First day citalopram

Hi, this is my first post for about 4 years on here. I was previously on fluoxitine for anxiety and depression but it took 4 months on flux before I started to feel normal again, and I'm not willing to go through that again. So this time Im on cipramil.
My mum recently passed away closely followed by my lovely dog who we had for 15 years. I'm a single mum who works so I'm tired but did find it hard coping with so many changes all at once! I thought I was coping ok, on the surface at least - managing to go to work, keep house, pay bills etc. But these last couple months I started with Vivid dreams, nightmares, waking up 2,3,4 times a night. I'd feel a little anxiety about losing my mum but it was just mainly feeling sad and a bit lost, by morning I was ok,, back to business, going to work, sorting the kids out etc. So I thought I was coping....
Then the dreams became more frequent, dreams of end of world scenarios, my kids in danger or me dying, becoming ill, just hellish stuff in general and last night after waking from one of these nightmares I had my first full on anxiety attack. The first for many years.
My doctor previously prescribed citalopram when my mum passed away but I didn't take them as the sickness I felt for those 24 hours was awful, I can work through pain or mild anxiety, but sickness is a definate no for me, I cannot function when i feel sick. At the time it was something I just felt I couldn't cope with, on top of the bereavement. Anyway last night did.it for me and I realised I needed to start the cipramil. So I'm lay here, in bed, no sleep, feeling absolute sick to my stomach after just taking my first dose of citalopram. Can anyone please tell me does this sickness last long. I'm off work till next teusday and I'm hoping the sickness at least wears off for then. I can work.through tiredness but not this.
X

For me, the worst of the nausea wore off within a few days, and it was completely gone within ten days, so by those measures you should just about be okay.

I'm sorry you've had such an abysmal time of it. ADs do different things for different people, but if you have the tiredness and nausea it's sounding as though you're probably reacting to it a bit like I did. That said, while I hate feeling nauseous it doesn't stop me functioning - my problem when I began it was feeling stoned for a day or two, which led to me taking half a day off work when I upped my dosage.

Wish you well, and hope you start feeling better soon.

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Originally Posted by Amaajovich

Hi, this is my first post for about 4 years on here.

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:welcome: back to NMP,

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My mum recently passed away closely followed by my lovely dog who we had for 15 years.

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My condolences on your loss.

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So I'm lay here, in bed, no sleep, feeling absolute sick to my stomach after just taking my first dose of citalopram. Can anyone please tell me does this sickness last long. I'm off work till next teusday and I'm hoping the sickness at least wears off for then. I can work.through tiredness but not this.
X

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If you were prescribed citalopram in 20mg tablets ask your GP to okay taking only half a tablet for the first week.

Unfortunately, all serotonergic ADs may cause nausea at the beginning. The gut is the most serotonergic organ of the body by far making about 50 times as much serotonin as the brain. The enteric nervous system (ENS), the mini brain which controls the gut can be more affected initially by serotonergic ADs than the brain is. This usually soon settles down as bio-feedback mechanisms kick-in and begin down-regulating serotonin synthesis and expression. Meanwhile, ginger and/or vitamin B6 supplements are often effective.

Thankyou for replying to my post. I'm on my second day now. Spent all day yesterday feeling very sick. Another wierd side effect I have noticed which came more or less an hour or two after taking my first dose is a feeling of my head and ears being 'full'. I have slight ringing in m ears and the only way I can describe the feeling is a fuzzy full feeling in them. It's not too bad but the ringing does annoy me at night when I'm trying to relax and sleep I find it increases my anxiety a lot! I just tried taking deep breaths and calming myself but it does make me worried as iv had this sound in my ears 24 hours now and it's not gone. Has anyone got any good tips in how to calm myself when I feel panic or anxiety coming on? I know I have a long way to go before my citalopram start to work so really could do with coping strategies to help me till then. Any ideas are welcome..👍x

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Originally Posted by Amaajovich

It's not too bad but the ringing does annoy me at night when I'm trying to relax and sleep I find it increases my anxiety a lot! I just tried taking deep breaths and calming myself but it does make me worried as iv had this sound in my ears 24 hours now and it's not gone.

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Ringing in the ears, tinnitus, isn't an infrequent initial side-effects of all ADs, indeed of many medications generally, but it does occur (SSRIs are also been prescribed to treat tinnitus). It is usually short-lived, but can linger for some. If it continues for more than a few days I suggest you contact your GP for advice. Taking one of the benzodiazepines for a couple of days may stop the ringing.

Another option would be to switch to the almost identical AD escitalopram. Citalopram is made up of two isomers, the 'S' form of citalopram, i.e. escitalopram, which is the active component, and a 'R' mirror image form which is a poorer fit biologically and so is mostly inactive. Escitalopram is more refined and only contains the 'S' isomer. This relatively small difference can produce differing side-effects so it is often worth switching from one to the other to side step a persistent problem.