Increasing from 20-30 - positive stories?

[Sparkle1984]

Yes, it is normal to have blips during the first few months of taking the medication. I had the same. Hope you feel better soon!

[Windywel]

Thanks Sparkle - Did you have quite major ones that lasted for a few days? Did you think about the increasing? Thanks heaps

[panic_down_under]

Do you know why they occur PDU? Shouldn’t the levels be stabilising now?

Citalopram plasma levels will have stabilised within 7-8 days after the last dose adjustment. But the med has no direct affect on anxiety/depression. ADs are not aspirin, or benzodiazepines. The therapeutic response comes from the new brain cells the meds stimulate into growth and the interconnections they form, and that isn't a linear, or one time process, but goes on continually day after day after day. Not all the cells survive, in fact most die within a few days, nor do all the interconnections and synapses created survive. There is considerable fine tuning by 'pruning' as the cells settle into their tasks. It is an organic, not a chemical process, so can vary from moment to moment influenced by many factors, including your state of mind.

[Sparkle1984]

Thanks Sparkle - Did you have quite major ones that lasted for a few days? Did you think about the increasing? Thanks heaps

Yes I did have some fairly major blips which would sometimes last a few days. I didn't increase though because I really didn't want to go higher than 20mg (which is the dose that had worked for me the previous time).

[Windywel]

That’s the same as me. And did the blips eventually ease off? Were you still getting physical symptoms that were worrying you? That’s my problem and I wonder if I need to increase to stop the worrying which might hopefully stop the symptoms

[Windywel]

Hi all I’m feeling really down and negative today. Had a terrible night with insomnia and now thinking that the meds arent doing anything except giving me side effects (8 weeks on 20 mg citalopram)
im better than i was for the first month but i still think im worse than i was before i started it again. Didnt have this insomnia or breathlessness or crying all the time. i had one bad panic episode related to severe pain from my IBS but otherwise was just a bit down and edgy. i said to my husband this morning i should just come off them but he got angry with me. The doc i saw yesterday has anxiety herself and she has been on meds for 18 years. she said i should probably have tried something different this time as i had been on the cit a while. she also said its a lot harder to treat the second time
I tried not taking the lorazepam yesterday to see how id go without it. i actually surprised myself and wasnt too bad- bit edgy and anxious but ok and i just cracked on with the day but it all went to custard at about 8.30 in the evening when i guess i was tired. Back to being anxious and breathless and tears again. So frustrating as i hadnt cried for a few days and id had a better day up to that point. i know part of the problem is that i keep putting these expectations on myself and get really frustrated when i feel like ive failed. Psych is still really keen for me to go increase as he thinks i will need that to get better but im just so scared of getting the side effects back, particularly increased anxiety and the awful burning sensations i used to get.
just feeling pretty hopeless and dark - really sick of all the crying. Will this get better?

[Windywel]

hi all to recap i have been on cit second time for 10 weeks (8 on 20mg). There has been some improvement but slow and incremental and i am very up and down. My psych wants me to go up to 30 but i am really scared about it as i do not want the side effects back, particularly the increased anxiety and panic and the awful burning sensations. Anyone out there with positive stories about increasing? Many thanks

[panic_down_under]

I tried not taking the lorazepam yesterday to see how id go without it. i actually surprised myself and wasnt too bad- bit edgy and anxious but ok and i just cracked on with the day but it all went to custard at about 8.30 in the evening when i guess i was tired. Back to being anxious and breathless and tears again. So frustrating as i hadnt cried for a few days and id had a better day up to that point.

If you've been taking lorazepam regularly then some of it may also have been from withdrawal.

Psych is still really keen for me to go increase as he thinks i will need that to get better but im just so scared of getting the side effects back, particularly increased anxiety and the awful burning sensations i used to get.

Requiring a higher dose than last time was always likely. Seems to me that there is no point taking a med at an ineffective dose. Yes, raising it may increase side-effects severity for a while, but doing so by only 5mg at a time should limit this.

Will this get better?

Yes, but you will need to help yourself. Procrastination rarely solves anything, ime.

[Windywel]

Thanks PDU - how long do the side effects usually last when increasing? Doc also
suggested possibly adding in quetiapine but not sure about the metabolic side effects -don’t want to put on lots of weight again. I asked about pregabin as someone I know has just started taking it at a low dose and says it made her anxiety go within an hour and is having zero side effects but he didn’t seem to know a lot about it except in patients with chronic pain and GAD who take high doses and he said they find it hard to tolerate the balance and dizziness side effects.

[Windywel]

I have been helping myself - working, counselling, walking, reaching out to friends, meditation - it just seems harder to treat this time and I’m very up and down. I need to get stable for my family.