Page 26 of 26 FirstFirst ... 16242526
Results 251 to 258 of 258

Thread: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

  1. #251
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    278

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    I rejoice in each member who leaves this forum!!! Well done oldtime and enjoy your life! Cant wait until its me. xx

  2. #252
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    629

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    good luck mark, hope everything goes well for you.
    alan

  3. #253
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    420

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    It is now 4 years since my anxiety started. It took 2 years of anxiety before I turned to medication, taking 30mg of Citalopram and 15mg of Mirtazapine. I took the medication for 12 months and slowly recovered, learning CBT and gaining an understanding of my condition.

    I had a second round of AD's taking Mirtazapine for 6 months from May 2012 - Nov 2012. I'm now drug free. Coming off AD's is hard, you feel like you should be taking something, I broke my tablets down into ever small pieces over a period of 6 weeks.

    I feel that my anxiety is now under control, I still get feelings of anxiety from time to time but recognise them for what they are and most importantly recognise that if I don't dwell on them they will pass. I am unable to deal with long periods of stress, so need to take time out to relax from the strains of work and bringing up kids! This could be a middle age thing, we can't cope with stress in the same way that we did in our twenties and thirties.

    Insomnia played a role in my anxiety, since stopping mirtazapine my time spent asleep has gone from 8 hours to 5 hours a night. I could do with more sleep, but for now seem to manage. I think it is best again to accept this and not dwell on it. I found the advice commonly given to get up if you don't fall asleep in half an hour, only going back when tired again does not work. The best solution for insomnia I find is to get up early, if you are awake at 5am get up, get dressed and do something, don't lie in bed. Eventually you will start to sleep more solidly for those 5-6 hours that you are in bed.

    My best tip for health anxiety is when you find a problem to leave it two weeks before considering seeing a doctor. If after two weeks it is getting better then you can not worry about it any more. Once anxiety is diagnosed accept it and don't ask for more tests they really make you worse.

    I am aware that anxiety is a chronic long term condition (the prognosis is poor) this means it is likely to re-occur. I am prepared for this, I hope that with what I have learnt about anxiety and CBT I will not let it get a grip on me again. Although a major event would probably tip me back into the dark place, if that happens I will take the medication again and let time heal me.

    I have learnt that diagnosis, supplements, the internet, obsessive thoughts and lack of belief all perpetuate anxiety. I spent hours re-searching supplements, they re-enforce the belief that you have a medical problem (eg. a lack of some vital chemical) this is not true, the problem is psychological, any chemical in-balances in your body are the result of a stress from an incorrect interpretation of normal events and feelings.

    It is shocking how when you have anxiety you spend every minute of every day dwelling on it. It has taken a very long time for this to stop. I deeply regret the selfishness this creates, I was so wrapped up in how I felt I missed out on two special years of my children growing up. What a waste.

    My root problem was OCD and health anxiety. I would obsess about minor problems and let them eat away at me consuming my time and energy. I still continue to work on this, trying to allow myself to let go and move on. I think the medication does help you to overcome OCD, but you must understand the problem and learn CBT at the same time.

    I would like to learn more about Mindfulness, I think it can help and reduce the chance of recurrence.

    I now feel the future is bright, I'm looking forward to the summer and all the things that we have planned to do together as a family. I have hope again for the years ahead and for what the future may bring me.

    I sincerely hope that everyone who uses this website can learn to overcome anxiety and to return to normal and happy lives again.

  4. #254
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    2,192

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    It's good to hear a positive story about overcoming anxiety - thanks for sharing! I have found mindfulness very helpful too. I'm weaning off my medication at the moment - just one more week to go!
    __________________

  5. #255
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    420

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    Hi, It's been a long time since my last post on this thread. My drug free period did not last long and I'm back on 30mg of Mirtazapine. I feel really good on this dose, I'm still not sure why I was relapsing without the help of medication but I think it was mainly due to stress at work.

    I have recently got myself an allotment and this is giving me more pleasure than anything I have done for a long time. Gardening, especially growing vegetables is a really great antidote for stress, my anxiety leaves me completely when I'm tending my beautiful vegetable garden. It's also a great way to meet people, we spend as much time chatting as we do gardening. I'm getting a shed delivered and will setup a camping stove so I can brew up a nice cupa while I'm there.

