugs do this to us, they strip away all our coping strategies and hope and take us to the darkest place imaginable, but then they even out and make us stronger and happier than before. Just hang in there, it can only get better
Sam
Your right bit it's so difficult when your in the moment. I've been on cit for nearly 8 weeks now and never thought I'd be struggling like this. Have any other med users had large blips like this? For some reason the last two days have been especially tough
---------- Post added at 17:37 ---------- Previous post was at 17:26 ----------
By the way my back is much better but the damn anxiety symptoms are making my Christmas a misery grrrr
Feel good this evening. Only if I can stay like this for Christmas day and Boxing day :D
---------- Post added at 19:03 ---------- Previous post was at 18:57 ----------
Happy Christmas everyone :)
Good news Simms - that's reassuring to hear.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas
Sam
Sparkle1984
24-12-12, 21:26
I'm glad you're feeling good this evening and I hope it will continue. I do have blips occasionally, mainly when I'm stressed out.
Merry Christmas! :D
Happy Christmas to you all. Glad to see things are a little balanced for you Simms :)
Oh I've still not started on my Cit. But I'm coming pretty close! Lot of tension round me on this fine Christmas Eve here. :unsure:
Im feeling rubbish again today. I had to take sleeping tabs to sleep last night. I'm worried about the addiction aspect to them. How long do you have to take them before you become dependant?
After a rubbish Xmas I went back to work today. Just when I thought I would not be able to hack it I did a full days work today. Quite proud of myself for staying strong. I've been on 30mg for over a week now.
Happy New Year Simms and great to hear.
I ended the year taking my first dose of 20mg Cit. on Sunday. Only because I was fed up with feeling like rubbish for the last 4 months and then on Sat night when going to sleep I started hypnic jerking, which is quite frightening.
I'm on day 5 and hoping the side effects disappear soon, because the worst one is that feeling of doom for hours. I'm ok in the morning and late at night but at least I am sleeping through the night, although I'm scared to do so. Time will tell whether this will get me back on track. Take it easy.
little scientist
03-01-13, 16:26
After a rubbish Xmas I went back to work today. Just when I thought I would not be able to hack it I did a full days work today. Quite proud of myself for staying strong. I've been on 30mg for over a week now.
Well done Simms! I returned to work yesterday, and managed well I think! Had an overnight blip, where I am not sure what the trigger was. I have been on citalopram for about 3 months now, two months of which have been at 30mg. I know it can take time for it to work fully, and I realised I have been lapsing in my cbt work to target my negative thoughts.
Well done again for staying strong - an excellent example for all of us :)
Happy new year guys thanks for the words of support.
Dreamer - the side effects will settle down. I had loads of hypnic jerking just when falling asleep but it did settle.
Little scientist - well done yourself for returning to work. Hopefully with practice you can channel your thoughts positively.
:hugs:
Had mostly a good week this week. Just been out shopping with my missus and sister in law. It seems quite quiet in terms of shoppers which I was thankful for I bought a few shirts for work and a smart case for my iPad. Feel quite exhausted now as not been sleeping to well but have not taken a sleeping tab in over a week.
Feeling quite good at the moment work is going well as my manager has regular one to ones with me to make sure I'm not overloaded. Appetite is getting better as I'm starting to enjoy food rather than just eating because I feel I have to. Sleeping is okay but I toss and turn a lot in the night and tend to wake early. I was tempted to take a ziplocone tab yesterday night but resisted. Went to watch the hobbit the other day and somehow endured the whole film which is over two hours long, my missus was bursting to go loo so missed certain bits of the film. If you have a weak bladder or cannot watch a long film without breaks wait until this film comes out on DVD or blu ray:)
I've got a situation at work that is upsetting. Since I took 3 months of work last year they got someone else to do a lot of the tasks I was doing that was stressful to me. I was grateful for this but the new guy that is doing my previous tasks is getting so much praise heaped upon him, and my manager and other managers I falling over them selves to tell him how wonderful he is but he is mostly doing well because they changed procedures which make his job easier than it was for me and his workload is less. Dont get me wrong i like the guy he is really nice and has done very well to pick up on the job quickly and i have told him this, so I'm not jealous but the constant praise is starting to make me feel uncomfortable as I feel like I was incompetent at the job. I guess I should just take a chill pill and not over think things.
