Relapsed on citalopram

[melz1010]

Hi all,
I have been on 30mg of citalopram for 5 months for general anxiety. I have recently had the flu followed by my three year old daughter and then my husband, it has resulted in my anxiety rearing it's head again. I am so upset As I thought that when on citalopram this is my safety blanket and I wouldn't get a bad bout of anxiety as it had taken it all away previously. I am now upping my dosage to 40mg but am now suffering with he usual side effects. Has anyone else experienced this?
I can't sleep eat,am sick all the time with my anxiety, don't fancy food and worry about preparing the food, can't concentrate. Hope I'm not on my own here

Xx

[Flat Stanley]

Hi Melz,

I am new here, but the moment I saw your post it resonated with me. I'd been on 10mg of the SSRI Escitalopram (the stereo-isomer of Citalopram) daily for 7 years with numerous ups and downs. It wasn't until I relapsed badly in August 2013 that I finally sought additional help from my GP (who otherwise seemed content to continue to prescribe my 6-months worth of 10mg Escitalopram at a time without a second glance). Rather than upping my dosage Escitalopram, however, my GP added 0.5mg of Alprazolam (Xanax) which, despite my apprehension with regards to the use of benzodiazapines, worked wonders.

While benzodizapines are not advocated for the long term treatment of anxiety (as I have since learned the hard way) a short course may get you over whatever obstacle is currently in your way in the short-term, allowing you to return to reasonable normality on the other side.

Regards
FS