Terrified, Mental Confusion, forget where I was.

[LiveAboveIt]

I've had small flashes of short term memory issues, which only seem to be getting worse. I have been putting them off as anxiety and focus issues until now. I was at the grocery store today with my girlfriend, left the house basically feeling okay and decently anxiety free, I felt in control and hopeful. All of a sudden I noticed my vision started to get kind of blurry and I had trouble moving my eyes around to track objects. Shortly after this I realized that I couldn't remember which store I was at, even though I've been here a hundred times. For the life of me I couldn't figure out where I was. After about 10-20 minutes my mental clarity started to return little by little, but still feeling foggy. I've never had issues like this in my life and it seems to correlate with taking Citalopram.

I'm about to hit week 5 and these issues aren't going away, they only seem to be happening more intensely even though my anxiety is decreasing. I know that this is most likely a rare symptom of AD's, but I can't stop freaking out and worrying that I have a brain tumor or dementia at the age of 27 or something like that.

Can't contact my Psych because its Sunday. Has anyone ever heard of this kind of rapid mental confusion due to AD's and is it permanent? Please help.

[Suziewuzie]

The exact same thing happens to me. I have to write down exactly what I need from the shop because as soon as I get in there, everything falls out of my brain & I end up wandering round in circles for ages in a total daze.
For me it feels a bit like I'm drunk. I find it really hard to focus on objects and feel like my eyes are rolling round. Afterwards I alwaya feel really tired and want to lie down.
All of the above happened today when I nipped to the supernarket x

[LiveAboveIt]

Yeah that side effect isnt one that Im especially okay with. Think Im definitely gonna have to switch. Did it happen on Zoloft too?

[Suziewuzie]

Yeah it happened worse on Zoloft for me, but it happens when I'm on no meds at all. It's nothing to do with medication for me, it's just my anxiety, I depersonalise and have blurred vision and forget where I am when I have a panic attack so for me it's just like a milder version of a panic attack.

[R1CH]

Hi LiveAboveIt

This is just another sign of anxiety. I had this constantly when I was starting up on citalopram. I had blurry vision, I couldn't focus, I felt like I was having an out of body experience and I shaked. I used to go to my local supermarket cafe when I was able to and these are the exact symptoms I would have just sitting there trying to drink a cup of coffee. My memory was shot to bits as well and I often used to forget what road I was driving on when I was well enough to drive.

Once the medication kicks in these symptons should go away, they are not side effects that will continue.

Any new issues you experience will all be down to the meds, you just need to give things time.

IMO switching to Zoloft will not help, you will have the same issues.

You need to stick this out for at least 9 - 10 weeks and then see how things settle down.

you will be fine, just stick with the plan, be strong. Not long now!!

Rich

[Jaysmd]

I agree with rich here

[LiveAboveIt]

But if the mental confusion is not the pill, why did it only start happening after I started the Citalopram? I guess Im not following because you mentioned it started happening when you first started the Citalopram, too.. but you also said its just a sign of anxiety?

I never had this symptom with my severe anxiety in the past. And I dont understand why this would just happen randomly when I honestly wasnt feeling very anxious?

Trying to hang in there, just feeling braindead. So this symptom WILL go away and I wont be plagued with it for the whole time I need to be on AD's?

[MyNameIsTerry]

From Drugs.com which should match your Patient Information Leaflet (PIL):

In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by citalopram. In the event that any of these side effects do occur, they may require medical attention.

You should check with your doctor immediately if any of these side effects occur when taking citalopram:
Less common
•confusion
•loss of memory
Rare
•difficulty with concentrating
Incidence not known
•confusion as to time, place, or person
•impaired consciousness, ranging from confusion [cut off to avoid possible trigger AND NOT RELEVANT TO YOU!!!]

From the For Healthcare Professionals section:

Common (1% to 10%): confusion, impaired concentration
Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): depersonalization

If what you are experiencing now has come only since you started meds, it can't be your previous anxiety disorder causing this unless there is a coincidental trigger alongside it e.g. some form of trauma to greatly heighten your anxiety. Otherwise it's going to the med, the increased anxiety caused by the med leading to new symptoms found in higher anxiety states, or both.

I think you are having some of the less common side effects and from experience of this with my second med, they can be pretty harsh.

At 4 weeks they should be reviewing, although we often say 4-6 weeks. Whether it helps at that point is another matter as I found it was about 2 months before it started helping but the side effects were decreasing in week 3 and gone by the end of week 5.

It says to contact your doctor but remember that doesn't mean it is anything sinister, it's just something for them to check to ensure they are happy still. A disclaimer. Where something is a medical emergency, like allergy, they make it very clear to call for immediate emergency assistance and even then an allergic reaction can be mild so it's not necessarily a threat.

---------- Post added at 05:13 ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 ----------


Yeah that side effect isnt one that Im especially okay with. Think Im definitely gonna have to switch. Did it happen on Zoloft too?

You would need to look at the side effect profiles to see if the stuff I've added shows on another med, or something similar. But this type of stuff can happen with many of them, it's the ramping up of Serotonin but these meds do interact in lesser ways with other neurotransmitters too.

