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ruth76
30-11-07, 18:54
I have switched medication and think I am starting to regret it.The last 2 days have been horrible.
I have been taking fluxexotine 20 mg for 4 years. I saw a physchiatrist 2 weeks ago and he suggested I change them as I still suffer from panic attacks and that citalopram is better for anxiety.

So I thought I would give it a go I stoppped the fluxeotine for 5 days then started citalopram 2 days ago 20mg. The first day was not good had to come home from work as i felt so sick then felt very anxious. I took 20 mg of propranolol which didnt do much and i think kept me awake as I layed in bed for ages and couldnt sleep. I felt so bad the only way I can describe it is I could feel the adrenalin pumping through my veins it was like burning. My ears also felt like they were burning inside.
That evening i felt a little better but couldnt fall asleep straight away.
This morning I took my medication and was ok for a while. I went out to the bank and was talking to a lady when it hit me I thought I was going to be sick there and then. So I went home taking deep breaths with the windows open in the car all the way home! When I got home I was trying to be sick but it wouldnt come out so I took an anti nausea tablet and 30 mg of propranolol this just made everything worse except for slowing my heart down!I had continous panic attacks my vision went funny and I was terrified so I ended up calling an ambulance.They arrived and I felt such and idiot for calling them! But I honestly thought I was dying. All my vitals were normal as expected. They think that the propranolol was making me feel so ill and that I shouldnt take anymore. My husband arrived home really worried they left and i feel so stupid!! But I felt so bad. I managed to sleep this afternoon and now feel ok some pins and needles in my head but much better than earlier. So now I dont know what to do as I am terrified to take the citalopram tomorrow. I did think of taking it at night but I think it will keep me awake.Will it get better? I am 31 years old just started a good job which I really enjoy. Have a great family. Just want to get better.Did anyone else go through this at the beginning of taking them? Its friday night and I am in tears feel crap! My husband and I always have a few drinks tonite and now I cant even do that when I took fluexotine I was fine drinking but the citalopram leaflet says dont drink saying that I feel to sick to!
Take care everyone
Ruth

nomorepanic
30-11-07, 20:02
Hi Ruth

Loads on here suffer horrible side-effects when starting Citalopram and it can take 2-3 weeks for the symptoms to reduce.

Have a read of the other posts in this forum - there are loads of them !

nanny
30-11-07, 20:23
Hi i would be very surprised if it IS the citalopram making you feel like this, you have after all only been taking it 2 days and it takes a couple of weeks to kick in.

I would think the way you are feeling is most likely coming of the meds you have been on for 4 years and going without completely for 5 days.

Thats only my opinion but i really would be surprised if it is the new med.

Hope you feel better soon

nikki39
30-11-07, 20:53
Hi, when first started taking 20mg of Citalopram I ended up in A & E after have a really bad Panic Attack whilst shopping. The Dr said that I should have started on 10mg and worked my way up as 20mg was far too much to start with. I spoke to a really nice nurse who was on the same meds and she explained that its takes about 12 days to really kick in and once they did she assured me I would feel brilliant.

I have now been on them 7 months and decided to come off them about a month ago but felt so ill after a couple of days and so anxious I have now gone back on them again but just 10mg and I am finding that is just enough if you suffer from anxiety.

I promise you that when the meds kick in you will feel a completely different person, I didn't believe that but i am feeling great now.

Hope you start feeling better soon hun.

Nikkixxxx

willp
01-12-07, 00:52
Hi,

I started taking Citalopram a few weeks ago and felt dreadful for about 10 days. I started on 10mg for the first week and started feeling bad after a few days. I then went up to 20mg and felt like nothing I've ever experienced before - really horrible... BUT... now the side affects have gone, the meds are working and I am back at work and feeling much less anxious than before. It really does work.

If you can I really recommend you stick with it. From reading this forum it seems like many people feel bad at first but then once it starts working the benefits outweigh the pain of the first few days. Don't be put off by others' bad experiences. You may feel bad now but it will pass in a few days and the medication will help your anxiety. That's one of the things that kept me going and hopefully it will for you too.

