Citalopram 20mg week 4

[Icequeen]

so here i am, day 3 of week 4 of Citalopram 20mg... for depression and anxiety, both severe

first week was mostly a "class A" drug experience, just weird
second week, complete mind f*ck of emotions
week 3, levelling out but numbness and depersonalisation but no bad feelings
week 4 - HELP ME

i've got a doctors appointment for tomorrow morning

i'm wired all the time but my eyes ache through being tired. i cant fall asleep at night, its like my eyes physically wont shut, but when they do, i feel my eyeballs almost rolling and straining, i open my eyes and my focus is completely gone.

this is day 24 since starting tablets, and last night for the first time i cried. only a very brief episode maybe 2 minutes and i stopped like a switch had gone, and havent bee able to cry again since... strange.

i feel sick and have done for a few days, morning or night. Food makes me sick, but i ened something in my stomach to actually throw up when i want to be sick if that makes sense?

although i feel this wired feelingm and emotional numbness, i also feel though like the medication is wearing off already? This can;t be it settling because i am, starting to feel like i did before i got on them... i suddenly feel so down and scared and completely don;t know what to do with myself at all... i know im going doctors tomorrow but i just wanted to share my experience so far...

maybe i need an upped dose? Can i just ask for a higher dose or will they know by the above i need a higher dose?

is it just not working on me? what else is there? whats next?

i'm not by any means givine up, befoire this week 4, i have had the best couple of weeks in a long time, so i know its possible to not feel below rock bottom...



x

[DELIBY99]

Hey there,

I had a horrible time when i started also. Remember that your body is adjusting to a very powerful medication. It takes time for things to settle. The side effects are severe and can last up to 6-8 weeks . Based on my own experience , improvement was like a dimmer switch, very gradual then one morning i worke up and felt relatively normal. That said I had to go up to 30mg after 3 weeks as the doc felt it wasn't quite kicking in. Please remember that each dose increase brings more side effects and more time for the body to readjust. For example my sleep was affected badly on 30mg, despite the fact that i felt fine during the day. I've since reduced down to 20mg and I have suffered bad headaches for a number of weeks. Have you tried benzo's for the bad moments? they do help while you are waiting for the drug to kick in as long as you only use them when your struggling badly . If you want my advice if you can tough it out on 20 mg you'd be better off. That is your own decision however . It's very early days . I would give the drug another month on 20MG or 30MG and if there is no improvement then you could talk to your doc about changing. Good luck

[Icequeen]

hi,
thanks for your reply! I'm sticking it out the best i can, i guess the biggest help is knowing i'm not alone and not the only one feeling this! especially when last week seemed less down, even though i felt numb and emotionless it was better than feeling so down, but then this week i've slumped to this sudden downhill "blip" and for it to hit like this, it just feels like its failing, and i'm losing it again. i know im still early days, its reassuring having someone else tell me though, silly as that sounds!

thank you x

[DELIBY99]

It's not silly at all. If you look through some of my early threads I was constantly seeking reassurance . This site was literally a life saver. That's what we are all here for. Just remeber you will be up and down for a while yet. It's very hard but accept this fact and do what you can to help yourself feel better.

[Cammy]

Hey icequeen, I am on the same boat as you. I'm on day 24 of 20mg citalopram and feel the exact same as you. Struggle to sleep big time.

Message me if you want to chat about it, could help each other through it?

[DELIBY99]

Same to both of you, message me anytime you have questions.

[lisa2512]

hey guys i know i havent been on for quite some time but ive been on cit 5 months now and this is my second time on them, im gonna try and respond to some threads, but when cit is all settled and working u tend not to need the forum so u sometimes forget other people may be struggling and needing some support, and ill so my best lol.

Ice - cit is a real roller coaster untill 12 weeks sleep comes and goes, so does the sickness and a whole host of other nasties, it settles some by 12 weeks but doesnt really have a full effect till 4-5 months, if u change brands of cit that can bring back all the nasty side effects for some people, it does me, i stay to the same brand so i dont have to deal with that. everything u are dealing with ice is normal for cit and you just have to ride it out, there will be ups and downs untill u come out the onther end. stick with it hun, you will get there xx

[Icequeen]

So i've been back to the doctors this morning, she initially suggested upping to 40mg but after a chat, she decided rather than a huge jump to double, we'd give 30mg a go for a month then the 40mg. I am back again in 4 weeks.

I wonder how much going from 20 to 30 will affect me? Am i likeyl to get a sudden surge of those initial side effects again like when i first started?

Today is a slightly more up day, but then i wasnt at work this morning so managed to sleep until 930, with no rush to get to the doctors

sleep is really difficult, but once i am asleep, its hte waking up thats so hard, usually becuase i have to wake up onyl a couple of hours after i eventually get sleep!

thanks ever so much to everyone, reassurance i guess is one main factor of help that i need! especially from people travelling the same journey as me or those who are ahead of me already!

This really is something thats blowing my mind, i can't actually beleive its happening to me...

thanks again xxx

[lisa2512]

some people get the side effects again when upping doses, others dont, i did but they were less than the starting side effects, i really think you should give 20mg longer to settle before upping the dose, it really is to early for them to be having a big effect, your body will have to adjust again to the higher dose and i cant see it helping your sleep, but if thats what you feel you need then give it a try, my sleep was messed up till around week 8 of cit now i sleep like a baby and have no trouble getting up

[Britabb]

some people get the side effects again when upping doses, others dont, i did but they were less than the starting side effects, i really think you should give 20mg longer to settle before upping the dose, it really is to early for them to be having a big effect, your body will have to adjust again to the higher dose and i cant see it helping your sleep, but if thats what you feel you need then give it a try, my sleep was messed up till around week 8 of cit now i sleep like a baby and have no trouble getting up

It's so good to have someone here who has battled the early days. It's great reassurance. X