View Full Version : 2.5mgs of Citalopram...restarting
I have been taking 2.5mgs of Cit and i dont care what any medical professional says I can feel the difference already.
Seriously 30 minutes after taking the first dose I could feel a tingling in my brain...and hour and a half later I experienced the most bizarre derealization this lasted 2 hrs. My heart rate has dropped and sometimes it is uncomfortable as it flip flops all over the place. By day 3 on this low dose (remember I am VERY VERY sensitive to drugs) I could feel my brain changing and the deep low mood I have been suffering from started to lift.......I know what you are all thinking it's the placebo effect!!!! But I really think it is not.......I can feel sensations in my head just like the sensations when I was withdrawing from Cit 3 years ago. The side effects come on 2 hrs after I take my quarter of a tablet.
I am not there yet completely with my mood lifting and I shall continue on this dose until the SE's disappear...then go up to 5mgs.
I have posted this on the pregabalin thread as well as my story is on that post........
I am restarting Citalopram after 3 years off it. That maximum I can take is 10mgs as I cannot tolerate a higher dose
Sarah
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I never got on with citalopram. I've taken it three times in the last decade and each time the side effects have just been utterly crippling (I was taking 20 mg). I got shaking, horrific anxiety, derealization - the lot.
This time I've really stuck with it for 2.5 months - I had some good times but that blips I suffered were crazy - loads of horrible side effects coming back out the blue.
I've switched to sertraline this week (50 mg) and so far so good. Fourth dose this morning and feeling much improved.
I think some of us are so sensitive to drugs we have to start really slowly in small doses. Cit was so good for me before so I am determined to get back on it..................good luck with Sert .
sarah
Yeah - I'm feeling much better now.
Should have seen the writing on the wall with two failed attempts to get on it beforehand.
Wishing you the best of luck though! :yesyes:
I found that 5mg of citalopram destroyed my anxiety/intrusive OCD thoughts and helped my depression as well. The whole concept of a 'therapeutic dose' is an individual issue. My OCD book mentions that some people experienced relief on 2mg of prozac whereas other people needed as much as 160mg!
I had to come off it unfortunately because of its side effects (visual and cognitive), otherwise it was great at helping to reduce my anxiety.
After 10 days the wobbly SE's that I was getting 2 hrs after each dose has gone and I am now up to 5mgs a day (today) . so far no SE's and most definitely my mood has lifted........seriously.!
---------- Post added at 13:47 ---------- Previous post was at 13:46 ----------
Oh! and NO valium since day 3......now that cant be a placebo effect!!
So I have gone up to 5mgs a day and for the last 3 days the SE's came back...so I have had to take 0.5mgs of Lorazepam each day (again). But I still am feeling mt mood lift a little. It's very subtle and difficult to describe.
The SE's are derealization which starts about 3 hours after I take the dose and last for 4 hours or so.
I may be that the combination with pregabalin is making me feel a bit "fazed" but I am sticking with it and will wait another week before going up to 7.5mgs.
Sarah
Hope you get the right mix soon.
I am suffering myself with SEs but in truth I would rather put up with these than go back to where I was 5 weeks ago.
At the start of day 6 on 5mgs woke with puffy eyes and swollen lips (scary). I made myself get on with my day and took .5 mgs lorazepam. By lunchtime the swelling had reduced a little and anxiety subsided.
I am waiting for a call from my GP to discuss whether this is a build up of an allergic reaction to upping the dose as the puffy eyes started 3 days ago.
So for now I have taken 2.5mgs of Cit instead of 5mgs.
If Cit builds up in your system could this be a reaction that could get worse OR will my body get used to the cit and this reaction disappear????
---------- Post added at 16:18 ---------- Previous post was at 15:12 ----------
Well how strange!!!!!
I have just spoken to the duty GP at my surgery...who I have known for many years and is a senior partner. He explained some very interesting things to me, which makes a mockery of all the "theraputic dose" crap we hear about...
1) In his experience all drugs used for psychiatric illnesses have efficacy's that vary 100 fold!!! He quoted that he has patients that use 2mgs of Amiltryptaline and get the same benefits as those who take 50mgs.
