How long...?

[Budgie]

Hi guys, I know this is a totally relative question, after all, everyone's different, and medication isn't a magic wand. But I'm stuck and racking my brains!

How long wouild you give it before you can really start to think 'yes, citalopram is really working out for me' or 'hmm, I'm starting to wonder if its worth it?' :unsure:

I've been taking cit since the end of January, 20mg since about mid february. I am still feeling very depressed and anxious (last night OMG, I felt so down, and had panic attacks) :blush: :scared15: I'm still having 'dark' thoughts on a daily basis, soemtimes I can't think of anything else. I don't *want* to do anything like self harm or suicide, but I think about it all the time, if that makes sense -- I think it would be so much better to not be alive. I'm still not sleeping or eating properly; I get bad ibs-symptoms and headaches, I think because I feel so agitated so often and don't relax. I get tearful and upset, and am still so irritable and frustrated about absolutely anything. Its hard to get out of bed somedays; most weekends I can barely get out of bed and do 'normal' things like brush my hair or eat, or wash. :blush: Basically, in many ways, gosh... I don't know if I've moved on and up at all :unsure: I just keep feeling like I am going through the motions with life.

I know medication can't act as a miricle cure. It can't stop me feeling inadequate and lonely, or necessarily help me to make friends and things like that. But, I just don't know... :unsure: Should I be noticing something by now?

[suzy-sue]

Im sorry to hear you are still feeling like this Budgie:hugs: .I take it you have not increased your dose from 20mg yet? Ive said this before to you,20mg is not a high dose and Im sure if your dose was increased you would feel the benefit.You did start to feel better at one point,but it sometimes tends to go back after a while.This happened to me twice and each time my dose was increased until I found the dose that worked for me and remained stable. You do need to be honest with your DR about the way you feel ,telling him you are ok when your not ,will not get you the right treatment.Your right when you say the tabs will not cure everything thats not right in your life ,but they will put you in a better frame of mind to be able to cope better as you deal with things.I do hope you ,address this problem soon as you seem to be in an extremely bad place at the moment.Luv and hugs to you as always ,Sue:bighug1: xxx

[NoPoet]

Hi Budgie!

From your posts on NMP I get the impression that you are suffering quite badly with depression and anxiety. If your negative feelings are stroong, your response must be stronger. 20mg of citalopram is the lowest dose for depression. In my opinion you would be better off trying a higher dose.

I would recommend asking your doctor about trying 30mg. There's no shame in doing this, you should try whatever works. Consider it an experiment. If it starts to show a slight improvement you could eventually move up to 40mg. Don't worry about trying higher doses if your doctor prescribes them, you won't be on them forever and any side effects from the change in your dose will wear off after a while.

I have been on 20mg of citalopram for over 10 weeks. It has been very effective against my feelings of depression since the sixth week. It has struggled with my anxiety but rather than increase my dose, I have taken many other steps to deal with the anxiety.


I'm still having 'dark' thoughts on a daily basis, soemtimes I can't think of anything else. I don't *want* to do anything like self harm or suicide, but I think about it all the time, if that makes sense -- I think it would be so much better to not be alive
I know where you're coming from and I imagine many other sufferers understand as well. It's only natural to look for an escape from your negative feelings. When we're feeling low, sometimes our imaginations will walk in dark places, and it is only natural to start questioning life and death and all that heavy stuff. Basically death is one guaranteed way of escaping our problems -- but is it really worth dying just to avoid feeling crap? Wouldn't it be better to deal with those feelings, then once you start feeling better, continue living a normal, productive life?

Life is designed to be hard. It is very difficult when you feel so low to think about going on for another sixty years... but nobody says you will spend those sixty years feeling crap. The way you feel now won't be the way you always feel.


I know medication can't act as a miricle cure. It can't stop me feeling inadequate and lonely, or necessarily help me to make friends and things like that.
Sounds like confidence, self-esteem, motivation and a hint of shyness (as opposed to the much-talked-about "social phobia") may have something to do with your situation. It's good to fight back against depression and anxiety -- but if these problems are being caused by something else, they are just symptoms of a bigger problem. You are better off facing the real underlying causes rather than treating the symptoms.

I have always thought that if a person continues to feel distressed months after starting treatment, there may be underlying causes that haven't been identified or haven't been beaten.

If I were you I would write that life story, just jot it down in a writing pad. Identify the events that brought you where you are today and note down any "triggers" for your depression and illness. Write EVERYTHING you can think of. I filled dozens of pages of a small notebook trying to sort my life out and it made a very substantial impact. I noticed things that I never spotted before, I saw patterns, I identified underlying problems that I didn't even know were there. I found old phobias that I buried and never dealt with which still influence my behaviour today.

You never know what you will uncover. It's not for the faint-hearted, but then again, neither is recovery.

[Lion King]

Hi there,

I was in despair with this medication by the 8th week, I was feeling no better on the 20mg dose and I was thinking of changing medication, but I was persuaded by my doctor that citalopram was the most effective for anxiety and depression and that an increase in my dosage will bring a bit of normality back. I didn't want to increase as the side effects are that bad, but I gave in and upped to 30mg and persevered with the help of counselling and on the 11th week I am starting to feel 50% better, which has been a huge relief as I felt like I had been stuck in a hole I was unable to get out of!

See your gp for advice, make a list of all your problems and make sure he listens. He will more than likely increase your dose, don't be afraid of this, it can be quite daunting but there will be light its just a matter of patience. Have you had any form of counselling?

I know things can be hard just stick with it and take each day as it comes!

All the best

Lion King

[Asha1979]

Hi it was a good 6 weeks before I was back to my old self but after 2 weeks I felt the benefits starting! Hang in there! xx

[Budgie]

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies :hugs: I really appreciate your time! :)

I think I really need to go back to see my gp; its just silly to keep on suffering this way when things could be so much different! I was worried I was just being impatient or something, but it has been a while, and if sometrhing isn't working as ti is, its worth trying. Side effects don't faze me so much, I coped with them before so if my gp were to increase my dose, I know how to handle things... :shades: I'm just worried as last time I went he said he wasn't so keen on raising to 30mg if we could help it. :unsure:

But hey guys... omgosh! That job I had an interview for last week... I got an offer!!! !!! !!! :yahoo: Yesterday I 'phoned the HR department and said I am still interested so things are in motion for it :yesyes: But, typically, the anx is strong! I'm worried about my references, I'm worried having to tell my supervisor in my current job about leaving, and I feel like I'm letting my collegues down as its SO BUSY right now, and understaffed already :unsure: But this new job has a lot of plusses for me: more pay, easier to get to, fixed hours, and its a nicer building... I feel a little torn about it, but I am feeling, yes, this could be a fresh start for me...

[suzy-sue]

Hi Budgie and Well done on getting the Job:yesyes: Im really happy for you.Im also pleased you have decided to go to the Dr ! Plese write everything down you want to say before you go and be completely honest about everything,including what you do S/H wise.You dont have to feel so bad ,a larger dose is probably going to make a lot of difference to you .so be insistent.With jobs being in short supply I definately wouldnt worry too much about your current employer,It wont take them long to get someone else.Think of yourself for a change.Let us know how you get on ,and good luck at the docs .Take care luv Suexx:hugs:

[NoPoet]

Now then Budgie! Congratulations!! :D


I think I really need to go back to see my gp; its just silly to keep on suffering this way when things could be so much different!
Good point, have a word about increasing your dose. It is very sensible of your doctor to want to avoid increasing your dose. In this case though, I do think it would be beneficial to you. Don't be upset if 30mg is not fully effective, it can take a while for the increased dose to go to work and you can always go up to 40 or more if necessary. Whatever works for you! You can always reduce the dose in a few months.

You can always use me as a reference if you want.

Name: Adam
Occupation: Criminal mastermind
Distinguishing features: Gold member; silly Dutch accent
Relationship with Budgie: Fellow sufferer of anxiety and depression
How long have you known her: Not long, not long at all
Statement: Budgie ish very toight like a toiger. She ish very shexy. Ooh look at my gold member, it makesh me feel toight. Like the toiger.

[Hereford Al]

Congrats on the job offer Budgie!

As for the med, I would have thought by now it would have atleast made some impact. Maybe it might be time to be assertive to increase the dose (slowly) and try that for a month to see if there is any improvement.