Advice Welcome

[Tanner40]

Hi there to everyone. I'm Tanner and I've suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for 25 years. Twenty five years and I still can't get it through my head that all of these physical symptoms are anxiety. In the midst of a panic attack, I'm always certain that I'm dying. Atrial Fibrilation, Heart Attacks, TIA's. I've thought I've had them all. Sometimes I think the Internet was invented to fuel my obsessive thoughts so that I can come up with more medical conditions.

Up until a year ago, I had the panic attacks fairly well under control. Now they're back again with a vengeance. I started back on citalopram two days ago. I had put off taking it because of the side effects and my fear of the medication.

Citalopram day 2 and I feel like I was run over by a truck. Dry mouth, nausea, anxious and restless, body aches and I feel like my insides are shaking. I'm scared and I feel like I have no one to talk to that understands. My partner is a nurse and says that no one has these kind of side effects from citalopram and it's all in my head. She is impatient with me and doesn't want to hear it because I put off taking the medication.

Cognitive behavioral therapy used to work for me but my mind keeps going in circles. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Tanner40]

I would love to talk to someone. Can people see my post?

[Leonore]

Hi Tanner,

I had exactly the same symptoms when starting citalopram; it most definitely can happen and my doctor has acknowledged that too. The same happened to me on sertraline, evidence that SSRIs send me into a spin. With me it happened a couple of days in. I woke up feeling terribly anxious but tried to get on with the day. I couldn't do anything though, couldn't concentrate and phoned my parents in floods of tears. Thereafter I barely stopped crying all day. I was petrified. I was restless, couldn't sit still, shaky, nauseous and utterly panicked. It was a Saturday so couldn't see a GP, so I went to A&E. I was so scared and had no idea what was happening to me. I had to wait 3 hours in A&E all alone which made it even worse. The nurse who saw me was very nice but really had no idea, and as I wasn't considered high risk (I wasn't suicidal), the crisis team wouldn't see me. She gave me a couple of diazepams and sent me home. The diazepam made it better for about half an hour but then it all started again. I had the worst night of my life, kept getting up to try and be sick, sweated bucket loads. The next day I gradually felt a bit better through sheer force of will. I went to my parents' which helped. A couple of days after that I felt very much better.

So, yes, what you're feeling almost certainly IS the citalopram. If you feel you can, try and stick it out because you'll probably feel better in a few days. If it's so unbearable that you have to stop, go back to your doctor and get them to give you something else. SSRIs are the default option for most GPs but there are lots of people who don't get on with them and there are plenty of other options.

Good luck and do let us know how you are. Take care of yourself!

[Vonnyj]

Hi I had exactly the same reaction when I took sertraline - I got to three days and felt so sick and awful I just couldn't take any more and my doctor told me to stop. I did bit of research and came across Cipralex which is supposed to have fewer side effects. My doctor prescribed 5mg which I have been taking since Monday - so far a bit of dizziness and nausea and slight increase in anxiety all cope able with. For every med someone will have a different reaction - it can just be trial and error. Trust your instinct - we all know there are side effects but only you know how much you can tolerate! You may need to switch so go back to your GP if it gets any worse.

[Tanner40]

Thanks Leonore and VonnyJ! It's good to know that I'm not alone. I'm now on Day 5 of the citalopram and things are much better. Seems like some of the side effects start to go away and others appear. I've always been sensitive to medication due to my HA fears.
Last night I laid in my bed for three hours with my chest burning and my arms burning, absolutely certain that it was an impending heart attack. I just kept telling myself that I was over reacting and trying to accept that fact. It ended up working as I finally fell asleep. I'm not nearly as spacey as I was and can concentrate and focus much better.

Most of my problem now is just feeling like my vision isn't quite right and the burning chest. A bit of increase in anxiety.

Hopefully this is all going to subside and the medicine begin to take effect. In the meantime, I'll take all the support that I can get.

Thanks again!

[Blondiegirl1]

Hi Tanner, I to did the same thing when I first started on Lexapro, It made my systems worse. I now have been suffering from this horrible anxiety for 2 years it came out of no where. I don't know how your partner can be a nurse and tell you that it is in your head. If you read the ligature on the bottles of you pills it does say you can have worse side affects. I didn't like how my side affects made me feel that I cut my pills in half and took them like that for awhile into they got in my system. Hang in there. You are not alone in this.

[Jim1]

Hi tanner

I to have experiencing the same symptoms as you. I had alot going on in my life and back in July started to get this unbelievable tension headaches ever since not been the same. I have good days were hardly any symptoms. The past 3 months have been a nightmare anxiety symptoms to the max dizziness,heavy head, constant ringing in ears these would stop when I was going just waking up then start up about 8 and last all day. Im now in week three of 20mg of citraplam and see and counsellor. My biggest problem which im coming to starting believe is how anxiety does this to someone for 10 hours a day fir three months.. Im just starting to have good days and where I didn't have any before. Hang in there it will get better for...