Citalopram

[Jen84]

Hey just wondering i started taking 10mg aday of citalopram last saturday and now im feelin really nervous and i keep having panic attacks. the thing is i wasnt having them before i went on the pills. i was just feelin anixous and depressed. do u think this will stop after a few weeks? i worried im getting worse from taking them!
Jen x

[sarah]

Hiya Jen

i am on Citalopram too.
Dont worry, its definately your body adjusting to the medication and will stop within a couple of weeks, just stick with it.
Hopefully these panics wont worry you so much now you know its not you but the medication eh?

love Sarah
xx

we arent mad, just the next stage of evolution :)

[Jen84]

Thank you for repling Sarah
It does make me feel alot better:)
my mum's not keen on me goin on medication and when she saw it was making me worse she wasnt happy.
Im going horse riding tomorrow so hopefully it will clear my head and make me feel abit better.
Jen xx

[sarah]

Hiya Jen

Nice one, best thing for it is to carry on and distract yourself.

Enjoy!!

love Sarah
xx

we arent mad, just the next stage of evolution :)

[jonny]

Hey Jen,

i too take this drug, i started on 10mg then moved up to 20mg after a week. I felt pretty low and nervous when i first started them but i do feel a bit better now. Stick with it girl.

Jonny.

[HB]

hey jen,

I started on 40mg of citalopram and fely blooming awful!! it was such a miracle drug for me and really helped me through such a bad time of my life. It was so good that i was only on it for just over a year. im now totally med free and loving being free of it! Keep at it, im sure it will do you just as much good as it did me :-)

H

[sal]

Hi Jen

Perservere with it, the side affects can make things feel worse at the start but after a few weeks they die down.

My first try with citalopram was i disaster, had to take 20 mg and as i am really sensitive to side affects thought i was dying. They tried me on it a year later, but started with 5 mg until built up to 30 mg. Then life got a bit tough again so i am now on 60 mg. Even though not cured i am a different person.

It changed my life, i really wish now i had stuck with it when i was first given it.

Hope the side affects wear of soon.

Take care.


Love Sal x

[HB]

sounds just like when i took it sal

H

[prawny]

hi

just wondering how everyone is doing on citalopram. i started them three days ago after trying effexor for a few days and i didnt like them.

i took citalopram after my daughter was born but only for a very short while and didnt realise any affects from them (due to having a new baby i think)

i am feeling ok but have felt anxious a last night and today. i am tired too.

if anyone can share their experiences it would be nice.

also if how do you go about changing dose times (i am taking at 9pm)?
do you have to do it gradually? (taking it slightly earlier each day?)

Jen how are you doing now?

thanks
dawn x

[HB]

if you do hit a hrd patch then just grit your teeth through it ok? it is a good panic reliever. Sounds like you might not get the bad effects anyway as you usually do within three days :-) good luck!!

H

[Jen84]

hi dawn
Ive been on it now for over a month! after 2 weeks my doc put my dose up to 20mg!i felt pretty terrible more anxious than before but after a week or so i felt alot better and still do! still feel anxious at times but nothing like it was before! keep going with them and try not to think about the side effects! my mum wouldnt let me see the leaflet cos she knew i would worry and that makes it worse! my doc told me to take it easy in the first few weeks, look after yourself and try to relax as much as possible! i take my dose mid morning cos thats when i get up! and i feel ok
Jen xx

Don't ever let go of Hope, it gives us the strength to keep going when we feel like giving up!

[tara]

I've been taking citaolpram now for a few weeks and i must say they are working for me. I was taking effexor and diazipam for a year but after i stopped taking the valium the effexor made me feel horrible so i eventually came off them and now i'm taking citaolpram and they are working for my anxiety and depression. Stick with it

[PanickyPolly]

Been taking them for a while now but think I'm going to ask to change drugs as I feel ill all the time. Have fainted a few times and feel lighteded frequently. Also lost loads of weight. It's helped my depression but my anxiety is still very very very bad. Fed up now. Anybody else had these problems?

[PanickyPolly]

Useful link here

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR203653

[Gibbles]

Good article there, thanks.

I noticed that for the first few weeks I actually felt worse, but this is a very common sode effect of Citalopram and I found the best way to combat this was to keep myself busy, physically, mentally.

Sitting around doing nothing is the single worst thing you can do.


Unfortunately I have had rapid increase in weight throughout the 8 months I've been on these tablets, and that is depressing enough in itself. In fact, this has got to me so much I would rather work through the depression with exercise and happy foods than continue taking the medication and staying heavier.

Ive been off the tablets 3 weeks now and every time I feel bad, I get to the gym, close my eyes and visualise the person I want to be. Then I use all my motivation/power to get me through it

Last night I did an hours boxing circuit training, then got shepherded into a 5km run. Damn hard work, but the feeling of achievement today is fantastic.

I simply cannot praise exercise enough for releasing natural endorphins

[:I]

[PanickyPolly]

I know what you mean Gibbles. Although it 'helped' the depsression I've lost so much weight my confidence has gone out the window which makes me depressed. Also could it be I am doing more now and keeping my mind occupied that is the reason I'm not as depressed as before and not the tablets.

[eddie]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Been taking them for a while now but think I'm going to ask to change drugs as I feel ill all the time. Have fainted a few times and feel lighteded frequently.

<div align="right">Originally posted by PanickyPolly - 19 June 2006 : 10:27:25</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">


i have been on citalopram for 3 days now and today felt very dizzy, lightheaded, and generally ill. i felt like i was going to have a MAJOR panic attack - i havent had a serious panic attack for around 8 years, the doc prescribed citalopram for headaches and balance problems which she thinks are caused by depression/stress/anxiety. the feeling lasted around 6 hours, and i came very close to going to the hospital.

i read in an online leaflet that if you experience low blood pressure (dizzyness and weakness) you should go to A&E immediately!! that didnt exactly help my anxiety! how do i know if the dizzyness was normal or a potentially serious reaction?

i dont think i should take another tablet tonight. i felt seriously physically unwell and also close to having a major psychotic episode. can anyone offer any advice?

[sgp64]

Eddie I know how you feel. I had the same reaction and stopped taking them and felt better within a couple of days. By all accounts these side effects wear off but I personally wasn't prepared to go through them. I became almost manic, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, sweating profusely etc etc. It was awful. The decision to carry on taking them is entirely up to yo. Many here will tell you that these drugs have really benefitted them whilst others have had the same experience as you and I. Its a tough one I know but I personally did not trust what the drug was doing to me and have now decided to take an alternative approach to dealing with my problems. Best of luck mate.