does this make sense to anyone please?

[damopanther]

having been on cipralex for 3 years(20mg), seemed to stop working, was put on venlaflaxine on tuesday and had severe anxiety for two days until finally went back to docs, and he then prescribed me 20mg of citalipram so now i am on this, i dont understand why he has put me on citalipram instead of cipralex because they are virtually the same, apart from cost and side effects, so now im totally confused, also i started the venlafaxine the day after i stopped the cipralex and now the citalipram the day after the venlafaxine, any help would be appreciated, at the momest my anxiety is sky high with horrendous panic, many thanks, damo

[lady]

oh hun i would be panicky too what a lot of choping and changing ...i would be thinking about the others not being out your system i think for peice of mind i would phine nhs 24 to put your mind at ease they will be able to give you info xx

[NoPoet]

As far as I know you can start one SSRI medication immediately after another. If you are taking an SSRI for long enough for your body to adapt to it, it is possible you can suffer "withdrawal effects" which include heightened anxiety. If you were taking the first medication for three years and stopped it suddenly, you have gone "cold turkey" which puts you at the greatest risk of withdrawal symptoms.

Withdrawal effects only last until your body has purged the last of the medication from your system which can take a couple of weeks.

You were only on venlafaxine for two days which is nowhere near long enough for it to have any positive effects. Even one single dose of an SSRI can cause increased anxiety. They make things worse before they make them better.

You need to stick with a medication for several weeks unless the side effects really are intolerable. I struggled with citalopram for a month and did not really notice the medicine having its full effect until at least six weeks.

[damopanther]

understand your points but venlaflaxine is not stated as an ssri in the anxiety uk website, so its not just a swap from an srri to another one, also i too struggled for many weeks on a lot of different medication including prozac, amytriplyne, citalapram and cipralex so i know what awfull side affects are, but this was something i have never experienced on any medication, i would have chosen not to have been around than go through that experience again, i appreciate your help and advice and im just going to stick with citalapram, many thanks, damo

[suzy-sue]

Idont understand why if the cipralex stopped working for you ,the Dr has now put you on a cheaper less effective version,Is this just to stabilize you at the momentI wonder? as I cant honestly see the benefits long term otherwise sorry! Just because you havnt had withdrawal symptoms before doesnt mean you werent having them by stopping the cipralex . Sue x

[suzy-sue]

Venaflaxine is an SNRI a slightly different anti depressant and is sometimes given when ssris stop working or arent effective. Sue x

[damopanther]

thanks for replying, i too dont understand why the doctor put me on citalapram instead of going back to cipralex, i know they werent great, but surely going on citalapram with more side affects is not the answer, at least my body was used to the cipralex and the dose, which is twice the strength of the citalapram, i am not innocent too having suffered for 15 years with anxiety and depression, perhaps its time to accept there is no miracle cure, and just try and move on and accept anxiety will always be part of my life,
i have also had cbt for a year with not much affect, my sons keep me going to be honest, ill get there one day, take care, damo

[suzy-sue]

You can have a higher dose of citalopram even more than your cipralex.Im sure once your 20mg has settled you will be put on 40mg which is equivalent to what your cipralex dose was.Some people even take 60mg.Dont give up hope,it is possible to get rid of the anxiety. All the best Sue x