Citalopram diary - Day 15 - Here we go!

[TJSMITH]

Hang in there they do although took 3 months for me but must add I also had an inner ear infection that started all this of for me

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Update:

So as the day went on ive felt ok. Still have the slight dizziness, but anxiety is pretty low which is good. Its friday night so a few months ago i would of been out drinking with my mates. I had a few mates calling asking if i was coming out tonight, i new i wasnt really up for it but i did feel a bit better than usual so i said what the hell, ill try go out and see if i can get through the night. I went to the pub to meet my mates, didnt no whether to drink or not but i ordered a pint. Anyway within about 5 minutes i started feeling really dizzy and foggy, my head felt fuzzy and i was getting a bit disorientated, these feelings would come and go every minute or so and i was on the verge of a panic attack, so i left. Atleast I attempted it but no i am not ready. So now back at home chilling and i feel reasonably calm but just disapointed I cant do the simple things i used to like everyone else my age.

[cmc46]

Sorry to hear that your night out didn't go too well but the only way to find out is to try and well done for that, my partner's grandchildren turned up this week unexpectedly and a few weeks ago I would have gone into a complete panic but this week it all went smoothly and I enjoyed it so it will get better in time and I'm sure it won't be long before you are able to enjoy a night out with your mates.

[nippy70]

I been on cit four weeks gone thursday. First two weeks horrid side effects... this week anxiety has almost gone.... still get times in the day when i feel funny. Dizzy or slight faint feeling but it goes.... to all on cit hang in there i does.get better...... give it time and u will see light athe end o tunnel

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks cmc45 and nipp70, yea i hope i can start to start enjoying normal day to day things again soon but i am at the four week mark now and its not looking like it.

---------- Post added at 23:07 ---------- Previous post was at 22:55 ----------

Day 28

So ive hit four weeks on Citalopram. Not feeling as good as I hoped I would but there you go. When im at home im not in a constant state of anxiety like i was, bit i still get little bursts of panic now and then. I also am still nowhere near being able to do normal things yet. I cant go to the shops or out to walk the dog, let alone out with friends without feeling like im going to pass out and get so dizzy and leads to panic attacks. So thats not so great.

I still am a bit foggy but that has lifted a little in the past week. I am still dizzy and lightheaded pretty much most of the time though.

So anyway last night i was reading about acupunture and heard it can help with anxiety so today i thought what the hell have i got to lose. Forced myself to go out to the local acunpunture place. Had the worst fuzzy head and was dizzy the whole time i was there. I had the acupuncture done and was on the verge of a panic attack most of the time while this was going on. Didnt feel any different from it but i suppose you need a few sessions to see some benefit.

Basically im not panicing 24/7 so thats good, but ive always got some anxiety that peaks several times throughout the day. I think i will be like this untill I am checked up properly for neurological conditions. I cant ignore the fact that i have developed 1 pupil bigger than the other even when my doctor wouldnt refer me when i told him. So i need to either find out whether there is something wrong and if there isnt i can get the reasurrance and hopefully move on from these worries.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Day 29

Woke up late today, seem to be needing more sleep then i was before, but atleast i can sleep unlike a few weeks ago. I felt ok when i woke up, my head was a bit clearer then usual. The rest of the day has gone like usual so not much point me repeating it lol.
Just foggy and dizzy all the time and im in a steady state of this constantly.

Back to the doctors tomorrow to try and see what we can do about this.

[mrbenn]

Just reading about your experiance with Accupunture . I have had accupunture for anxiety and have found it really helps. I seem to sleep VERY well the night after the sessions - so thats a really good thing. Keep it up though, you gave to have a few sessions etc. If you need anymore info let me know

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Day 30

So day 30 and I woke up feeling groggy and dizzy as per usual. My sleep pattern is well and truely messed up, im waking up at around 3 or 4pm at the moment.

Had a doctors appointment at 4:30pm today so got up and headed down to the doctors. Literally felt like i was going to pass out or just drop to the floor when i was walking down there. While sitting in the waiting room i was sweating, was disorientated, felt very faint. These things dont even feel like panic attacks anymore, just feel like im about to pass out and die.

So i went into the doctors office and told her my symptoms are all still there and i need to be referred to see someone, she really didnt want to refer me and wasnt suggesting anything, was just saying my symptoms dont point to anything and its anxiety. I told her about my pupils being uneven and all my constant dizzyness lightheaded, confusion, tingling in limbs, feeling faint all the time. I wasnt leaving untill i got referred and id been there about 6 times in the last month or so, in the end she said she will refer me to a neurologist, so i hope she does and wasnt just saying it to get rid of me.

Apart from that she didnt suggest anything else just said keep taking the citalopram at 20mg. So ill wait for the referral and keep taking the Cit.

If it is citalopram causing my symptoms, maybe it isnt right for me? Do you think the symptoms should have subsided by now, im a month in and im still constantly dizzy and light headed and my anxiety is not as bad when im at home but as soon as i leave the house its still there on full blast with the panic attacks. I feel like just coming off the meds just to see if it is causing my symptoms but im going to stick it out untill about 6 weeks and if its not any better i think it is time for a change. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

---------- Post added at 21:24 ---------- Previous post was at 20:34 ----------

Also i just realised ive run out of Citalopram yesterday and the chemist is now closed so I wont be able to take it today. Will have to get it first thing tomorrow.

[Newtoallthis]

Hi Gottagethroughthis,

I started taking Citalopram yesterday, its the first time I have ever tried antidepressants, and I have only had two doses so far, I'm on 10mg but the first day I had some horrific side affects, phoned NHS Direct who thought I was having a stroke and I had to really stress the point that I thought it was side effects from teh Citalopram, stopped them sending out an ambulance. I have been trying to decide whether my reaction is strong enough to warrant stopping and trying another brand. Phoned NHS direct again tonight and they sent an ambulance round even though I said I don't think I need one. The paramedics reckoned that it was probably just side effects. They called a doctor who had a conversation with me and then said if the symptoms are not too distressing then I should carry on. That was the deciding factor for me. I am only suffering with Depression, its fairly sever but it is relatively mild I think compared to what you are going through and your Health anxiety.

I wanted to say thank you for putting this diary up as it has helped me enormously. I am having similar symptoms to you especially the dizzy, foggy, jelly legs and headaches also neck and head aches, chest tightness, burning sensation in my ears and head and neck, dry mouth, tingling numb face, arms, difficulty speaking and concentrating, had fever, shaking, Nausea, blurred vision and squiggles in front of my eyes and my head was so heavy I couldn't even lift it for a while. For me for this is already unbearable and I can't go on feeling like this. So as my condition I think is potentially manageable in other ways and having seen how much you are suffering I'm going to stop taking it. I was like you last night I thought I was going to die I thought I had an allergic reaction to it, I take antihistamines everyday anyway and they seemed to alleviate some of the symptoms.

Basically like you I don't know if its the Citalopram or something else, it may even be psychosomatic, or me trying to resist the medication, as I do feel better when talking to friends on the phone, but I'm at an early enough stage that if I stop it now I will soon find out if it was the drug or not.

I hope you soon feel better, as you seem to be suffering with this. I'm sure it will get better but if after your 6 weeks your doctor still isn't listening and you still feel so bad, I would suggest you get a second opinion if you can, just to give you peace of mind. You have come so far I really hope you get the outcome that you want.

Take care of yourself

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thank you Newtoallthis that really means a lot and thanks for your input.

Its up to you what you do but dont let my diary effect wether you take the drug or not because it effects everyone in different days, many people have no side effects or there side effects calm down after the first week or so. But if you feel you can cope without it then thats great.

I have suffered a bit and I am dizzy and lightheaded most of the time but its not unberabale and I havnt got mad non stop anxiety like i did a few weeks ago. I can actually relax at home which i couldnt even do a few weeks back.

Sorry to hear your having such strong side effects.

There are many helpfull threads on Citalopram here so have a read through.

Thanks again for you reply and i hope everything works out for you.