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Hello,
I have been prescribed 10mg Citalopram for bad panic attacks/anxiety and depression resulting from these. I have read all manner of nasty side effects, including the fact they can actually make your anxiety worse, and I'm scared to take the first tablet!
I know it is also a small dose, but I am a fairly small person (about 5 foot 3 and a half and just over 8.5 stone), so I'm hoping it will work for me.
Just wanted to hear your positive/success stories really :-)
Thank you.
Catherine x
Hi Catherine :)
I too am 5ft 3 and about 8 and a half stone - I'm on 30mg a day at the moment! 10mg is the starting dose generally - if 10mg doesnt work there's plenty of scope to go up until they find the right dose for you.
Everyone is different with this kind of medication - some experience many side effects, others experience none at all. First time round I had very few side effects, this time round I had a bit of a worse time getting used to the medication, but I've come out the other side.
Yes it is true that they can make your anxiety worse before they help you, but its worth riding that out. Citalopram has been quite frankly wonderful for me and given me back the life that depression/anxiety took away from me.
It is also worth remembering that they are not an overnight cure - this time it took 8-12 weeks for me to feel the full benefits, first time round it was quite a bit faster. You'll start to see glimmers of positivity gradually as time goes on.
Hope that helps you!
Hi Catherine,
They're working for me! I started on 10mg for the first week to ease me into them, then went up to 20mg and recently my doc has increased me to 30mg although I've yet to have the prescription filled as I'm not entirely sure I need the extra.
My side effects were minimal. Here's what I did experience:
- Higher levels of anxiety for the first few days (but I felt so awful anyway that to be honest it didn't scare me, I knew to expect it and it was worth it as at least I felt I was doing something about it)
- Slight nausea and decreased appetite for a few days.
- About 2-3 weeks in I started to feel depersonalisation / derealisation but it passed after a few days.
- Felt quite tired for the first week or so - again this was a blessing for me as previously I had needed Zopiclone to sleep and I actually stopped needing these after a few days on the Cit.
I understand your fear but from reading some of your other posts I really think it's worth you giving them a go hun. Keep talking to us all through the side effects, I promise you everything you feel will have been felt by someone here before!
Feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat more about it xx
Hi Catherine,
I am another success story. :) I was on 10mg citalopram for 6 months. I have recovered well enough to come off them and I've been med free for 2 weeks now.
Rather than repeat myself, below are some links to my previous threads about my experiences.
My citalopram diary: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=119313
How I improved after 3 months: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=123640
My 6 month review: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=128428
How I felt after coming off: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=131039
List of things that are helping me with my anxiety: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=123446
I hope this helps!:)
I am currently on 20mg once a day, been on it for ten days and although the beginning was quite tough with nausea a lot, I can say that I am definitely feeling the benefits I feel much more calm and positive! Xxx
Hi Catherine, I'm extremely scared too about taking medication! I've not been prescribed any at the moment but I'm toying with the idea of going to the doctors and asking for Citalopram. I'm 5ft 4 (I think!) not sure on my weight as haven't weighed myself in a long time but probably around 8 stone. I have had severe anxiety since 14 (gradually has gotten worse to the point I'm now housebound) I have panic and all sorts of anxiety symptoms, OCD, phobia, social anxiety etc. I read your other post where you said you are reluctant to take brain altering drugs, this is how I feel too. I've tried to avoid medication and have done so far but haven't improved at all. I have done therapy throughout the years but it only helped short term and I reverted back to my old ways with the anxiety coming back. I don't have any advice but please let me know how you get on if you do decide to take them :)
Hi everyone,
Thank you very much for your comments - it is always encouraging to hear of other people who have got on well with medication. It took a lot of work (I was so nervous this morning I was a bit of a state), but I have bitten the bullet and taken my first tablet about an hour ago.
Fingers crossed it is the start of my recovery and offers me some more hope.
jayjoe18, I will keep you updated with how I get on :) I too have found therapy only helps short term, or when I am calm enough to take on board what is being said (at the moment difficult!). I will try and post again tomorrow. It has only been a little time, but I feel ok at the moment (touch wood) and haven't had any nasty side effects yet.
