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Have been on the above for 3 half weeks now. First 2 weeks I was on 10mg, didnt notice anything for about 3 days then bang; tiredness, fatigue , dry mouth, indigestion - the list goes on. The Dr increased me to 20mgs and have been on this for 8 days, but I feel though I am getting more anxious and nervous, especially upon waking in the morning. I take the pill in the mornings. My Dr has said, give them ago it will probably be another week or so until they kick in, but I honestly cannot say I that I have any benefit from taking these pills. I should also add that I am on Zopiclone too, 7.5mg every night. Anyone had similar experience?
They didn't work for me at all but you are still in the early days and are experiencing the common start up side effects. Try taking them with food and give them a good 6 weeks before deciding of they are right for you. I was on them for 10 weeks but was still having all the side effects. They do work great for some people though
I felt the same when I started citalopram but it really did help after a while. It may well be worth you sticking with it. My GP also advised me to take it in the morning.
I take zopiclone but only 3.75 mg.
I found the citalopram thread on here invaluable, it may help you too?
Citalopram are the mosty popular choice for anxiety. They work on the majority of people but some people it doesnt work for. Ive been taking Citalopram for 2 months now. Like you, i started on 10mg, didnt do anything. Just took the edge of my panic attacks. Upped to 20mg and OH BOY i felt like a nervous wreck for almost 2 weeks. My anxiety heightened so badly i thought i was losing the plot! But i gave them a chance to properly kick in with my body, then after 2.5 weeks, i FINALLY realised how much they were working. My whole mood was uplifted and i felt amazing, my anxiety was curbed but still creeping, but i managed to just tell myself its trying to creep in and beat me and i WONT LET IT, this worked loads. Citalopram has been a lifesaver for me. Give it another week and if no change, see your doctor. People are quick to jump to conclusions and assume meds just arent working, but sometimes its because they arent giving it enough time. My doctor really had to assure me to give it more time cozi was freakin out about feelings of 'going mad'. Basically, for some people it can take 2-3 months to get properly into the brain and body, and people get impatient and suffer with horrible side effects, and all they want is a medication to work almost instantly, like i did!! lol!! But hang on in there, it is a good medication for anxiety, one of the best around, so fingers crossed it starts to work for you. Keep us updated :)
All citalopram did to me in the first couple of weeks was make me constantly anxious, and I'm taking it for depression. But after about 4 or 5 weeks it started to help. It didn't quite do the trick so I had to up my dose. Now I don't laugh or cry much but it's better than being suicidal.
I know it's hard, but you can't knock it til you've hit the 6 week mark. x
Have been on the above for 3 half weeks now. First 2 weeks I was on 10mg, didnt notice anything for about 3 days then bang; tiredness, fatigue , dry mouth, indigestion - the list goes on. The Dr increased me to 20mgs and have been on this for 8 days, but I feel though I am getting more anxious and nervous, especially upon waking in the morning. I take the pill in the mornings. My Dr has said, give them ago it will probably be another week or so until they kick in, but I honestly cannot say I that I have any benefit from taking these pills. I should also add that I am on Zopiclone too, 7.5mg every night. Anyone had similar experience?
Hi There
I was started on Citalopram 20mg, 5 weeks ago for chronic anxiety and panic attacks. My first 3 weeks were hell - sorry but I don't think this should be sugar-coated. My anxiety which to begin with, was chronic, went through the roof! I thought I knew what anxiety was until I started Citalopram. Total depersonalization / derealization followed all whilst feeling like a complete zombie. I have only started to feel more "normal" over the past week. I was also on Zopiclone 7.5mg because I had developed sleep anxiety and could not get to sleep at all, after a solid week of no sleep, it all got too much. The Zopiclone helped initially but I found that if I took it for more than 2 days in a row, I would suffer severe mood swings, I also did not tolerate the hangover effect too well. Reading up on the horror stories of Zopiclone addiction, also convinced me that I did not want to be on it long term. I switched to Atarax / Vistaril 25mg, which is an antihistamine and is actually used to treat anxiety - it does not build up physical addiction and the sleep is natural as opposed to the synthetic Zopiclone-induced sleep which I found was totally dreamless and likened to being anesthetized.
Apologies for rambling on there. It is totally natural for your anxiety to increase in the first 2 - 3 weeks of starting Citalopram, after 3 weeks however it will be gone. My idiot of a doctor didn't know that and I only found this out after researching it. I have been told that the drug takes 4 - 6 weeks before you start to feel any benefit. I felt benefit after 4 weeks and after 5 weeks, I'm a little bit better still but nowhere close to being back to my old self. The full benefits of Citalopram can apparently take up to 12 weeks to be felt. So hang in there. I've given myself 8 weeks - if I still don't feel good after that time, I shall asked for my dose to be increased. I hope this helps you.
Take care of you
Rich
Thanks to all of you for your messages. Next Tuesday will be the 2 weeks for being on the 20mg and I can totally agree with Crazyhaz that my anxiety shot through the roof after about 3-4 days on the 20mg. It still continues to be heighten and worst in the morning. I mentioned this to the dr on Tuesday and she was on about increasing the dose to 40mg, which I declined. I will keep with it and update how I get on. Thanks again
I've been 20Mg Cit for about eight weeks, with minimal side effects but it does take a while to kick in. When it does it hits the button. My wife went to collect my pescription yesterday and my darlin' daughter (aged 14 who may make 15 if lucky!) asked what they were picking up. Mum replied dad's medicaion. What's that asked daughter. Dad's happy pills replies mum to very large knowing smile form receptionist behind counter who they know fairly well. Oh that's good says darlin' daughter.
Until it does kick in beware of the placebo effect. The day after I took my first pill I felt the best I had for a good while but it was a false positive due to the psychological effect of actually seeing the doc about the problem.
As for what the side effcts are likely to be; always read the leaflet inside the box of pills or ask your pharmacist.
One or two words of warning though; the mood uplift may be sufficient for men to be conned by their brain that it is time to do the DIY that's been waiting for the past ten years. Above all resist such temptations :mad:. Ladies on the other hand have been known to do piles and piles of ironing without complaint. This is a good thing.
one of us (running rapidly out of building)
Brilliant post, Oneofus :) It made me laugh.
I had to see a locum GP a couple of years ago when I was going through a really awful time with anxiety. He was very understanding, helpful and kind and his reassurance made me feel so much better. He even walked to the surgery door with me and shook my hand. As I was walking out he said loudly to me, and to the crowded reception area, "Don't forget, you are not going mad!" I didn't stop to register the looks on the other patients' faces, I ran!
Et touche! He probably did that to make sure you got some exercise running home:ohmy:
one of us
hahahaha!!! brill post!! yes it will calm down MightyPC, deffo keep us updated, i find citalopram amazing, and so do many people ive spoke to about it, but it is a b*#!?*d for making your anxiety shoot right up lol. It will get better though, i love my meds hahhaa that sounds really bad doesnt it lol!!
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