2) He thinks Cit is the right drug for me
3) Says I should stick to the lower dose of 2.5mgs because "it could be that is the right theraputic dose for your body"!!!!!!!!
4) Yes Cit builds up in your body BUT I was on 2.5 mgs for 10 days and 7 of those days I felt well and needed no valium AND my mood had lifted.
5) Keep an eye on the swelling of eyes and lips....they should go down as I reduce the dose.
So there you have it. A GP who knows his stuff....who would have "thunk" it. I trust this GP...he has been at our practice for 25 yrs and I have seen him a few times.......
So I am back to 2.5 mgs from now on and will report my progress.
Sarah
Back down to 2.5mgs today. Swelling in lips has gone but eyes still a bit puffy....................grrrrr...flippin' side effects!
nicola1980
01-02-14, 17:57
Hi Sarah, hopefully the swelling around your eyes will go once you settle on the lower dose again, i hate bloody side effects i seem to get every one going! X x
Hi when I was on them I took my meds at night to stave of the side effects and it seemed to work as you sleep through them you could try that ? X
Hi guys,
took my Cit at tea time last night....4 hrs later I very suddenly developed an angry raised rash over my chest and abdomen!!!! The only other time this has happened to me I has a severe reaction to Venlafaxine when I ended up in hospital ....so I stayed calm took Piriton and it calmed down after 30 mins......
So how weird is that!!!
This morning the rash has almost gone so I took my Cit dose with my breakfast................no reaction so far.
I still dont feel myself (derealisation) but that "gut" feeling of depression has gone 80%. So I will stick at this tiny dose until ALL the SE's have gone and then consider going up to 5mgs....if I need it.
Sarah
Still on 2.5mgs. Feeling less and less SE's. Now feel I need to go up to 5mgs again and see whet reaction I get (if any).
Saw my GP this week and she agrees to stay on small dose and try 5mgs when I am ready to. If all is OK the we will start reducing the Pregabalin in three weeks time.
Sarah
Update!!
Have now decided to try again on 5mgs to see if my body will take it and not react................so far today no puffy eyes of lips......no anxiety either!!!
That's a result :)
It amazes me just how cit effects people in different ways.
Thanks Marty,
I have felt a bit "spaced" today but NO anxiety and NO gripping depression. It may be placebo effect........who cares!!!
Cú Chulainn
11-02-14, 19:46
Great Sarah
Thanks Marty,
I have felt a bit "spaced" today but NO anxiety and NO gripping depression. It may be placebo effect........who cares!!!
Placebo works for me too...if you feel good then it doesn't matter! :yesyes:
Day 4 on 5 mgs.....NO SE's!!!!!!!!! And guess what I feel grrrrrreat!
How flippin' amazing is that!...................shows just how strong these drugs can be for some people...................5mgs!!!!
I have also not been at all anxious today so it is working on that front too. I have not had to use valium for 4 days........................
Bit longer and I will start reducing the pregabalin as planned.
Happy Thursday everyone!!:D
It just shows that the one size fits all approach to these meds is flawed. The GP didn't believe me when I said that I had relief from anxiety and OCD thoughts on 5mg of citalopram. If it wasn't for the side effects I would happily have stayed on it.
Ooops!
Probably should not have gloated so much yesterday....have had a pretty low day today...feeling under the weather (if you can get that low!). Headache and upper back pains...back to bed for a couple of hours at lunch time.......damnit!!!
nicola1980
14-02-14, 19:49
Hi hun its just a blip Im sure tomorrow will be better :hugs: x x
Thanks Nicola.....................how are you?
nicola1980
14-02-14, 21:24
Im not too bad, i eventually managed to drop my diazepam to 5mg and my life the withdrawals aren't pleasant at all nausea, full body shakes, cramps, panic etc :( but I've done 12 days and Im determined to stick it out! X x
How's things going Sarah I am up to 7.5 this week started on 5 the doc gave me10 but decided to cut them down like you can't say there is any change in me in the mornings still pretty anxiuose seem to have a slight break in the evening should be going up to 10tomorrow but mite stay at 7.5 for another week then go up to 10 but can't say I feel better yet wants taking so long hope you getting better take care x
Nicola ......keep going you know you can do it...you support so many others.....so we can all support you too:hugs:
Trish....we are all different in out responses to drugs...because I am so sensitive to drugs I seem to feel the benefits quickly....I would say keep going at your own pace...if you havent had horrible SE's on 7.5mgs i would say go up to the 10mgs.....keep at it.#
Sarah
Day 7 on 5mgs.......................and I am feeling good. I get spaced out a couple of hours after taking it in the mornings, but it is easily manageable.
