citalopram with propranolol and diazepam

[mark83]

hi all,
i suffer from H.A. and iv been on 40mg propranolol for a few weeks now after the 10mg was not doing much also im on 2mg diazepam both 3 times a day and just when i thought there was light at the end of the tunnel and things were getting better i went to see my doc in hope he would reduce the doses but no he gave me Citalopram 10mg to take once aday before night
I had my first last night around 12 am and woke up around 6am wide awake and feeling anxiety again so i tuck 1 diazepam to chill me out and i feel ok again (ish) but my question is why has my doc give me more meds when i thought i was getting close to coming of what i was already on? Is it because diazepam is addictive and he wants me to stop them and replace them with citalopram? the reason im asking here is because my doc dont realy tell me whats going on even when i ask questions, what gets me tho is why give me more meds that just bring back the anxiety?

[VickiS]

Citalopram does increase your anxiety when you first start taking it, however it's only a SE and will pass once the drug goes into your system.

Cit has proved very effective in the treatment for anxiety whereas propanolol only helps with the physical symptoms, and isn't really a long term solution.

Your doc propably doesn't want you on Diaz long term as it is highly addictive and you become tolerant to it after a while, so it stops working for anxiety. I've been on Diaz for over 10 years and I'm in the process of coming off it (it's not a pleasant experience) I started on 10mg of cit about 12 weeks ago and have recently increased to 20, you should start to feel better after a couple if weeks, it will be worth it in the long run

[mark83]

thank you for your reply that has tuck a weight off my sholders x

[VickiS]

No probs, we're all going through the same thing, let us know how you're getting on

[mark83]

same thing happened again tuck the citalopram at 12am up again at 6am and had to take a diazepam to chill out, is this a normal reaction and how long will it last? it was a little worse this time so at 6:30 i tuck my propranolol that was 7 mins ago, i hate this i was getting better now im going backwards any tips?

[VickiS]

Sorry you're having a hard time :( unfortunatly there is no quick fix, cit can take a while to start working (around 4-6 weeks usually) the SEs should start to calm down after a couple of weeks though

Did you start straight onto 20mg? You could maybe try going down to 10 to start with (speak to your doc about this first though) as cit can be quite harsh on you to start with a lower dose is easier to cope with in the beginning. Once it's in your system increasing your dosage isn't too bad (I halved my tabs and went up in 5s)

Hope you feel better soon

[mark83]

i started on 10mg 2 days ago felt alot better about a hour later so im good just hope i dont get the headaches again, going to see a counselor now so ill let you know how that goes, thank you for your replys vic xx

[mark83]

When i told him i was on all 3 the first thing he said was "jesus christ!" haha
he then said my doc should of not give me all 3 to take and if i feel i dont need the citalopram stop taking them so thats what im going to do, he also said we cant do CBT if your on diazepam so try to only use them as a last resort witch is great news for me as before i was given the cialopram i felt i was on the mend, iv only been on diazepam (2mg) 3 times a day for a week and half so it should not be too hard for me to cut them out. so things are looking good again he said i may have a few bad days but not to worry its just my body getting back to normal YAY! x

[VickiS]

Good news Mark hope it all goes well for you

[mark83]

me 2 thanx again for your replys it helped more than you know