Intending to start Citalopram this week and would appreciate advice

[London_Girl]

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty new to suffering with anxiety, it first crept up seemingly out of nowhere a couple of months ago and has been with me on and off ever sense then.

I was prescribed 20mg of Citalopram a few weeks ago when I was pretty much in panic mode 24/7 with little respite and had to go to A&E I was so overwhelmed. I have been feeling a little better recently but back when the anxiety started I felt better then it came back again at full force weeks later with twice the intensity. Although I've been feeling better for about a week now I have this weird feeling again like it's coming back and think it would be silly to ignore the signs again and hope it will go away again on its own.

The problem is, I don't know if I can deal with how much worse your anxiety gets when starting Citalopram. As I said, I feel okay, not great but not in despair either, at the moment. I also have a few job assessments/interviews coming up and don't want to feel nauseous or majorly on edge in those situations.

I was thinking maybe I should halve the tablets and start with 10mg then work my way up to 20mg gradually. Has anyone else done this or is this generally not recommended? Also, I know side effects vary a lot depending on the person but if you started on 20mg could you function enough to go to job interviews or at the very least go out in public and do simple things like going to the shops? From some of the descriptions I've read it sounds like I'll be lying in bed crying all day for months until the side effects wear off. I don't think I'm strong enough to get through it even though I know in the long term it will probably be beneficial.

Sorry for the lengthy post, just wanted to explain my situation. Thanks in advance. :)

[MrAndy]

Hi London girl the side effects aren't as bad as people make out,personally I would start on 10 mg let it settle down for a few weeks then go up to 20

[Kev-g]

Hi London Girl, I started on 20mg 13 days ago, my anx has been slightly higher, sweats and in the first 5 days or so felt light headed, but nothing too bad to be honest. As you say we all get effect in different ways, good luck and im sure you will get some sound advice on here.

[Marty_67]

Hi London girl the side effects aren't as bad as people make out,personally I would start on 10 mg let it settle down for a few weeks then go up to 20

That's good advice, Mr. Andy

[EdnaLegume]

I think it's best to be honest and frankly the side effects CAN be as bad as people say. I suffered a great deal the first week or two. But I survived and am now right at 5 weeks and I feel great. I started having the side effects improve during the second week. The only thing I really deal with now is jaw clenching and feeling a bit tired during the day and occasional sleep issues. Any anxiety at this point is fleeting and gone before I can pay it any mind. I am not trying to scare you, I'm trying to prepare you for all possible cases.

In my constant searching when I started Citalopram, I read on more than one place that the worse the start up side effects, the better the long term benefits. As good as I feel right now, I believe it!

The bottom line, be prepared. Whatever you do feel, it's the side effects; the medicine is doing it's job rewiring and unfortunately that can cause some uncomfortable feelings. It's not uncommon for doctors to prescribe a med like Xanax or Klonopin to help with the first few weeks. I myself was giving xanax initially to help and it made a world of difference getting through the increased anxiety. I then switched from Xanax to Klonopin to help with the insomnia after the second week. I found it much longer acting and didn't need the full .5 mg dose after the first two nights. I now only take a bit of a tablet at bedtime if needed.

I think if you're concerned, halving the dose to begin with is sensible, however do consult with your doctor prior. Remember that it takes time for these meds to work. They have to resort out things before they can get to work. Don't fret. Do what you can to relax and get through it. From everything I've read, the majority have a very positive experience with citalopram. The benefits outweigh the initial side effects.

[DELIBY99]

I agree with the above. Experiences can vary . Starting on 20MG can be rough, I went through the ringer on it and had every side effect going. That lasted about a week. It may make more sense to start at 10 mg an introduce more gradually. On 20MG i went to work every day but I was oing through the motions and it was very difficult. I relied on Benzo's here and there when things got very bad. My sleep came and went for periods which also up set me. You have to tell yourself you are strong enough to get through the tough part. If it means you get some relief from anxiety then it's worth it. I think i waited too long to seek help. Perhaps if i had of taken the meds earlier then i would have recovered sooner. Good luck

[teej]

I started out on 20mg straight away and had pretty bad side effects (nausea, shaking and quite high levels of anxiety). I only ended up having one day off work although I didn't get a huge amount of work done. By week 3 things were looking up.

I too relied quite heavily on chlordiapoxide during my first month to get me through the rough patches.

It passes though eventually.

