Please help - Citalopram and some frightening symptoms

[Lion King]

Hi Poet,

Sci-fi and swords & sorcery sounds really good, I bet you really switch off to the anxiety when you are doing these! You ought to put a sample on this website so people can view it or a link of some sort. Keep it going mate, I'm still reading the Harry Potter books, I'm on the 4th one at the mo so I've got a fair way to go!

Glad to hear u have a girlfriend, it was only a matter of time! Hope your date goes really well at the dragstrip, its a bummer about the morning anxiety, I can totally sympathise, I have had to get up early for the last 2 weeks and my anxiety has been creeping back up again, can't wait to get back on normal shift, I think I'm ready for a bit of chilling out and plenty of sleep this weekend.

Keep positive it will get better!

LK

[NoPoet]

A snippet from a sci-fi story called The Pyramid:

“I see nothing but a dead place, built by a dead people,” I said as levelly as I could manage. “I see no-one but you and I, and I think it is time we were leaving.”

I started towards him – I’d drag him back to the camp if I had to – but he made that frightening noise again and I halted, arming the plasma rifle with a whine of building power.

“I can see them. They’re all around us, flitting from shadow to shadow like ghosts. They’re watching us from the stars. It’s like they see us, but they don’t see us, do you understand? Individually we are nothing to them. We are ants; dust; microbes. But if that is the case, why are they staring at you with such frightful hate?”

That's the only part of the story that isn't too disturbing to paste on NMP!

[Lion King]

Sounds really good,

Keep it going!

[WICKED123]

Heeey everyone, I'm new to the forum and to Citalopram really. I was diagnosed with OCD and Panic Disorder the other day and just recently began taking Citalopram. It was a bit ironic that I wanted to get better but was too afraid of taking the tablets because of my OCD and my anxiety. But nevertheless I started taking them a week after I was given them I finally got over it and started them. I haven't really had any major side-effects yet (touch wood I don't) but does anyone have bright white flashes in the corner of your eyes. I've had about two or three now since taking them...but sometimes it'll be little floating light things which I've never had before. Oh and I think a very common side-effect is the yawning...please let it stop haha but the dreams are very vivid like I was reading above it's not as if they're scary just very surreal and realistic.

I was just wondering has anyone else had these bright lights or little floating lights?

[NoPoet]

Hi everyone!

Wicked: visual disturbances are a normal side effect, I think most of us have had some kind of visual weirdness at some point with citalopram.

My life has become complicated in a good way. There are a few things I can't go into here mainly because they involve my love life and at least one real-life friend now visits this website, and they know my user name.

I am starting to think that my new relationship with Caroline may give me the boost I need to finally (in the long run) recover to a state of "normality", but I know for a fact I still have work to do!

I met my girlfriend's son and he has really taken to me. He's a hyperactive 3 year old and I spent most of the day chasing him round an adventure playground and carrying him round on my shoulders. My girlfriend says she can't believe how good I am with him. Not bad considering how scared I was of having to deal with a kid! I'm taking them to Bolsover Castle on Tuesday and we're taking him to a natural history museum to see the dinosaurs

My girlfriend nearly had a fight today with a girl at the car boot sale who was giving me the eye and she told me that a girl I have known for a couple of years is attracted to me... the problem is, if anyone finds out about that, it will be really awkward... I have started to become a player in the game of life!

I am now taking increased doses of inositol but they didn't help too much with this latest blip. I find inositol is better at preventing anxiety attacks from coming on than it is at fixing them once they have started. I will hopefully be able to declare this blip over soon... but it has been a nasty one.

[nanadon]

Hi all. Please take the time to read this as I am desperate for reassurance!

Yesterday, my doctor put me on citalopram because I have been suffering from severe anxiety with possible depression. I took my first tablet (20mg, the lowest dose for depression) last night about 9.45pm. I also took ibuprofen for a headache.

I very quickly started feeling ill. As in, within 10-30 minutes of taking the citalopram and ibuprofen. I went to bed. It felt like someone was rummaging through my brain, my thoughts were racing and I had a huge anxiety attack, my eyes were unfocused and a bit crossed and I felt dizzy and nauseous. I actually thought I'd been poisoned.

I got up for a wee and the dizziness and unfocused vision disappeared as soon as I stood up, which is weird, and they didn't come back! I realised I'd been lying there suffering for 3 hours!!!, so I phoned NHS Direct (this is at 2 in the morning), who said it sounded like the tablets were perhaps too strong, and I should go to my doctor first thing in the morning. They said ibuprofen does not interact with citalopram and was not responsible for my symptoms.

I felt a hundred times better after that and went straight to sleep.

My doctor was a bit annoyed with me this morning, although still very polite and professional, saying there was no way the citalopram could have affected me so quickly as it takes 3-4 hours to enter the blood. This means my symptoms would have started by half past 1, instead of half past 10.

In his opinion I'd suffered a panic attack.

I used citalopram a few years ago, but can't remember if I had any side effects. I was only on it for 3 months. The doctor said that was further evidence that it should be safe to stick with citalopram.

I'm scared to take my citalopram tonight but the doctor has said I must try to continue with the course instead of giving up after one day.

Has anyone else ever been like this after taking one tablet? Am I being silly and scaring myself to death, or does it sound like citalopram is not the drug for me?

Please help, I am terrified about tonight!!

Hi there do not worry, it prob was just a panic attack, also you can start of on 10mg as i did, but my doctor told me to take half a tablet for about the first week then a full one and carry on. Hope this helps you x x x x x x

nanadon x x x x

[NoPoet]

Thanks for the advice nanadon

I had a really bad dream on Saturday night.

That evening before I went to bed, I had a long heart to heart with Caroline (my new GF) and we both talked a lot about our histories. I was reminded of something that happened when I was a kid and I dreamed a brutally honest (and perhaps slightly over the top) dream in which I was being interrogated about things that I did. I was forced to read negative statements about myself and my involvement in these events and my dream ended with me saying something that upset me greatly: "Without doing those things, my life would have been empty".

It seems like I deal with one problem and another one gets kicked up from the murky depths of my subconscious. This is something I've bitched about before.

HOWEVER -- the positive way to view this is: I have successfully dealt with one problem, so my subconscious mind is letting another problem slip to the surface because it trusts me to deal with it now that I have "proved myself".

I hope this thought helps other people too because it's true!

In other news I am still battling against this blip and I have all but won; it's only tiredness and my natural worrier's nature that are the problem now.

I am still writing stories but I find they are getting too close to home and I now feel anxious when I think about writing them.

[Lion King]

I am having the same issues, a blip from out of the blue! I'm trying to do absolutely everything at home and at work and I feel like I am on the verge of burnout! I feel like I need a break, but with leaving things undone I am only going to have to go back to it.

I think I need to take a huge step backwards to assess the whole situation! My problem seems to be that I don't like to leave things undone incase they bite me in the arse later, this is un-necessary pressure! The more you give the more they take!

A tired lion!

[suzy-sue]

Lion King I have just replied to your other post .Reading this it appears i am right .Sorry to hear you arent too good ,but it will pass like everything does .Please look after yourself and get some rest .Luv SUE X

[sue29]

Hi im new to No panic, ive just read your post, and I would like to say if you have the same thing happen tonight, then please go back and see your Doctor, and see if he will start you off on a lower dose, as ive been on Citalopram for 2 years now... and I started with more or less the same side effects as you.. and my Doctor cut me down to 10mg and increase them over time,
many
thanks
sue