Hi NMP ,
i have not posted for a while which might be a good thing , the last three months have been stressful and anxious for me but i am coping but with all these news rules my OCD has increased and health anxiety as with 90 % of the nation probably.

I have been on citalopram for 10 years and have asked my GP several times for a change as i am 40mg and sometimes was struggling. My GP who can be quite reasonable but would get a bit annoyed saying that the med was helping me and basically be grateful. I have stopped taking it twice before and when i had to unfortunately restart i suffered terribly the first 1-2 weeks and i was prescribed diazepam. When i informed GP of this he said it was more likely my anxiety increasing as i was not well and maybe some minor side effects.

My third time on citalopram i was in tears and did not sleep for 3 nights in a row and i am a 40 year old man. I had asked the GP who was different to prescribe me another ssri and was told this is the best med for my condition . I had anticipated 1-2 weeks of hell and i was right even down to suicidal thoughts (trigger warning!). I eventually talked to psychiatrist who agreed with me and did explain that Citalopram can lower your mood initially when you are in bad shape anyway and later on a therapist thought that as well and did not rate citaopram but said it was cheaper than other meds.

It confuses me to this day how sometimes you are ignored by some medical professionals who have not gone through extreme anxiety , i know 10 min consultations are not the best for mental health discussions and the NHS/GPs are under pressure from and Government at times (Jeremy Hunt etc) and reduced finances, but other countries Doctors mentioned on this forum such as USA seem more amenable to discuss pros and cons of various SSRIs and let the patient have a say.

I worry about long term use of this med as my memory and concentration can be terrible, i sweat a lot , increased weight and struggle to sleep regularly . I feel my GP has had enough of me and i try to see other GPs in the practice but they seem be the same , i don't know if its just me and my anxiety causing these doubts or are their other people out there who have confronted the same problems.. I know i cannot expect a complete cure with SSRIs which i naively thought years ago but i can't shake these nagging doubts..

Take Care Robert