still no appetite!

[vanadium]

So it's one week since my big panic attack (and soon two weeks since my surgery), and my appetite level is still very low. I still haven't gained any weight that I went away from the incident/surgery, and I'm starting to feel antsy.

I feel very tired, and sleep a lot. I've been on Citalopram for about a week now, and it still has no effect. Maybe I'm just expecting things to move faster, but it's getting hard feeling like this all the time.

[freakedout]

Hi vanadium,

I looked back at some of your posts to see what has been happening and I am sorry for what you have been experiencing. If you have had your kidney and appendix removed then you have a quite a big operation and the whole ordeal and anxiety of being an in-patient, full dependant on others to care for you, and the anaesthetic etc it is no wonder that you have been pacing the corridors. This whole ordeal would be enough to trigger the panic attack I think. I had minor surgery in April this year and was very anxious beforehand and knew that psychologically it would be more traumatic to me than physically. I felt shocked and violated post-surgery and laid staring into space for a whole two hours freaked out!! within a couple of weeks of my surgery I was having full blown panic attacks and developed agoraphobic avoidance. I have not been back to work since.

I take citalopram at the moment, I do not find that it helps my appetite at all, although remember drugs affect us all in different ways. You will be hopeful for a quick effect from the medication but they are not usually therapeutic until at least 2 weeks after you have started taking them, so try to be patient. I think also that the positive effects of anti-depressants is usually quite gradual and you will not really notice a sudden change I dont think.

I am not meaning to be negative, but realistic. You must pat yourself on the back for courageously going through with that surgery, and appreciate that surgery does take a lot out of you physically and emotionally.

The citaloprm may be making you feel very tired and sleepy, it did with me initially but you will soon tolerate those side-effects and hopefully will feel less tired in a couple of weeks or so. Do the tablets make you feel nauseas? I take mine in the evening before going to bed, although they are prescribed to be taken in the morning.

I hope that you feel a little better soon, I know every day seems a long day when your feeling down or unwell. Hang on in there, and be kind to yourself.

I hope this is of some use to you, Louisa

[Meg]

You're trying to rush things.

Citaprolam takes several weeks to kick in and having surgery uses a lot of energy to recover and heal so be a bit more gentle and kind to yourself for the next few weeks

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[vanadium]

yeah, I thought so. I just can't sit still, I feel so vegitated (sp).

and yes, I feell very nauseas.

[emmalou]

I went through a stage where I lost my appetite completely and when I did eat I generally threw it back up. I went to the doctors in the end cos I lost loads of weight and that was increasing my anxiety. She prescribed me with some supplement drinks to make sure I was getting some nutrition while I couldn't eat. Once I started taking the drinks I stopped worrying about my weight loss as much and the fact I couldn't keep anything down and my appetite slowly returned but it does take time and won't happen overnight. Meg kindly advised me to eat little and often, such as a banana or a yoghurt for a snack during the day. I also drank a couple of build up milk shakes every day which are a good source of vitamins and minerals and should help you gain some weight. You just have to eat what you can. I've been eating Snickers&Mars ice creams, basically anything with lots of calories in to help me put the weight back on and gradually its coming back so you can do it.

I'm on citalopram and it does take a good few weeks to kick in. I know it's hard but hang in there, you're gonna be fine.

Look after yourself

Emma

[Arclite]

Since I started taking Citalopram three weeks ago I have lost alot of my appetite. I didn't have much of one to start with, but when i took my first few doses of Citalopram I lost all interest in food for days, lost 10% of my body weight and was almost bed ridden for 3 days.

Three weeks on I'm slowly putting weight back on, but I still don't get hungry. I eat three meals and two snacks a day, but I eat because I feel I need to, not because I'm hungry.

Hopefully once the Citalopram has started to kick in this will return...