Positive comments about Citalopram please!!!!

[devon_guy]

Well I was on them last yr, on 20mg and they really helped me tremendously but they really did interfere with my sleep pattern turned me into a virtual insomniac! I came off them this time last yr and had terrible withdrawal effects, head zaps, feeling flu like.

Sadly my panic attacks came back badly so my gp put me back on citalopram but they didn't work so he upped them to 40mg which I hate and I want to come off them but am dreading that due to the last withdrawal problems. For some reason they aren't working this time so GP might try something else but I don't really want meds. I just want to be panic free and have a good nights sleep!

What's for you won't go by you

[sandie]

Well guys, ANOTHER rotten night's sleep; a total of 3 1/2 hours. No more sleep after 2.40 am and afater an hour of tossing and turning decided to get up (was worried about disturbing my husband). Took pillow and a blanket downstairs and settled on sofa - even tried listening to my Sleep Like A Child hypnosis CD. Sleep just didn't happen, went back to bed for a cuddle at 6.30 am and now feel bl**dy dreadful.

I'm slipping back into the bad old days' sleep pattern, and I know I can't go on like this.

I'm really worried that the Cit is going to make me feel even worse than I do now (is this possible)? I'm taking the med in the morning and not last thing at night in the vague hope that it will lessen the risk of further disrupting sleep.

All I want to do is put my head on the pillow and sleep.

Sandie

[Chopper]

Good mornin's Sandie,

I've not so good, good and very good personal experience of Citalopram you might find of interest.

First the not so good! I've had terrible side effects since taking 20mg a day one (over 18 months ago) and they've remained multiple and constant through gradual increases to my current 40mg a day.

But enough of this gloomy post, on to the better news. I've been using a lightbox since August 2006 to simulate natural sunlight and, placebo or not, it does seem to work - I sleep like a log every night! Check out my other posts on the topic for more info. It may just help regulate your sleep paterns again?

Now for the good news! I've persevered with Citalopram and have been gradually 'getting better', so much so that I'd say for the last 6 or 7 weeks I've been back to my old self. I'm no longer anxious, don't shake, sweat, clench my jaws, wring my hands, jump at sudden noises, snap at the kids, cower from the wife!

I don't want to use the word 'cured' but I'm really positive about my continued mental stability and know it's in part down to my perseverence with Citalopram.

I've no intention of reducing my current dosage until May/June at the earliest, getting a decent period of good mental health under my belt before I begin to contemplate doing so.

I hope this personal account was of interest and I look forward to reading your posts and, if I can, offering my advice on how to get through to the other side of our very common condition.


Happiness and light to all,
'Chopper'

Let us pray to Him who holds Life’s issues in his hands—
Him who formed the mighty globe, with all its thousand lands;
Girding them with seas and moutains, rivers deep, and strands,
To case a look of pity upon Kathleen-Ni-Houlahan!

James Clarence Mangan 1803 - 1849

[Nel]

Hi Sandie,

How is it going with the citalopram hon? Hope you are managing to sleep better.

Nel xxx

[lisa p]

Hi Sandie,

I am now on week 3 of citalpram and for the last week have not been able to get a good nights sleep, I take my tablet, 20 mg, mid morning, but every night I wake at 4.00 am and have a real struggle to get back off into a deep sleep. My ears seem to be over sensitive and I listen for every creak, and then panic that somebody has broken in!

I do feel better, the side effects have worn off, and I'm even having half a glass of wine in the evening! and the best thing is I've managed the school run twice this week and didnt feel too bad.

Well I'll be thinking of you in the early hours of the morning lol!

Hope this helps.

Take care

Lisax

[Chopper]

Mornin' Sandie/LisaP,

I've had 'bad days' during the Autumn/Winter, every year since 2001, and this year have been using a lightbox to simulate natural light - I've got it on now in front of my screen - and even if it is a placebo I've found that unlike a lot of people on Citalopram (I'm on 40mg a day) I'm sleeping well at night. Mine is a Lumie Brightspark and cost, I think, £115.

Since the clocks went back I've been using the box for longer each day (from 07:45 until, probably, around 12:30 today) and going to bed earlier each night. But even if my days are getting shorter at least I'm sleeping longer.

[dreamcatcher03]

I wanted to send out a positive message about taking citalopram, since they are very hard to find online. My story is.... After having my 3rd baby I suffered from postpartum depression. I was feeling very unmotivated very bland and very stuck in a rut. I felt like i couldnt connect with people and after 8 months i was not feeling any better. Everything seemed very overwhelming and i didnt want to do anything or go anywhere. I dont have a long history of mental health. I would like to think i am pretty normal I was just suffering from this horrible depression after having my baby and it was not going away. I was completely stuck in a horrible rut. Finally i gave in and went to the Dr. I was prescribed 20mg of citalopram. The Dr. told me to start off taking half a pill and after a few days bump it up to the whole dose. When i got home i researched the medicine online and was very discouraged and scared to take the prescription based on what 99% of the people online were saying about citalopram. I was already tired and had no energy so reading about how it made everyone so tired and sick etc.... I was set on not taking the medicine. I felt like i couldnt handle feeling worse than i already was and was afraid the medicine would make me feel horrible. I am not someone who takes medicine the strongest thing i have ever taking was tylenol and Excedrin. I dont take medicine I have never had any need for medicine or pain pills etc... and the thought of stuff like citalopram or anything like that is so foreign to me. It wasnt until about 2 weeks after i received the prescription I remember driving and thinking something is wrong with my brain its like it just is broken and not working right. Like its lacking something and im not thinking and acting right because its broken. it sounds funny to say but thats really how i felt. So with that being said it got me thinking well if my "brain is broken" i need something to fix it and the medicing is supposed to fix my "lack of" in my brain, Right??? So i decided that im just gonna gove the medicine a try and pray it works because i was over feeling just out of it and wanted to pull myself back together. I decided since so many people had complaints i was going to start out very subtle. Instead of taking half a pill (10mg) as the Dr. had recommended i was going to start with 1/4 a pill (5mg). I took 1/4 a pill for 4 days and to my surprise i actually started feeling better right away. No side effects noting bad like everyone else had complained about. After 4 days i bumped it up to half a pill (10mg) I felt great almost like my normal self, still no side effects. I stayed on 10mg for maybe like a week or so than slowly bumped it up to 15mg than 20mg. Its been about a month so far on citalopram and i feel great. Still no side effects. I am so glad i started taking this medicine. I wanted to share my story with everyone since it is almost impossible to find positive comments about it. I am SOOO very happy I gave in and started taking this medicine. I feel like i am back to my normal self. I am not overwhelmed any more I am able to connect with people again I dont feel like staying in the house. I want to give the person who created this pill a big smooch because it brought me back. I really missed myself because i was gone for a while. I had checked out "as that saying goes". But i am back and happy to be back. Also ....I have started exercising again Im eating healthier and have lost 5lbs so far. I dont feel like any weight i have lost is from the medicine but i do give it credit because i now have enough motivation and focus to exercise and eat right. This pill is great!! I plan on taking this for a total of 6 months than weening myself off. I hope my story helps. xoxo