Increased anxiety an hour after each dose?

[LiveAboveIt]

So I've been on Citalopram for about 18 days, about 12 days on 20mg and I do see that it has been helping both my overall depression and anxiety. However, I notice that I wake up in the morning with my usual mild anxiety/worry, which seems under control or doesn't bother me so much.. But then about an hour after I take my pill, I notice that my body feels like it falls into a mild fight or flight and I get this strange feeling of impending doom in my stomach or just general unease, and just about any thought that I have brings on an immediate flash of fear.

This tends to go away about 6-8 hours later in the day where I start to feel fine towards the end of the night and all of the weird sensations seem to become very mild along with my thoughts.

Is it possible that the Citalopram is still causing increased anxiety after each dose, even whilst improving my passive anxiety? I worry because I've already been on 20mg for about 12 days now. I do notice that the anxiety increase is much more mild compared to when I first started the pill, but does it go away completely when my body is adjusted to it?

[Jaysmd]

Try taking at night

[LiveAboveIt]

Wont that mess with my sleep? It does indeed make me tired when I take it, but I've read that other people had insomnia issues. I guess I could always just try it and see how it works for me.

[Jem21]

I usually take mine in the morning for the first couple of weeks then when the insomnia passes I move them to before bed. My anxiety gradually improves and it's gets to the point where I can feel it bubbling under my skin but not full blown, then just morning anxiety then it goes completely.

[LiveAboveIt]

Thank you, Jem. That was a ton of good info, I'm glad to hear that I'm on the road to recovery. I will try taking it tomorrow night and see if that helps.

[Suziewuzie]

I take mine at about 7pm because I didn't like the side effects. It did mess with my sleep a little at first but no moreso than when I took it in the morning x

[Jaysmd]

I found an hour after taking it I start yawning and get extremely tired and anxious so I take it at 9pm and manage to get to sleep. But I only changed to evening after 4 weeks.

[LiveAboveIt]

I can definitely try it.. I just find that after I take it and I get extremely anxious, if I do try to sleep during the day, I tend to just constantly shift in and out of sleep with random feelings of panic. I don't know if it's the pill that causes this issue with daytime sleep, but I'm worried about this happening at night and not getting any sleep. Although I do sleep absolutely fine at night. I honestly feel like if I didn't have the increased anxiety from the pill, I'd be a completely different person.

[Jem21]

Like you say, it's just increased anxiety from the pill and once the side effects settle down this will go. I found I got calm periods and then some calm evenings then it went completely for a couple of days then popped back for a while. It was all over the place the first 4 weeks for me. The anxiety has completely gone for me and I'm just starting week 5, I'm just having that totally flat feeling now where I'm not sad or happy just flat but I've been here before and it passed. Just try to accept all the symptoms (I know it's really hard) as best you can for the first few weeks till it all becomes easier. :-)

[Jaysmd]

I'm jealous that your anxiety has gone! I just started week 6 and my low mood has lifted but the constant anxiety is still present. It's a rollercoaster at the moment, in a day I can go from good to bad and back 8 times!