I've been on cit since October (first 20mg then 30mg) and not sure I've seen much benefit as I have felt fine for a couple of weeks before Christmas the felt bad over Xmas then felt better again but feel bad again now. I'm thinking of speaking to the gp about coming off but he'll probably suggest increasing to 40mg. Surely I should of seen more benefit. Also the sexual dysfunction is frustrating.
---------- Post added at 09:05 ---------- Previous post was at 08:13 ----------
I'll think I'll try 40mg before coming off as I've come this far I may as well try 40mg
Been on cit 14 weeks now.
The last week or so has been fine. Work is going okay. I maybe offered a work from home option in the near future 2 -3 days a week. I'm not sure how I feel about working from home as I may get more isolated which may not be the best thing. Sometimes the daily commute and getting into the office is the boost i need to get going sometimes. However, spoke to my doc last week he decided cit may not be for me. I have started tapering down over the last week to 30mg the next week will be 20mg, then 10mg, then 10mg every other day. He wants me to try flu/Prozac but I want to try med free for a bit just for a bit of clarity without meds muddying the waters so speak. I will see how I get on. Cit may work wonders for some but it's not right for me.
I've gone down to 20mg this week since yesterday and have not felt any ill effects. Will withdrawal kick in once I completely come off cit after I taper down to nothing in a couple of weeks?
Sparkle1984
29-01-13, 19:53
I am wondering the same thing right now. I was on 10mg originally and since Friday I've been tapering down as I feel like I've pretty much recovered from this anxiety episode and my doctor was happy for me to see how I get on without the tablets. My doctor told me to go down to 5mg for 4 weeks before coming off. So I have been on 5mg a day since Friday. Once I've been on 5mg for 4 weeks, I'll probably then go down to 5mg once every 2 days as I'll still have some tablets left over. The idea of withdrawal effects scares me which is why I'm doing it extra slowly. I haven't really noticed anything in the way of withdrawal effects yet though - maybe I won't get them until I go down to 0?
My mind must be very sensitive to medication seeing as I got better on 10mg whereas most people seem to need at least 20mg in order to get any benefits. That is why I'm being extra careful with the withdrawal.
It seems to be quite fast that you are tapering down. In the citalopram survival guide it says not to taper down by more than 5mg a fortnight. So I'm assuming your doctor wants you off them asap?
Hi sparkle
The tapering doses was my gp's idea. His plan was to get me off cit ASAP so I could start flu/Prozac but I'm not keen on going on another med. I want to go it alone for a bit if possible as I've tried mirt and cit with not much success.
Sparkle1984
29-01-13, 22:27
I think that as you are going med free like me you might need to take a bit longer tapering off. When the doctor came up with his tapering timetable, he probably had the fluoxetine in mind because sometimes when people change meds they taper off the original one faster than they would have done otherwise, if that makes sense? So if you do get any withdrawal effects, take that as a sign to taper off more slowly and make sure you ask for more cit tablets if you need them to give you more time. :)
I've gone down to 10mg over the last two days and no side effects. And I feel great.
I'm stopping completely this week. To be honest I've felt a bit rough after being well for 4 weeks. I still want to come off cit as I had periods well I felt unwell after taking them for over two months and increasing to 40mg. For the guys out there how long before sexual dysfunction stops. I heard cit has a half life of 36 hours so in theory should I see immediate improvement it this area?
Sparkle1984
14-02-13, 19:09
When is your last day on cit? I think mine will be the first of March. I've been on 5mg for 3 weeks now, and I've got another week to go. Then I'll go down to 5mg every other day, probably for a week, then come off completely.
By the weekend I'll be off them. The transition between 40mg to 10mg has been relatively smooth but I hit rocky ground over the last few days but throughout my cit journey it was never obvious whether they were working and only felt their side effects. I'm going to go med free then if I feel the need to I'll try Prozac down the line but I need a break from meds I think.
I've been off cit completely the last few days and feel okay. I've been having these strange sensations where if I turn my head too fast a get lightheaded for a split second but they don't bother me at all. Are these brain zaps?
Getting these strange light headed moments and they seem to be more frequent but they don't bother me at all. Feeling great for almost a week now and been off cit the same amount of time. Sexual function is back to normal.
Sparkle1984
21-02-13, 22:04
It's good to hear that you are doing well. :) I've got another week to go before I come off completely.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.