please help citalopram- feeling scared and weird

[susie1]

Hi I don't know if I am on the right forum. I suffere from extreme healoth anxiety. To cut a long story short I was on 20mg citalopram for several years without too many problems. anyway, I took my self off of them which was probably stupid. I suffered quite severe withdrawal symptoms like shaking etc but eventually got through it. 6 weeks ago I hada big blip - not so much with health anxiety but with other things going on. My GP put me back on 20mg. Since then I have felt really odd. In the morning especially my legs feel shaky and I feel slightly floaty and weird. I am also extremely tired. I didn't have this when I first went on them as far as I can remember and it has been 6 weeks now and no letup in the symptoms. This is kicking off my health anxiety big time as I am thinking brain tumour/ neurological issues. has anyone else experienced this and for this long? I would really appreciate some advice/ similar experiences. I feel like I am beginning to fall into the HA pit and I am petrified.

[Jennifer@kilden]

Hi susie
Try not to be too alarmed by your side effects- because that’s all they are.
Going straight into 20mg from nothing is a big deal- anyone would be feeling the same.
They should start subsiding within another few weeks - you just need to persevere- the floaty feeling I believe is called depersonalisation- and it’s totally normal- there is absolutely nothing wrong with your brain. There are lots of side effects and the ones you’ve listed are very normal.
Well done for sticking with it - it will get better soon like it did before x

[susie1]

Thankyou for your reply. It's the shakiness in my legs that is scaring me. I am not visibly shaking but it's sort of internal. Could this really still be all down to Citalopram - even after 5 weeks?

[Lulu1960]

Yes ..it may linger for a while or it may not..

[Jennifer@kilden]

Yes some side effects last up to 8 weeks x

[ac27]

I typically get shaky legs just from panic in general (really sucks). You could also be experiencing the shaky legs from just panic and thinking about it. Shakiness is definitely one of the side effects though. I wouldn’t worry - I’m sorry you’re having to go through that though.

[AngeAgain]

Hey :) It sounds like what you're describing is trembling. I get that a lot with my regular anxiety. When I started Cit, all of my anxiety symptoms were increased for a few weeks. For me it was quite severe but I got through it. You will too. I felt so weird too. Weird thoughts, odd sensations. Just make sure you keep talking to your GP, any phone lines that can help, even the Samaritans and chat here too. You are going to be fine

[roxy46]

I know it’s a different AD but I have had this what I can only describe as ‘internal trembling’ with my Venlafaxine increase. I also had it when I was on it 5 years ago. It’s really weird and has you feeling on edge all the time. Try not to worry and if you are concerned speak to your doctor (as many times as you need to) sometimes a professional telling you it’s nornal is all you need to calm the anxiety a bit xxx