Thinking of starting Citalapram

[brit]

Hi guys, im in a bit of a bad place at the moment.
I came off Venlafaxine about 2 months ago as the side effects were messing with me and i wanted to see what life what would be like 'pill free'.

Since then i have been suffereing with anxiety and panic attacks increasingly, and to make matters worse ive contracted some kind of virus from an insect bite.
Its got to the point where i dont know which symptons im suffering from are from being ill and which ones are anxiety based.
Even leaving the house brings on a panic, and i have had them at home aswell.

My doc is keen for me to start taking citalapram to combat the anxiety.
The thing is im reluctant to start it as Venlafaxine (and especially coming off it) wasnt pleasant. I'm also panicking about side effects.

I feel like im mentally falling apart, is Citalapram usefull for anxiety/panics, and roughly how long does it take to to start working?

I apologise if all this has been asked before, i just need a bit of help.
Thanks

[Jonquil]

Hi Brit,

I have been on citalopram for about seven months. I did have side effects when I started feeling sick, headaches and just unwell- but I managed to keep going to work through them. They gradually subsided over about three weeks- it did help to gradually build up the dose although the doctor had not specifically told me to do this. The only side effect that I think I still have a little bit of trouble with is poorer concentation.

Personally I feel the citalopram has really helped me- I have generalised anxiety disorder and I feel better than I have done for several years- although there have been a few blips along the way. It has also helped with my physical anxiety symptoms like IBS.

It may be sounds as though I am doing a sales pitch for a pharmaceutical company- I'm really not. But it has helped me-especially to have some space to recognise how much the anxiety has affected my life and also to use the counselling I am having more effectively- previously wasn't able to look at any difficult issues in counselling.

Hope this helps and that you find the things that will help you get to a better place.
Jx

[Jonquil]

..should have said also that it took about 10 days to start to feel some effects of citalopram which then built up- probably over a couple of months.

[brit]

Thanks Jonquil, i think i will give them a go. It feels like my life is not my own anymore, and its got to the point where i am scared to leave the house.
I have tried all the techniques to 'get through' the panics but i think its time to try medication.
Thank you again.

[Ingenious]

Brit when you reach the point you have I think it is always worth trying the medication, you clearly want to improve things for yourself and Citalopram has a good record of working well. As with all these medications you may get some side effects but stick with it because these do subside over the first couple of weeks. Try to focus on the long terms gains this medication can bring you rather than worry about the side effects listed on the leaflet or talked about in here, because not everyone gets every side effect. I know some people who have taken Citalopram and not had any side effects at all, we are all different. And good luck

[brit]

Thank you, its good to know that there are people out there who know exactly what i am going through, it makes the world a bit less of a lonely place.

[brit]

I now have a months worth of Citalapram 10mg..... But im scared crapless to start taking them..

My doc said its highly likely that my depression and anxiety will get worse for a week or two, and i dont know if i am going to be able to deal with that.

God, i feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[iamspartacus]

whats worse, suffering a TEMPORARY rise in anxiety/depression with the strong possibilty that it will ease within a couple of weeks, or face the prospect of your anxiety/depression worsening on its own for an indefinite period? im a med phobe as well and had to bite the bullet. its not easy to stick with at first, but keep your eyes strongly fixed on the long term goal. stick at 10mg until you feel ready to go up to 20mg. you may not have to go to 20, but keep that as an option for the future.