Catherine x
Hi Cathrine
Dont worry you will feel better and may not get any side effects at all not everybody does. The one thing to bear in mind is that it can take 10 - 13 days before you feel better. As for the dose trust your doctor. people usually are started on 10mg and the range is up to 80mg and it doesnt mean you will get side effects every time you increase the dose if necessary.
Good luck and dont worry you will be fine
do you take the tablets in the morning or night. just been given them and very worried
Just had the worst night ever. The one meal I tried to eat yesterday evening (just had soup at lunch to be safe) came back up until I was dry retching and there was nothing left. I have been shivering and hot on and and off and struggling to control my temperature. I woke practically every hour all night, and I am weak from exhaustion and being sick. My anxiety hit the roof overnight and was panicking more than ever this morning, and the tablet now seems to have given me diarrhoea as well. I know I need to hang in there, and I reluctantly took the second pill fairly recently, but I am sure now wasn't the best time to take them (with my anxiety so high anyway) - just got so desperate for help yesterday I caved in.
I am also on diazepam again (the doctor suggested 2mg 3 x daily as a starting dose, but I upped it to 5mg (she said this would be ok if I really needed to) and even that is not cutting through the extreme panic (it just frustrates me as it makes me even more tired, but I still can't sleep!).
mrsnobody and jayjoe18 - I don't want to scare you and many people have been fine on it. I had been reading around lots at the weekend and many people said the tablets worked wonders for them, and whilst side effects are common, they are not always as severe as mine and don't last (it was this that gave me the courage to try them). I just seem to react badly to SSRIs for some reason. I take my tablet at lunchtime just with a light snack so I don't feel too nauseous to begin with. It was only when I tried to eat a normal meal my stomach couldn't cope.
it concerns me because i have ibs and suffer vomiting and loose b/m normaly so they might not be a good choice for me
Hi mrsnobody :)
If you don't mind me asking, is this your first time on an antidepressant? It may be worth asking your doctor if there are any alternatives you can take if that is the case (there are lots of possibilities)? I don't know your background, but from experience I know a few people who are on other things such as amitryptiline, and they seem to not get the same stomach upsets etc. that the SSRIs give (admittedly I think one of these people has been on it long term for a while now, and I have been told that the stomach upsets caused by Citalopram tend to go away after the first few days - I'm hoping anyway!).
I'm sure you will be able to find something that suits you :)
Catherine x
hi catherine 84, i was on flouxetine first but side effects realy bad so they took me off it
Hi,
Just wondered if anyone took anything to get them through the initial side effects of the Citalopram? My breathing OCD anxiety has gone through the roof and I have constant butterflies in my stomach. I am taking 5mg Diazepam 3 times a day, but it doesn't do anything for my panic. I am stuggling to get to sleep at night and carry out basic tasks. I just feel more and more like I can't live like this. When I could have a glass of wine in the evening, it at least calmed me down for a while (I know this is not a long term solution, hence me being desperate for some meds which would help me instead), but now I feel like there is no escape. I would give anything just for a couple of hours respite right now. :weep: x
I just started Citalopram (10mg) on the 18th. So just over a week. I have never been on an antidepressant before and was very hesitant to start them. I'm still learning about anxiety/depression. All of this is so new to me. I've always been the girl that says "whatever happens, happens..just go with the flow".. I'm still not even sure why I all of a sudden feel the way I do. I got sick in the beginning of January, I had the flu, then a sinus infection and then a viral infection. I stopped eating, I laid in bed, I basically thought I'd be like that forever. It lasted the entire month and into February. I kept going into urgent cares, ER and to my primary doctor..I was hoping for some kind of fix. I just wanted to feel back to my normal self. A little back history about me..I lost my father in-law on July 21st 2015, he was only 55. Then my dad passed away just 5 days later on July 26th 2015. He was 64. It was the hardest year of my life. And I had gotten married just 9 months before. I was in a car accident in August 2016, and my husband was hit by a car while he was crossing a crosswalk a week before Thanksgiving (2016). I just don't get why I'm all of a sudden having anxiety/depression instead of getting it when these things were happening..is that just the way our bodies work? We just build stuff up until it's too much to handle? I just started seeing a counselor yesterday. I'm hoping between the meds & my counselor that I'll start to feel back to myself very soon. My biggest things are lack of interest in things I used to enjoy, not sleeping well (I wake up constantly and can't get back to sleep for awhile), no appetite (I've lost over 30 lbs since the beginning of January), racing thoughts..honestly the thoughts are what gets me. I just want them to stop. I try to think about something happy but I feel like the negative always wins. I'm not giving up on Citalopram. I'll see my doctor once I'm on them for a month. I haven't had a lot of side effects..except I think my thoughts have increased. Maybe that's normal until my body adjusts to the meds? I'm hopeful..which is better then I was a couple weeks ago. Any positive feedback would be appreciated.
