Celexa advice

[Ethansmom]

Does Celexa work for anxiety or just depression? I am suffering from anxiety and panic disorder right now. I started out on 5 milligrams and am now at 15 milligrams and it's been about 12 days and I feel no better in fact I'm feeling a little bit more anxious and needing to take klonopin three times a day as directed by my psychiatrist. At what point will I know if it's actually working?

[panic_down_under]

Does Celexa work for anxiety or just depression?

Both. These are just different expressions of the same underlying biology. However, SSRIs tend to work a little better for anxiety than depression.


I started out on 5 milligrams and am now at 15 milligrams and it's been about 12 days and I feel no better

Antidepressants typically take 3-12 weeks to kick-in, plus you are still on what is usually a sub therapeutic dose for most.


in fact I'm feeling a little bit more anxious and needing to take klonopin three times a day as directed by my psychiatrist.

It is very common for antidepressants to worsen anxiety at the beginning due to the extra serotonin activity. This usually subsides within a couple of weeks as the brain adapts to the med by down-regulating serotonin synthesis and expression, however, it there may again be a spike in anxiety for a while after dose increases.


At what point will I know if it's actually working?

When your anxiety levels begin to drop. For some this occurs overnight, they awake into a brighter new day, for others the improvement is initially intermittent, a case of one step forward, two back for a while with the good periods getting progressively longer.

[Ethansmom]

Thank you Panic down under!