Hi all would be good to hear from others? 6 weeks tomorrow, 25 days on 20mg. Still not feeling great - in fact very depressed today. Just wondering when it’s ever going to kick in
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Hi all would be good to hear from others? 6 weeks tomorrow, 25 days on 20mg. Still not feeling great - in fact very depressed today. Just wondering when it’s ever going to kick in
Yes, I had loads of those "what if the meds don't work this time around?" thoughts. I dealt with those thoughts by reminding myself that there are several medications available other than citalopram, so even if it doesn't work this time, there is bound to be one which does.
It was very tough. However, I think there is a very high probability you'll see an improvement before Christmas. You may not be totally 100% by then, but you will probably feel better than you do now.
Anyone else on 30mg of citalopram? How do you find it? Did you have side effects going up from 20 to 30? I have been on citalopram before but only ever on 20 but it hasn’t worked that well this time and it looks like I’m going to have to go up which I am very nervous about.
many thanks
I am no doctor -and you should always speak to them for advice rather than me. But when I went up from 20mg to 40mg on fluoxetine - I had one bad night but otherwise was absolutely fine x
Thanks Sally - are you on 40 now?
I went once to 30mg in the past and have to say it made me so tired that I couldn’t function properly, so lasted only few days, saying that , that was the only side effect from that dose increase I had.
I am also still having trouble sleeping after 8 and half weeks, 6 on 20. Wake during the night for short periods then wake at 5.
As per my previous post, sleep issues, especially insomnia, are among the more common SSRI/SNRI side-effects, especially at the beginning. They do usually diminish after a while, but can linger in some. The usual treatment is low doses of a sedating antihistamine such as mirtazapine, doxepin, or trazodone taken about an hour before lights out. Melatonin may also work.
If this persists another possibility is switching to escitalopram (Lexapro) instead. Citalopram and escitalopram share the same active chemical, the 'S' isomer of citalopram, aka escitalopram, with citalopram also containing the mostly inactive 'R' mirror image form which is a poorer fit biologically and so is mostly inactive. While they perform nearly identically in treating anxiety/depression their side-effects can be different. No guarantees, but there is a good chance the sleep issues may diminish with escitalopram. Because they are essentially the same med there should be no traumas when switching overnight, nor should kick-in be affected.
Thanks PDU. I’m still get the occasional burning sensation anxiety spell thing too. I know it’s a side effect as I didn’t get it before the meds and it was much worse at the beginning. Do you think that is likely to go?