I really don't know what to do anymore! So anxious about being anxious! Fed up!!

[Charlj90]

Stopped Venlafaxine a little over two weeks ago now as I did not like how I felt on this medication and was adamant that it was giving me this horrible nervous feeling (which the psychiatrist agreed with) therefore took me off the Ven for a few days cold turkey and I was started on Citalopram 10mg alongside my Mirtazapine 45mg! (Citalopram worked for me a few years back for anxiety).

Anyway when I first started the Citalopram I was feeling great back to myself!! However about a week ago I was sitting eating my tea and the horrible nervous feeling in my stomach came back and o don't know why because nothing triggered it!! And now I've had it back ever since!!

I know I've only been on the Citalopram a little over 2 weeks but I don't understand why I felt so great for the first week and then all of a sudden this nervous feeling has come back!??????

I've had my doctor do blood tests to check for anything that could be causing this nervous feeling because I have never felt anxiety like this before! And I am finding it hard to come to terms that this is me now and this feeling is here to stay with me for the rest of my life! I have a 16 week old son and I'm just so fed up waking up in the morning with a churning stomach and I don't know why!!!

I have suffered with anxiety since the age of 17 (now 24) but it has never felt like this!! Just constantly feel nervous/excited!!!

I don't know what to do anymore......why won't this feeling leave me alone!!!

[MyNameIsTerry]

One thing that you need to remember is that you haven't been on Citalopram long enough for it to start working. I can't remember what your Ven dose was but up to 150mg it is certainly working with Serotonin but if you were on a short time that doesn't mean it made the real effects that we go on SSRI's for. It takes 4-6 weeks for the number of Serotonin receptor sites to decrease and before that it has just filled up the space between with more Serotonin that is re-used but this is normally when we suffer the side effects and don't find much/any benefit.

Were you on anything before the Ven?

What you are feeling now isn't going to be side effects withdrawal from the Ven as that will have easily have been eliminated from your body in 2 weeks as it's a very short half life drug. Citalopram takes much longer to become "steady-state" in your blood but again 2 weeks is easily enough for that too.

I think you need to try to bare this out until you get out of the side effects window for 4-6 weeks and then see what is happening. This is when these are supposed to be helping in general so right now it could be a mixture of side effects and your own anxiety disorder.

I know that is hard and it can seem years away, I've been through it twice myself and really struggled, but if you can it is worth it to determine if Citalopram is going to help you again.

How does what you are feeling now compare to the struggle you had going on the Ven? I remember you found that very tough.

Sometimes people seem to find it harder to go onto a med they tried before. I'm not sure why this is as I haven't tried this myself or spoken to many on here that have done this but is it possible that your anxiety disorder itself was worse? My relapse was worse and my experience going to meds was worse, but I had similiar issues to you with your Ven and stuck it out but it was hell.

Another possibility is that all the struggling you did with the Ven has made your disorder a bit worse as it has shocked you and your anxiety in general has been raised. But don't think that means it will stay like that, it will reduce again...believe me mine did.

[anxiousrob]

I started out on Citalopram, the first few days were ok, then bang. I felt so on edge and even more nervous than normal, I battled through for a few weeks and it got easier, I didn't get on with Citalopram... We are all different...

I'm now or Sertreline, which after 6 weeks seems to be ok?

I suffer from pre anxiety as I call it... I get myself all worked up about an event to the point were I have cancelled going. This stems back to having a big panic attack last year when travelling on my own, so now I fear traveling on my own. I'm generally ok when I get to my destination "safe place" and when i'm travelling back as I know ill soon be home.

But it does feel like im going mad, so I have every sympathy.