I hate CIRAPLEX

[Gemrail]

:) Hey Everyone,

I have suffered with panic attacks for 13 years and am currently on 20mg of ciraplex (I started in Nov 07)

I have found that as the dosage gets higher I have become more and more anxious and find I am having really extreme thoughts of terror, for example when I am sitting in the car i start to panic someone is going to shoot me. Extreme I know!! I sleep around 12 hours a night a still feel exausted, my mouth is constantly dry and now my sex drive is completely gone!!!

The only good thing is alot of my panic attacks do not develop into full ones and I have stopped getting one after the other, so my doc and psych are keeping me on them as they belive they are working!!

Is it worth all of this!? Anyone else suffered on Ciraplex?

Gem :blush:

[Phill2]

I've been on 10mg/day for the last 2 yrs and reckon it's the best thing since sliced bread!
Phill :shades:

[dawny]

hi ya

ive been on cipralex for 2 years and i think they are a great med, but they don't control anx/pan.....i was prescribed them for depression.....the panic and anxiety i have had to get over myself......i'm sure though in the background they are helping with everything.

a side effect of cipralex is loss of sex drive and dry mouth....i tried prozac and that did not suit me at all.

if you are not suffering full blown p attacks they must be helping you a little, i gradually increased the dosage from 10mg to 20mg, so maybe its because your on a high dosage, cause i can remember that i felt weird for a while when i first increased.

i hope this helps, remember relaxation is the best cure.....!!!!!

dawny

[Richie]

hi there Gemrail xxx
yeah you may have to give them more time, but of course we are all different and they may not suit you, but try to sit it out for a short while and give them a good go, Never been on them myself but from the other posts sounds like they are pretty good for depression, maybe not for panic attacks though.
Anyway good luck xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[chloe555]

Hi Gem, Cant believe you had the same as me while i was taking cipralex.I thought people were going to shoot me also i got bad urges to commit suicide.On top of all that they made my symptoms ten times worse.I only stayed on them a few weeks cause they were horrendus.I am now on clomipramine a trycyclic anti d cause i cant tolerate ssris.These are the only ones that have helped me out of all that i tried.Why dont you go back to your gp and ask him to change you to something else.And tell him the side effects and thoughts you are getting.

hope you find one that helps eventually.

luv chloe xx

[gatoulina]

I would suggest getting on 15mg. I have been on Cipralex for a year now it it works well. I was on 20mg for a while and I find it too strong. when I decreased it to 15mg it was much better. I find that my sex drive was up again and was not as sleepy. Talk to your doctor. Good luck!

[Tinkerbell200]

Hi
I had such a bad time on Cipralex couldnt wait to stop taking them they made me feel worse than I all ready felt. I had this desire just to self harm and extreme thoughts of suicide, was so angry one minute then crying uncontrollably the next. If you really feel they are making you worse then I would tell your doctor and say you want to stop them and try something else :hugs:

[Miss Ellen]

As i said in my last post, i put on weight badly whilst on Escitalopram. But maybe tht was co-incidence. My doctor moved me to Citalopram nd then I had a self-harm/suicide episode for the first time in years!

[louwilliams]

I was on 10mg Cipralex for about 5 years-I pu weight on (roughly a stone and a half) and I now have no sex drive WHATSOEVER but maybe that has something to do with the fact I am in a VERY unhappy relationship at the moment?

I do have to say that I cant actually getting any side effects at the time but I will say that they did have a good effect on my Panic Attacks-they stopped the assive ones (as in ending up in A&E) but I still got the little ones daily (i know little ones sounds like a good thing but beleive me its not lol)

I've come off them now as I felt they had just stopped working but after being fully off them for 2 months, I am seriously considering going back on them-But am crapping myself after reading everyones side effects, even though like I said, I cant actually remember if and what side effects I got from them?

Lou xxxxxxxxx

[Dexter]

Hello - I have been on Ciraplex for 1 year now and have essentially NO sex drive. Also, my doctor is not available to give me a prescription - has anyone else come off of Ciraplex and experienced the following?
Weepiness - obvious reasons
Dizziness -
Naseau

I would like to know how long these last as I would quite like to come off of the meds altogether - if anyone has any info that would be great!!! Thanks,

[alias_kev]

Dexter - if you check the leaflet with your meds you should see that it confirms the following:

there is a known side effect with interfering with "sexual performance" although I recall it being more at the "finishing" end of things rather than the initial drive. Its worth noting that anxiety often increases the sex drive in men and so if you are now less anxious you might be "calmer" in that direction as well. Just a thought.

Also the meds indicate that you should come off them slowly over a period of time. So assuming you were on 20mg per day you would lower to 15 then 10 then 5 then none. Holding at each level for several days to a week, or until the symptoms stabilise. The leaflet indicates that some people need rather longer overall too.

If your GP is unavailable your pharmacist may be able to advise, provide an emergency dose (eg. for a weekend) or refer you to another GP especially if your last presciption can be seen to have run out. It is generally a bad move to go cold turkey on any of the depression/anxiety meds and they should be helpful to you to avoid this.

[bab]

hey dexter
im on cipralex - been on them 6 months - i find that this doesnt interfere with my sex drive but other ssris's did. is this the only reason you want to come off? i would wait to see your doc before coming off your pills - i have been on and off ssris for over 10 years and unless you do a proper withdrawal you will not feel good - if u cant wait for your doc you must reduce them gradually - every other day for couple of weeks then every 3 etc