can I ever expect to feel 'normal' ?

[hangingbasket]

I've been taking 20mg cit now for around 4-5 months after an unbearable attack of anxiety. Anxiety is new to me, it hit out of nowhere and left me completely unable to function. Couldn't move off the sofa, couldn't stop crying, couldn't eat, couldn't sit still, couldn't sleep,was terrified. So within a couple of weeks I was put on cit. Months later and I feel a lot better than I did then, but there's still something not quite right.

Is it cit making me feel like this or is the cit making the anxiety shrink to a manageable level? Can I expect my anxiety to go away completely? Can I expect to feel like my old self while taking cit?

I'm 28 and have never suffered with bad anxiety before. I didn't even know what it was. I was rushing to the doctor, hospital etc demanding blood tests as there was something wrong with me. So I wonder, I guess no one can really answer this and I will never know.

If I hadn't began the cit, would I be better now? Would it all have gone away and me be back to normal? Or is it the cit that's made it go away, and how I feel now is just the leftover anxiety?

Does anyone take citalopram and feel normal? I'm functioning ok, getting on with life but I still have a constant daily battle in my head. Will I have this forever? How long can I fight myself for?

Apologies for the long rant, I'm aware no one can give me an actual answer but thoughts and or experience would be great.

[Pipkin]

Hi there,

I would highly recommend that you read Claire Weekes' Self Help for your Nerves. It will help you to understand what is happening and how best to deal with it.

And to answer your question, many people do really well on citalopram but it can take a long time to take full effect.

Take care

Pip

[xvolatileheart]

Our stories sound very similar, except that I'm a year and a half on and I haven't tried medication. I can say this - it doesn't just get better on its own. I wish I had gone on medication earlier because now I feel like I've gotten so set in this anxiety/bad thinking patterns that I feel like I'll never get out of this hole.

I've just been given a prescription for cit but I'm too scared to take it, the side effects sound awful for the first few weeks and I can't afford to be off work.

Anyway, I wish you all the best in your recovery. I'm sure the medication is helping!

[hangingbasket]

Take your prescription. It really isn't worth suffering without medication. Yes there are side effects but is it really going to be worse than how you feel now? And if you are suffering with the side effects you will be able to get diazepam for the first couple of weeks. I rushed to a&e the day after first taking cit. I thought I was dying or having a nervous breakdown and I was scared they were going to section me. All they did was give me diazepam which helped me through the first two weeks.
Cit has helped me. It works. What I can't work out is whether how I feel now is leftover anxiety, or the cit. Either way I would take this feeling any day over how I felt before taking cit. Try it!

[xvolatileheart]

Thank you. :) That's very reassuring. I do want to start it, but I'm worried about how I'm going to get through work if I experience bad side effects. I also need to request a benzo to help if it I'm feeling really bad for the first couple of weeks. It never feels like the "right time" to start the meds.

[hangingbasket]

Lets say you start them today, this time in a month you will be feeling loads better. Leave it another two weeks, then it will be a month and a half till you feel better. Another two weeks after that and you're looking at two months till you start feeling better.
So the right time to start depends on how you feel now. Does the risk of a couple of bad weeks seem worth it to feel better than you do now?
When I started cit I was in a terrible state. I couldn't function and barely got through each day. I couldn't go on like that so for me it was definitely worth the risk.
My doctor warned me things would get worse. I still rushed off to hospital the next day. Once you get some diazepam you will get through it way easier.

[KeeKee]

I was on Cit for around 3 or 4 months and felt alot better but like you something just didn't feel right. In fact I felt very strange indeed. I have now been put on Paroxetine but am worrying about the weight gain side effect as I already have self esteem issues.

[Eyji1]

You WILL get through this. Yes there might be side effects. But as hangingbasket said, is the way you feel really that good that you feel you're jeopardizing your well being with possible side effects?

I had a really hard time with taking citalopram at first. My first 3 - 4 weeks were pretty bad as I over analyzed every single thing that went on in my body and mind. But the way I feel now.... I do NOT regret having started citalopram. I feel so much better that it's almost indescribable.

Give it some time friend, best of luck.

[Pete_uk]

I felt quite bad on these pills when I started but in the long run I think they have done me good. Its just one of those things where you need to wade through the mud before you get to the golden sand beyond