Citalopram and Anxiety

[cb543]

Hi. Well yesterday was day 3 of taking Citalopram. I was afraid to leave the house and had butterflies in my stomach all day. I knew if I left the house I would have a panic attack. Is this a side effect do you think and will it pass? Thanks

[candee86]

Yes .. the first week tends to make your anxiety worse and then it suddenly gets better :)...thats what happened in my case anyway...stick at it xx

[munkeyinblack]

my first week of citalopram was awful! constantly shaking and panicking was hell because before that i was anxiety free. Give it a week at least and if it doesnt work go back to your gp. I had to change to sertraline and feeling slightly better. let us know how you get on x

[Danath]

yeah thats common with a lot of SSRI antidepressants, it will pass in a week or so.

[alwaysanxious]

hi when i 1st went on them to be fair it took 4 weeks before all anxiety and it highest stopped but i will tell you this also its bloody worth it because for the 1st time in 12 months i felt normal again so keep at it the 1st week is the hardest but stick at it trust me ull be so glad you did ..take care x

[chris670]

Hello

Citalopram can be harsh when you first take it but if you can get through the first stage you will be ok , its a good drug , sometimes not everyones cup of tea but successful . i do hope it helps you soon but give it time

take care

[maro111]

Hi

I have been on Citalopram for 2 months now, first month on 10mg and 2nd on 20mg. I still feel quite edgy and jittery alot of the time and hope this will settle down soon. In fact it can make me so worked up that I feel a bit sick and so struggle to eat much. I am going to ask if can move upto 30mg this week, as have seen some positive changes in my outlook on things, and hope the 30mg will help me even more. Hopefully the side effects wont be too bad!

Its strange (well I dont know if it is) but since starting the citalopram I have a huge increase in sex drive. I know the opposite to this is much more common. It has become a bit of a distraction tbh and as I am single a bit annoying. I hope again this settles down.

Has anybody else had this?

Thanks

[PoppyC]

Hi
I am into month 7 of taking citalopram, and for me anyway it has been worth all the early side effects. I am so glad I have been helped by them.
Gps recommend taking for at least 4 weeks for the tablets to work but for me it was more like 6-8 weeks and as time goes on the side effects go. I always take at the same time every day and take daily and have with food and plenty of fluids and this way it takes away the sicky feeling and stomach ache I get when I dont have any food with them.
Hope this may be of some help.

[fluffy]

hi there,

I was on Citalopram for two years, and came off four months ago. I was started on 10mg, but after about 10 days I went back to my GP as I felt as if my whole body was fizzing! He increased the dose to 20mg per day, and I felt much better after just a few days. Citalopram definitely helped me, and my GP left it to me to decide when I felt strong enough to consider coming off. Again, this was much easier than I imagined. There are a lot of horror stories about how difficult this is, but I tapered the dose down over about 8 wks, and had no problems at all. Stick with it, and I am sure that you will find it helps you,
take care x

[Cat80]

I was on Citalopram 20mg for 10 weeks and was still anxious and jittery and getting the start up side effects. My Dr told me to come off them as they should have gone after about 6-8 weeks and they obviously weren't the right ones for me (typical isn't it).

It's perfectly normal to feel more anxious when starting these types of medication and I'm sure it will settle down soon. It's just your bpdy adjusting.

[cb543]

Thanks for your replies everybody. My doctor has actually dropped the dosage from 20 to 10 now as after 5 days I was so ill I was nearly bedridden. This is my 3rd day of taking the 10mg and I already feel heaps better.