[Tanner40]

I started out on 10 mg of citalopram for the first month and it did help to ease the side effects. I was expecting bad side effects and I got them. I do believe that medication affects everyone differently.
The best thing that you could possibly do is to start the citalopram with a positive attitude, not with an attitude of fear. the citalopram has been very helpful for me in my fight with anxiety.

[Marty_67]

Same for me Tanner. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, I am feeling happier and have more energy (during the day) than I have had in a long time so that can't be bad. :)

[wallace325]

I have been having anxiety for a year now and have been on xanax for a year. First it was PRN and then 0.5 mg a day then i went down some and know I am up to 0.75 mg a day. Dr wants me to start citalopram 10 mg for a week and then 20 mg she also said to just take the xanax PRN "not sure if that is a good idea". Anyway about 2 months ago i took 1 20 mg celexa at 1 pm and i felt great all day and then at 9 pm i took a 0.5 mg xanax and felt a hot feeling inside and then i was in bed for a week with nausea,dr and pharmacist said it was NOT the meds IDK? So here I am with the bottle next to be pills cut in 1/2 and scared to death to take them,i have to be able to drive and take care of my family. I do have the next 4 days free of doing anything but,i sometimes think that the xanax is what is giving me the anxiety my dr says no. So I am kinda stuck with the celexa she wants me off the xanax in 4 weeks. I have NO depression just get nervous over nothing at all. Any help would be so great thanks 42 yo female married kids

[teej]

Unfortunately there are startup effects from taking citalopram - you have to stick with the medication and will maybe see results in 2 weeks or even up to 2 months.

You could check out the citalopram survival guide in this forum for more information. It's very good and helped me immensely during the first weeks.

[joanne1967]

Hi ive been on cit for almost 4 months now and after a rocky start im 100% better now. Before I started them I was so bad panic attacks after panic attacks I was of work for 6 weeks I never thought id get better but I stuck at it and rided the side affects out and believe me it gets worse before it gets better, then one day I smiled and laughed went back to work without cit im sure id would of never been where I am today. It is so nice to put a positive post to anyone starting out on cit but I honestly feel if I can do it I'm sure other ppl can too please mail me if you need advice and good luck everyone :)

[teej]

That's a really great story joanne!

SSRIs do work! They just require some persistence.

Maybe in our lifetime we will see a new generation of ADs without side effects that work quickly. *hopeful*.

[joanne1967]

So so true I read so many negative post with cit and felt I needed to share my positive story :)

[Marty_67]

So so true I read so many negative post with cit and felt I needed to share my positive story :)

That's really helpful, thanks Joanne.

Edging towards week 5 now - things are so much better but it has been such a rocky road...disturbed sleep and nausea were probably my worst side effects but seem to be sleeping a little better now (fingers crossed)

[Cú Chulainn]

That's a really great story joanne!

SSRIs do work! They just require some persistence.

Maybe in our lifetime we will see a new generation of ADs without side effects that work quickly. *hopeful*.

Hi Guys

There probably will be Teej in the next 10 years or so there already in late clinical trials for Lanicemine and GLYX-13 which are faster acting up to 3 days or so and have less side effects except for dizziness. They're not Traditional SSRI's though there NMDA antagonist.

As for the original Question when I started on 10mg the side effect where more or less non-existent except for severe early morning nausea which dissipated my midday and by eating food.

[JR35]

Hi, I just started citalopram 10mg this week and I'm feeling very sick and shaky and worse than I did before I started them. Previously I have taken fluoxetine as I was pregnant and it was the only one the doctors would let me take but the side effects were so awful I wanted to try a different ssri this time. I seem to react strongly to this too though. This is my fourth episode of anxiety and depression the lasts one being two years ago. I'm struggling being a Mum to two boys aged 6 and 2 and I had to miss work this week as I was just too poorly to go in. This is also a worry as I work for a small company and there is no cover for my work. I was encouraged to read Joanne's story and it has given me some hope for the next few weeks. If anyone else has any tips for coping with the side effects then I would gladly welcome them. My sleep is awful but that was the case before I started the citalopram anyway.

[joanne1967]

Hi jr35 the side affects are horrendous I couldn't sleep eat go out was having panic attacks and I thought I can't do this but week 2 they eased week 3 my appetite came back then every day got a little bit better by id say 6 weeks I can say I was 85% there. Its a long road but believe me im back to myself now 100% so stick at it then hopefully it work for you too :-) x