Hello & this is my story!

[Eggy]

I felt fine until May 2004 when I woke up one day and felt like I had Flu or something and I just thought I had come down with something, My energy felt like it had completely disappeared and later that day I felt all weird and like something was happening and a feeling of Impending doom and I felt like I was going to collapse or something, This was obviously a panic attack.

I went to the doctors and had urine tests, blood tests and stool tests etc etc and nothing was found.

I was put on Sertraline in August 2004 but after a couple of days I went back to the doctors as I thought they were making me Ill so I was put on Cipralex.

I took these until April this year and they had helped my panic attacks but I still felt tired all the time and still didn't feel right and I thought after 5 and a half years on them they weren't going to do anymore for me.

However I have been feeling worse lately so I went to the doctors to get a prescription for Cipralex but was told they aren't being manufactured anymore or something? So they gave me Citalopram, I started taking them last Tuesday but by Friday I stopped taking them, Basically because my appetite has completely gone and i feel like i am force feeding myself and i already felt tired all the time before taking them and i have found that this has made it 10 times worse so i am not sure what to do next?

I don't like taking anti-depressants to be honest because of the side effects and because it makes you gain weight and affects your sex drive etc etc.

So, really not sure what to do next, In the past 6-7 weeks I have had 2 blood tests which were more or less totally normal apart from the fact that my white blood cell count was slightly high but doctor says that's probably nothing.

I've also had 2 urine tests lately which have been ok and last week the doctor done a full medical (blood pressure, listening to my chest and heart etc.)

I've got to have have another blood test done in the next week or so just to make sure my white blood cell count has come down.

These are my main symptoms:-

*Feeling really tired, weak and exhausted all the time
*Aches & pains Inc in the knees, stomach, back pain (mainly in the middle of my back), headaches etc
*No motivation (This is down to the fact that I feel so crap all the time and don't feel like I can do much.)
*Short-term memory problems (Although my GP did a memory test on me last week which included remembering words and doing calculations and i got them all right.)
*Lightheadness (I feel fuzzy headed and like someone is pushing down on my eyes as they feel really heavy and they twitch a lot, Just hoping there's nothing wrong with my eyes.)

Feeling tired all the time is frustrating me like mad and makes me feel like i'm not alive, It makes me feel terrible, I sleep for 8-9 hours every night and when i wake up i feel like i have not even been to sleep and like i have just got into bed, It's horrible and i just cannot get rid of it, I wish i could run away from it as it's the worst thing i have been through in my life.

As i have had problems with feeling tired a lot of the time for quite a while now my doctor has referred me to a Chronic Fatigue Specialist (anyone else on here been in this situation?)

I don't know what to do next regarding my medication and what i can do to try and lift my constant tiredness and generally feeling crap all the time?

I don't seem to get many panic attacks now, The only ones i had recently were within a few hours of taking Citalopram last week.

Also as i haven't taken the Citalopram for 3/4 days how long do they take to get out of your system completely? Considering i only took them for 3 days?

I am considering doing the following (I have no idea if this will work?)

1500MG Fish Oil
500MG Vitamin C
Multi-Vitamin

Don't know if any of that would help me? I'm not confident but it's worth a try.

I'm not sure if i am actually suffering from anxiety/depression or whether it's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Obviously I was on Cipralex for nearly 6 years and it stopped my panic attacks but after coming off them i more or less feel the same as i did when i was them maybe a little worse but i never had that much energy when i was on Cipralex either.

I have like a fuzzy head/head fog where my head doesn't feel right and feels like it affects my head and eyes so i'm worried about my eyes now.

Also, Right at this moment apart from the above symptoms my hands are hot and my ears and head feel hot like i have a temperature.

What would you suggest i do from here?

[nomorepanic]

Hi Eggy

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[Veronica H]

Eggy. You will find great information, comfort and support here.

Veronicax

[Kerry B]

Hi Eggy, sorry to hear you are going through a bad time at the moment. But with regards to the Cipralex they do still prescribe them its just they are £25.00 a packet like a designer versions where the Citalapram are a lot cheaper. As I can off Cipralex June this year and my friend is a nurse and she told me the cost of the tablets. It sounds to me like the symptoms you are experiencing relate to Anixety and Depression as I have nearly all of your symptoms and the tiredness and motivation is one of worse I going through at the moment. But has you probley no the Ciptalopram can take upto a month to get into your system. Hope you start to feel better soon

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi and welcome to NMP
Paige x

[Eggy]

I'm feeling terrible today, My eyes feel really funny, I feel very lightheaded and a little dizzy like i am going to keel over.

