citalopram ?

[HazG]

Hi i went to my Dr's yesterday and spoke to him about my awful symptoms! he felt my tummy and said all felt well and after a chat he has decided to give me citalopram i am a bit worried about taking it as i have heard bad things about it,upset tummy been one i already suffer from that so don't want to make it worse can't stand been nauesa all the time.

He has ordered a full blood count jts incase he has missed anything but he seems to think they will be normal and i am suffering form depression.

Has anyone taken this drug or is taking it?does it make you feel any better does it help wiht the symptoms?
Mine are.
Nauesa
don't fele like eating
Diarrhea
shakey..cold
i feel like a wave comes over me and i go all funny if you understand what i mean,its driving me mad

[Roadtorecovery]

Hi

I have recently been prescribed this same medication, I too was very hesitant and took time considering if it was right for me. If you look Citlopram up on wikipedia,There is a lot of info

I took comfort that t has been around since 1989 I believe, so my thoughts were if there were nasty things about the med, People would know.

There ae many adverse symptoms listed. But this is true with all medications I think, You must read them, but also maybe take them with a pinch of salt, it does not mean that you will be affected he ame ways.

I have been on 20mg for 3 or 4 weeks now, I felt a great benefit after maybe 4 days.

My doctor told me to take them at the same time everyday, he suggested with breakfast. With many meds it is advisable to have tablets with food, I do not think it is needed with these tablets, but it can only help!

You may feel a bit funny if you drink on them, so I would advise just to take it easy on them. It cold just be me, but I have found alchol has a quicker effect now Im on them.

Some good news is that they shouldnt make you sleepy, and I understand that the weaning process off them isnt to hard either.

You must work out what is best for you, But, they really have helped turn me around.

Did your doctor explain to you how they work for you?

Take care

[HazG]

He just said after a long chat thta i was suffering with mild depression and panic attacks after the loss of my mum in Jan.

He said they should help with my symptoms ? not sure how that happens is it becuase these drugs calm you down?

I have looked them up and the main one was sickness when you start taking them,which is what i am suffering with now.

Thnaks for replying.

[MightyPC]

Alot has been written on the many forums regarding Citalopram. My personal experience, after taking 20mg for 10-11weeks or so, is that I had most of the side effects. I noticed that after week 9 my appetite really increased and as a result I have put on 4kgs. Two weeks ago, I decided to try alcohol with them and had quite a lot to drink, I had the hangover from hell but it was barable. I have been told that once you are on these expect to be on them for a minimum of 6 months. That has concerned me as had I known that I do not think I would have taken them.

My thoughts of them are impartial, my mrs thinks that they have done me wonders though I feel it has just dilated my anxiety - it`s still there. I missed a pill on Sunday and never got around to taking one until 2 in the afternoon on Monday and I felt ill - very heighten anxiety and general malaise. I noticed an improvement the following day.

I think everyone is different and if you are to read all the posts on here I would say Citalopram gets the thumbs up

[Roadtorecovery]

Basically, my understanding is they block the signals in your brain, which tell your body to release adrenalin & other chemicals which bring on the panic, racing heart etc. etc.

This allows your body to build up and rebalance as you are not constantly depleting your brain of stuff that it needs to keep balance of the chemicals, It allows Serotonin to rebuild in your brain, which can become depleted.

My doctor said to allow 4 months as a minimum, he said if I take them for say only one month, after a short time my brain would be low on the chemicals again as they would not have built up for long enough, similar to charging a mobile phone for a short time! lol

My side effects have been minor at worst, and have improved!

I am a big believer in the power of the mind, I.e if someone sees what side effects they could have, there mind will let them have them, however, you must read the instructions and side effects before any meds, so best to take them with a pinch of salt & stay positive, if you feel side effects, roll with them, they may not even last long once your used to the tablets???

I would say, in my case, the risk has been much less than the benefit, refering to the last post, try not to miss a tablet, I have experinced a similar thing when I took one much later in they day than normal for a couple of days!

Regular check in's with the doctor are recommened to see how u are getting on with them, no doubt ur doctor has already told you this!!

Regards

[wendy_72]

I've been taking Citalopram 20mg for about 4-5 weeks now. I haven't really noticed any major side effects, except a few days when I didnt sleep at all, then I slept for a full day, which really worried me. I do have random days when I get very restless, and lack concentration, and am generally pretty unable to settle, but I do feel better in myself. Still cant get out of the flat, but can stand at the front door very early in the morning (like 4 am) for a short while without panicking, so I am hopeful that I can progress

[xfilme]

The thing with citalopram, is they amplify your anxiety whilst your body adjusts to them.... after this point you will start noticing a decrease anxiety. But that first stage takes about a month to get through. There are a LOT of side effects. Most of which I also suffered in the two years I was on them. The body has a tendency to adapt to the medication at certain points and decome ineffective, meaning the only thing to do is up the dose. This works for many people. I tried to make it work for me. After two years on citalopram and 6 months on lustral (my doses by which point were at 100mg) i decided to try something different. I solved more problems from 50 mins CBT than I did in 2 and a half years medication. May I suggest that all of you suffering anxiety/depression etc of whatever form, ask your doctor if you can try talking therapy as well as your meds in case they work better for you. CBT doesnt take long to get nowadays. Most places will see you within a couple weeks and its very very effective.

I have been to hell and back in the last ten years. These days, im on no medication and have no therapy. Sometimes its hard, but most of the time its easy. I have found Health Anxiety the hardest to conquer... but im working on it... and now it rarely rears its ugly head.

[Raindog]

Those of you needing a bit of reassurance and advice might want to check out he Citalopram forum, lots of useful info, especially if you read the sticky at the top, PsychoPoet's Citralopram Survival Guide.

The first week or two of Cit can be difficult, besides the side effects you've mentioned, they can increase your anxiety so it's a case of hanging tough and riding out the storm til the meds start to fully take effect.

You might find it helpful to start your own diary thread to keep a record of how you feel each day. Once you break through the SE's and start to feel better you can read back through your account and see how far you've come. It also helps others to read who follow, so you might want to check out a few other peoples threads to see how they coped and got through.