Good luck... and keep thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel.

Will

groovygranny
01-12-07, 02:48
Hello Ruth

I felt the horrible side-effects of Citalopram almost overnight. Very unpleasant for the first few weeks but I was fortunate in that I had a very good GP and support from a friend who was also a GP.

Both encouraged me to continue with it even though I wanted to stop just to rid myself of the awful feelings such as you described.

I will be forever grateful to them. After about three weeks the positive effects started to 'kick in' and I never looked back.

This is a very nasty time for you but I would like to encourage you - these awful feelings will pass, and then you should start to feel so much better.

The nausea was a very prominent side effect for me, but settled down considerably after the first couple of weeks. The visual disturbances were also very unpleasant but also passed. The burning sensation and also pins and needles I still do feel from time to time - usually in the mornings - but I have learnt to accept these as part of my life now and so I don't pay much attention to them.

It isn't as easy as it seems to keep on with this - but, in my opinion, it is so worth it in the end.

Big hugs for you

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:


:flowers:

KCornwall
18-12-07, 16:50
i've been on Citalpram for 4 days now... and have lost my appetite (apart from mince pies!) and feel sick every day... its horrible. Also woke up in the morning with a terrible headache and it hasn't seemed to shift at all. how long does it take for these feelings to pass?

joannap
19-12-07, 17:22
i would say about 2-3 weeks for the initial side effects to pass. i also find it hard to believe that people feel "brilliant" on them. i have found citalopram does take the edge off anxiety - i feel very much improved - about 70% but feel like it is all still there lurking in the background!

Allye
28-12-07, 13:25
on my second day starting 10 mg rising to 20 mg this thread is really helping. Am gonna try taking evenings

shelldavis
30-12-07, 21:40
Hi all,
I'm on my 3rd day of taking 20mg of citalopram & its making me feel kinda rubbish, feeling sick, abit dizzy, really Really bad dry mouth & for the last 2 nights i havent slept at all but by reading i will have to grin & bare it. my GP changed me onto these because after a month of taking fluxeotine nothing seemed to be happening, i still felt the same, but hopefully citalopram should sort me out...

KCornwall
31-12-07, 18:28
i'm now 2 weeks into taking it.... the sickness feeling comes and goes, and i still don't have an amazing appetite... but haven't had a bad panic attack. i've had the feelings like i might, but just went to bed to sleep it off! which helped.
Headaches still come in the mornings, and i'm not sleeping well (the dreams are crazy!) but i'm sticking with it as i'm feeling happier in myself. Back to the docs on Fri for a check up - so see how that goes. This site is great for advice and support :)

pigspeed
02-01-08, 18:26
I had immediate side effects with Cipramail - couldn't eat or sleep, terrible nightmare, diarrohea and felt extremely anxious. After 10 weeks of gradually increasing to 30mg and feeling a lot worse than I did when I first started taking them my Dr and I decided that they were not for me and I am now reducing with a view to coming off them. Just to give the flipside they certainly didn't make me feel brilliant at all but then everyone is different.

beadbabe
02-01-08, 19:05
Stck with it. The side effects can be immediate and horrible but they are not dangerous and will go away. I had worsened panic attacks and dizziness, worsened palpitations. Well just about everything i had was made worse but it was so bad anyway I could hardly leave the house.

For me it took a good month for side effects to ease up but after that started to feel a lot better. Well the anxiety is not cured and after nine months I still have palpitations and panic attacks. But one or two mini panic attacks per month instead of two or three biggies a day is probably a good improvement!

Everyone is different, and everyone's symptoms vary, but more than likely if you stick with it you will eventually feel benefits. How much worse can it be anyway than having anxiety so bad you need to take tablets?

:flowers:

runningman
03-01-08, 14:05
hi all
just found this forum , ive been on citalapram for about a week after having suffered a very bad nervous breakdown, initially i waswas in a terrible state, had an interview and admitted considering taking my life. I was put on 20mg of citalapram from the word go. The first 4 days i felt like hell, dry mouth, severe headaches, so on and so on.
Seemed to have calmed down a bit now but i still feel so depressed. Ive now found that im unable to show emotion like crying at all, before the tablets i cried for 3 days constantly.
Is this normal , is that what the tablets do to you.
Ive been told i could be on them for several months if not longer. After having never taken tablets in my life i now feel like i will never come off them which is making me more depressed im sure of it.

beadbabe
05-01-08, 21:19
Hello running man
I saw no-ne had replied so thought I would. I don't know about your circumstances and I don't know a lot about depression - I am taking these for panic disorder and anxiety. But if you are given citalopram for depression they go straight in on a higher dose. Apparently if your primary symptom is anxiety/panic you are weaned on because it makes anxiety symptoms worse before better. But presumably it can do the same with depression which is why they keep a very close eye on you if you are depressed and starting these tablets.

Whatever you are taking them for you should have been told that they don't work on the depression or anxiety straight away - it takes a few weeks so you have to be patient. And the side effects you mentioned all like the usual. I would be surprised if you felt totally numb after you get used to them - because I am on 20mg per day and I don't even know I am taking them - I just feel like me, although not quite because they haven't really fixed my anxiety but for now I daren't go without them.

Good luck - try to persevere for a few weeks and keep talking to your doctor about them, and I hope you come out the other side soon. Depression and anxiety can wreck your rational thinking - you sort of lose who you really are and don't think straight but hopefully the tablets will get you back to normal. I know lots of people who take them for depression and they say they feel great once they start working and able to cope with things again.

Best of luck

runningman
06-01-08, 19:10
thanks beadbabe for your kind words
yes my depression and my breakdown a few weeks ago left me feeling so low id become suicidal, thank god i went to the doctors. I feel very floaty and far away at the moment and havnt yet come to terms with taking the pills.
still think im in that why me mode and feel ashamed
but im going to stick with it
thanks again

ladygrom
07-01-08, 09:37
hi m8 ive just come off citalopram after 6 months having to take them for anxiety and depresion ,i started on ten mg for first 2 weeks i felt floaty muzzy heads and all sorts ,after 2 weeks doc upped my dose to 20mg and after anther 2 weeks upped to 30 mg.ive been fine on them once ther in your system which usualy takes 2 to 4 weeks to feel the effect youl start to feel bit better ,your not alone i no how you feel just give meds a little more time to work ,blieve me i cudnt of got threw it without them let me no how your going on tc elaine xxx

runningman
07-01-08, 09:57
thanks ladygrom
well just rang the doctors surgery and was told that the doctor ive seen has now left :weep: , im so mad , i know its not his fault but it has taken me two years to get the courage to visit the doctors and that was only after being forced by family after my breakdown and visit to hospital.
I will now have to see someone new and start again, i keep staring at these damm tablets and wonder if i will be ever able to live life without them, im still getting bad headaches and cannot focus. Last night i lay in bed until about 4.00am unable to sleep until i couldnt stand it no longer. Currently at work but im just going through the motions of living, existing at best. I feel like i just want to jump out of my body and start again but cannot. I try to put all my thoughts in little boxes but the stress and pressure becomes way too much and i cannot cope. How do you turn this switch off

ladygrom
07-01-08, 10:05
hi m8 thats real hard one i had probs sleeping mind racing working over time and god nos wat else .its a viscious circle it realy is you tryed relaxation tapes i no how your feeling its absolutely awful you any idea wats triggered it all off , its god damn horrid thing go threw ive beat it twice i just did wat doc said keep taking my meds i was inpatient thinking they wernt working ,but after 2 to 3 weeks they kicked in ,my bloody problem now is ive been off them for 2 weeks and having awful migrains think its trip to the docs to c if i can go bk on my meds think you need at least 12 nmonths on them and i did 6 months ,keeps us posted on how you geting on .youl soon start feeling better and more your self hang in ther tc elaine xx

runningman
07-01-08, 10:20
thanks
since september ive been in a terrible state, the person who abused me as a boy died and i now feel so depressed that he has gone and i can never get at him, he suffered in hospital for the last two years of his life and i loved that watching him suffer but now there is nothing and i just feel like he has won , finally leaving me with all those episodes from years ago that i cannot get out of my mind no matter what. i can only escape when i sleep but the more depressed i get the less im sleeping. Constantly thinking of the past for up to 20hrs a day is destroying me.

ladygrom
07-01-08, 10:25
omg thats awful thing to go threw realy sorry must of realy desroyed your life and your left pick up the pieces im realy sorry hear that no wonder you feel so god damn anxious its terible tc m8 elaine let me no how you going on ok xxx

runningman
07-01-08, 10:30
thanks , really appreciate your advice and stuff
im going to see the doctor tommorow, i will stick with this 20mg and see what happens but surely it should be doing something by now.
thanks elainex

runningman
07-01-08, 11:23
ladygrom your pm box is full

hopeful
07-01-08, 11:34
Runningman,have you had any counselling re the abuse you suffered?
I've had terrible things happen in my life and I know these things affect us.I have had no counselling but I try to deal with things myself.I take citalopram,now on 30mgs and doing well.The pills dont take away the past but they help me cope with the present.Hope you feel better soon.Take care.
julie x:hugs:

runningman
07-01-08, 11:38
thanks hopefull , no is the answer , typical of me really never wanting to accept help. Ive locked this away in boxes in my head for 20 odd years but cannot now keep it under control which is why im in such a mess, i feel its my fault for mot being strong enough
thanks x

ben29
07-01-08, 11:40
I don't know why Citalopram is so popular with Dr's, I found the stuff awful and everyone i've spoken too has said how bad it's made them feel.

Starting Citalopram was a rollercoaster ride of emotions and sickness and all I found was that after a few weeks the emotions even out and the nausea tends to feel more bearable rather actually goes away. In the end I came off the stuff (which was actually worse than going on).

Citalopram also destroyed my libido. I've been off it now for quite a few months and it's only starting to come back... fingers crossed.

Ben

runningman
08-01-08, 08:06
eck ben im starting to really worry about these tablets , each day i take them im thinking god what am i doing , will this ever end :weep:

hopeful
08-01-08, 10:56
Runningman,If we keep things locked away in our minds then eventually they will re-surface.We need to come to terms with what happened to us and find ways to rid ourselves of the anger,guilt,and whatever else we feel about the happenings.I dont know your full story and I have never been abused so I cannot tell you how to deal with your feelings/thoughts.I would advise you to seek proffesional help though,maybe ask your gp to refer you? Please get some help,the tablets only mask the symptoms,we need to deal with the underlying issues to get well.I can feel your pain.Please get help to deal with this.It does NOT mean you are weak asking for help.What happened to you was NOT your fault.Take care.
julie x:hugs:

runningman
09-01-08, 11:02
well im going to the doctors tomorrow , had a bad setback yesterday and cut my arm to release some pain , stupid i know but thats life i suppose , panicking about having my meds upped :weep:

mystics
09-01-08, 11:09
Hi Runningman,
We met briefly in chat last night :)
I have no words of wisdom or magic wand to wave but i can say hand on heart i DO know exactly how you feel, cheated, robbed etc
Be honest with your doc and tell him/her exactly how you are feeling they may decide to change your meds for you, citalopram is supposed to be one of the good ones but obviously does not suit all.
Try and Keep ya chin up and please know you are not alone
:hugs:
Brightest Angel Blessings
Mystics:flowers:

runningman
09-01-08, 11:41
thanks , well im going to insist i recieve councilling not just these bloody meds, the stanley knife blade was the last straw , crazy , but its soo so hard to get the thoughts out my head at times.