Citalopram Dosage.... very worried....!!

[crazyhayz]

Hi everyone, i asked for my meds to be upped yesterday as my anxiety has felt through the roof the past week, it really has crept right back in unfortunately :-( Anyway, I was on 20mg Citalopram, when i came out of the doctors i noticed on the prescription it said 40mg Citalopram!!?!! Why not 30mg??!! She also prescribed me some more Diazepam 2mg (i take these only if i feel very panicky and to help me sleep sometimes too if im having a bad night, i refuse to take them regularly because of possible addiction).

Anyway, so basically im worried about the sudden 20mg jump up with my Citalopram, mainly because of the side effects and possible heightened anxiety???? What can I expect with the 40mg and will the side effects be bad?? Im asking this because I personally think a 20mg rise is quite alot for my body to take so suddenly??!! What do u all think??? Ive only had anxiety for 5months, and have only been on Citalopram for 3 months.. im just worried its guna mess with my head a bit too much!!

I had extremely bad heightened anxiety for 2 weeks after i started Citalopram and it really was bad to the point where i packed my bags for the mental institute!! So i just feel really scared about the 40mg... maybe some reassurance is needed from anyone who has maybe been in the same situation???? Hope u can help... im going through such a bad time, i rly do think ive got MS at the moment and cant get it out of my mind :-(

Thanks everyone your all stars on here :) x

[Jannie2948]

Hi there crazyhayz, I too had my citalopram increased from 20mg to 40mg in one go. Started on 20mg about 6 months ago and also had heightened anxiety for the first 2 weeks. After six weeks felt somewhat better and then after 3 months roughly I was still anxious so Dr increased to 40mg. I too felt that it should only go to 30mg but he said that 40mg was the best dosage for anxiety/panic, which is what I suffer from. I never experienced of the initial side effects when increasing the dosage, just felt a bit spaced out kind of, nothing awful though. I was still able to work full-time. I've now been on 40mg for about 2 months and up until Tuesday, when I had a bad Dr's appointment, usual Dr on holiday and so had to see another one who made me feel bad. I can honestly say that I do feel much better, just having not such a good day today, but I am sure this will pass.

I also used to take 2mg of diazepam but the Dr I saw on Tuesday wouldn't give me any, and like you I only took them when I needed them, only if I was really anxious.

I would say don't be worried about the increased dosage, it was ok for me, but there are people on here who would say maybe take 30mg for a while. See how you feel.

I wish you all the very best

Jannie x x

[jothenurse]

My sister had 20 and then went to 40 with no problems. I can not handle SSRI's, but for some reason, she never had any side effects from them even when she started them.

[crazyhayz]

Thanks sooo much for your response jannie, sounds like uve gone through the exact same journey as me! My struggle at the moment is thinking i have MS....im absolutley convinced....i know i shouldnt be worried but as u probably know its hard not to when u have sooo many of the signs of something!! Im sat here now feeling not very anxious atall, but randomly keep getting fuzzy feeling sort of numbness in my right foot and leg, and parts of my hands...my body feels really weak... I just dont know what to think... im finding it very hard to believe its all anxiety. I feel so different to wot ive ever felt...i feel ill and my head on a different planet and buzzing inside my head :( i hate this... I feel sick everytime i stand up because the dizziness is so bad.... but i dont feel anxious!! i just cooked dinner and it all just started as i walked into the room ... Ive decided to take some diazepman and try to relax... i want the numbness to go away :( Guna start on the 40mg citalopram tomorrow, after reading your post im not concerned atall about starting it now , thankyou so much xxxx