citalopram round 2

Hi all.

I was on citalopram a couple of years ago for 6 months for depression. My then partner regularly harmed himself and made attempts to end his life, which had a profound effect on me, resulting in me having citalopram and CBT.

For the last 2 years i have felt like i have my life back. New job, new man etc etc and i have been really happy.

However, in the last 3/4 months, i have been having panic attacks when i go to bed at night, and haven't slept properly for months often still being awake at 3 in the morning feeling anxious and scared to go to sleep. My thing this time round is the thought of going to sleep and not waking up again.

My Doctor has put me back on Citalopram (which i started this morning) on a dose of 10mg. Has anyone had any experience with going back onto citalopram? Feeling a bit scared about it but i know it helped me last time so im really willing it to work again this time round!

Laura x

Hi Laura, I'm on a second round of cit too, also 10 mg for anxiety. My anxiety seems to kick in most at bedtime too, I also wake up anxious! Currently on day six and feeling a bit better gradually every day. I just take heart from the fact that last time round(4 1/2 years ago) I was much worse and on 20 mg but felt a lot better within 3 weeks. It is just a day at a time and be thankful for every little achievement. Hope you get over your fears and remember it does work!

Thanks for your reply Susan!

Took my first one this morning and can't stop yawning and started clenching my jaw everytime I yawn (this happened to me last time!). I do remember it subsiding after a few days so fingers crossed!

Last time i was on a higher dose as it was for depression rather than anxiety so I hope the side effects won't be as bad as they were last time! :)

Hi, im also on round 2 after being 1 year med free for anxiety. Day 11 and taking each day at a time.
Good luck to you both and give it a bit of time but u will get there. X

Spent the last two days feeling horrifically sick and totally off my food. This never happened last time, does anyone else have this?

I have to force myself to eat, and when I do I'm fine, but then within minutes the nausea comes back. :(

yup Laura, I feel sick as a dog and getting food down can be horrible. On days where I've really struggled to eat full meals I've swapped in some more calorie dense stuff like chocolate bars to make up the missing calories, it's not ideal(and not something i'd do long term!) but it's better than making yourself feel lethargic or unwell from too little food!

Swopping food for chocolate and things isn't an option for me to be honest! I've lost 2.5 stone this year due to sheer hard work and determination and am not prepared to put weight back on! :)

It is getting better slowly. I don't have the constant feel of sickness now, I only feel sick some parts of the day! My appetite is down and I'm not eating as much food as I was, but I'm not having to force it down me like I was before!

Hi, I am also 2 weeks into my second round of citalopram. I have had similar side effects to last time but the nausea is definitely one of the worst effects for me. It has mostly worn off now and I found that eating small regular meals seemed to help relieve it.

Lets hope we feel the full benefits soon! :)

Hi girls, today the doctor has given me citalopram 10mg.
I'm planning on taking my first one when I go to bed, when do you take yours? Xxx

yes, the second time cit didnt work for me, i was on it 3 months, now im 1 month off - on and off of it i had only side effects. but this is me. first time it helped right from the 2nd week. that was 7 years ago

God I hope it works for me, I will stick with it as my doctor said she thinks I should say with it for a good year. I would do anything to get the old me back. Especially as we have so many exciting things on this year and I just want to be able to enjoy it xxx

I take mine in the morning MissAnxiety. but i do know of a few people who take it at night. I suppose it depends on how the tablets effect you as to when you take it :)

I'm on day 9 now and the side effects are MUCH better! The nausea is definitely better and my appetite is slowly coming back. I feel hungry again, but don't need a lot of food before i'm full. The nausea only comes along occasionally and usually passes after a few small sips of water and deep breaths!

How are you all doing? I’m also on cit second time. 9 weeks in (7 weeks on 20). It has taken much longer to start working this time round and after having a better week last week I’m now having a major blip with depression/anxiety, the works. Has anyone else had that? Sorry just saw this is a really old thread

Hi I am also on this for the first time but have had ecitralopram a couple of times in the past. I'm on 2 weeks of 10mg and 5 weeks of 20mg and I still feel as anxious and worried as I did before I started. There was a few days where I felt a bit better but the last few day's I've been very anxious. I can notice n some slight improvements but not as much as I would hope for by this stage. Still onwards and upwards

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Originally Posted by Kenton

I am also on this for the first time but have had ecitralopram a couple of times in the past.

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Citalopram and escitalopram share the same active chemical, the 'S' isomer of citalopram, aka escitalopram. Unlike escitalopram, it also contains the 'R' mirror image form which is a poorer fit biologically and so is mostly inactive. This is why the equivalent citalopram dose is twice that of escitalopram.

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I'm on 2 weeks of 10mg and 5 weeks of 20mg and I still feel as anxious and worried as I did before I started. There was a few days where I felt a bit better but the last few day's I've been very anxious. I can notice n some slight improvements but not as much as I would hope for by this stage. Still onwards and upwards

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ADs typically take 4-12 weeks to kick-in from when a therapeutic dose, 20mg+ for citalopram, is first taken. Given this is your third time on this AD it will likely take longer to do so than before and you may need to take a higher dose to achieve the same outcome. :sad:

2nd round of Citalopram for me lived with Anxiety for 14 years then clear for just over a year, had a nasty bug over xmas and that has kicked it off again, self medicated on the wifes amatryptalyn just made me very tired and dozy, went to the docs she prescribed 10mg Citalopram per day as I had been on that prior to my recovery, day 1 ok day 2 severe stomach cramps and feeling crap day 3 decided to cut to 5mg, anxiety still bad but physically feel better, decided to swap to taking at night took 5mg and slept ok, took another 5mg last night feel quite stressed and shaky today, went for walks feel slightly better sitting here writing this at 7:00 PM resigned to just keep going as I am for now.

:welcome: back to NMP,

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Originally Posted by colinbrad

had a nasty bug over xmas and that has kicked it off again,

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An immune system in overdrive may trigger or worsen anxiety and depression. In several respects, anxiety and depression are the symptoms of an immune system disorder. Patients taking immune system boosting meds such as interferon to treat viral diseases and cancers are now often also routinely prescribed an AD because of this (immune system proteins may also reduce the effectiveness of antidepressants).

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self medicated on the wifes amatryptalyn just made me very tired and dozy,

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Self-medicating is never a good idea, not least because often the available dose is too higher to start on. For amitriptyline the ideal starting dose is 25mg.

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went and the docs she prescribed 10mg Citalopram per day as I had been on that prior to my recovery,

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Is a dose increase to 20mg planned? ADs work by stimulating the growth of new brain cells (neurogenesis) which takes a minimum dose to initiate and sustain 10mg may be borderline. Frequent interruptions to neurogenesis may increase the risk of the med pooping-out. As you've been on citalopram before you may need to take a higher dose than the last time to achieve the same level of control.

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day 1 ok day 2 severe stomach cramps and feeling crap day 3

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Serotonin isn't only a brain neurotransmitter. It has many roles in the body and the gut makes and uses far more serotonin than the brain doses. It makes about 50 time more of it than the brain. The enteric nervous system (ENS), the mini brain which controls the GI tract can initially be far more affected by SSRIs than the brain is. The cramps and other side-effects should begin to diminish after a week, or two as the body responds to the SSRI driven increase in serotonin activity by reducing its synthesis and expression, but may return for a short while after dose increases. Talk to your pharmacist about the cramps as these can be diminished with otc remedies.

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went for walks feel slightly better sitting here writing this at 7:00 PM resigned to just keep going as I am for now.

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Exercise has been shown to induce neurogenesis too, so walks are a good idea.

Dropping the dose is probably a good idea as the side-effects may be more severe and/or different when restarting ADs. However, you should get the prescribing doctor's okay. It takes 7-8 days for citalopram plasma levels to stabilise to a steady-state. Increasing the dose sooner may significantly increase side-effects severity, but delaying an increase won't significantly reduce their severity no matter how long the delay.