10mg Cipralex

[Empathica]

Hey. I'm 19 and have in the last year, suffered from a level of anxiety. It started around last summer but my first panic attack happened in November, and they became more frequent so I saw the doctor. I was on beta-blockers for 2 months. They were useful for the single panic attack episodes, but ineffective concerning my constant level of anxiety.

I've now been prescribed 10mg of cipralex daily, which I am taking after my evening meal at around 7pm. This was starting Friday.

On the first night, 5 hours after my first tablet, I felt very nausceaus, had flashes of hot and cold and shivers, but this passed within about 20 minutes.

Since, the side effects I seem to be experiencing are fatigue, nausea, slight dizzyness and a lingering dull headache feeling. I still have an appetite in the sense that I am hungry, but when I eat because of the nausea I feel as though I don't want to, though my growling stomach tells me otherwise.

Although unpleasant, what I am experiencing at the moment isn't impossible to deal with, and I understand it can take a couple of weeks to settle in properly. Only trouble is, I have exams starting a week tomorrow, and not sure whether or not to hold off until after then.

[alias_kev]

Hiya and welcome.

Your previous Beta blockers only work on the symptoms of anxiety and panic. This can be effective with panic attacks since in clinical "panic attacks" (as opposed to "attacks of panic") the fear/panic arises from the symptoms of the attack and so spirals out of control. BUT as you say there is no reason they should help your underlying anxiety.

Escitalopram (ie. Cipralex) is an SSRI antidepressant which actually makes specific claims to help certain anxiety disorders. In my mind this makes it a more proven choice than many of the SSRIs. I've had it and it helped me a bit with my GAD and removed the secondary depression that I had.

I think its relatively unusual to take Esc' at night. Most people seem to take it in the morning. (Unusually I had 10mg morning & night - which is completely off spec). I think its good advice to take it after food as that protects the stomache a bit and may increase the amount of medication usefully absorbed.

The side effects you describe are pretty normal for initial dosing. It does take 2-4 weeks to settle in, sometimes longer so I understand your concern with your exams. The counterargument is that exams is a common time for anxiety to be worse so you may benefit from the meds anyway.

If you stop the pills again you will get some withdrawal symptoms even after such a short exposure. Last time I did the maths it looked like its about 5-7 days (mathematically) for the minimum level of this med to stabilise in the body. So its about the same time to get free of it chemically speaking.

I suspect Esc' is more helpful with light to moderate GAD - I have severe. If you try the GAD-7 test at patient.co.uk (http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40026141/) what kind of score do you get? This can also be useful in accessing any improvement. (Eg. Esc' got be from 20/21 down to 17/21 at best!).

[PoppyC]

Hi Kev & Empathica
I am glad you posted that link GAD-7 test at patient.co.uk (http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40026141/) because I just answered it honestly and I only got 2 out of 21! So that shows my citalopram is working. :D
Thank you for posting it - that has really encouraged me! This time a few months ago my scoring would probably have been off the scale.
That has made me happy for the day!
Empathica
I can't comment on the medication you are taking as I am taking a different type, however if you have already started taking the medication, you may get some side effects if you were to stop taking them now. Maybe you wont, but its just a thought?
I hope your exams go well for you!

[Str33tb0y]

I got 17 so I guess my meds aint working yet!