Citalopram and gambling

[castro89]

Hi all,

I started taking citalopram about 6 weeks ago. After 2 weeks, I got a huge urge to gamble and gambled away all my savings (almost £10,000) in one night on online casinos.

Has anyone else had a gambling side-effect? My doctor is mystified- but this is hugely out of character. I'm devastated as I'm always so good with money, so this has just made my anxiety even worse.

[Sparkle1984]

What dose are you on? It could be that the dose is too high and that it has made you go into a kind of manic episode. It's never happened to me so I can't really give any advice.

[castro89]

I'm on 20mg. And I'm quite a big guy- that's why the doc recommended starting on 20...

[Pipkin]

All I can suggest is that ADs make you feel a bit 'don't-careish' sometimes and things that would have bothered you before, no longer do. In a way, that's their purpose but it becomes a concern when it evolves into risk-taking to the extent it has for you.

If you want to stay on ADs, I'm not sure there's an answer except to put controls in place to make sure it can't happen again. Limit the amount of money you have easy access to, ask someone to look after your bank cards, ask the bank to put a ceiling on how much you can spend in a day etc. The only other thing is to come off the ADs - the answer to that depends on whether they're helping with your anxiety.

Pip

[keithwms]

Has anyone else had a gambling side-effect? My doctor is mystified- but this is hugely out of character. I'm devastated as I'm always so good with money, so this has just made my anxiety even worse.

Your doctor really should not be mystified ugh, this really ticks me off, docs who can't take the time to read a warning label. (S)he should know very well that citalopram can, to quote the warnings, cause "unusual behavior changes" and "impulsive actions" etc. Much has been written about this, and not just with citalopram... pretty much all of the SSRIs. It may not be the right class of med for you.

I'll try to unpack these vague phrases a bit more. Citalopram could trigger disinhibition, OCD, manic-depressive moods or a lighter form (e.g. hypomania), and/or stir underlying bipolar symptoms. One of the really big warnings signs that we and our therapists and docs are all supposed to watch out for is activity that seems out of character. There are many compulsions that might be stirred, particularly during the startup phase: urge to drink, have sex, do risky things, spend a lot of money... you name it.

I had fleeting encounters with many of these symptoms, sex in particular, when starting citalopram. So I was extremely grateful that I started at 10 mg and stayed there for several weeks 'til I was confident that I could handle the thoughts. One of my docs thought I was borderline hypomanic during startup and we went through a long discussion to determine that it was within control. I still have doubts every now and then although after 8 weeks it does seem to have calmed down a lot.

Now that you have this info, you need to present it to your doc or get a second opinion, involve a therapist, and deduce a strategy to deal with it. I would suggest that you don't just stop the med cold outright, that could do more harm than good. But it probably isn't the right med for you and you may need to transition to something else and get some supplemental med in the meantime.

---------- Post added at 11:48 ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 ----------

Just something to read...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23385394

Note that sometimes these meds have been tried to treat gambling and other addictive behavior. These meds affect people in different ways, but obviously it's dealign with similar receptors.

[K80y]

I take citalopram to help me deal with the effects that gambling caused me.
I gambled compulsively for 5 years and couldn't stop or tell anyone what I was doing.
I became very depressed and anxious and eventually ended up in the mental health ward for a 4 week spell. I had to accept that I was a compulsive gambler and joined Gamblers Anonymous, this has changed my life for the better and I am now a new person.
However the first three weeks on citalopram were difficult and I was very careless in other ways, once over the 4 week stage all was well. I still take 10mg, just to keep the paranoia and anxiety at bay. I have also stopped smoking since then, I believe with the help of citalopram. I hope you can get through this and my best wishes go to you, please contact gamblers anonymous if you haven't already done so, it will help. K

[katz41]

i've been on citalopram for about five years, i was initially prescribed it by my gp who said he thought it the best option for my anxiety/ocd and depression, and he was reluctant to give me prozac because of the side effects..
well i can definitely testify to citalopram and my mixed mood state, my spending has never been sensible but as i now reflect on things, my spending has certainly been worse since i have been on citalopram, my thyroid function has gone awol [apparently there are links to citalopram adversely affecting thyroid levels] and my moods have recently become more unpredictable.l have been telling my gp this for ages [the original prescribing gp has since retired] but she either doesnt hear me or im not being emphatic enough, some times i feel like im being stupid and that i should just go with it so i lose the nerve to tell her but the last 2 occasions i have seen her i have told her about the mood swings and the irritability [my hormone levels are normal, she did test those as i am 44 so the menopause had to be ruled out!!]
*sigh* so im going back to see another gp and hope i can get some answers!!!

[mikewales]

Did you used to gamble a lot before starting the Citalopram ? Just wondering if it is a side effect completely from that, or if it has just increased something that was already there but not as bad ?