just going back on cit after 1 year, day 5 worries

[lisa2512]

Hi everyone, i just joined today after reading some helpfull threads on here

let me tell you a bit about me so you can better understand, i have health anxiety and a major phobia of being sick

ive had a real rough time of it fron december this year, starting with a bout of flue lasting 2 weeks just after xmas, then a cold 2 weeks later, then a month later a nasty cough, and since march i have had 3 uti infections, the last 2 i had anti biotics for which seems to have killed all my stomach bacteria causing me stomach problems and nauseas, so as you can see it all keeps piling up for me lol.

i was on cit roughly a year ago after becoming so anxious while pregnant with my youngest child, as soon as she was born i went round the doctors for help dealing with my anxiety i just couldnt cope, first we tried prozac which had awfull side effects which evened out but gave me bad teeth grinding in the night and the constant jaw pain was awfull, so he switched me to sertiline sorry if i spelt that wrong lol, there wasnt any side effects when changing, but after 2 months of being on that i couldnt remember things at all, my head was clear as such but if someone asked me my best friends name id be like errrrrrr just give me a sec it will come to me lol, so went back to docs and he changed me to cit, i had no side effect swapping over and everything was great, i still had the teeth grinding but it wasnt every night.

after being on it a year i felt back to my old self no anxiety at all while i was on it so decided to come off it by reducing my dose gradually, this is a bumpy road and i had a lot of side effects coming off but i got there.

but ive just had a really bad year and couldnt cope with the anxiety anymore, so decided to go back on cit

day 1. felt amazing no side effects at all

day 2. major panic attack, thought i was have a reaction, got so dizzy and anxious, hyperventilated etc, had oh call an ambulance i got that bad, they were really good, run a few tests and let me know all was ok. when they left i managed to go to bed for an hour, but didnt sleep that night and was left very anxious

day 3. worse anxiety ever and total feeling of being week, no appitite, my tummy will grumble and ill feel hungry but cant eat, even the smell of food turns my stomach

day 4. very anxious all morning, fuzzy head, yawning, tired, no motivation, dont wanna leave the house, bad nausea and still cant eat but im hungry lol

day 5. i did manage to sleep last night and didnt grind my teeth to much but i felt very anxious all morning, i dont want to interact with anyone, i have 3 kids. the nausea is bad and still cant eat so im drinking build up shakes to curb the hunger.

i just feel like ive had enough, this had deff made my anxiouty so much worse so far, i just want some reassurance that this will all pass, i love my food and i want to be able to eat lol, even bland food turns my stomach right now, i feel sorry for my husband as he has taken time off work to look after the kids while im going through this, but he can only really have another week off and im anxious i wont be able to look after kids in a week because of these side effects, i was better than this before i took them lol. reassurances please no horror stories as i dont think i can take that right now xxx

---------- Post added at 14:29 ---------- Previous post was at 14:24 ----------

forgot to say ive started on 10mg a day in the morning

[keithwms]

Sounds like the usual startup, sorry! Another week or so should bring you some relief from the primary side effects. Just be on the lookout for anything approximating allergic reaction or anything that seems irreversibly damaging- physically or emotionally. And keep the channels of communication wide open- here, with doc and therapist, and preferably also with a few select friends and family members. It's so important to have someone with whom you can have full disclosure about how you're feeling.

I hope you feel improvement soon. Don't be surprised if it gets a bit darker before you start to see the light. But it very likely will improve, and your investment will be rewarded!

Best wishes. And talk to us!

[lisa2512]

another week without eating doesnt sound like to much fun lol, its making the whole thing seem worse, feeling a bit more with it this afternoon but the nausea is pretty bad, im taking zantac 75mg twice a day aswell as i seem to be getting a lot of acid in my tummy, well i think i am lol

could all be left over from the anti biotics i took 4 weeks ago, totally messed up my system as they havent been able to find any other cause for the bubbling and growling tummy with the yucky feeling after i eat

[avasnana]

Hi,

Sorry to hear you are having a tough time. When I took citalopram I took it at night which worked for me. Seemed that any side effects I had happened during the night whilst I was asleep. I was lucky enough to be able to sleep with the tablets.

Hope things get easier for you soon.

[lisa2512]

im considering doing this as when i take it in the morning im pretty not with it till around 1pm at the minute, but with 3 kids i need my sleep, and last night was the first night i slept through till 7am without waking so im a little reluctant to swap times.

i think as long as i know it will pass in a week or to then i can manage, nausea really gets to me.

with the raised anxiety that i have been getting in the mornings, is that going to get worse, or should it improve soon ?

[keithwms]

with the raised anxiety that i have been getting in the mornings, is that going to get worse, or should it improve soon ?

It will likely improve but not all at once and not immediately. People often describe this as falling into a hole and then slowly coming out. But rest assured that you will feel some positive energy and some sunshine, and the important thing is to embrace the good thoughts and celebrate them... and build on them. And be patient with yourself, knowing that the med is getting to work. Your mind probably doesn't want to let the anxiety go all at once, so there will be a tussle.

I think a good strategy is to set a wellness goal a few weeks out... a time when you envision feeling 'normal' again. it could be a month out, two months.. something longer term. Please try very hard not to ask yourself how you feel every minute or every hour or even every day, because the changes likely won't come that quickly, and it's important not to stew on the negative.

All that said, I did feel a marked improvement right around the end of week 2, before I increased to 20mg, and then I had another downswing and another major improvement around the end of week 3 or so. Once you get a tingle of hope, it really helps see you through the dips. And I think you will feel that improvement soon.... maybe in a few days. Expect it!

[arfasc]

im considering doing this as when i take it in the morning im pretty not with it till around 1pm at the minute, but with 3 kids i need my sleep, and last night was the first night i slept through till 7am without waking so im a little reluctant to swap times.

i think as long as i know it will pass in a week or to then i can manage, nausea really gets to me.

with the raised anxiety that i have been getting in the mornings, is that going to get worse, or should it improve soon ?

Hi Lisa,
I am asking myself the same question
But I had previous experiences.
As in the previous post every time that I changed my dosis for a crisis, the morning crazy anxiety (and the good sleep) were coming back slowly.
Not that in one day I would wake up better!
I thought it was "my fault".
Like when I don't have suddenly anxiety is like I am "looking" for "it".
So sleeping better, wake up pretty good.. and :O it can't be true let's feel bad a bit more
But then you realize is going better.
The problem is that you never know exactly when it is going to happen.
For me every single time I am scared and afraid it won't work the same way but worse.
But really, in my experience, after around 2 weeks, it depends, it starts to improve!

[lisa2512]

thank you so much guys you are really putting my mind at rest

didnt anyone else have trouble eating, i think when im able to get a meal even if its just toast in my belly i will be able to deal with the other side effects alot better.

my jaw is still very saw from clenching, when i was on cit last time for a year, this never really went, some nights i wouldnt do it, other nights id wake up and it would be really sore, ive ordered a mouth guard this time, i dunno if it will help but ill give it a go.

[arfasc]

thank you so much guys you are really putting my mind at rest

didnt anyone else have trouble eating, i think when im able to get a meal even if its just toast in my belly i will be able to deal with the other side effects alot better.

my jaw is still very saw from clenching, when i was on cit last time for a year, this never really went, some nights i wouldnt do it, other nights id wake up and it would be really sore, ive ordered a mouth guard this time, i dunno if it will help but ill give it a go.

Hey Lisa, it seems we are having the same issues here
I was just doing a research about eating.
:P
How to help, if it was a collateral effect or my anxiety and so on.
Again, every time I am in this crisis I have problems eating.
Until today I have been able to manage well.
Today a disaster. I cannot eat anything.
I could eat a small crossant for breakfast, a banana and apple for lunch, and now I've tried popcorn :S just maybe to try eat something I could like.
Auff.

[cheshirecatqee]

thank you so much guys you are really putting my mind at rest

didnt anyone else have trouble eating, i think when im able to get a meal even if its just toast in my belly i will be able to deal with the other side effects alot better.

my jaw is still very saw from clenching, when i was on cit last time for a year, this never really went, some nights i wouldnt do it, other nights id wake up and it would be really sore, ive ordered a mouth guard this time, i dunno if it will help but ill give it a go.

I had a lot of problems eating found it was taking me hours just to eat a bowl of cereal :( Your appetite will come back tho but do try and eat small amounts