The best thing is that I dont wake up in the mornings with "Shit FM" running through my head................know what i mean??!!!:shades:
nicola1980
16-02-14, 19:44
That's great Sarah :D cit was fantastic for me for years, i just wish id never come off it but i just couldn't reinstate it at all :mad: x x
Me too Nicola!!! I should never have come off it........BUT I have managed so far with that very small starting dose....could you try again?
nicola1980
17-02-14, 05:43
I really don't think id dare try again after the reaction i had to it when i tried to reinstate and that was only at 5mg, my psychiatrist said it is very common for an AD not to work second time around which i think is what happened to me, i didn't just take the 1 tablet and give up i preserved for a good while but the side effects were too much for me to bare :( x x
I am having a bad time this morning anxious and ferry panicky feels like I am getting worse not betterxx
Lotsoflavender
26-02-14, 00:21
Hi Sarah, I've been reading your posts & I can relate to them. I was on Cit. over 4 years ago. Had been on it for 2.5 years when after a few blips I bliped one day and didn't recover. I had been on 30mg but the then Doctor whacked me up to 60mg over a 3 week period and I was a zombie and still sick.
He left town and so a female doctor in the practice took over and she tried me on anything she had for samples in her cupboard, Cymbalta was the most evil of them all.
After months of on one then off it cause I was so ill, she'd try me on something else with the same disasterous results, I believe she thought I wasn't trying. In the end I just walked away from them all and took myself to an Intergrated Doctor who practices natural therapies. He took bloods and guess what, I was Coeliac! Shite, was I mad. No one at the other surgery really looked at my symptoms.
Well after several months of gluten free diet I was still really ill. Another change of Doctors and I suggested going onto Mirtazapine cause I'd lost so much weight and not sleeping, good idea he thought. But I was still very ill, he did ultrasounds and found I was growing a really big gallstone and the gallbladder was infected.......so that came out.
Mirt. helped with the appetite and sleep and was good.
Still not getting much better so off to see a Naturopath/Chiro who is semi-retired and I've known for years. He's still working on me but I'm making good progress.......BUT.......the Mirt. is stacking on the weight.......SO........11 days ago I started 10mg of good old Cit. again.
Wish I'd never come off it but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
So nauseous of a morning, shaky but that's about all. Might cut it in half and have half tonight and half in the morning. I'd also been taking Lorazapam 1mg almost everyday for well over 2 years for the nausea all the other sickness was giving me so it's helping with the Cit. but I'd really like to drop it eventually.
I felt really good on the Cit. I'd started it at the end of 2008 and it was in Aug 2011 when I became ill and I stopped it but it wasn't the drugs at all that was causing the problem. So like you, I'm having another go.
All the very best to you and wish you success.
Wendy
So l have been on 5mgs of Cit. for just over 2 weeks now. I feel my mood has lifted a little more and the anxiety has lessened. But the SE,s are still there... jaw clenching in my sleep, headaches, tiredness (big grey bags under my eyes). I will continue with this for another week then go up again to 7.5mgs. My intention is to get to 10mgs then start reducing the pregabalin.
I certainly do not have the "pit of the stomach" hopelessness anymore... which is great.
The lighter days and occasional sunshine is also lifting me:)
Cú Chulainn
26-02-14, 19:47
Hi Sarah
Glad to see your doing so well on Cit.
Can I ask why you're switching from Preg to Cit.
Sorry Cu Chulainn, I have only just noticed this question.
It's quite a long story but basically I was on Cit for 10 yrs from 2001 after a major breakdown (work related PTSD)When I left my job I felt so much better that I decided to come off Cit with my Drs support. That was 2 years ago.........10 months later my PTSD erupted again after a nasty virus put me in bed for 2 weeks. It go so bad I ended up in a Psych unit for 18 days. Whilst there I was put on Pregabalin which was a life saver at the time. However, for SOME people Pregabalin can "wear off" which I found a couple of months ago was happening to me.
I am VERY sensitive to drugs and their side effects but knew that I was feeling depressed and the anxiety was breaking through again. So I started back on a tiny dose of Cit. Which at worked so well for me in the past.
3 weeks on 2.5mgs, now 19 days on 5mgs..............tonight I am going to up the dose to 7.5mgsas I want to get to 10mgs which is the "therapeutic dose" for me.
When I am stable on 10mgs I will start reducing pregabalin.
Hope that explains it for you.
Sarah
I am having a bad time this morning anxious and ferry panicky feels like I am getting worse not betterxx
How's things now, Trish?
I have been on 7.5 megs for 3 days now. Everything seems ok so far apart from a "sore" stomach.... as in gastritis type symptoms.....I am assuming this is a minor SE that will pass.
If anyone reads this and has the same could you let me know?
Sarah
What I will add is that my gut wrenching depression has lifted significantly and my "catastrophizing" about my health and life has stopped!! So it's definitely working :-)
Lotsoflavender
05-03-14, 07:27
I would be blaming the Cit. Sarah, I started back on 10mg on the 15th of last month after a break of three years when I was on 20mg but had to cut back to .5mg on 1st of this month because of the nausea and gastro-like cramps. Doing ok on half a pill.
It's a darn nuisance because it really does help with our whole outlook on life when it kicks in. Allows us to meet the day to day challenges without having a hissy fit.
Hope the SE's pass for you soon.
Wendy
Wendy,
Thanks for that..... you are right its like cramp pains.... woke me up in the night!! But they are high up in the stomach, near your diaphragm ....coming in waves. I am hoping this will pass with time.
Sarah
So I have been staying on 7.5mgs for 6 days and riding out the stomach cramps.
My Dr last night prescribed me omeprazole (yes you can take them together) but guess what I woke up this morning and the cramps had gone:yesyes: Still a bit sore but hey it was worth carrying on.
So sticking to my plan of 2 more weeks at this dose then up to 10mgs then start reducing the pregabalin.............
sarah
cartwheels
09-03-14, 18:57
interesting sarah, wev are all different and i myself suffer with minor allergys i never used to get. which in itself creates anxiety. willlook to see how you are getting on with interest all the best x
I found cit very hard on my body to begin with.
It's funny but I still get nausea from time to time especially if I deviate from my usual time of taking it (bedtime).
On the plus side, not too many side effects at 13 weeks in.
So after a total of 8 weeks on Citalopram (the last 2 on 7.5mgs) I can honestly say I feel like a different person........ the SE's seem to have mostly disappeared and my catastrophizing has stopped. I don't wake up with "shit FM" running through my head with is such a relief:ohmy:. The anxiety about:shrug: my health is still there a little but I have had that most of my life......
The plan is still in place... one more week and I will the up to 10mgs...my "ideal" dose...
Sarah
I am so happy to have found this forum...I too am very sensitive to meds. I suffer from horrible anxiety/panic/fear..I have been almost housebound for over 1 year. I have tried everything natural to no avail...I tried prozac for 6 weeks and made me more anxious..My doctor wanted me to try celexa, said it is more calming..Because I am so sensitive she started me on liquid celexa at only .5ml which is less than 2mg...I feel so sick..The nausea is awful, I feel dizzy, really nervous etc. I will tolerate this if I know it will help..Every other forum I have been on, keeps saying it will not help at such a low dose and you can't feel SE from a dose that low. Well, there was a great article in Life Extension Magazine that showed results from studies that some people only need 2.5mg of a ssri while someone else needs 40mg..We all metabolize differently..It is just so nice to meet someone else in my shoes. I am taking ativan to help, but I swear sometimes that makes me worse..
Were you very nauseous when you started? Any feedback would be so appreciated...I am so happy you are doing better. Thanks, Debbie
Debbie, welcome
Yes you are right SOME people only need a very small dose to see benefits......I started on 2.5 mgs and within a few days I felt a positive change. I know that the maximum I can take is 10mgs as that is what I was on for 10 years. I cannot take higher as it makes me feel so unwell.
Please try to stick with the dose. If you have read all this thread you will see how I have upped my dose very slowly.......
Do not listen to those telling you you will need 20mgs..........we are all different.
sarah
Thanks Sarah..I can't believe I can have all these SE at such a low dose..I am going to hang in there..I am only taking .5ml which I have figured out is only 1mg, sunday I go to 1ml which will be 2mg, then to 1 1/2 and then to 2ml which will be 4mg and stay there for awhile...I am glad you are doing well...
So after a total of 8 weeks on Citalopram (the last 2 on 7.5mgs) I can honestly say I feel like a different person........ the SE's seem to have mostly disappeared and my catastrophizing has stopped. I don't wake up with "shit FM" running through my head with is such a relief:ohmy:. The anxiety about:shrug: my health is still there a little but I have had that most of my life......
The plan is still in place... one more week and I will the up to 10mgs...my "ideal" dose...
Sarah
Sarah you have absolutely nailed it there...from the catastrophizing to the waking up with shit FM, you have summed it up very nicely!
Well done you :)
...and yes totally agree that we are all different
So now have been on 10mgs for a week... so far so good. This is my "therapeutic" dose so I will stay on this and start reducing Pregabalin in a couple of weeks.
This has been a hard week as I have had a pretty bad cold (man flu actually) and then picked up a D&V bug which has floored me for the last 2 days. Hey but the good news is when I have an actual physical illness the psychological shit stops !!! how weird is that.
Sarah
Nice work Sarah!
Nothing wrong with feeling bad while you have the flu - find me someone who enjoys the flu! :roflmao:
How did you and your doctor end up deciding that 10mg was your therapeutic dose?
I have been on Cit before (2001-2012) and that was the dose I needed and could tolerate. Any higher dose and I was a zombie. Before Cit I had tried every other AD which gave me such intolerable SE's that I could not continue.But once on Cit I could manage it and it kept me stable for 11yrs. I then came off it for a years but eventually ended up in a psych unit with severe anxiety which is when I was put on pregabalin. This has worked up until Xmas when I started feeling the anxiety coming back and depression creeping in so decided to go back on Cit by titrating it.... hence the small starting dose.
Sarah
So just a quick update...
Still on 10mgs of Citalopram and feeling pretty good. Have now started to reduce pregabalin (by 100mgs) and the Cit appears to be holding it's own....
Onwards and upwards folks:)
Sarah
Sober2000june
07-04-14, 16:45
That's excellent news Sarah. looking back i never stood a chance as my Doc stuck me on 20mg and had me upto 40mg in few weeks. They also did the same with Sertraline and venlafaxine racing to get me to max dose in a few weeks:wacko:. It has been a very painful 2 yrs 7 months and had i only discovered this site sept 11 it may have been such a better outcome.
your positive postsis are a beacon for others :hugs:
Paul
Citalopram is working well... not only that I have also stopped smoking which is making my HA almost non-existent... now reducing Pragabalin again down to 250mgs a day... onwards and upwards folks:D
cloudbusting
17-04-14, 16:26
Good thread, Sarah.
So happy for you Sarah...I am up to 8mg and hanging in there..Having some weird vibrating internally and a headache, but not giving up. I have made to the nursery (I own a plant nursery in memory of my son) several days this week..Major step..So I have hope..Keep up the good work and we will conquer this..:yesyes:
Have decided to up the dose to 12.5mgs as feeling a bit "low" and can't shake it off.
I am down to 200mgs of pregabalin and hoping to titrate up the Cit and down the pregabalin over the next month.
sarah
Sober2000june
08-05-14, 17:11
Thanks for the update Sarah, best of luck, lets us know how you go.
Paul:hugs:
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