How long for the effects to wear off?

[esrella]

I was prescribed 20mg cipralex, started taking them last week. I took one on Tues, felt awful, bed for 36 hrs but no sleep, not possible to eat for a week! On Thurs I took a half, so 10mg and I lost the plot.

I was drinking a bit heavily at the same time, silly I know

By Friday morning I had an ambulance attend me, and gp said not to take anymore. How long do the side effects go on for, from only taking 2 tablets? I still feel crap now, but coming off the alcohol could be something to do with that. Just trying to sort out in my head what is what.

[alias_kev]

I've been taking these for a while so some thoughts...

Mine were started as 10mg morning and later 10mg nighttime was added. They did hit fairly hard - so it seems much better to me that my GP started low and worked up.

Not to be harsh but taking them sporadically was probably not such a good idea. If the first doses were tough I would have hoped you'd tell the GP and they would have suggested taking them in smaller doses to get started. Even the leaflet in the box usually admits that you can get side effects and they can be strong. Once you've been taking them for a while I find missing a tablet can also be quite fearce too so taking occasional doses could have given you both lots of side effects at once.

As affects were so bad for you it may be better that they have been stopped. As you had only a few tablets I would have thought it would be out of your system quite quickly. Most advice usually says its people like me - with months of treatment even at low doses - who can take a long while to rebalance their systems.

All of the pills seem able to produce the effects they are trying to get rid of. So it maybe thats why it hit you so hard. It made anxiety rather than taking it away. If your body reacted so badly it might take a bit longer to recover - like when someone has a reaction to anything eg. antibiotics.

Sorry I cannot offer a timescale. But I didn't want you to think noone was interested. I'd say if you don't feel back to how you were before after a few days atleast speak to your doctor by phone to check. A pharmasist might also have some information on the withdrawal period.

[esrella]

Thanks for the reply

Actually feeling more "me" by the hour now, as able to eat and keep down liquids. I did speak to a GP on the day I took the first one as I felt so awful, lips stuck to teeth, really anxious, and all she had to say was she had spoke to people with worse side effects, and to just go to bed and sleep it off!!

After reading a forums like this I realise now that was not a very good approach and she should have been more sensitive or explained more what was happening

[alias_kev]

My current supply has a really good leaflet in it. Its branded Cipralex and repackaged for the UK by Star Pharmaceuticals/Servipham. Its much more detailed than the first ones I had.

It confirms that it can take 2-4 weeks to get the benefit for panic disorder (and therefore perhaps other things too). It says to begin with anxiety can be much worse. It says never to stop or change dose without GP agreement.
Withdrawal is described as 2 weeks for most but 2-3 months or longer for some. This presumably assumes after taking a normal dose for a while.

Swelling in the face would be a bit dodgy it implies but with luck you only had a gummy mouth (excuse me saying) rather than swollen lips.

Dry mouth is a very side effect (1-10:100) as is increased anxiety ( 1-10:100). The nausea is very common (> 1:10). The best advice is to carefully eat through it as a starved body will not cope well and an empty stomach seems likely to make the drug iritate more.

Good Luck with whatever you try in the future.

[esrella]

Cheers

I'm going to re-train myself with CBT, drink camomile tea, and use Bach's rescue remedy, plus do breathing excercises, all which I used to but as I got better they sort of dropped away.

I most certainly won't be trying any meds again