I'm here on behalf of my 82 year old father

[DadsNotWell]

Hi there,

I found this site while researching the side effects of Citalopram on behalf of my 82 year old father who's suddenly - well, over the last couple of months - developed symptoms of increasingly extreme anxiety.

His GP has prescribed him 10 mgs of Citalopram,but upon reading the small print (my father's a retired GP himself) dad saw a potential side-effect that reminded him of an unpleasant experience he had with the anti-malarial, Larium, some years ago and thus refused to take the meds.

The irony of this of course is that his anxiety is inevitably leading him to worrying about the medication, which in turn means he won't take it, which in turn means he gets worse. A catch 22 if ever there was one.

He has spoken to his GP who tried to reassure him, and suggested he start on 5 mgs which initially dad agreed to, but then wouldn't take it last night.

I seriously doubt he will improve without some prescribed help, given his age, and so I promised him I'd do some online research into a) the likely side-effects and b) any alternatives to Citalopram that people might be able to suggest.

Which is how I come to be here, grateful for all or any help and advice any of your moderators or users may have, especially in the treatment of severe anxiety in the very elderly.

(I'm also encouraging him to return to his GP as soon as possible to seek an alternative med.)

With many thanks in advance for your help,

DNW

[diane07]

Hi DadsNotWell

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[bottleblond]

Hi there

Welcome along to NMP!! :)

Is there any chance your Dads GP can prescribe him another medication?
Also try looking into when your dad feels particularly anxious, is there a trigger, a situation, time, place or just general?

I hope we can give you lots of support!

Lisa
x

[DadsNotWell]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your reply.
Regarding triggers etc, I think sadly that his failing memory has been the most significant trigger.
He's really aged in the last year in terms of slowing up both physically and mentally and I suspect that being a retired Doctor means he's all too aware what that implies.
Consequently his anxiety ranges from the general, fairly atypical symptoms like feeling he's let my Mother down, he's hopeless, etc etc to the more specific like money worries (which he doesn't have).
I think a particular trigger was an unfortunate incident recently when he was driving when a lorry bumped into the back of their car twice (I think the driver must have been falling asleep). Miraculously they were unharmed, and the car barely damaged, but it really knocked his confidence and Mum said that while she'd begun to notice a change in him before that, the incident really accelerated his anxiety.
In terms of times of anxiety, I've just stayed with them for 5 days and he's definitely worse in the mornings, and most afternoons/evenings returns to something like his old self.
The symptoms of his anxiety are a constant rereading of papers at his desk, an inability to rest or relax for any length of time, some confusion, a reluctance to converse and then when doing so, struggling to complete sentences or stay on the one subject, and a general sense of 'being somewhere else' mentally.
His specific anxieties are often quite irrational and unimportant, but having suffered from depression myself I realise this is quite normal.
However his failing memory definitely doesn't help because of course he can't remember whether he's done things like cancel direct debits, reinsured the car etc etc and then worries about them.
I suspect he's also scared, which certainly won't help.

Sorry to bang on, but as you can probably tell, his family are really concerned for him because we hate to see him so distressed and are keen to find something to ease his anxiety as soon as possible.

If you've got this far, then thanks for reading and agin I'd just like to say how grateful I am for all your support and advice,

Best wishes,
DNW

[bottleblond]

Awwww the poor man!
I am no expert by any means but i do have a friend on the site who works with the elderly and would probably be of some good help for you so i will speak to her first chance i get.

I know it's very difficult though for the elderly when they start to forget things ect. They can become confused which is so frustrating and that can cause anxiety and it is very difficult on loved ones too.

I will talk to my friend asap and ask if she could reply here or even send you a pm.

Thinking of you all

Lisa
x

[DadsNotWell]

Thanks Lisa, really appreciate your help and it would be great to get some advice from your friend.
My brother spoke to a friend whose mum had had similar problems and was prescribed Citalopram and apparently it worked a treat, which has apparently reassured dad a little.
However whether it'll encourage him sufficiently to take 5 mlgs tonight is anyone's guess!
I presume that C, like other SSRIs, takes a while to kick in so the longer he doesn't take it, the longer it'll be before he gets any relief which only makes it worse of course.

