Gareth
16-05-05, 14:26
Hi there,
Have a couple of questions for you guys if thats OK!
I have been suffering from what I guess you would call "Generalised Anxiety" for the past 9 weeks.
I went to the doc straight away, and straight away he offered me Prozac, which I declined, being terrified as I am on anti-depressants.
I have tried to help myself with a change in diet, exercise regime, herbal remedies such as St John's Wort, 5-HTP, SAM-e etc etc. I have also been having counselling for the past 5 weeks.
While it is good to talk, the counselling does nothing for my symptoms, not does the exercise or the diet seemingly. I have constant anxiety and a lot of physical symptoms.
So I went back to the docs a few weeks ago and he prescribed Citalopram (Celexa) 10mg. I have managed to not take them for 3 weeks but yesterday was so bad I have now succumbed and took one this morning out of sheer desperation. I thought I was going mad last night and am desperate for some sleep.
The thing that has finally kicked me into taking them is that the lack of sleep, although the anxiety is constant and very tiring as well. My anxiety keeps me awake for the whole night at least once a week, and at best I only get 5 hours sleep.
Now I read that Citalopram is going to make me an insomniac! This makes me very concerned. I'm not sure how I'll cope with this.
So my questions - how long will the insomnia side-effect generally last? What are the main side effects that people have had and for how long? And more importantly, how long would one normally be on a course of something like Citalopram. I have heard various reports, some say the shortest period is 3 months, some say the shortest period is 12 months...
Also, I am interested to know how many people start courses of anti-depressants and then make them off again... is it most people, or only very few people I wonder...?
I realise they are not a cure and I intend to have psychotherapy while I am taking them to try to get to the root of what is wrong with me and find new ways of living my life once I come off of the pills. I want to come off of them as soon as possible, thus the question about the usual duration of a course.
My final question, I took 10mg this morning as I forgot that it would prob be best to start off with 5mg. Am I alright to take 5mg tomorrow and continue with 5mg for a week or so now that I have taken one full tablet of 10mg?
Any experiences from you guys and gals?
Thanks a lot,
Gareth
Have a couple of questions for you guys if thats OK!
I have been suffering from what I guess you would call "Generalised Anxiety" for the past 9 weeks.
I went to the doc straight away, and straight away he offered me Prozac, which I declined, being terrified as I am on anti-depressants.
I have tried to help myself with a change in diet, exercise regime, herbal remedies such as St John's Wort, 5-HTP, SAM-e etc etc. I have also been having counselling for the past 5 weeks.
While it is good to talk, the counselling does nothing for my symptoms, not does the exercise or the diet seemingly. I have constant anxiety and a lot of physical symptoms.
So I went back to the docs a few weeks ago and he prescribed Citalopram (Celexa) 10mg. I have managed to not take them for 3 weeks but yesterday was so bad I have now succumbed and took one this morning out of sheer desperation. I thought I was going mad last night and am desperate for some sleep.
The thing that has finally kicked me into taking them is that the lack of sleep, although the anxiety is constant and very tiring as well. My anxiety keeps me awake for the whole night at least once a week, and at best I only get 5 hours sleep.
Now I read that Citalopram is going to make me an insomniac! This makes me very concerned. I'm not sure how I'll cope with this.
So my questions - how long will the insomnia side-effect generally last? What are the main side effects that people have had and for how long? And more importantly, how long would one normally be on a course of something like Citalopram. I have heard various reports, some say the shortest period is 3 months, some say the shortest period is 12 months...
Also, I am interested to know how many people start courses of anti-depressants and then make them off again... is it most people, or only very few people I wonder...?
I realise they are not a cure and I intend to have psychotherapy while I am taking them to try to get to the root of what is wrong with me and find new ways of living my life once I come off of the pills. I want to come off of them as soon as possible, thus the question about the usual duration of a course.
My final question, I took 10mg this morning as I forgot that it would prob be best to start off with 5mg. Am I alright to take 5mg tomorrow and continue with 5mg for a week or so now that I have taken one full tablet of 10mg?
Any experiences from you guys and gals?
Thanks a lot,
Gareth