    I still practice yoga once a week and have tried to do more in the gym (when I get the time). This is all good for me.

    We had a long holiday in France this year at a chateau near Bordeaux , and enjoyed the good wine and warm temperatures.



    Beautiful location, and really peaceful.

    I think I'm now 80% cured of anxiety, but still feel vulnerable to relapse without the help of Mirtazapine. Maybe there is more to it than just psychology, perhaps my brain chemistry just needs that extra bit of help to deal with stress.

    Anyway

    Keep calm and Grow vegetables!

  6. #256
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    420

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    Gosh a year since my last post.

    I was drug free over the summer this year 8 months, enjoying my new allotment and growing lots of home produce. Anxiety started returning after the clocks went back + stress from work, becoming quite bad with several episodes a day. My doctor says that my anxiety is seasonal SAD and diurnal eg. it is worse in winter, at night and early in the mornings. We have decided that I would benefit from medication during the winter months so I'm back on 15mg Mirtazapine + 20mg Cit.

    Interestingly there were no side effects at all starting the meds this time around, also they have become effective very quickly my anxiety has mostly gone after 3 weeks of starting treatment and I feel really good. I think that my baseline anxiety is not so bad as it used to be and that I know what to expect from treatment so I'm not so worried about it.

  7. #257
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    420

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    Doctor recommended that I keep taking my medication for 5 years. Long term treatment has been shown to be the most effective for Anxiety with reduced risk of recurrence. I believe he is right, my anxiety is still very well controlled by this magic combination of 20mg Cit + 15mg Mirt. My only real side effects are slight weight gain and I think a slight blunting of my mental sharpness. I think there may be some general reduction in emotions this includes reduction in fear, worry, obsessiveness but also elation and excitement. It is definitely a lot harder to get up in the morning when taking Mirtazapine, I sleep really well.

    Overall on this treatment I have a normal life and I'm able to forget about my anxiety for most of the time.

  8. #258
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    420

    Re: Here goes - Citalopram the sequel

    Nearly two years since my last post.

    I had an anxiety relapse 6 months ago following a family bereavement and started taking 30mg Mirtazapine after a year drug free. I'm now pretty much completely anxiety free.

    I have started to rebuild my marriage, that has suffered from the years of anxiety and loss of repect that comes with it. Things are looking up and I'm happier than I have been since before the anxiety first appeared 8 years ago.

    It is a long a difficult journey with many ups and downs however anxiety can be defeated if you work hard on the following:

    1. Fitness and exercise. The fitter you are the better you feel, regularly getting your heart rate up makes panic attacks much less likely to happen.
    2. Find respect for yourself again, value your acheivements. Never talk yourself down.
    3. Good friends and relationships are essential for happiness.
    4. Identify and catch negative thoughts, think of what led to them and replace them with positive thoughts / actions CBT.
    5. Be nice to people and most people with recipricate and be nicer to you, this will make you feel good.
    6. Be assertive and decisive. If you feel indecisive then try to catch that and come to a positive strong decision, dithering makes you anxious.
    7. Identify what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Do more of what makes you happy and less of what makes you sad.
    8. Don't fret or worry about little things, let it drop and move on. Life is too short to waste your time worrying about something that is not important.
    8. If you are in a relationship have lots of sex, it really helps. Why do we ration ourselves on something that feels great, lifts your mood and is completely free.

Page 26 of 26 FirstFirst ... 16242526

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. citalopram
    By nineteen in forum Citalopram / Celexa
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 19-12-09, 11:30
  2. Trying to come off Citalopram
    By PeteB in forum Citalopram / Celexa
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 19-05-09, 19:34
  3. Trying to come off citalopram - please help
    By winnie in forum Citalopram / Celexa
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 29-10-08, 23:14
  4. Citalopram
    By sulmare in forum Citalopram / Celexa
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 15-07-07, 00:47
  5. citalopram
    By Children_of_God in forum Citalopram / Celexa
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 19-03-07, 12:41

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •