new to citalopram

[tjd89p]

hi everyone, im tom 20 years old and just been put on citalopram for depression/anxiety ,im on day 6 and have lost 7lbs since starting,is this a common side affect? i think its due to being sick so much as they have been making me feel pretty ill. if anyone could help this would be great , thanks!

[Jannie2948]

Hi Tom, sorry to hear you are feeling unwell on the Citalopram. From my experience, I started just over 3 months ago, and the first 2-3 weeks were not very good for me. I lost about 2 stone in weight and couldn't really eat much at all cos I felt so rough. After those few weeks though I started to feel better, just had the odd day which was not so good. Started on 20mg am now on 40mg, dr increased it last Friday. I'd say just persevere with them, you will feel the benefit, I know I have. I suffer with anxiety and panic attacks.

Hope you soon start to feel better.

Jannie x x

[suzy-sue]

Hi Tom .I lost a lot of weight and couldnt eat much .I was retching at the thought of food for about 3weeks ,but was never sick .If it doesnt feel any better by the w/e I would speak to your Dr hun ,.Try to drink things like comlpan milk shakes and smoothies as they contain essential vits to keep you healthy .Little ammounts of food thru the day instead of larger portions .Also drink plenty of water based drinks as you could get dehydrated .Yoghurts ,porridge ,scrambled eggs dont take much effort to eat and will give you extra calories .Rice pudding &.custard will give you fat to your intake .It does wear off but you need to keep sugar levels up for blood sugar .The smoothies will do this for you .Hope you feel better soon ,Luv Sue x

[tjd89p]

thanks alot for your advice guys,i will just keep going and hope it improves soon. have read through alot of posts on here and there really helpfull aswell its a nice site! Tom x

[JT69]

HI Tom, what dose are you currently taking?? The lower dose you start on this medication the less likely you are to suffer the side effects. I lost a stone and half when I started and that was on a 10mg dose....you should find as the days go by it will get easier if you can push through it. Really feel for you...but will be worth it in the end. Take care. Jo.

[tjd89p]

Hi jo , been taking 20mg daily for 6 days, this problem started the first day aswell. its just like a constant need to be sick and its a killer on the stomach its really quite sore now, its the same with liquid or solids ,just cant keep anything down , thnks for your help ,tom x

[lior]

Oh dear, hope you adjust soon. After my first day on Citalopram my anxiety levels were so increased I was going crazy - it was like the bad aspects of being stoned. I got it decreased to 10mg for a week and that helped a lot. Perhaps it might work for you.
Don't worry, you do adjust eventually. The best peice of advice I can tell you is don't drink!! Alcohol will stop the effects of the drug, and it will make you feel worse than before too. I thought I would be able to drink and be fine, and it's possible for some people, but for the majority it isn't... so... good luck and drink as little as possible xx

[crissy]

Dear Tom,
I sympathize with you as i was the same at the beginning, please believe that once the medication settles you will, my only advice is to keep occupied with something new to you if possible it will make you think different.
Try activia yoghurt it helps the stomach even if it's a couple of spoons full every hour.

we are all here to support you.
with love to you
crissy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx