Coping with Early Stages of Citalopram

[keithwms]

Thanks Blair!

It was such a big relief to me to know that some people were looking in on me. Some have been nice enough to just call randomly and check in. That's is very motivating.

I am in a bit of a dip at the moment, just feeling anxious and unsettled, with the associated stomach upset. This isn't from the med though, I don't think. I have a big opportunity that'd entail a job switch and moving back to a big city nearby, so I suppose that my apprehension is perfectly normal.... thoughts of moving away from friends and my stable, comfortable environment are frankly rather terrifying right now. I almost want to curl up on the couch and pull a blanket over my head and push the whole world away :s ...and increase to 20.

The irony is that I should be doing a happy dance based on my flexible job and new, even better opps. I know many people who wonder why I'm not just brimming with happiness. From most outside appearances, all is perfectly well with me. If only people could see how I feel... but I'm afraid to show them.

I suppose that I am just glad that I had the impetus to begin my treatment... with meds *and* therapy... a few weeks ago.

Thanks for your kind support, Blair.

[blairwaldorf]

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a dip. It will pass!

And congratulations on the new opportunity! I can certainly relate to how it is giving you more anxiety than satisfaction right now. That is the problem with this anxiety - so often I only focus on the potential negatives that would give me stress than looking at how overall, this is a great development.

It's great that you started dealing with this a few weeks ago. You are well on your way to making changes that will really pay off. Just hang in there!

Also, I know you have had bad experiences with SSRIs in the past, and this is something to discuss with your doctor, but don't be too scared to go to 20 mg. That seems to be the lowest therapeutic dose. So right now, even though your body is stabilizing to the new medication, it probably isn't high enough to give you the help you need.

Again, that is a discussion for you and your doctor, but maybe you will start to see more of the positive effects once you get to the right dose.

I hope you have one of the good days today

[Sparkle1984]

I've found 10mg to be a therapeutic dose (this is my second time on cit) but that's probably because I'm particularly sensitive. It is the lowest dose in which these tablets are manufactured, but I think if it wasn't therapeutic for anyone then they wouldn't make them in this dose. I am glad they do, because I think I would find a higher dose too stimulating. But of course everyone is different.

[keithwms]

Thanks Blair, I appreciate it! I have ups and downs still, but mostly I feel alright with things. I find that I am better able to cut off the downswings. I still get down when I am alone or otherwise unoccupied. So I guess I am acting a bit 'clingy' to friends at the moment! Just don't want to feel alone. I will think some more about the 20mg. At the moment, my stomach is a bit upset again, but probably just a minor thing.

Thanks Sparkle, it'd be nice if 10 worked fro me. it might. I think my strategy will be simply to stay patient and see what happens, and change the dose only if there is real cause. I'll be visiting my therapist on Monday so maybe I can get some sort of impartial opinion...

I think what had me on a downswing the last day or two was the thought of uprooting again for a new job. Even though I know it's a good opportunity, but then I get the thought of being away from friends (even only a little bit down the road) and thus the fear of loneliness... that seems to be my Achilles' heel- fear of loneliness. Wish I knew how to work on that! I hope the therapist has some ideas.

[Susanpixie]

Hi all, I'm just on day 6 of taking citalopram and feeling worse then ever! Anxiety is at a high and now I feel like I can't even go out the house. I'm not sure if I should take another one tomorrow.
Thought I'd join the forum for some support after reading a lot of posts I don't know what todo, some people say it works others say it makes anxiety worse.
In my case it's worse , was hoping to beat this thing with cbt sessions :(

[citalopram1]

Hi all, I'm just on day 6 of taking citalopram and feeling worse then ever! Anxiety is at a high and now I feel like I can't even go out the house. I'm not sure if I should take another one tomorrow.
Thought I'd join the forum for some support after reading a lot of posts I don't know what todo, some people say it works others say it makes anxiety worse.
In my case it's worse , was hoping to beat this thing with cbt sessions :(

Hi Susanpixie. I have been on Citalopram twice just started up again 6 weeks ago and both times it did increase anxiety. I had a lot of shallow breathing but it has stopped now. I take it for depression. In my experience citalopram makes you feel worse but then it does start to make you feel better again.

[Sparkle1984]

Hi all, I'm just on day 6 of taking citalopram and feeling worse then ever! Anxiety is at a high and now I feel like I can't even go out the house. I'm not sure if I should take another one tomorrow.
Thought I'd join the forum for some support after reading a lot of posts I don't know what todo, some people say it works others say it makes anxiety worse.
In my case it's worse , was hoping to beat this thing with cbt sessions :(

Sorry to hear you're feeling worse, unfortunately its common with these meds for people to feel worse before they get better. I had heightened anxiety for the first week too. I'm now on day 10 and starting to see a gradual improvement. Keep going, it does get better!

