Citalopram scary side effects

[Draken2000]

I was prescribed CItalopram 10mg, took the first pill about 2 in the afternoon, it worked well at first, I felt more relaxed. Went to bed about 11:30 and that's where it all went wrong for me, I woke with my right arm feeling strange, felt similar to pins and needles, decided to get up and as I did my vision was slightly blurry and felt uneasy and began to panic, it eased off after about a minute, so went back to bed, couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. I have stopped taking the medication for the time being as I wanted to know if anyone else experienced anything similar. I've got a doctors appointment on Thursday so should I carry on taking the medication? I'm not sure if it was my own anxiety causing the problems or was the side effect to the medication.

[Zeitgeist]

When taking Citalopram you are likely to experience a fair few side effects for the first couple of weeks. I have just come out of them and they are beginning to fade. It will be a tough period bu stick with it as it works.

What you describe is nowt to worry about.

[teej]

I'll second that. The side effects are unfortunately not very nice to start with but they do pass. I used chlordiapoxide in my first two weeks to get me through. Things then improved from then onwards.

[NorthernGeek]

Those are just initial side effects & should pass quite quickly.

I had short intermittent bouts dizziness/disorientation for the first few days, followed by a few days of odd tastes in my mouth almost like disinfectant, but they were all quite mild & vanished completely by the end of the second week.

The only persistent side effect is yawning a lot, but you quickly get used to apologising for that.

Hope you start to feel better soon.

[Draken2000]

How long do these weird side effects last? When I asked my doctor about the side effects he mentioned a few, none of which I experienced which was a panic attack, but it could of been caused by my own anxiety, as I was a bit scared about taking the medication. Also what is a good time to take the medication morning or evening?

[teej]

Two weeks for me saw the worst of them over - also when I had blips I used to get some of the side effects back (thus why I eventually swapped onto sertraline!).

And yes an apparent worsening of anxiety during the start up phase is normal.

I remember on day 8 of taking them waking up with sheer terror and getting an emergency appointment at the doctors because I felt I was simply melting down with anxiety. Hurrah for benzodiazepines is all I can say. I recall spending the rest of the morning just lying on my back in my living room waiting for the chlordiapoxide to kick in and feeling the anxiety washing over me.

It gets better though. Trust me.

[Draken2000]

Is it best to take it during the morning or evening? Also what are blips? Sorry im new to all this lol

[teej]

Ah... your doctor didn't explain this then! :lac:

Basically when taking an SSRI (a group of medicines, of which citalopram and sertraline are members), you'll likely see no benefit for the first two weeks (and in my case things got worse) then you should gradually see an improvement over a period of months. The improvement people see on day one is often a placebo effect. Of course everyone is different so this may vary from person to person.

You have to remember that recovery from anxiety and depression is not a straight upwards line, you'll likely have set backs or "blips" when you will feel the medication is not working any more and you feel you've slipped backwards, just when you were getting better. This is perfectly normal - you will have ups and downs, the trick is to make sure you take the medication regularly, don't miss any doses, and don't change your dose without a) talking to the doctor and b) without giving yourself plenty of time to settle onto your current dose.

I saw a lot of success on citalopram, but when I had blips, I got a full spectrum of horrible side effects back. I made a really easy switch to sertraline after 2.5 months and not looked back.

Again this varies from person to person - a lot of people have had good success with citalopram if they stick with it.

I've also had some counselling which I paid for myself which has helped immensely having that contact point with someone for the emotional support.

I also keep a small stock of diazepam prescribed by my GP in case I have any situations where I absolutely cannot cope whatsoever. So far I've had to use it once since my initial start up.

As for when to take the medicine? I find the morning's best. I sleep better that way and I find it helps me during the day. If I take it at night I don't sleep so well. Just personal preference again. I did try taking 10 mg in the morning and 10 mg at night but it seemed to make no difference whatsoever and I simply kept forgetting doses.

Hope this is some help. I'm generally around these forums. Keep posting if you need support.

[Cú Chulainn]

Hi Teej,
So has the Sertraline really worked for you?

