advice, citalopram, anxiety

[herge]

hi, im new to this forum and thought id ask for abit of advice, ive had anxiety for some time now, but only in the last 2 to 3 years has it become harder to deal with, i had a low point before christmas at the same time id bought my first house which had probably caused it all. i felt really strange lightheaded , almost dreamy, and had strange feelings sensations in arms face body especially along right side, and have been having waves of anxiousness . ive been to the doctors and have had blood tests and other tests he does think that its anxiety, and has put me on citalopram which i took for a week until i had a strange episode where my body was burning all over and i didnt think it was helping so i stopped taking and have been to the doctors again which he told me it would be better to stick with them as they take about 2 weeks to really work, i felt better that week id stopped taking the tablets than i had done for months, and id started working more as before i felt i couldnt and often stayed in bed. id like abit of advce on what i should do, should i take the medication even though im not convinced and would like to try sort the problem without tablets. any help or info would be great. thanks.

[jitters]

Welcome to the Board,

Citlopram and other SSRI's are usually one of the first treatments tried for Anxiety. It actually takes about 6 weeks on average to work fully. However what your doctor may have been refering to is the fact that if you get side effects they usually disappear within two weeks. By all means give them a try they can help give you the clarity of mind to begin focusing on learning coping stratagies and seeking out therapy which is the best long term solution. Other long term solutions include a number of self help books and sites mentioned in different places on this site. Taking medication or not is your choice, if you dont feel it is helping dont take it but come off it gently and with you doctors knowledge. Another option which I took when I was on citlopram for about five months and decided it was adversly affecting me, is to change to another medication. I am currently taking a low dose of tricyclic antidepressants.

The best treatment I have found is speaking to others with similar problems.

Stay Strong

Duncan. :)

[V for Victor]

Herge, I'm on citalopram, and it's really helping me along.

I had a similar experience, with a strange "burning" sensation on my body, especially the neck and back areas. I told my doctor, and she said it wasn't likely from the pills. In retrospect, I agree. I think it was just because I was going through a bit of a panic at that moment, and I freaked out and made it into more than it really was.

Definately stick with the pills. In a few more weeks, you should be feeling a lot better.

[herge]

thanks for the feedback, im going to stick with citalopram see how it goes. once again thanks for the help.

[herge]

hi, i have been on citalopram for about a year, i had know idea how much it would help me, and have had no funny doo's, so to speak, in the past year.
my doctor has decided it would be best to take me off the drug so ive gone down from 20mg to 10mg then 10mg every two days, i felt ruff going from 20mg to 10mg but i expected to feel some change, then for about 5 days felt ill, anxious etc having changed down to 10mg every two days, i then picked up and im now off citalopram alltogether and have been for about a week, then on monday,i started to feel depressed, and have been ever since its now thursday, tuesday night i couldnt sleep and the depression increased, im feeling slightly better today, would just like to know your thoughts. thanks