[keithwms]

Hi all, I'm just on day 6 of taking citalopram and feeling worse then ever! Anxiety is at a high and now I feel like I can't even go out the house. I'm not sure if I should take another one tomorrow.
Thought I'd join the forum for some support after reading a lot of posts I don't know what todo, some people say it works others say it makes anxiety worse.
In my case it's worse , was hoping to beat this thing with cbt sessions :(

As others have implied, what you are experiencing sounds fairly typical. It seems like the right course of action is for you to give it at least another week, but definitely discuss what you are feeling with your therapist and doc and make an informed decision. Also, I'd try to talk about it with any family and friends who are aware; I think it's really important to keep communicating about it through the difficult periods.

I hope that you feel better soon

---------- Post added at 08:04 ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 ----------

I forget which day I'm on now, let's see... almost 3 weeks in!

I've had a relapse of anxiety, which I think is causing some stomach upset- or maybe it's the other way 'round. With me, those kinds of symptoms just reinforce the A/D and vice versa I was doing quite well for a full week but then got a nibble on a new job. I should be happy, right? But I just got utterly slammed with anxiety about the possible big change, thinking about how much it'd change my life... and do I really want that right now etc. So I keep trying remind myself that it is an option only and options are good even if I decide I don't want them etc.

Going through this kind of therapy and treatment, I suppose it isn't so wise to invite a lot of stressful decisions into the mix!!! I guess the prudent thing to do is sort of lie low, take it easy, stick to familiar turf until I feel confident enough...

Other things... I still seem to be losing weight, probably because of the stomach upset / anxiety. One good thing about the weight loss, I did need to lose a lot of belly flab Plus I was already embarked on a plan to lose the flab and work out and build some muscle tone. I am now down several pants sizes and I have had the nice problem of having to go buy new pants, get my suits taken in, buy a new swimsuit etc. I have gotten some nice comments; at a party last night, someone said I look great- that made me really feel good. It's funny, when the really positive feelings come, I can feel them so clearly, almost like drinking something delicious

Next part should maybe be censored for anyone under age okay?! Haha. So... one of the things that I figured this treatment would do is whack my libido. Welll... not true in my case. I've felt pretty frisky, actually. I get turned on fairly intensely and for quite a while, just flirting online etc., and that is a big change for me. I was almost completely without sexual interest for ages until now. Hmmm. I wasn't expecting that, I thought I'd lose what little interest I had

I'm probably over-thinking it, but I wonder if I might just be craving any kind of positive feeling... mental or physical. So then if someone says or does something positive about me physically I just latch on to it. Mind you, all my interactions are virtual at this point, I haven't felt like 'actualizing' anything for a long while due to the A/D. And now I'd feel really really bad about getting into a relationship now only to realize that it was induced by the meds... but the flirting does feel so good

Next steps... I suppose I need to keep reassuring myself that what I have is fine and avoid taking on any big, stressful decisions. I also need to keep working on positive self image. Bigger picture, I need to get back to thinking about what really really makes me happy and fulfilled, even if that means less salary. And I probably need to table any big moves (job, sex) for now until my A/D stabilizes. But truth be told, even a really amazing vacation that is coming up in a few weeks is causing me stress. I think I really crave the status quo at this point.... a comfortable equilibrium.

[LClare]

Hi all, I'm just on day 6 of taking citalopram and feeling worse then ever! Anxiety is at a high and now I feel like I can't even go out the house. I'm not sure if I should take another one tomorrow.
Thought I'd join the forum for some support after reading a lot of posts I don't know what todo, some people say it works others say it makes anxiety worse.
In my case it's worse , was hoping to beat this thing with cbt sessions :(

Susanpixie, I can completely relate to that. I'm on day 9 of citalopram for anxiety/panic, 1st time taking any meds for anxiety after a long battle of trying to deal with things without medication. I'm on 10mg at the moment. The first 5 days were the worst for me; increased anxiety to the point where I didn't want to leave the house on day 2, cold sweats, unable to sleep and a constant sick feeling. Fortunately over the last few days this seems to have subsided and I'm feeling fairly good today (although fairly sleepy/lethargic). I found that just getting out for a walk around the block on bad days helped boost my confidence, even though it was really hard. I struggled to go into work on day 3 but have some good support around me including a very understanding manager who let me do a couple of late starts and work from an office closer to home. I was often sat at my desk at work and would suddenly feel panic symptoms for no reason, I just kept telling myself "it's the meds and it will pass" but definitely think carrying on doing normal things that are low pressure is good for me as I find otherwise things build up in my head to be more scary than what they are. Stick with it, the side effects do subside, citalopram unfortunately increases anxiety levels before it starts working, so although you may have to go through a time that's difficult, in the long run it's probably worth it! I'm not thinking I'm over the worst yet, maybe it's just a couple of good days as I know it can take weeks of ups and downs for it to settle down....

[Sparkle1984]

But truth be told, even a really amazing vacation that is coming up in a few weeks is causing me stress. I think I really crave the status quo at this point.... a comfortable equilibrium.

I feel like that at the moment as well. Ever since this anxiety relapse started, I've been finding it harder to look forward to things that I'd usually look forward to. I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks time but I don't feel really excited about it yet, whereas I'd usually spend months looking forward to my holidays.