theeldertree
29-01-10, 09:33
I'm 22 and have had chronic anxiety for 2/3 years now. This year I have started university. It seems that going university and living in a whole new environment has tripled my anxiety and I got worse when I returned home for Christmas. Mainly because home was always something I longed for, yet it wasn't how I remembered it when I returned.
I thought it was about time I got professional help, so I visited the doctors and he prescribed me with 10mg of Citalopram. The first week on it was horrific, I developed really intense panic attacks and agrophobia. I couldn't go out of the house for a whole week and didn't go to lectures all that week as I couldn't bring myself to go outside for fear I was going to have a panic attack in public.
2nd week got better. I managed to get outside and travel to uni. I went to 4 lectures out of 8 in the week. Now I am in the 3rd week of citalopram and things have got worse again, I was okay a couple of days ago and now I'm not. I've missed so much of University, although I can view powerpoint lectures online, I still feel like i'm missing important information. I now am anxious that people will think I'm just being a lazy student and thinking that I just can't be bothered. It's literally like a wall against me and I can't go anywhere, trapped. This morning I freaked out and have had heart palpitations and cold sweats and I can't seem to calm myself down. I receive positive thinking therapy, it works for a while yet the negatives always outweigh the positives.
I am very surprised how supportive people at university have been, they have offered their help quite alot. Even though I know they haven't ever been through what I'm feeling now, it's nice to know that they care.
I am returning to the doctor Monday (3 days time) to discuss my medication and I don't know what will happen. Whether he will put me on something new or up my dose to 20mg.
The reason for me posting this is to just ask if anyone else out there is in a similar position to me, or have tried or is on citalopram and whether what I am experiencing is normal? Will things get better?
Thank you for reading.
Lucy
I thought it was about time I got professional help, so I visited the doctors and he prescribed me with 10mg of Citalopram. The first week on it was horrific, I developed really intense panic attacks and agrophobia. I couldn't go out of the house for a whole week and didn't go to lectures all that week as I couldn't bring myself to go outside for fear I was going to have a panic attack in public.
2nd week got better. I managed to get outside and travel to uni. I went to 4 lectures out of 8 in the week. Now I am in the 3rd week of citalopram and things have got worse again, I was okay a couple of days ago and now I'm not. I've missed so much of University, although I can view powerpoint lectures online, I still feel like i'm missing important information. I now am anxious that people will think I'm just being a lazy student and thinking that I just can't be bothered. It's literally like a wall against me and I can't go anywhere, trapped. This morning I freaked out and have had heart palpitations and cold sweats and I can't seem to calm myself down. I receive positive thinking therapy, it works for a while yet the negatives always outweigh the positives.
I am very surprised how supportive people at university have been, they have offered their help quite alot. Even though I know they haven't ever been through what I'm feeling now, it's nice to know that they care.
I am returning to the doctor Monday (3 days time) to discuss my medication and I don't know what will happen. Whether he will put me on something new or up my dose to 20mg.
The reason for me posting this is to just ask if anyone else out there is in a similar position to me, or have tried or is on citalopram and whether what I am experiencing is normal? Will things get better?
Thank you for reading.
Lucy