How should Citalopram make you feel? Happy or just better than before/normal?

[Pill-Popper]

Should it make you feel happy and high spirited or should it just make you feel nothing but normal and make life easier...because i feel like the latter at the moment and i'm not sure whether to up my dose?

I mean, i still have anxiety now and then & am still quite avoidant, but thanks to the medication, it's not as overwhelming as it used to be and i am coping alot better with managing my anxiety. I know citalopram is mainly for depression rather than anxiety but i want to stick with these meds for the time being!

Overall, i'm doing ok, so-so, but i want to be doing GREAT! So is this a sign that perhaps i should up my dose slightly? I'm currently on 20mg right now.

Thanks in advance!

[Pill-Popper]

By the way, i am going to discuss this with my doctor, but i just wanted to talk about it on here first with others that may have been in the same boat or maybe just have any suggestions on this? Been on citalopram for nearly 3 months now!

[Bob47]

You dont say how long you've been on it...
But you sound like you're in exactly the same place as I am on 20mg - I have been taking it for nearly 5 weeks and I can relate to what you're saying. Last time I was on Citalopram I was about 3 months in and not even thinking about anything but just getting on with everything and thinking "why am I taking medication again?" - thats the point when you know you're there or there abouts. I can't remember feeling 'better' than before - thats a very high ideal

Let us know how you get on

[Oddfish]

I agree. I hoped citalopram would have had me cartwheeling down the streets with happiness, but I just feel 'normal' again. I still have my worries and daily irritations that get me down. I was also thinking I should up my dose, but I'm thankful I'm no longer in the complete state I was in before I started taking it. I suppose it is only meant to level you out.

[mau]

In all honesty I don't know how it should make you feel.

My GP told me it should make me feel Zen Like... (power of suggestion.)

I've been on 20mg per day since Dec 2008.

The horrible, terrifying, gut wrenching feeling has abated but if I'm really honest I haven't challenged myself yet.

[Katie27jt]

As with all antidepressants its supposed to lift your mood and try and even it out, Citalopram is very good for anxiety but as my Psychiatrist keeps telling me there are lots of different alternatives and other drugs you can try, (Im on my 9th different type now) and its just a matter of finding what works for you!
I would be interested in how you get on as Citalopram worked for me for 2 years and then I relapsed but thats just me

[lost]

I never really believed Citalopram would help me. I was so wrong!
After starting the medication, I gradually realized that I wasn't stressing out in traffic, and I wasn't visualizing being hit by a car, or I wasn't wanting to run away from noise, or cry myself to sleep. (Just to name a few). There were a few times I actually said to myself "I'm happy today".

I've been taking it for about 18 months. I started at 10mg and moved up to 20mg after a little while. In the summer I thought I was doing so well that I didn't need 20mg and tried 10 again. But after 8 weeks went back up.

A lot of the time I still have that feeling something is bothering me but I don't know what. And I still don't have much energy at all. But overall, I have so much less anxiety now...and I can function daily without worrying about every little thing. I'm happy with my life, and very happy with what the med has done for me. But I can't say that it has given me any extra energy or self confidence. I wonder about increasing my dose as well. But when I think of the progress I've made with my anxiety, I'm not sure I need to.
Anyway, why not try an increase? You won't know until you try. And you can always go back down. But maybe your doctor will have a different, more professional opinion.

[Pill-Popper]

Thanks so much for your input and all the different opinions guys! Really appreciate it!

I guess i shouldn't expect too much from citalopram, it's meant to give us a "push" but we need to make the effort to do the rest of the work, because like mau said "I haven't challenged myself yet" either, so instead of playing it safe, now would be a great time to face the things i couldn't before!

I guess there is no harm in upping my dose to 40mg, i thought it might've been harder to go back down, if the body is used to a higher dose, it might not work again if i went back down to a lower dose as it is weaker than the higher one? But i guess i'll never know until i try!

I'm gonna discuss my feelings with my doctor now, thanks again for all your input guys, made me see things in a different perspective :) Take care!

[Joby]

Hi,

I've been on Citalopram 20mg for 3 weeks. I an taking this in conjunction with counselling which I am having every two weeks. I do feel better, although I am still having bad days, but at least I feel I am having more good days in a week than bad.

Interesting and useful to read other peoples experiences.

Thank you to this website

:)

[kellyp]

I've been wondering this, too. And the fact that I felt less anxious and stressed has made me greedy for 'joy', kwim? I'm seeing my Doc today to see if I should up from 10-20mg.

One thing I have noticed - and I'm not proud of this - is that I laugh at inappropriate things! The woman who was mauled by polar bears recently? I laughed when I saw the pictures! 11 days ago I would have burst into tears.

Weird.

Kx

[NoPoet]

I was at a nightclub once and I was very drunk. A bloke who was even more drink thought I was talking to his girlfriend and took a swing at me. My friend launched himself from out of my view and took this bloke down. That was the last bit of bother I had from that bloke.

Citalopram is like the friend who throws himself into your problems, trying to hold them back long enough for you to muster a counter attack. Citalopram does not have the capability to fix your problems -- you have to do that -- it gives you breathing room to gather your strength.

I find that I am getting back to my old self under citalopram. Any changes in me are due to my battle against anxiety, not the drug. Citalopram helps you get back to your good old self. It's incredibly reassuring when you realise you are finally starting to think, talk and behave like yourself once more.

[nicoleannette]

This is a really great reply, and very true. After a while of taking it I suddenly realised that a massive weight had been lifted, that kind of heaviness I used to get in my mind had gone and I finally felt I could relax. The problems don't go away but you can begin to look at them in a far more objective manner without the associated pain.

Good luck

[nicoleannette]

One thing I have noticed - and I'm not proud of this - is that I laugh at inappropriate things! The woman who was mauled by polar bears recently? I laughed when I saw the pictures! 11 days ago I would have burst into tears.


Kx


hahaha.. just read this... I watched a documentary on the Grizzly man, a guy who lived with the bears and got eaten by them, I cried my eyes out for days afterwards..... I seem to be getting more emotional on citalopram but in a good 'i'm human' way! :) ... it was that song at the end about coyotes too.... woo wip woo wup wooo... :scared15: