some positives to help me take them please

[den68]

ok so i have resisted taking the dreaded antidepressant for over 18 months now as im terrified of it . I have to start tommorrow and will be taking citolapram but im so scared crying shaking just thinking about it. Can someone please reassure me. I have read so much bad stuff about it and i always get side effects of tabs that has left me with a terrible phobia. Please please help

[hellbelle49]

Hi Den
Dont worry - like you i was also very fearful of taking any anti-depressant as i never wanted to ever have too but i felt so bad six weeks ago that i was prescribed citalopram. My GP didnt really explain any side affects to me and so the first night i did take it, i did freak out and go back to the dr's as i felt awful but i am telling you this so if you do, you dont have to panic as most people on here talk about having side affects for the first week or two. I was prescribed 20mg but was told to start with 10 and work up. 10mg first off was too strong for me as i felt weird but i think my body is sensitive as 20mg is a relatively low dose - so what i did was break up the tablets and took 5mg for a week, then i stuck on 10mg for about a month as i was scared and then finally went up to 20mg for the last 2 weeks and i didnt notice any side affects by doing it like that - i havent noticed much improvement for me yet but i think these things take time. dont worry about being scared as i think many people are - i would check out the citalopram section of this site. good luck
hellbelle :)

[chantelle]

Hi Denise

I took citalopram 2 years ago and it was fantastic!!!! The side-effects were awful,for the first 2-3 weeks but by week 8-10 I felt like I had my life back again - go for it!!!!!!!!

Good luck.

[BRY54]

On day 34 of 20mg cit , saw the doctor yesterday and told her I'd had over 14 continuous good days , I can't remember the last time I had such a good period in my life.
She asked me if I wanted to continue with the medication , I couldn't honestly answer her as I'm not sure if it's the Cit or myself feeling better.She suggested continuing with it for another two months.

[NoPoet]

Get 'em down you and see what happens - you probably won't have any side effects, and even if you do they don't last forever. If the pills make even a slight difference to your illness, you will be glad you took them. Do it, and good luck on your journey of recovery!!

[SingingNik]

Having been prescribed citalopram (10mg) by my doctor last week (along with some support from the community psychiatric nurse), I googled the drug and found No More Panic. Reading the accounts of side effects, I managed to auto-suggest the side effects without even starting the drug and scared myself senseless. After leaping in 4 days ago, I felt it important to help bring more balance to the citalopram debate and help people who were terrified, just like I was.

My doctor puts around 2 new people a week on the drug and says that only one of her patients has ever given up due to side effects and time off work is not normally necessary to start the treatment. She admitted that 80% of people experience one or more side effects, but very few are severe. So I took my first pill and waited for the dizzyness and nausea to happen. But nothing! The only noticeable negative has been slight tummy cramp on waking a couple of times.

She said any side effects would take 7-10 days to pass and then it may be another week or so after that to feel the benefit. While I don't feel all that different, I'd say that I have a mildly increased ability to focus on work/reading and my thoughts are a bit less chaotic. And I'm not ready for bed at 9pm like I used to be.

But putting all this into context, I don't think my depression diagnosis is as severe as some others on this forum. I think if I suffered badly with panic attacks, agoraphobia or was suicidal, I'd probably exacerbate the side effects with my own condition. Our own imaginations are our worst enemy.

I'll let you know if things take a turn for the worse or better, but my overwhelming feeling towards citalopram is: what was all the fuss about?

[den68]

update. I took 5mg for 5 days side effects not too bad and only lasted 2 days put it up to 10mg saturday only 24 hours feeling sick. I will be putting them to 15 some time this week might even go for 20mg.

[Delaney]

Chantelle got it spot on in her post. Im on 40mgs at the moment and citalopram does work, just needs time and you to swallow it to eventually benefit from it

[ridingthewaves]

Hi Chantelle, think we've all been like you and not wanted to take medication..but all I can say is I was on seroxat for 13 years ! until a lovely lady got me to try and stop altogether by getting me on this..I came off all together for about 4 months but had a relapse so went back on Citala.and have not once regretted it,I feel balanced,it helps with my pmt/menopause ,and I have had no side effects at all . All I know is I feel good,my work sick record is the lowest ever and life is as it should be :)..best wishes to you ..jan

[NoPoet]

Den68, try not to increase your dose sizes too fast. The recommended change is no more than 5mg per 2 weeks. If you alter your dose size up or down by more than that amount you risk side effects, although of course there is no guarantee this will happen, and most side effects disappear within a few days to a few weeks.

[rebeccad]

hi, i to am on 20mg but started on 10mg for the first 2 weeks, side effects were horrible but seem to have worn off now. Been taking 20mg for around 3 days not really noticed the increase nor have i noticed any effect from the tablets. Im now worried about coming off them as ive read some horror stories of withdrawrals.