View Full Version : 5 days on medication and have to stop taking them
Draken2000
18-02-14, 08:12
I really tried to deal with the side effects for the next two weeks but having too many problems, at first I felt pins and needles feeling in my hands, often it felt like pinching at my finger tips, then I started getting wrist pain, so decided that I can't deal with this anymore, going to see the gp today about it. Anyone else have problems like this?
Yep, and more side effects too and worse ones probably... But knowing that i had to fight through because it was for the better good, i kept on. I took time off work here and there, i had quiet phases of shutting myself in my home, i had mad days of so much energy, i'd loose days feeling spaced or beucase i'd barely slept...
I would honestly tell you to try harder to stick with it, 5 days was probaly when my side effects started to peak, then i had another couple of weeks but a lot of that was because it was all so unexpected... yeh ok they warn you of side effects, but until you experience them yourself... whoooaaaa!!! I guess i just dealt with them, and got used to them, they became part of me in a way, for example i took them at evening time, and i'd often go see a friend for a cuppa and a chat but hit an hour or two after my tablet and BAM i was feeling spaced out, confused, tingly, and really anxious, so i'd literally dash off home... luckily i'd explained it to her and she was fully supportive and understanding.
Talk to people about your side effects, get support from friends and family, work colleagues... i often laugh a lot of mine off now too, nad yes 6 months later i still get them but its all ok now...
Stay strong, fight o, dont stop them just because of the side effects... its gotta get worse before it gets better...
talk to me or anyone else if you want any advice xxxx
:hugs::hugs::hugs:
im having some pretty rough side effects too. I didn't get out of bed yesterday because of them but im determined today will be a better day.
I get pins and needles occasionally since starting cit, along with dilated pupils that make my vision weird, tingly skin, waves of nausea and so on..but I'm day 7 today and everyone seems to say it takes a couple of weeks to settle down. My next appointment is in two weeks so if im still getting the side effects as strong then I will mention it as it'll be 3 weeks since starting. I don't cry as much now though...so the positive stuff must be kicking in too, I even manage to laugh with my partner sometimes which I haven't done much of for a long time.
I still feel safer at home but im hopeful I'll feel more confident in time.
Maybe give them a little longer to work? I know how hard it is I felt like making an appointment yesterday to switch because of side effects I found writing down my worries on here helped and having people identify with me and tell me it will pass!
well done Gemlou... keep going... honestly, the worst you'll get is what you've got, there is nothing bad really going to hapen, its unnerving at times and sometimes uncomfortable but stick with it!
pins and needles and tingly, sensitive skin, ugh it sucks... i felt like i had prickly heat, i'd burn up horribly at times too, couldnt brush my hair because my scalp was tingly and sore! My eyes would be like saucers, i'd looked whacked off my box, my head hurt because my eyes let in so much daylight ... i was often confused, and dazed... i had sickness, my appetite went up and down, sometimes i;d go nights not sleeping, other times i could sleep for days. sometimes i couldnt move, i hurt... otehr days i couldnt stay still...my emotions disappeared completely for a while, i phyically felt numb, nothing, i felt like a zombie, i would just stare into space and nothingness, no happiness but no sadness... it was kinda weird, empty but in a nice way...??
even now, i get body zaps often, these usually increase with anxiety though more often. my sleep pattern is still disturbed, and i can be drowsy in teh day, not tired though, thats a different feeling! I'm fidgetty and rarely stay still!!
thats jsut all the tip of the iceberg, BUT, althought im not fully "mended" i feel a lot better, stronger and more able to cope... the happiness, well i guess that will follow but for now i am a lot better about feeling this strength, and sort of a "meh" feeling about anything negative...
xxx :hugs:
Thanks Icequeen :-) the side effects really do suck big time! Me getting ill again couldn't have come at a worse time...im getting married in June so im now terrified I'll end up having a panic attack going down the isle. In a way though because I know I have the wedding I know I HAVE to get better.
The planning/organising is an issue though as I won't answer my phone at mo I just let it ring as I can't cope talking with people while I feel like this! Xx
Thanks Icequeen :-) the side effects really do suck big time! Me getting ill again couldn't have come at a worse time...im getting married in June so im now terrified I'll end up having a panic attack going down the isle. In a way though because I know I have the wedding I know I HAVE to get better.
The planning/organising is an issue though as I won't answer my phone at mo I just let it ring as I can't cope talking with people while I feel like this! Xx
i was like that, dreading talking to people! I work in sales and am usually on the phone or chatting all day everyday quite merrily... i had to talk to my manager fro some understanding... it is tough, dont put too much pressure on yourself, you'll get there probabyl without noticing as well.... thats how it went with me, i am currently in a major blip at the moment, strugglign to get out of it, its been 6 days now and i cannot see a way out... all i keep focus on is that before this blip, the world was ok ... and everything will be ok again, i just have to stay strong to get there...
