A god send

[iamlove]

Hi all, i have been on citalopram for about a year now and honestly do not no what i would have done without it. my life has improved so much i can't explain i words. people often say to me isn't it bad that you have to get addicted to a drug, well i will be a happy man if i can stay on it for the rest of my life, i never wan't to go back to how i felt before.

[Wolfie]

It's good to hear that you have found a way to improve the quality of your life. Sometimes medication is the 100% correct answer for people, sometimes it's not - but whatever you find works for you is just great!

Chris

[little scientist]

iamlove, I agree with you totally. When I was on citalopram before (for about 2 years) it was fantastic - when a person finds the right medication it makes *such* a difference!

[steveo]

I was on it for ten years. Had the best ten years of my life doing things I couldn't even dream of doing.
Unfortunately because I felt so good I decided to come off the meds last October and things fell to pieces.
Had a breakdown this year and have been unable to leave the house. Been a month on 10mg and just today upped to my original dose of 20mg.

I hope that I get my life back to how it was because I loved life so much and recently I have wanted to end it.

My advice is, IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.

I wasn't broken in anyway last year. Last year I was in the best mental health of my entire life. And I tried to fix it by coming off! Would you come off insulin if you were a diabetic but had had no hypoglycaemic attacks? Course not! If and when this drug gets me back to full health, I will never come off it again for the rest of my life.

[Sunshine77]

Hi iamlove

Thanks for posting this - I've been on the Citalopram 3 weeks and it's great to hear your feedback on it.

Steveo - been there done that, why do we do it to ourselves?! I was on fluoxetine for several years and came off them a few months before my recent attack. Let's hope we learn from our mistake! Hope things get better for you soon :)

[steveo]

Sunshine77 - Biggest mistake of my life!! I've put myself in a situation where I feel I need to climb mount Everest in stilts to get back to my old life again.

If there is one piece of advice I could make sure everyone hears, it's IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.

I want people to hear this from someone who tried 'fixing it''!

[Tufty]

I totally agree with you all.

Unfortunately there are people, both on here and in the wider world who disagree and believe that medication for a 'thinking' disorder is not necessary. Sometimes this might be true however I tried everything I could find to think myself out of anxiety - CBT, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, massage, psychotherapy, meditation, yoga, supplement and diet, I felt the fear and did it anyway etc etc etc. I ended up in a psychi ward for a month, for some people even if we accept, fight, ignore or understand anxiety it does not make it go away.

After years on Fluoxetine I decided that I wanted to come off it, no particular reason just thought I didn't need it anymore and worried about the stigma of taking antidepressants, so started reducing the dose and BAM, here I am 1 year later, still trying to get my life back together. Funnily, my worry about the stigma of antidepressants has been totally blown apart as most people who know me now know my battle with anxiety and I have discovered that approx 50% of people I know take something for anxiety and depression.

So wise words, shout them loud IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT

[happycamper]

I second all that has been said. Cit worked brilliantly for me too, but seemingly like many of you lot, I've decided I want to try without, partly as I don't like the stigma attached to taking happy pills...not feeling too confident right now, but I guess unless you give it a go, you'll never know.
Incidentally I just found out 2 friends, male and female, have started taking anti depressants....had absolutely no idea they had difficulties, some people hide it so well.

[steveo]

No one needs to know that we take a little tablet each day.

Because of my job, I spend a lot of time travelling around Europe last year with bands and would have very little privacy to myself. I was asked several times, what tablet I was taking each day and I would say either indigestion tablet or allergy tablet. Zero stigma and a white lie hurts no one.

It took me about 8 months before I told my girlfriend. It's best not to bring these things up on the first few dates! Even most of my very closest friends don't know.

Right now I don't care if it's front page news, I very stupidly came off Citalopram when I was in the best health of my life and I'm now in such a bad way that I can no longer leave the house.

[little wren]

Agree - I think my brain has become accustomed to the extra serotonin and I would not dare to come off it now. x If my brain needs it then so be it.