Can this med help my symptoms?

[Jarv]

Hi

Thanks to everyone who responded / read my post the other day. I still dont fel good but im still here!

Anyway the doc has perscribed me citalopram (sp) for my anxiety. Whilst i am aware that the medication wont completley take the problem away (I wish so much it could) I was wondering to what extent it can help with my physical symptoms which are my main problem. My symptoms are as follows:

Fatigue / 'daydream mode' (major)
Lightheadidness / dizziness / giddiness (Major)
What i think is derealization (major)
eyesight issues (Blurry in open spaces / Foggy vision)
Tension headaches (Occasionley)
Constant feeling of no energy
Not nervous but feel a little shakey
Sudden jolting occasionley
Muscles feel tense for no reason (But i dont think they actually do tense)

There are others but those seem to be the main ones. I am still a little worried that its not anxiety as i dont sweat or have panick attacks but the doc says these are just symptoms like any other.
The problem just doesnt seem to show any sign of going and ive totally had enough.
Do you guys think this medication may help? I just can see how it can deal with the physical symptoms. It helped me 2 years ago with what i think was depression but i didnt have these horrible physical symptoms then. They really are 24/7 and just wont go.

Please help me if you can. Thank you

Jarvis

[myra]

The derealization is your body telling you to calm down (at least that's what I've been reading!). So when that happens, just think of that and maybe it will go away?

A massage or yoga can help with the tense muscles. I was having an attack the other night and my boyfriend gave me a back massage. The attack immediately stopped.

Yoga, pilates, and any form of excercise can help with fatigue as well as a balanced diet. If you do excercise, make sure you stick with it to see results.

I've never taken that medication before, so I can't really comment on that.

[V for Victor]

Citalopram is what I'm on, and it really helps me.

Your physical symptoms aren't just isolated issues with your body, they are just symptoms of a greater problem: Anxiety.

Don't focus on trying to remove this symptom or that, just focus on removing the source of the symptoms.

That said, Citalopram should help you. It has an incredibly low occurence of sideaffects, and the most common ones are usually temporary and very, very mild.

Once your anxiety is under control, you'll find that a lot of those physical affects of anxiety will become less and less of a problem.

During the time that you're on the pills, and once your mind is cleared and you can focus again, you might want to put some effort into studying more about your anxiety problem (be it social anxiety, OCD, or whatever) and learning how you can cope with it on your own, depending less and less on the medication.

Good luck, and keep us updated!! :)

[juliana]

I took Citalopram for over a year and it worked well for me. It calmed down my anxiety and I had fewer panic attacks. I credit it with helping me get over my agoraphobia and face the world again. I faced a lot of fears and gained a lot of confidence while I was taking it and those fears didn't return. So, its benefits stayed with me once I was no longer taking the medication.

The negative side effects I had were a feeling of lethargy when I was home alone. I called it my "inertia pill." I couldn't make myself get up and do things -- like clean my flat, or cook dinner, or do some of the things I used to enjoy doing. I went from being a neat freak to being a total slob. I was fine when I was at work, though or with other people. It was almost like I was a wind-up doll and needed someone external to turn the key for me.

I also gained about 30 pounds while I was taking it. I lost the weight very easily when I weaned myself off the drug, though. It just seemed to drop off. Overall, the pros of the medication definitely outweighed the cons for me.

I hope it works well for you.