Citalopram - Side Effects Poll

[coco81]

Hi,

I have been reading the citalopram side effects thread and I am interested if there is any pattern to the side effects and time of day it is taken. I am due to start this (10mg) in 4 days time when my hubby comes home incase I get bad side effects!

Thanks

[sarah jayne]

Hi i did exactly the same as you, i waited til my husband was off work because i was terrified of having bad side effects and not being able to cope with the children whilst having them. The first day i felt a bit weird, a little spaced out but it was nothing as bad as i expected, i wasnt sick or anything, i even managed to go to the asda ! The next day i felt fine except for a headache, and thats the only side effect ive had since, a headache every day ! Ive been on them for 2 1/2 weeks and ive still got a headache but it seems to be less intense and ive only had a couple of panic attacks which is brilliant, i also feel more relaxed. Good luck, im sure you'll be fine.
Sarah xxx

[joans60]

I am also on 10mg Citalopram
The only side effects I got and still do is going very hot and swetting and that is when I start to panic when that happens also I do have headaches as well.
I take mine in a morning



Regards Joan

[Jan63]

I take mine around 7pm and have no side effects whatsover. I was on them a few months ago and came off them suddenly which I know you shouldn't do but I had ran out and thought I didn't need them anymore after being on them for around 3 or 4 months. I didn't get any side effects coming off them either. I am on 20mg but the first time I started them I was on 10mg for four days and then 20mg afterwards. This time I just started on 20mg after being off them for a few months and had no side effects.

[Budgie]

I take mine around teatime, and I did get some side effects at first, but I really think that the information leaflet you get in the pack of tabs is quite misleading sometimes, and preety scary! But my side effects weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be -- I got some tricky headaches, which I do sometimes still get now, and at first I felt more agitated, and a little nauseous/heartburn.

The main thing I have experienced is feeling tired out but not sleeping well.

But honestly, a lot of the side effects I experienced were just slightly more pronounced versions of what I felt due to anxiety issues anyway :) Nothing too scary :hugs:

[coco81]

But honestly, a lot of the side effects I experienced were just slightly more pronounced versions of what I felt due to anxiety issues anyway :) Nothing too scary :hugs:

Yes, I found that as I was reading through the 'side effects' thread, a lot of the the side effects are things that I sometimes feel due to my anxiety anyway - hot, sweating, heartburn, indigestion, headache / migraine they are all unpleasant unfortunately I just wonder if they are all going to get a lot worse due to side effects?

I have heartburn just now and it's really uncomfortable and annoying!

[Lion King]

Hi coco,

Side effect do calm down, I had my partner with me for support during the early days! I had shakes, tension and increased anxiety when I started (very unpleasant!), but I trusted the med so I stuck with it and I feel a hell of a lot better with it. The side effects fade away in time, just keep looking long term and not at a quick fix!

Take Care

LK

[Budgie]

Hi coco :hugs: :)

It sounds kind of twisted, but I think because you've already experienced the sort of possible side effect symptoms due to anxiety, I think you will be able to cope. Sounds dotty I know :wacko: but what I experienced was just like when my anx. gets spikey. I think what got me feeling more stressed, was getting worried about side effects -- in a way its hard for me to judge if what I felt when I started taking cit. was side effects or just me going into a bit of a whirl! :blush:

But feel free to give me, or the forum, a shout whenever you like as you get into taking this med, its really helped me to come here and chat :D

[TheMadPikey]

hi i take 10mgs in the morning felt a bit sick for the first week and slightly more anxious,am only a week and a half in so i can't really comment any more

[waterfall]

day 12 of cit....feeling 'jittery' today - just wondered if anyone else feels like they cant look to far into the future - sounds strange i know! is there a time when you get back to feeling fully 'normal' [so to speak]??? this is my 1st time being diagnosed with depression and i am a 34 yr old teacher, single and sad cos i have no husband/partner/children to share my life with. sorry for being so morbid but would really love to be back to how i was... fairly happy and content with my life

[coco81]

Hi All,

Well I've been on Citalopram for a week now, not really much side effects - I had really bad headaches and heartburn for the first 4 days, but I was also taking iron pills, so I think that may have caused the heartburn. I also been clenching my jaw a lot more and there is still a slight lump in my throat, but I think that's because my tongue is constantly pressed on the roof of my mouth! But the side effects have been nothing compared to what I imagined they'd be. I still have the dry mouth, but I hardly notice it.

Other than that I feel no different, still as anxious as ever, still get really down. I have to go back to work after a month of being signed off and every time I think about it I panic, feel sick, break out in a sweat and my heart starts racing. I really am dreading it.

I haven't been doing much to improve myself..I've probably been outside about 4 times in the last month. I've never been one for going outside, I won't go unless I have to, like I have another Dr's appointment on Friday which is a 30 minute walk away, so I will walk there, I do feel very 'exposed' but I manage it. It's waiting in the waiting room at dr's that's worse, there are no magazines so I sit there not knowing where to look, my heart is racing, my breathing is shallow. The last time I was there, I waited 45 minutes for my appointment and the more time that passed the more nervous I was getting. I had spoken to the Dr on the phone once and I didn't find her particularly nice and I never met her face to face. I was sitting there worrying whether I had missed her calling me as my hearing isn't great! But it was all fine after I went and she was really nice.

I just feel like I can't get past my barriers now, I don't have the confidence to do anything anymore. One of my colleagues text me about a job that I've always wanted to do, it ends next week. But I just can't bring myself to go for it, it involves giving evidence in court which I just couldn't do..i'd be more scared than I am now to go outside because I'd be worrying the 'bad guys' would come after me and beat me, rape me or murder me. So I just don't feel in the right state of mind to go for a job like that. Then I feel crappy because I'm letting my anxiety get the better of me. I just seem to be getting worse than better!

God, sorry this has become a lot more than my 'side effects of citalopram' once I start I can't stop..lol!

Thanks for reading though, if you made it this far ;) xx

[lonely leanne]

So just as i thought things were getting better i had a Major incident on Friday. I went out for a celebration of my friends promotion with a few friends and as my doctor said i would be fine to drink, i had 2 small glasses of wine. i didnt feel drunk just very fuzzy and my heart was racing and i felt sick. next thing i know i have passed out in the centre and am being violently sick, i was sweating and everyone around me sounded like it was underwater. when i could focus a bit better everyone was looking at me, paramedics and police had come over and my anxiety was a million times higher than it has ever been. i ended up crying hystericelly and getting a taxi home in a right state. i didnt sleep very well at all on friday night i felt very sick and shaky adn kept crying my heart was racing i felt awful, so so low. i woke up on saturday feeling tired and still sick and with a headache that was unbearable. i couldnt get back to sleep and i felt so ill ihave never felt that bad before in my whole life i could barely drag myself to the toilet. i rang NHS direct and told them about the situation and they said this could be a reaction to citalopram (40mgs) so i said to myself right then and there that i will not let a tablet that is supposed to help me make me feel so ill and ashamed ever again. i have stopped taking them and i will never take one ever again. i now feel like i cant go in to my local town for fear of people remembering me. i have never been so ashamed low and embarassed.

i just dont no wat to do now?! any help please? xx

[Joellie]

When i was on it i used to take it the morning with side affects then i changed to evening and i had no side effects :)