Side effects do indeed SUCK!!!! xxx
I'm sorry you are going through a blip, I hope you manage to come out of it soon...you are doing right trying to focus on things being ok before it! Just be extra kind to yourself while you are going through it!
Draken, I hope that reading through our experiences helps you see you are not alone in worrying. We are all having either side effects or blips. Try to keep on with your meds :-) xx
I really tried to deal with the side effects for the next two weeks but having too many problems, at first I felt pins and needles feeling in my hands, often it felt like pinching at my finger tips, then I started getting wrist pain, so decided that I can't deal with this anymore, going to see the gp today about it. Anyone else have problems like this?
This is exactly why i stopped taking medication, they actually produce awful side effects and will only shield your anxiety. The solution to anxiety comes from within, not from a chemical.
Draken2000
18-02-14, 11:39
Well the GP wasn't helpful at all I was in there for less then a minute explaining my side effect to the medication. He said he doubts very much the medication caused it because i've been given the lowest dose, 10mg of citalopram. I asked him if I wanted to come off it after 5 days what do I need to do? He said continue taking medication for a week, second week take 2, and the third week take one, and then I can come off them. Not sure what to do
You're GP doesn't sound too good :-( is there another GP at your surgery who is maybe more helpful in these matters?
Do you mind me asking have they prescribed this for just anxiety, actual panic attacks, depression or all of these?
Maybe you would also benefit from CBT could you ask for referal?
Xx
Draken2000
18-02-14, 12:12
I was prescribed this for anxiety and panic attacks. Basically I had chest pains went to a&e a few times because I thought I was having a heart attack I wasn't. Had many panic attacks before, as well all sorts of pains everywhere in my body, from pains in my arms, hands, legs, face, neck, jaw, burning sensation, numbness. Its been the worst two months of my life so far, I even went to see a cardiologist, it took me a while to accept it was anxiety, but starting the medication hasn't made it any easier. I've started cbt, going to see another gp on Monday though. In the mean time I'm stuck on what to do, would I get bad side effects if I stopped now after 5 days?
It sounds like your physician is wanting you to try and stick it out with the citalopram. The side effects will wear off eventually and you will begin to feel better. You're already a week in so it would be great if you could just hang in there. Most people have some side effects with SSRI's so the likelihood that you will have side effects on a different medication is there. Try to keep on going.
I agree with tanner, you are likely to get side effects with whatever they switch you too so having done a week already id stick it out...they will subside soon you would just be starting all over again with something new.
Hopefully the CBT will help once it gets going properly its something I intend to ask for.
I know how scary heart stuff is. It hasn't happened to me this time but I had ECG's back in 2011 for palpatations/strange thuds that really really hurt. I thought I was dying it was horriffic but it was anxiety my body going mad with adrenaline causing my heart to act out of sync. They put me on propanalol which im on again this time...this drug may help your heart issues maybe ask at your appointment. Xx
Draken,
I would go down to 5mgs (cut the tablet in half) and see if that helps with SE's. Stay on that for a couple of weeks then go up to 10mgs. I started on 2.5mgs and went up to 5mgs after 3 weeks!!
Sarah
Draken2000
18-02-14, 15:18
Cut them In half? their quite tiny, their not capsules, just tiny circles.
Yeah I know....but can be cut with the tip of a very sharp knife...I can cut them into quarters!!!.....you could just try it:)
---------- Post added at 15:29 ---------- Previous post was at 15:26 ----------
....every one is different ...we all react differently to meds, particularly psychiatric meds...so some can get benefit from the smallest dose and some need the highest.......................and the same with SE's:)
Draken2000
18-02-14, 16:21
I may try that, I phoned up NHS direct because I needed to talk a someone about it, and didn't know who to turn to, they told me to phone at 6 and I can talk to a doctor who knows about the medication.
Draken2000
18-02-14, 20:50
Well I spoke to a doctor about the side effects, he said yeah it could be a side effect, but its also a very well known symton of anxiety aswell, none of what I described was alarming to him, and he reckons I should continue taking the medication, it takes 2 weeks for the citalopram to start working, he also suggested the same thing about cutting the pill in half. He said if I've only been taking them for 5 days, then I can stop taking them so no problem there, just got to make a decision now.
Stick with it would be my advice, you will thank yourself for doing so.
The side effects are strange and weird but not overwhelming, they will pass and you will feel better.
Stick with them ....cut them in half...wait for SE's to to subside them up the dose.......just my opinion:)
Hi
I am currently on 10mg of Cit and this low dose is working for me. I just wanted to say that if you have done a week then try and keep going. My first two weeks were really crap, anxiety heightened and shaking, no appetite at all and struggling to sleep. I also had a really strange one that none of the literature mentioned - my face would go bright red and feel like it was burning about an hour after taking the cit! But it got better, two weeks in and the side effects were much less and now im 5 weeks in and apart from the odd red face things are pretty good. We all react differently and if it is your first time taking cit then it is scary when you feel worse not better for the first few weeks but the positives in the long run far outweigh these negatives at the start.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.