[LiveAboveIt]

Thanks abunch, Terry. You seem to know more/have more experience with these drugs than my Psychiatrist. I know youre not a doctor but if it were you, what would you do in my case after still experiencing these symptoms 5 weeks in? The Citalopram does appear to be helping with the anxiety, or it might just be me coping better, Im not sure.. but the confusion and fatigue doesnt seem to be going anywhere.

The strange thing too is that this happened without any severe stress or anxiety, just kind of came out of nowhere during a good moment.

[MyNameIsTerry]

If there was no other factor to cause you so much anxiety, it's the med. It could be the med increasing your anxiety levels though and that's why new symptoms appear so that once the med settles down, they will go.

I go with the 4-6 week rule on here, I think that's sensible although I have seen that guidance to doctors differs to this. This is NICE guidance (the industry excellence stuff to the NHS)

1.2.30 For people who develop side effects soon after starting drug treatment, provide information and consider one of the following strategies:


•monitoring the person's symptoms closely (if the side effects are mild and acceptable to the person) or


•reducing the dose of the drug or


•stopping the drug and, according to the person's preference, offering either




◦an alternative drug (see 1.2.23–1.2.24) or


◦a high-intensity psychological intervention (see 1.2.17–1.2.21). [new 2011]




1.2.31 Review the effectiveness and side effects of the drug every 2–4 weeks during the first 3 months of treatment and every 3 months thereafter. [new 2011]

1.2.32 If the drug is effective, advise the person to continue taking it for at least a year as the likelihood of relapse is high. [new 2011]

I think I saw you post somewhere that your psychiatrist has changed his mind from increasing to 30mg, which seemed a stupid idea to me with what you are going through right now, and either reducing or switching. So, if this just keeps going, you could try a slight reduction and see whether that dose helps your anxiety. It could also be that you have started on too high a dose and that a taper starting at 10mg would have meant a less steep impact from side effects.

If you are finding the anxiety is decreasing, something is helping here and maybe try an adjustment? A switch means experimenting but with seeing a little bit of progress, perhaps a tweak might work? You could always switch afterwards or taper back up.

From my experience, as long as the side effects weren't so bad I just couldn't tolerate them, I would be waiting beyond week 5 as I've had side effects in that time. Either your side effects will gradually reduce or they will drop off more substantially. With my second med, Duloxetine, I went through the worst hell I've ever felt for about 8-10 days and the next day it dropped off a lot.

Beyond week 6 if it's not lessened, it's probably switch time. It's all a question of what you can tolerate really so if you can hang on, it may be worth it. If you can't though, there's no shame in asking for help - we all know how much hell this can be.

I've only tried 2 meds so far, I'm loathed to experiment when my GP has as much knowledge of these meds as my postman. Some things I know, or have observed from others on here, but there is tons I don't know as well.

What I found with the Duloxetine was that nothing worked when the side effects were ramping up. totally nothing. I felt no improvement, in fact it was many months before I felt any better and several years on, the side effects were still there. So, don't allow them to keep going on for beyond a couple of months because they may keep going. Looking back, the year after starting that med was significantly worse than before when I actually relapsed. In hindsight with what I know from learning on here, I wouldn't have put up with my GP's excuses as it shouldn't take beyond 6 months to feel any benefit.

Have a chat with your psychiatrist and see if they think it's worth experimenting with a slight reduction or waiting slightly longer. Switching is a larger action and who knows if that will help? It's just such a gamble and all very individual...and also the last thing we ever want to hear when we are feeling that bad!

[LiveAboveIt]

Thanks again, Terry. I will take your advice and discuss it with my psych. I appreciate all of the advice and support.

[R1CH]

But if the mental confusion is not the pill, why did it only start happening after I started the Citalopram? I guess Im not following because you mentioned it started happening when you first started the Citalopram, too.. but you also said its just a sign of anxiety?

I never had this symptom with my severe anxiety in the past. And I dont understand why this would just happen randomly when I honestly wasnt feeling very anxious?

Trying to hang in there, just feeling braindead. So this symptom WILL go away and I wont be plagued with it for the whole time I need to be on AD's?

It is the Pill, you answered your own question, you didn't have this prior to taking the pill :yesyes:

Yes I am 100% confident that this will go away.

Rich

---------- Post added at 10:37 ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 ----------

IME your psychiatrist will probably just agree with what you want to do. Mine does and unfortunately that is not helpful as I end up putting words into his mouth.

Trust me and others on this forum who have vast experience with citalopram and have been to hell and back. What you are experiencing is normal for some people and if you can hack it then do so, otherwise you are going to go back to square one.

I certainly wouldn't reduce your dose, I would be inclined to increase if you are on 20mg. It is likely that if you have severe anxiety without meds you will need the higher dose to be feel better. However that said do talk to your pdoc.

Good luck

Rich

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think I would wait until the side effects reduce before increasing since any increase can lead to further side effects. If the side effects at 20mg don't decrease, they won't decrease just because you increase the dose.

Sadly sometimes side effects don't go. My current med showed me that although I found Cit better. It's too individual to say anything with certainty with these meds but waiting a bit longer makes sense to me, especially since some benefit could be showing. If the side effects go, this dose may appear more effective and that takes time to see. With the side effects gone, if not enough improvement is seen in some time they may look towards an increase.

[R1CH]

My sides never went until I was on the maximum dose @ 40mg. I was hospitalised at 20mg because of the sides and they never went until they increased to 40mg. Everybody is different though :)