[jillyb]

I am on day 6 of citalopram. This is my first time ever on anti d as I am so pill phobic and didn't really want them, but I had to admit to myself that I wasn't coping. So far I have had no side effects but do wake up even more anxious than before. My GP has also prescribed diazepam for me to take whilst starting the cit and I am sure thus is helping. He prescribed diazepam 2 x 2mg three times a day, though I have only taken 1 x 3 times daily. I am on 10mg cit for a week and then I am supposed to increase to 20mf. I am nervous of this! Could you ask your GP if he could prescribe this for you whilst you get used to the cit? Good luck x

[Draken2000]

I could ask the doctor about it on Thursday, as I'm not sure if I could deal with that again, as it was awful, unless there are other medications I can try that don't have these side effects I'm guessing not though. I will ask the doctor Thursday anyway see what he says. Thanks for the replies everyone

[teej]

Hi Teej,
So has the Sertraline really worked for you?


Absolutely. I really turned a corner since I started taking it. Despite being an SSRI (so essentially the same effect as the citalopram) I've found it much more gentle on me, and much more relaxing. With the citalopram I found it was just giving me heaps of energy I just didn't need and of course the side effects.

I only suffer anxiety though... never depression.

---------- Post added at 21:39 ---------- Previous post was at 21:27 ----------


I could ask the doctor about it on Thursday, as I'm not sure if I could deal with that again, as it was awful, unless there are other medications I can try that don't have these side effects I'm guessing not though. I will ask the doctor Thursday anyway see what he says. Thanks for the replies everyone

You'll have to see what your Doctor says. You see one Doctor in my surgery and they'll flatly refuse to prescribe diazepam, and another will cautiously prescribe it. This is because diazepam is part of a group of medications called benzodiazepines. These medications are very effective in treating anxiety but sadly also very addictive as they have withdrawal effects after long term use and you can build a tolerance to them. They are to be used as a last resort against anxiety when all else has failed. If you get addicted to this medication there is no way back except a painful detox. I'm not preaching, just warning here. They are not a magic pill. If you get prescribed a benzodiazepine you have a great responsibility to use it carefully. Just saying. :D

SSRI's like citalopram and sertraline are currently the front-line treatment in the UK of depression and anxiety because of the cost and relative effectiveness. You will always be prescribed these because they are a safe and effective treatment, despite the known side effects in the early days.

Prescription guidelines say you must try at least two of these before other treatment is considered. All of the other "safe" anti-anxiety/depression medications have their drawbacks... the older tri-cyclics have the same side-effects as SSRIs, Mirtzapine you're looking at dealing with the weight gain and sedation. Even with the new expensive treatments like pregabalin you've got people like SaraH who's now back on citalopram.

Stick with the SSRI for a bit - I was doubtful in the initial *months* but I'm slowly beginning to turn my life back around today.

Patience is they key, get some therapy/counselling, look at CBT and read every damn self-help book you can get your hands on.

You can be fixed but it takes serious work.

[Draken2000]

Went to see my gp today, told him the side effects I had with the weird right hand and arm feeling, and blurry vision he didn't seem to think it was anything to be alarmed about, now continueing the medication as normal. So far its made me feel relaxed slight pins and needles feeling in right hand but not much, that's about it.

[myjourney]

I'm on day 16 now, for two weeks I had racing heart, increased anxiety, had to call emergency gp. The worst couple of weeks of my life, however, in the last couple of days things appear to have calmed a little, I did work out perhaps as I'm not eating my blood sugars were also doing me no good to I try to at least drink milk and eat bananas lol....... hope you get through this ok.

[Draken2000]

First time I took it I had a panic attack, after restarting it yesterday I didn't get a panic attack, I reckon it was my own anxiety that caused the panic attack, might not of been the medication. Will see how the rest of the 2 weeks go. Hope things are going ok for you as well mate.

[Deckardblues]

I have been taking it for a month now, and recently had my dose increased, which meant i had bad side effects again. Some days are better than others. Medication is only part of the recovery though. I am waiting to have CBT therapy since i just know i need to talk to someone also. Hang in there.

[Draken2000]

Does anyone get any pins and needles feeling in either hand, I do I'm trying not to worry but its a bit difficult.

[Gemlou78]

I'm on day 4 and I have been getting pins & needles on my hands too along with many other side effects. All normal side effects I'm sure it's horrible but it will be worth it when the side effects subside and we begin to feel better.