kj
06-06-11, 10:42
Hello All, any help at all would be much appreciated.
I started taking citalopram about 12 days ago. I used to take 40mg, but I stoppped completely about a year ago. My doctor has told me to restart it again due a bad relapse with my anxiety. Because I had taken it before, he said I could build it up very quickly, with 4 days on 10mg, 4 days on 20mg, 4 days on 30mg and then up to 40mg.
By the time I reached 30mg I was feeling absolutely terrible, worse than I could cope with, and I went back to see the doctor. He looked at my notes from last time, and said that when I took it before, I built up extremely gradually, from 5mg - 40mg over the space of 2 months or more. I am quite a small female, and he apologised, because he said that he had assumed wrongly that this time I could build it up the dose much more quickly than before.
He then told me to go right back to 5mg again, and then build up gradually. But when I said I was worried about withdrawal (I am already taking 30mg), he said perhaps go to 20mg, and 'experiment' with the dose. I know from previous citalopram use, that experimenting with the dose can cause horrible effects. So I ended up feeling a bit lost.
He has now prescribed diazapam and sleeping tablets too. Both are helping somewhat, but I have woken up this morning feeling absolutely horrendous. I also don't want to take too much diazapam because it is addictive, and I have to go to work. I don't know how I am going to keep going. I have perservered with the 30mg of citalopram because I don't want withdrawal, or to take steps back when I know I'm going to have built it up again at some point anyway. But I feel like I've reached a new low, and I don't know what to do.
Has anyone had any kind of similar experience, that they could just let me know that I'm not alone in this?
xx
I started taking citalopram about 12 days ago. I used to take 40mg, but I stoppped completely about a year ago. My doctor has told me to restart it again due a bad relapse with my anxiety. Because I had taken it before, he said I could build it up very quickly, with 4 days on 10mg, 4 days on 20mg, 4 days on 30mg and then up to 40mg.
By the time I reached 30mg I was feeling absolutely terrible, worse than I could cope with, and I went back to see the doctor. He looked at my notes from last time, and said that when I took it before, I built up extremely gradually, from 5mg - 40mg over the space of 2 months or more. I am quite a small female, and he apologised, because he said that he had assumed wrongly that this time I could build it up the dose much more quickly than before.
He then told me to go right back to 5mg again, and then build up gradually. But when I said I was worried about withdrawal (I am already taking 30mg), he said perhaps go to 20mg, and 'experiment' with the dose. I know from previous citalopram use, that experimenting with the dose can cause horrible effects. So I ended up feeling a bit lost.
He has now prescribed diazapam and sleeping tablets too. Both are helping somewhat, but I have woken up this morning feeling absolutely horrendous. I also don't want to take too much diazapam because it is addictive, and I have to go to work. I don't know how I am going to keep going. I have perservered with the 30mg of citalopram because I don't want withdrawal, or to take steps back when I know I'm going to have built it up again at some point anyway. But I feel like I've reached a new low, and I don't know what to do.
Has anyone had any kind of similar experience, that they could just let me know that I'm not alone in this?
xx