just started on escitalopram need advice

[vickykelly]

hi, the tablets are making me sick and feel spaced out is this normal. am now panicking about that, cant cope x

[Allye]

Hi Vicky

I have just started (again) Citalopram which I think is similar.

My doctor warned me they may cause stomach upsets so it must be a side effect

[Thunderbird 4]

Hi,
Started back on Citraloram about 6 weeks ago. Taken them in the past, and stopped for about 4 months.

Basically after starting again on 10 mg I was vertually bed ridden for about two weeks. Legs would not work, the worst anxiety feelings I have ever had, massive headaches, dry retching all day, waking at about 4:00 a.m., and to cut a long story short I thought I was dying...!!

HOWEVER.....these symptoms will dimish with time (mine took about 4 - 5 weeks). The trouble is when the horrible symptoms kick in...we panic even more and feed the side effects. I know they are not nice, and I still have a few side effects left, but am confident that in a couple of weeks I should be able to get back to work.

Even if you explain these side effects to your GP, they only go by what they read in their 'Medicine Bibles' and very rarely record some of the more horrific side effects.

Stick with it, there is light at the end of the tunnel, however don't expect Citralopram to be the magic cure for anxiety....you will also have to work hard yourself and recognise that the dreadfull feelings of anxiety will not bring you to any serious harm.

Do take care.

[STEPHYUNO]

Hi there, and I hope you feel a little better today, bacuase you will and what you are experiencing though it isn't pleasant is quite normal for this group of anti-depressants, (SSRIs)
In a couple of weeks in my experience it should settle down and you will feel more stable and balanced.
People have found that certain times of day are better than others for taking it, it doesn't have to be in the morning or night, in fact I take mine with my dinner now around 5 pm, which works better for me. My well wishes and those of the other members on here are with you and we are here if you need to talk, you are not alone and you are a valuable person. Stephen

[vickykelly]

ahhh thanks guys, i feel freadful i get this heavy feling in my body, mind you had that before i was on them, it comes on and then goes and then comes back.. i dont know what it is and it scares me... its ok whilst im at home but when i have to go work its going to cripple me, i feel like i cant cope with it

[bab]

hi there

i am on citalopram and am now on cipralex - the side effects are horrendous - very spaced out - BUT... do not let this put you off - you must persevere as when the side effects wear off you will feel such a difference . pm me anytime
lots of love xx

[alias_kev]

Hey Vicky. I did quite well with Escitalopram and was lucky with side effects but if you can put up with them until they fade you stand a good chance of them helping the depression especially. They are almost too good at that - I was almost emotion neutral when my elderly father died - sorry not to shock, but they are pretty affective against the depression. On the anxiety I found they only took the edge off my GAD (score of 20/21 dropped to 17/21 at best). But everyone is different.

One benefit with severe GAD+secondary depression but not clinical panic attacks was that I felt so rubbish already that the side effects were little different from what I already had. Once stabilised on the Meds (and I was on 20mg Daily) the worst sideeffects were a tendancy towards migraine-ish headache if I seemed to have had too much (skipping 10mg occasionally helped damp this, although could add back anxiety) and the often documented sexual one (!), especially on the high dose.

I've made other posts about it - so perhaps search for those.

PS: What dose are you taking, how often and what time of day? I found a benefit in taking the pills shortly AFTER a meal. (eg. at end of breakfast).

[vickykelly]

Hi kevin,

I am on 10mg in the morning am day 7 today and stopped feeling sick, but am now really anxious and having to take diazapam to calm me, just feel so rubbish all the time.. have to go work tuesday and am scared... but i can do my job stood on my head so dont know what thats about really.. anticipation i reckon... im hoping the anx feeling is sign of meds, although i felt sick last week i know feel really anxious.. was gonna give up, but hubby says i have to stick with them.... also on zopiclone at night!!! thanks for advice please post back xx

[alias_kev]

I recall a lot of people talking about rushes of anxiety. I think I had some too, but I had so many already when it started its hard to blame the meds. Either temporarily when starting or even in general they call it "paradoxical anxiety" as you get more rather than less. My (untrained) guesses are that its either the brain just rejigging itself as the serotonin rises, or we feel better for a bit (even without noticing) and so notice even more when the anxiety picks up. Kind of like the way warm water feels hotter if you put your hand in cold water first. At the early stages it seems to me its not possible for our medication level or serotonin to be stable as the halflife of the meds is about 36 hours. So at 24 hours before each dose we've lost say 1/3rd of the medication - but thats only a guess. The tablet gradually brings that back up perhaps to say above 1 dose and then we drop back to 2/3rds again. Eventually we find some balance, but still with variation over the day.

The worry about work is quite possible - even if you are great - CBT always talks about us having "irrational beliefs", if it made sense we might still be scared but we wouldn't be ill! Normal people are scared of Tigers we are scared of Tigers that aren't even there! The work thing could be something as complex as fear of responsibilty/blame, or your obligations to your family if the income is needed, or even just fear of the journey or trains or something. Anxiety is very clever, and we get habits of avoidance - either not doing the problematic thing or not even thinking about (or near) it. So any of work/journey/income/boss/people/phones/etc maybe the problem or they may just be associated with it in your mind. Thats how I see it anyway. I developed some phobias too which I now see as linked to my GAD and really as an early symptom of the inner anxiety. I know that maybe sounds clever but I still haven't beaten them. :(

Hope some of this helps. If you want me to waffle on more please say.

It really does take weeks for most of the SSRIs and many other meds to stabilise. Your diazepam is the opposite - its characteristics are more like an illicit drug = fast guaranteed hit, improvement, fast decay which is why it leads people into taking another, and becoming dependent in multiple ways very quickly. And why its useful to find something else that works. I doubt my GP would have offered diazepam unless I'd been crawling up the walls BUT I was more hiding in or practically under the bed. (My parent's generation was given it a lot and many never got off it, and half the others should never have had it taken away). Sorry not being negative but there are good reasons for finding something else that can help you.

Have you also looked at CBT or self help?