First SSRI - Bad experience (20mg)

[Cebula]

Hi, everyone.

I went to the doctor with symptoms of IBS and she also noticed I was an anxious wreck. After admitting that I've been like that for over a decade, she prescribed me 20mg of Citalopram and said that I might get nausea and a strange feeling in my head, and that if there were any other side effects then to go back. This was last week on Friday 24th April.

In the past, I turned down offers of SSRIs through fear. This time, I looked forward to trying to get my life back on track. Only 20 minutes after taking my first dose, my jaw started clenching and I got weird flushing and buzzing sensations in my chest and arms. I definitely felt like I was on a drug, but because it happened so fast I wasn't sure whether it was placebo.

For a few hours I began feeling more and more unwell. I wrote down all of my symptoms as they happened, but the worst were: Fatigue, flu-like sensations (but no fever or aching), and confusion (especially about time). I couldn't remember what day it was at all, and if I looked and saw that it was 6 o'clock, I had no idea whether it was morning or night and had to keep a calendar beside me. Whenever I turned my head, my vision was a huge blurry mess. My arms felt as if they belonged to someone else. I had constant palpitations and could feel my heart fluttering and jumping every few minutes. I was sneezing a lot and was getting a strange smell that wouldn't go away. I had the strangest headache that wasn't too bad, but felt like my skin had been shrink-wrapped tightly over my head. I also had insomnia, heartburn, loud tinnitus in my left ear half of the times I yawned, and diarrhoea.

It was by Sunday afternoon that I took the decision to stop treatment. I was a bedridden mess the whole weekend and haven't felt that ill in about 6 or 7 years (since I quit smoking I barely get colds or flus). It took about 24 hours after my last dose to begin returning to normal, and I'm waiting for another appointment with my doctor about what to do now. From reading about other people's experiences what I went through is a lot more extreme than most. I got unlucky, but now I'm worried that all SSRIs won't agree with me. I'll see what happens.

[KK77]

Your symptoms sound very much like a mild case of serotonin syndrome:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome

I would avoid trying another SSRI and instead look at a med like Mirtazapine or Buspirone which act differently. Speak to your doctor about this and perhaps mention serotonin syndrome as well.

Hope that helps.

[Cebula]

A belated thank you for the response.

I went back to my doctor and she told me not to continue taking it. I was then referred for an assessment for talking therapy, and they told me that I needed to be on medication. I went back to my doctor and she put me back on citalopram at 10mg. Once again it was horrible, and I lasted two months before I refused to take it any more. I was tested for diabetes, hypothyroidism, and liver, kidney functioning, etc. All came back clear.

I completely forgot about your post, but I've been put on 15mg mirtazapine and I'm not getting any bad side effects (or good effects for that matter, but it's only been 2 weeks).