citalopram ~ 40mg, what's going on?

[mrs paranoid]

Hi folks. I have been on citalopram since december 08', was first prescribed 20mg (and found this wonderful forum which encouraged me to take the plunge and begin the meds)... at first i had a terrible week of side effects and had to bunk off work to let the meds get into my system. after the side effects subsided i felt fine, pretty numb emotionally but with random bursts of cheery-ness......but as time went on, the bad thoughts started coming back. so back to the docs i toddled and was upped to 40mg about 6 weeks ago. for the first couple of weeks, i felt no different then i had a 'blip' and felt like i was losing the plot. back to the docs (again) who advised me to stick with the upped dose as it can take 4-6 weeks to notice a change. Well i'm on week 6 of 40mg and i feel pretty poo to be honest. i've felt so low today its been horrible.

what do i do now? up my dose again? change meds to something stronger?take time off work? i just feel like i want to curl up in a ball under a duvet and hide and hope i feel better when i wake up and all the stress/depression /paranoia goes away.

i'm sorry this is so long winded but i just needed to spill my guts as it were.



x

[Lion King]

Hi there,

I felt exactly the same, I just upped my meds form 30 to 40 as the anx was still creating problems. I just thought if I don't feel much better then I would just have to see the doctor and get prescribed something else or I would just have to learn how to cope with the anxiety on its own.

I am having cbt sessions, so I am working hard with the therapist to find out what the triggers are and coping mechanisms. Perseverence is the key to recovery, the more we wish to be better the more anxious we can become, I think it is very small steps to get to where we want to be, but the main thing is to keep looking forward and not backwards, take each little blip as part of the learning process!

Apparently the anx will slip into the background without you knowing! Hopefully this will be the case for us!

Apologies for the reply being long winded too!

Take Care, Keep posting the threads!

Lion King

Have you had any counselling of any type?

[Thumbelina]

It is all temporary, believe in it.

Almost Everybody on this forum felt like curling or are curled up now under the blanket, hoping when you spleep it off you will be the same old. THis is not the same with this nasty illness. It will come and go, and then it might come again but you will be preparesd already and it will not be able to fool you anymore.

Maybe you can Try to ignore and distant as much as you can the way you actually feel with your good old self. Maybe with time you will be able to understan that this is just the way we feel but not the way we actually are now.

Like I read yesterday here somebody wrote: Dont always believe what you think. )

You'll be fine soon,...

[mrs paranoid]

Hi folks
thanks for the responses. i admit i am in a blip at the moment and sometimes it just takes over the way i think.... its so refreshing (albeit a little strange) to hear others with the same problems - i sometimes begin to think i'm losing the plot big time.

i did have counselling a few years ago, but i stopped due to my paranoia -- i kept thinking about what she would do with the info i gave her...she was only trying to build a profile of my home life but i felt guilty sharing info about my partners occupation, where i went to school, the names of my friends etc.

[FreeSpriritedLiss]

Hi Mrs. Paranoid,
God I really feel for you...I was put on 40mg in October, but have since lowered my dose to 20mg. The first 2 months on 40mg was awful - I was constantly anxious, constantly paranoid and my thoughts were whirling out of control. One day, it just gradually began to stop. I have the odd blip sometimes (the worst ones being just before my period!). The best thing to do is excercise, eat some chocolate and drink peppermint tea. Sounds wierd, but it works!

Liss

xx