Bit of advice needed please

[ladybird64]

Hi all..thought I would ask the experts!

I'm now coming up to 3 weeks on Citalopram and am doing much better generally. I went to see the GP yesterday at his request for a follow up and he asked me if I felt my dosage needed to be increased, I'm on 20mg.

I have said no because judging by everything I have read, 3 weeks is still very early on in the process and optimal effect has yet to be reached. He also felt that if I felt 50% better then we should leave the dose as it is.

I do feel considerably better and have managed to manage some walks, I was struggling to get out walking before starting medication. (I didnt know Cit was used for Panic Attacks, just thought it was for depression!).

I just have the teensiest doubt in my mind though. This week I have been feeling a bit "flat", not really low, just lacking in energy. I have also been quite irritated by things on the home front (got a bit of stress at the moment) and have felt a bit overwhelmed.

This is actually fairly normal for me but I'm worried about the flat mood, I don't expect medication to alter my personality but this is the way i was feeling before I sank into that godawful depression.

I don't normally ask for reassurance (not often anyway!) but I have done the right thing in staying on the same dose haven't I?

Thanks

[Jannie2948]

Hi there Ladybird

I started on 20mg of cit just over 4 months ago and it took me about 6 weeks before I felt somewhat better. Then after 3 months I still had bad days and still felt anxious. I went back to Dr who increased my dosage to 40mg about 5 weeks ago. I still don't feel 100% but am also having therapy to see if that will get me over the last few hurdles. My Dr said to me that 40mg was the best dosage for anxiety/panic so hopefully when I get to about the 6 week mark with the increased dosage I will start to feel that much better again. 3 weeks is still early days for the meds to fully work, I would say give it a bit longer. I read all of Psychopoets Citalopram Survival and found it very helpful. My Dr also gave me 2mg of diazapam to get me through those bad moments that I have. This is the first time in my life, and I'm quite old!!! that I have had to take meds for this, but I think if I'm honest, I have suffered with this for a long time but only late last year had to have meds. I don't suffer with depression, although being anxious/panic it makes me feel quite sad, not my usual bubbly happy self. So I hope to get back to that place, don't we all...:-)

I wish you all the best

Jannie x x

[bottleblond]

Hiya mate

Ok i'm not on the same medication as you but i think they more or less work the same.

I think your doctor has started you on a relitively low dose so it enters your system gradually making sure any side effects you have would be slight, however if you are feeling yourself sliding again then it may be an idea to up them again slightly. It's much better to do this gradually as it makes a subtle difference rather than a scary change. (Hmm did that come out right) Lol.

It's entirely up to you though, you will know in yourself if you are ready for an increase or if you would rather see how you got on as you are.

Either way, i hope things settle for you soon
Love and hugs
lisa
xxx

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi Ladybird , I'm glad to hear you have some improvement . I went for assesment today and the physc told me what i already knew that i have anxiety. I will be starting on Citalapram next week , I'm a bit scared ( mainly because of my fear of meds ) There seems to be mixed opinions on it , but then everyone is different , I'm scared of the side effects i may have .
I'm glad you managed to go out walking , let us know how your getting on . Love Paige x

[ladybird64]

Aww thanks ladies for the reassurance.

I am going to try and hang in there I think but I am being cautious in case I go downhill quickly, if that happens I will go back to the docs (yes, I promise this time! )

Paige I know how you are with meds so if you need some back up, you know I'm here..takes one to know one!

Hugs to all x

[burberrygirl72]

hiya i started on five then ten then to twenty and now forty mg it took at least 3 month to totally get in my system i have been on mine now since oct and im a new person i used to have pa everyday couldnt go out house on my own i now go into city centre on my own drive alone and no panic attacks my family have called it a miracle drug im back to my oldself so keep going with it chick it does work well xx

[JT69]

Hi all..thought I would ask the experts!

I'm now coming up to 3 weeks on Citalopram and am doing much better generally. I went to see the GP yesterday at his request for a follow up and he asked me if I felt my dosage needed to be increased, I'm on 20mg.

I have said no because judging by everything I have read, 3 weeks is still very early on in the process and optimal effect has yet to be reached. He also felt that if I felt 50% better then we should leave the dose as it is.

I do feel considerably better and have managed to manage some walks, I was struggling to get out walking before starting medication. (I didnt know Cit was used for Panic Attacks, just thought it was for depression!).

I just have the teensiest doubt in my mind though. This week I have been feeling a bit "flat", not really low, just lacking in energy. I have also been quite irritated by things on the home front (got a bit of stress at the moment) and have felt a bit overwhelmed.

This is actually fairly normal for me but I'm worried about the flat mood, I don't expect medication to alter my personality but this is the way i was feeling before I sank into that godawful depression.

I don't normally ask for reassurance (not often anyway!) but I have done the right thing in staying on the same dose haven't I?

Thanks

Hi Ladybird,

I took citalopram on and off for 9 years and mostly at 20mg and was fine on that. During that time if I had a bad patch I would increase to 30mg for a period until I stabilized again then as soon as I did would drop down to 20mg again....so for me this was a theraputic dose.

If you are coping o.k on 20mg then I would stick at that it may be that the odd blip passes on its own without the need to increase. See how you go.

Take care
JO.

[Mitch]

Hey Ladybird,
I'm also just at the three week mark, the last week I've been on the 20mg. I can totally relate to feeling overwhelmed as you'd mentioned.

So far it's helped a lot with my anxiety but I feel in total limbo with the depression. Generally it’s like I'm neutral about everything. Also lacking in motivation to do things, which was a part of the depression in the first place. Only difference now is that I'm not bothered about the fact I can't be bothered doing things lol if that makes sense? I feel less lethargic (fuzzy) and less snappy.

On the downside, I've noticed that I've been crying a lot more since taking the cit. Before I hated letting my guard down to cry but since the meds I can't control it. Last week I had to call my partner during the night because I was in a right state (I've never done that before), so I generally still feel very down.

I’d say from your post that you’re feeling a bit better than I am on the Cit for the same amount of time. Because you said there were some stresses at home, I’m wondering if the feeling of ‘flatness’ is maybe just a normal reaction to family stress and not so much a set back from the pills.

I’ve started to ask myself if ‘most people’ would feel down or stressed under each situation to help me evaluate if I’m ‘over-reacting’ or just ‘reacting’. Because I’ve been depressed for such a long time it’s hard for me to tell if I’m reacting from the illness or the circumstances. I don’t know if anyone else can maybe relate to this? Maybe try and wait it out and if it doesn’t improve or gets worse it might be the time to consult your GP about increasing your dose. Take comfort in having the option there to up the dose if you feel you should.
As others have said, hang in there!



Mitch

[RichW]

Hi Lady

Just to let you know that I'm on day 30 today. I'm definitely better than I was and I only really started to feel a definite improvement about 2 days ago. I'm now excited for the first time since starting to take these meds because I can't wait to see what each next day is going to bring. I do feel like I'm lacking motivation somewhat but at the same time I'm also just happy to go with the flow. Even more excited because everybody seems to say 6 weeks before feeling a signifcant difference - that gives me hope.

Best of luck and hang in there.


Rich