Med Change

[jonny]

Hi all,

I just thought i would post up my experience of changing meds for future reference.

As of yesterday i had spent six months on 20mg of Amitriptyline every night to try an ensure a good nights sleep and to combat Anxiety. I found this drug to quite heavy and it seemed to make me constantly tired. So i have asked to change.

My doc has prescribed me Citalopram (10mg) which i am to take in the morning and then move up to 20mg next week. The Amitriptyline i will cut down to 10mg per night for a week before i cease with them.

As with most new meds i have major panic attacks after taking the first one as i am sure its going to do strange things to me...things i will not be able to escape until the drug wears off. i am sure this line of thinking has its roots in my bad experiences with illict drugs in the past! I am usually very sick an anxious.
Today i was tough with myself and was determined to approach this change as more of a medical study. I promised myself i was not going to panic and i was going to try and distinguish the REAL side effects from those that i induce with my mind. So with this in mind i popped the first one this morning at 8am.

I made sure i was busy all morning as a distraction and it worked a treat...no major panic. I did feel a couple of flashes that i managed to surpress and although i did feel very sick i wasn't.

So my side effects so far are just a few hours nausea, which i believe were genuine side effects. And a couple of small anxiety spells.

Does anyone have much experience of this drug? Did it work for you?


Jonny.

[sarah]

Hiya jonny

Yep im on the same dose, have been for about a good few months now (maybe 10...not sure..brain dead now...lol)

Its not cured me as you can guess but its lessened the panic and also made me less depressed so I can get on with helping myself without dwelling on the 'poor little me' side of things.

Take care mate. let me know how you get on with them.

love sarah
xx

we arent mad, just the next stage of evolution

[nomorepanic]

Jonny

I am fairly sure that this was the one I took about 3 years ago to help with the sleep problems.

I took it for 3 weeks and then had to stop cos I felt dreadful - much worse panic/anxiety, felt dizzy all the time and still no sleep so I decided not to carry on with them.

Just my experience anyway.

Nicola

[Tessie28]

hi jonny,
not tried that jonny but a comment on the new meds panic.[:0] having only had the panics for the last two and a half weeks i can still relate to the problem with new meds. when the doc changed my BP tablets i was sooo scared of the effects. naturally enough the only effect so far is to lower my BP And i've never taken an illegal drug in my life [okay so i did have a puff of pot at a party when i was 17[:I]] so i think it is the anxiety thing again seems to get you all round.
good luck with the meds. let us know if you sleep well [what i wouldn't do for a normal night's sleep]
a very [|)]tess

[jonny]

Ok, so its day two.

I left the Amitriptyline at 20mg last night as i didn't want to feel bad today especially if i am dealing with the new ones too. i think i will cut those down once i am established on the Citalopram.

Today i feel ok, no harsh side effects just a bit of nausea this morning for about 15 mins but on the whole ok.

Lets see how tomorrow goes.



Jonny.

[twister]

Hi Jonny

I had nausea for about a week when I started those tablets but it goes pretty quickly.

At first I took them at night and found I couldnt sleep and had weird dreams so I started taking them in the morning and felt much better.

good luck

Emily

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit
Understanding is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad

[jonny]

Well, a week on and no real side effects any more. No more nausea, thank god.
Lets see ho i feel in a few weeks when these things reall kick in.


Jonny.

[Meg]

Glad it all seems to have gone smoothly Jonny ..

How is the anxiety course going ?

Meg

Meg

'There can only be true courage when first there is genuine fear'

Dr.David Livingstone