My stomach hurts (this has been hurting for the past few days) and i feel sick like i am going to throw up any minute.

My pulse is quite fast and i feel quite weak.

As you know last week I had tonsillitis i am not sure if it has gone or not but i don't think that is causing these problems.

The feeling faint/lightheadedness and the stomach hurting and me feeling sick are the most worrying symptoms.

As you know from above I was on Cipralex from August 2004 to April 2010.

I did start taking Citalopram last Tuesday but the last dose I took was last Thursday as they made me feel terrible and I couldn't eat at all, Will the Citalopram be out of my system now after 4-5 days?

I'm really not sure what to do, I don't like taking anti-depressants as i found that they didn't help that much and made me gain a lot of weight and messed up my sex drive, I have 4 boxes of Cipralex in the house i could take one but not sure if the Citalopram is out of my system after stopping them last Thursday after only 3 days on them?

My doctor's surgery isn't very good, Usually I have to wait 2-3 weeks for an appointment so I really don't know what to do in the meantime?

[Fly away Katie]

Hello, and welcome to NMP xx x x

[Eggy]

Also tonight, Apart from feeling weak, generally ill and weird there's something else.

In my room there's 2 lamps without lampshades on and my eyes seem very sensitive to them so i had to turn them off, Is this normal? I know this is a symptom of meningitis, I'm probably just thinking the worst, I haven't got a headache or a stiff neck or anything like that.

[amandria]

when your feeling so ill asnd exhausted, thereare many things we worry about, but i wouldnt worry to much as its probs something which can be treated once diagnosed, how is your blood suger ? have you been tested for diabetes, sorry spelt that wrong lol... i get these simila symptoms which you have, but i think i have ME ive not yet been diagnosed, im ok for now, but maybe a few times a year, i get bouts of sheer exhaustion, my body hurts all over, i feel sick and dizzy, i een passed out last xmas, but im affraid teh only things you can do is try and sleep and eat loads of good healthy foods, try and go for walks out along a beach or country side and get daily fresh air in your lungs, do you have children ? i have children, and i find responsibilites so difficult when i feel ill.. ive also had so amny tests which just come back normal, its a real fight to get yourself better, but you must keep fighting it, coz one day you will wake up and feel better hun, i bought a rock salt lamp, which acts abit like one of those lamos which you use for seasonal affective syndrome, and i find it really does give me a lift when im feeling low.. just have it on a table next to you, and put your hands on teh top and feel the lovely heat coming from it, i think it has a calming affect lol its great, they cost from 14 quid upwards from ebay, i paid 17 quid for mine
but i find when im not well, i always try forse myself to go for a little walk, as going through this crap its so easy to just give up on going out, and we get further in a rut with ourselfs... i also stopped drinking tea and coffee and suger which i feel was teh cause of my constand stomach aches, i felt worse with side affects though for three weeks, but it was so worth the bad headaches lol i thought my head was gonna explode, and i felt like i had the flu.. but also with ME which i feel i have got, you can get flu like symptoms, and dosnt matter how much you sleep, youl always wake up exhausted.. so many sufferers just spend all the time in bed, the worst i have been is when i was on my sofa for 4 days, and i felt i couldnt move, and as you say, waking up each morning after hours sleep and feeling youve not slept a wink, its bloody horrible, i jsut wanna cry my heart out, and i feel so annoyed and very unhappy, and i just feel i can not do all the things i would so love to do, apart of me is rearing to go and join in with things, but another oart of me feels stuck, stck in limbo, in a body which isnt working proply and dosnt move very well, and on good days i rush about so much lol trying to get loads of stuff done, and im back to square one the day after lol bloody exhausted again, but anyhows im not so bad at teh moment, apart from being very emotional, i think im going through menopause, coz i get extreamly sensitive, and im always upsetting peopel, i dont mean to do it, im a very careing person lol but ive been a swine latly, this just isnt me at all, so i need a kick upthe backside lol and to shut my mouth lol i think gaffer tape will do the trick