Citalopram Advice Needed

[Pez]

Hi all, i am mikey. i am pretty new and looking for some advice:

About 7 weeks ago i was suffering constant panic disorder all day everyday. I have suffered from panic disorder for years but never to the extent it never went away. about 4 and 1/2 weeks ago i was given citalopram. I started on 10mg for 2 weeks and then up to 20mg for last 2 and a half weeks. i suppose i have to be honest and say that there has been some improvement as i do sometimes get the odd hours of feeling relatively normal but out of 100% i would still say i only feel about 40% at best. the 40% is also on a good day only. Much lower on a bad day.

Anyway, i have noticed recently that my stomach has been really dodgy and i am starting to get very severe headaches. I have never had any headaches until the last few days and they have been horrendous. When i got them it was making me feel very light headed and as if i was gonna pass out.

i am still constantly on edge, tight chest, light headedness, breathing trouble which i understand is probably just my anxiety. I also have what feels like a pulled muscle in the right of my neck. This has been there for 4 weeks now. One thing i have noticed is i sometimes feel very panciky and then when i have something substantial to eat i feel a bit better. After eating though i do get a lot of wind. Could i have IBS or GERD also which is contributing?

I am a normal size guy, about 5" 11" and approx 13 stone. I really dont see alot of improvement on the citalopram. Do i maybe need to go back to my doctor and ask about upping the dosage?

Sorry for the war and peace but any advice would be greatly appreciated as i am really at my wits end. Any replies or private mesages giving advice on this would be helpful

Thanks in advance.

Mikey

[Spot-the-frog]

Hi Mikey

It is still early days on the citalopram, they do take 6-8 weeks to kick in, and that goes for increases to dose too. There are lots of really good posts about citalopram on here, and also a Citalopram survival guide (links below) take a look

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=46980

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135091

[Pez]

Spot the frog. Thank you very much for the quick reply. very much appreciated.

[keithwms]

Sorry to hear of your travails, Pez.

It's true that ~8 weeks is the usual time it take for people to start feeling full benefit, but if you're still having fairly severe side effects after 4 weeks, I would consider switching to escitalopram. I would suggest having that conversation with your doc. Some people never quite come to terms with citalopram's side effects.

How frequently do you see your doc, and are you going to a therapist as well? It is important to hit this with as many resources as possible- therapy, exercise, lifestyle changes...

I hope you feel improvement soon!

[Pez]

KeithWMS thanks for the reply.

To be honest, the stomach problems and headaches have only got worse in the past few days. I would have thought if these were a reaction to the medication i would have received them sooner. Thats why i had queried IBS or GERD.

I have been to my doctor almost weekly and he just keeps putting it down to adjusting to the medication. He said that i was so far gone panic wise when i first got them that it would take a while for me to see the benefits. He also gave me propranol and valium but i have a phobia of medication and stupidly read the side effects of the propranol and have not been able to touch them. The valium i have not taken also but that is more because i had a friend who was addicted to valium for many years.

I asked about CBT and the doctor has put me on a waiting list but i have been told this could take between 6 - 12 months before i get an appointment.

Just finding it so hard not seeing any improvement but i guess i gotta hang in there.

Thanks for your reply and hope you are well also.

[Spot-the-frog]

Sorry to hear that the waiting list for CBT is so long but you are right to get on that waiting list. I went on the waiting list for CBT in March and have just got my start date for mid August - so that will be 5 months I have waited by the time I start. It is so bad that we can't have therapy when we really need it.