Citalopram giving worse symptoms?

[babyiwina]

Hi all,

I have been struggling with anxiety and depression for a number of years now. In the past I have had CBT (twice) and two years ago when my doctor prescribed me Citalopram, I made the decision of taking it. And it felt like the most wonderful decision! Started with a dose of 10mg, then moved onto 20 and felt incredibly good. I had loads of motivation, started running, I had a healthier living, I started making friends, I found myself the person I used to be before this horrible anxiety and panic attacks! But for a few months now, I've been getting more and more anxious. I spoke to my doctor, and she decided to raise my dose to a further 30mg. I've been taking the increased dose for about 2 weeks now, and I feel horrendous!!! My anxiety has peaked, I feel nervous all the time, really on edge. All my anxiety symptoms I used to have before the meds, have returned. The worse include vomiting regularly and really upset stomach. I feel so anxious I can't even eat most days, I have a feeling of heaviness in my chest most days. The first week wasn't so bad, but the second week has been awful. When I asked my doctor about side effects she said I shouldn't really get any as I've been taking it for quite a while. My fear of (I don't even know what???!!!) is increased. I have an appointment in January to discuss this with her, but I feel like another month of this is crushing. :( Thank you.

[ana]

Hello there,
it might not apply to you what I'm about to say (though it might, because it's a similar medication we're on), but I've been on Escitalopram for 3 months now, and at first, I found it difficult to deal with some feelings I was having. I, too, was experiencing nausea, lack of appetite, increased anxiety (especially at night), depersonalisation, and unusually low sex drive.
Having said that, though, now I'm on maximum dose (20 mg) I can see a lot of good the medication has brought me. My panic attacks last a very short time and have significantly decreased in length and the time needed to recover from them. My advice would be to give the medication a little more time and see what it does for you. If, however, things don't improve, it might mean that you'll need a different medication. My therapist says she'll put me on Venlaflaxine as I shouldn't still be having panic attacks on such a high dosage of Escitalopram...

[babyiwina]

Hi Ana,

Thank you for the reply! I've been looking online and loads of people have said it takes a while, luckily the Christmas period is near so a nice break from work should help. I've been struggling for such a long time, it was so nice not having anxiety and for the last couple of weeks it's been a nightmare trying to cope with it :( my partner is extremely supportive and always there for me which really helps but I can't seem to shake those feelings of fear and dying, of being a failure, of not being good enough and feeling like my life doesn't matter :(

[Sage579]

It's very common to have an increase of anxiety when you up your dose 1-2 weeks for some people but it'll settle

[babyiwina]

Hi Sage,

Thank you for the info, I will just try to relax and ride through the next few weeks till I feel better. Easier said than done sometimes though ...

[ana]

I'm sorry you're struggling at the moment, but try and take comfort in knowing there are a lot of people out there who know and understand what you're going through. Focus on one day at a time, try and cheer yourself up if you can, be gentle with yourself, treat yourself to something you like. That's what life should be about, living and not feeling anxiety. You've had a time when you weren't anxious, and you will do again. :)

[babyiwina]

Thank you Ana for your lovely words of support! It's vey welcome to hear :) x

[ana]

Sure. :) I hope you feel better soon.

[Sage579]

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=64229 This may help with side effects iv been take this and seemed to help. I just went up to 30mg a few weeks ago myself and side effects were bad this helped I think good luck

[babyiwina]

Hi Sage, thank you for the thread, interesting read! Woke up this morning with a full blown anxiety attack so decided to work from home. The side effects weren't this bad the first 2 times taking the dose.

[SLA]

Yeh, I felt worse for a while on Citalopram.

However, I saw the respite that medication offered as an opportunity to address the underlying issues regarding anxiety. Because like you say, eventually it comes back, and the options then are to increase dosage or try something different.

So much of anxiety is physical sensations brought about by a distorted way of thinking. If you can improve in that area, you'd naturally reduce your anxiety.

[ana]

That's a good point, SLA. How much time was needed for you to start seeing the benefits and the improvements in your condition?
I've been on Escitalopram (20 mg) for a couple of months now, and my therapist might put me on Venlafaxine as I still get panic attacks.

[babyiwina]

Hi SLA,

Thanks for the advice. I have been really happy on Citalopram but it's a shame it turned sour on me. I'll leave it for a bit and see the docs again if things don't improve.

[babyiwina]

Hi guys, I find that my anxiety is peaking now. I started having the physical symptoms I used to have before going on the meds, like waking up anxious in the middle of the night, vomiting in the morning, being restless and having issues with my stomach. The med increase is starting to turn into a very unpleasant situation for me, luckily because I've had these feeling and symptoms before I know what to expect so they don't worry me quite so much, but it's still extremely uncomfortable, hoping these will die down soon. :(

[ana]

I hope they do die down soon. I'm sorry to hear about these symptoms. :( The good thing about this situation is that you at least know that it's only anxiety. I'm sure you'll start feeling better soon.