Anyway, thank so much again for your replies,

Happy New Year!
DNW

[andrea thompson]

hiya hon
i really sympathise with you. my nanna is 80 years old and she suffers with anxiety. like your dad she is worse in the mornings and seems to recover as the day goes on and is more like her normal self in the evenings. my auntie takes care of her and sorts out her meds and things i dont really know what she takes. i know she does lots of relaxation, listens to tapes etc... she does lots of distraction exercises.. this seems to help a lot. i can ask my auntie to message you with more information if that would help. just message me anything you would like me to ask her.

i do know my nanna took citalopram for a short period and she said they were marvelous - no side affects.

i myself have just recently started with citalopram and again they have done wonders - feeling much better. slight side affects but nothing to moan about... there is someone on here called psycopoet and he has posted some information about citalopram maybe that would help.

take care - just private message me if you want ifo about my nannas meds off my auntie.

andrea x x

[aussieboy]

hi there,
sorry to hear about your dad. i suffer from bad anxiety and i actually found the SSRI's increased my anxiety. everyone's different but for me mirtazapine was much better. (the generic name is Avanza in OZ but i think it's called something else overseas). the only side effect was increased appetite and sleepiness. Might be worth considering.
all the best.

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi , My dad is also a retired doctor, and he displays signs of anxiety , although he would never admit it , i know he has it. Ignorance is bliss , is never a more true saying ! Aussieboy is talking about Mirtazipin , which is also known in the UK as Zispin. I have taken this for depression and i can tell you it was my saving grace , good for anxiety as well. Citalapram seems to be a common anxiety treatment used for the elderly I personally do not have experience of it , but as I work with the elderly, the only thing i can tell you is that the patients i work with there seems to be a good response with that particular drug, Just some feedback for you that's all. Good Luck

[DadsNotWell]

Hi Andrea, AussieBoy and Paige,

thank you all so much for taking the time and trouble to respond - it's incredibly helpful and reassuring to know there's others out there!

I shall pass all this on to mum & dad and I know it'll reassure them that this episode is treatable, and not the beginnings of the decline into something much worse, like Alzheimer's which I know is what they both fear the most.

Happy new year to you all, and thanks again,

DNW

[Southern_Belle]

Hi DNW,

Welcome to NMP. I don't have any material or advice to give you but did want to welcome you to the site and to just add that I am glad you found us. I do hope your Dad feels better soon.

Best wishes,

Laura

[DadsNotWell]

Dad's now started getting severe stomach pain and almost uncontrollable diarrhea (I've never been able to spell that word correctly...). He's been taking 10mgs of Citaliopram for at most a week now (hard to calculate as his anxiety led him to be suspicious of the meds and Mum only took control of administering them on Wednesday.

Does anyone else have experience of this as a Citalopram side-effect?
Or is it an anxiety side effect?

Grateful for any advice,

Thank you,
DNW

[Midnight]

Hi DNW,

It sounds like an anxiety symptom to me. Anxiety can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. I imagine his anxiety has increased due to his suspicion of the meds which has lead to the digestive problems. Citalopram has the common side affect of increasing anxiety before improving it. After two weeks on them his anxiety levels should start to decrease.

Keep reassuring him that he needs to give the meds time to work and he will feel a little worse before getting better. If he still feels bad after 3-4 weeks he should re-visit his GP.

Hope he feels better soon,
Midnight

[june]

:welcome:you sound so sensible and caring:hugs:
could you have a word with your das GP? you know your dads symptoms and fears.:weep:
I have done this with my husbands gp - at first they are a bit wary - but i told him that hubby will be evasive with answers - the "i'm alright, don't worry so much" his head aches got worse leading to MRI, CT scans now he is on strong meds waiting to see specialist on thurs.
IF i had not 'interfered' hubby would still be in a lot of pain, isolating himself in the front room for watching wild life DVDs (wich i don't like) is his excuse.
I also suffer from major panic and on going anxiety BUT like a mother hen will fight for people to understand my fears and not try to persuade me to take meds i am unsure of - like your dad if he does not trust the med it will probably make his anxiety worse.
:blush:Hope this makes sense.
Best wishes
June
:hugs: