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View Full Version : Side-effects and Dealing with flu on citalopram



BunnyMazonas
11-11-09, 22:19
I don't know if anyone else has experienced this so just wanted to put this out there and see! Nothing came up when I searched so I apologise if this has already been addressed.

So, I started citalopram about 2 weeks ago. Started on 10mg, then moved up to 20mg after 1 week. Emotionally I am already feeling much, much better. My anxiety attacks have stopped, haven't even had my night-time terror issues, I'm sleeping, haven't felt the need to cry or self-harm and the constant, daily stresses of life are just washing over me. I feel happy! So happy... I didn't realise how bad I was until now that I can compare how I felt a month ago to this!

Side effects have been... interesting. I've always had problems with appetite after years of dieting - I rarely feel hunger so can sometimes forget to eat, cannot eat before 09:30 without feeling ill most of the time. I sometimes get very mild hypoglycaemic episodes - well the pills have made this worse.

I feel no hunger, and then will SUDDENLY need to eat RIGHT NOW. When I do start to eat I am ravenous. I'll wake up and within 30 minutes I feel nausea, dizziness and weakness which only goes away once I force myself to eat. I now need to eat every 2 hours (even if just some fruit... just SOMETHING) to avoid getting weak and woozy, and any mildly strenuous physical activity just does me in. I also get... well, I can only describe it as the sensation when one has overindulged in alcohol and you have to hold onto the floor to keep from falling off the world. That facial tingling, dizziness, weakness. I am also finding it harder to concentrate at work. I have a constant, very mild headache ( a sort of background headache - ignorable but there). I have also lost a lot of motivation and energy.

The diet thing I was dealing with okay - keeping a stock of small pieces of fruit, a jar of peanut butter and some biscuits on hand for sudden food-needing.

Anyway, I've managed to come down with the flu, or possibly just a bad cold. I get these 2-3 times a year, usually with a throat or chest infection, and generally know how to deal with them, but this time it has totally knocked me out. All the citalopram symptoms are just piled on with the flu symptoms and it leaves me useless. I made it into work today, was sent home within an hour because I couldn't think straight enough to ARTICULATE what symptoms I was experiencing, slept until mid-afternoon and even then had to force myself up. And my appetite is now completely shot, so I am constantly feeling weak but feel unable to eat. I'm subsisting mainly on sweet hot drinks.

Has anyone else dealt with these symptoms and seasonal illness? If anyone has any coping tips I would be really grateful.

suzy-sue
14-11-09, 01:08
[SIZE="3"]Good to hear your emotional state is better Bunny m .You are still suffering from the side effects tho .They will go with time .The food issue was the same with me .You are doing the best thing by eating small ammounts at regular intervals .Give it time and you will feel you dont need to do this so often .Pasta and wholemeal foods ,crackers brown bread will give you a longer period of not having to eat so often ,as thet are slow release foods ,and of course fresh fruit ..Too much raw sugar will only make you more tired .Try drinking smoothies and complan [milk shakes esecially now you are not well .Also yoghurts and rice pudding .I found I felt worse too when I had a cold when it was early days on Cit .Just eat something from the things I mentioned and take Paracetamol .Getting plenty of sleep will help you get better .Drink plenty and you will be fine ...Once you have stabilised on the Cit in about 4 weeks maybe 6 ,You will feel so much better . Hope you feel better soon ,Take care luv Sue /SIZE]:hugs:x

BunnyMazonas
14-11-09, 22:54
Hi Suzy-Sue,

Thank you for the info. I am trying to eat proper food as much as possible... I will try to take in more dairy too, if that will help. I'd been avoiding it until now because it seemed too rich.

Blegh. Today was a bad day for side effects. I've been getting the waves of weakness and dizzy way more often today - Last week I ended up missing 3 days of work because I was feeling too weak and sick to do anything, so instead of taking the whole pill in one go I've been having half in the morning and half in the evening... effects are easier - no more peaks and troughs... but the dizzy weakness is more frequent. Goo to know it gets better with time. I'll just stick with it and hopefully will adapt soon.