Hi Stephanie. It might be better if you start your own thread on this subject as you will hopefully get more replies ��
I started (again) on the 18th as well... side-effects are very noticeable at first but will subside. Yesterday was a good day, 10 days in. Evenings are now good. Mornings are anxious and sleep is broken a bit in terms of waking uo, but this is decreasing.
Welcome to No More Panic, Stephanie :welcome:
What you describe is not uncommon. Anxiety disorders and depression often begin within 12-18 months of significant life events, death of a loved one, getting married, divorce, job loss, moving house, serious illness or accident, etc, and you've been hit by 4 of them in a short space of time. And I suspect the infections were what finally pushed you over the edge. In several respects, anxiety and depression are immune system disorders and they tend to flare when the system goes into overdrive. Patients treated with immune system boosting drugs such as interferon for viral diseases and cancers are now often also prescribed a SSRI because of this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephanie06
Both antidepressants and therapy should help with the thoughts and SSRIs tend to cause weight gain so you will likely soon regain the 30 lbs.Quote:
My biggest things are lack of interest in things I used to enjoy, not sleeping well (I wake up constantly and can't get back to sleep for awhile), no appetite (I've lost over 30 lbs since the beginning of January), racing thoughts..honestly the thoughts are what gets me. I just want them to stop.
Antidepressants can often make things worse initially because of the extra serotonin activity, but the brain and other affected organs usually adapt within a couple of weeks and the side-effects start to diminish. However, a positive response may take longer as these meds typically take 3-12 weeks to kick-in from when a therapeutic dose (20mg+ for citalopram) is first taken.Quote:
I haven't had a lot of side effects..except I think my thoughts have increased. Maybe that's normal until my body adjusts to the meds?
I've been on citalopram 3 times in my life. Each time for around 2 years. I usually end up quitting them at some point when I think I feel ok. Of course, I never am ok when quitting.
Doctors always start me on 10mg. I do notice some difference in my mood and behaviour. I will feel happy after a couple of weeks on 10mg. This quickly wears off though after a while.
I only ever remain on the 10mg during the transition to higher doses. For some reason I'm always moved up to 40mg.
Whilst there is short term positive benefit from 10mg it's not long lived.
Is that correct, because it makes a lot of sense when it comes to me and my own breakdown?Quote:
Originally Posted by panic_down_under
Well a lot of people seem to think it's correct. Google: anxiety OR depression "life event"Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo61
Was off work with stress. Took 10mg for 4 weeks then up to 20mg. Been on ever since. Awful side effects for 3 weeks and didn't start working until 12 weeks. Much better now. Back at work. Still on tablets but coping. Stick with it!!
That's great Andy getting back to work really helps me improve faster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Catherine84
Hi just wondering how you are feeling now? Have you noticed any improvement? I'm new to citalopram it's the first time I've taken anti depressants so just hopeing these awful side effects subside! X
Hello,
I have just begun to take 10mg of Citalopram. Last night was the third time that I took it. The first night was difficult as I woke up at 4:30am in a panic, needing Alprazolam to calm down. Since that night I have been taking the Clonazepam (.5mg) I was prescribed with the Citalopram and once I start to feel the Clonazepram working, I am out like a light. I sleep deeply and for many hours, and tend to wake up a bit groggy.
My concern is the slight nausea I feel when I wake up, I try to drink a lot of water knowing I'm likely dehydrated from the hours in bed, but nausea has been one of the triggers for my panic attacks, and I'm concerned that this will not go away. I'm due to return to work in just under one month and fear that I will not be adjusted to do so.
Yesterday I took .5mg of Clonazepam when I woke up to mitigate this food related nausea/anxiety but it ended up making me sleep for about 4 more hours, and while this is fine for now, it will not be once the school year begins again and I need to report to work.
Can anyone relate to this? Just feeling somewhat lost in this new journey...