No Improvement after 6 Weeks on Citalopram

[Anxious Andy]

Hi everyone,

I have been following this forum and have found very insightful posts that got me through the crazy first couple of weeks on these meds. I literally got hit with every side effect over the first few weeks and definitely felt my anxiety getting worse as soon as I started this medication. I started off with 10mg for the first 7 days and then went to 20mg from day 7 till now, which is 6 weeks later.

I started taking this meds after being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Obviously the hyperthyroidism caused an increase in anxiety but because I was untreated with the condition for so long I developed a panic disorder after having multiple panic attacks due to the adrenaline rush caused by the thyroid condition.

So obviously I am now more aware of every skipped heart beat and the previous attacks have heightened my anxiety to a point where I was recommended Citalopram to treat the anxiety disorder. I have to state that I have never suffered from depression so the medication is purely to treat my anxiety disorder.

So with the background out the way I have to say that after 6 weeks of heightened anxiety, especially after waking up, and all the other side effects I am drinking more Benzo's now to keep the side effects away than I did when I just had the panic disorder. I would usually cope with having .5mg of Zopax when I started feeling anxious and then I would be fine... but with taking Citalopram I literally have to take 1mg in the morning just to get over the crazy morning anxiety and then probably another .5mg later in the day to even me out.

So my question is 6 weeks into these meds, should I not have been over the worst of these side effects and should I not almost be free from still relying on Benzo's to get me through this? I literally don't feel any benefit from the Citalopram as it stands right now but definitely felt every single side effect.

I know that it takes time and I am happy to stick with it however I just wanted to know if after 6 weeks I should not have felt at least a little benefit of these meds.

Thanks for your time in reading and answering me. It's greatly appreciated.

[Aejh91]

Hi Andy, i have had my dose upped to 20 for 6 weeks now but started on 10 for a couple of months before that.
My anxiety is still there and my moods have been awful which they werent on the 10.
I think we have to stick it out :/ my doctor is calling me today so i will update you! Its sooo frustrating!

[anxiousjomo]

It is just so hard to know, isn't it! My advice would be that if you can last another couple of weeks, do so. If by then the side effects are still awful then maybe it is not the med for you. I had similar issues with cit as you seem to be having - I lasted about 4 months before deciding I needed to come off. Then the slow withdrawal process started, and I just took my last tapered dose today (2.5mg). It is hard, and a real grit-your-teeth fight to get through, but the worst that can happen is after a couple of weeks you decide cit is not for you and come off it. Maybe you then try something else, but at least you can cross this one off the list. It may be SSRI's are not for you (there are other alternatives)...

If, after giving a drug 3-4 months, it is making you worse than you were when not on it, I think you can safely say it is time to stop.

[Ethansmom]

Celexa took four months to help me , and at 40 mg
My doct added nortryptyline to the mix. I took have to keep taking clonazapam daily to fight the anxiety. It is getting better though
Maybe talk to your doc about adding on med to help boost the citalopram?

.

[Fidget]

Hi Andy. Stick with It buddy. I believe it's a helpful med especially for anxiety sufferers. I remember 8 years ago when I eventually agreed to take AD meds (I had been reluctant for a long time) that it took a few months before I felt any relief. I felt the best I had ever been and I am quite an anxious man, so much so that I weaned myself of it this year. Sadly for me my symptoms have returned, and despite restarting 4 months ago I continue to struggle. It takes time for these meds to work. In my experience, we also have to do other things to help ourselves. Meds alone are not always the answer. Are you aware of mindfulness, meditation, talking therapy. These may also offer some insight into our suffering, and begin to reshape how we think and feel. Good luck.

[MattZion]

I had to stop taking Citalopram made me so ill. I couldn't eat or drink, gave me ringing in the ears which I still have now I felt so depressed and terrible I take my hat off to you for doing 6 weeks on it! I was only on it for 4 days. I was on esCitalopram for years and was all good apart but came off them about 3 years ago.

Are you doing anything with your time on the meds i.e working? homebound? etc?