Citalopram tablets - anyone? (side affects here)

[elibabes]

Hi i was given starting yesturday, a month long prescription of
one 20mg citalopram tablet a day
however the immediate symptons were weird
total lack of appetite.. literally, i had one of my favourite foods and i just could not bring myself to eat it
sleeping was a nightmare, i tried to snooze off at 10pm and didnt fall asleep till 2am, thats 4 hours of tossing and turning, counting sheep etc
and, it wasnt so much as panic, but the anxiety feelings seemed five times worse, it wasnt constant but if ever i thought about them for a second they felt much worse than normal


im only into my second day taking them... a little help here?

or have you taken them or similar

thanks

ps i dont think increasing the dosage is a solution at all because if these are just initial side effects, then they may get far worse if im taking double

[Dahila]

I was on it years ago and i do not remember a lot of side effects, then one year ago I started them and had 4 days of panic attack, and high heartbeat, insomnia, High blood presure, so my doc tried another one, then another one. It seems that I developed intolerance to them. My ancient age could be the factor too. The side effects you have will cease in time, It takes about 4 to 6 weeks to build the right level of medication in your blood stream. Two weeks and you should feel much better:)

[elibabes]

Okay because yesturday i started crying for no reason
i wasnt sad or depressed or anxious at the time i just started crying
this has not happened to me before
also i found it hard to sleep

is this a common side affect?

[sweetdaytx]

Okay because yesturday i started crying for no reason
i wasnt sad or depressed or anxious at the time i just started crying
this has not happened to me before
also i found it hard to sleep

is this a common side affect?

I was on that for a few months two years ago. It was very helpful for me but it took about a week before I started to feel any changes. I don't remember specific side affects because I was in panic mode and wasn't eating much or sleeping anyway. . I would imagine that there are emotional side affects like you mentioned as well as physical.

I also started medicine two days ago and I'm waiting for it to kick. I hope you feel better soon!!

[elibabes]

I was on that for a few months two years ago. It was very helpful for me but it took about a week before I started to feel any changes. I don't remember specific side affects because I was in panic mode and wasn't eating much or sleeping anyway. . I would imagine that there are emotional side affects like you mentioned as well as physical.

I also started medicine two days ago and I'm waiting for it to kick. I hope you feel better soon!!

Thanks for your reply
my heart also feels like its about to explode
but theres no pain
i just feel really weird
is that normal

[jessed03]

Did you start on 10 or 20mg? 20mg is gonna make you feel weird to start with. 10mg is usually the dose people begin on.

[elibabes]

Did you start on 10 or 20mg? 20mg is gonna make you feel weird to start with. 10mg is usually the dose people begin on.

erm
i was told 10mg to start
i took it yesturday but i read many forums where people said they only felt a positive effect where it was raised to 20, so i decided myself today to raise it to 20 as a one off
was this a bad decision?

[Dahila]

yes it was you should go with ten for some time, usually two weeks then slowly up it. What the doctor said?
Please, please do not take medical advice from the forum members. we can only say about our experience. The judge of taking or upping or weening of meds is the doctor not us.
People will help you when you have panic attack or you need someone to listen but be careful about following their medical advices, please

[elibabes]

yes it was you should go with ten for some time, usually two weeks then slowly up it. What the doctor said?
Please, please do not take medical advice from the forum members. we can only say about our experience. The judge of taking or upping or weening of meds is the doctor not us.
People will help you when you have panic attack or you need someone to listen but be careful about following their medical advices, please

yes your right
i will keep it at 10mg i regret making it 20mg today my system clearly isnt ready for it..
it sent my heart racing all day, and ive felt like im on drugs

the doctor who gave me them yesturday told me initially to come back in a week, i said clearly that wouldnt be long enough to see if its settled, and shes made my appointment for 3 weeks on friday

should that be long enough to see if its had an effect

thanks

[jessed03]

The depressed can usually tolerate 20mg of Citalopram straight away, but it's rough for the anxious. I went straight on to 20mg 4 years ago, it made me feel so bad I spent 3 days shivering in bed, throwing up, then checked myself onto the psych ward. Too much, too fast, I guess. I tolerated 10mg better, then when I increased dose after that I handled it better.

I definetly think you're doing the right thing by going slow.

[leather_couch]

Elibabes, I used to take Celexa. I actually took it on and off for many years, and I think it was extremely helpful for me. I now take a drug that is related to it chemically and have had success with that...That said, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the disturbances you are experiencing are a normal result of your body acclimating to the drug. I remember that when I stopped taking Celexa and would come back to it I would often have a day or two of weird sensations and a not-fun euphoria feeling. That all went away though. I do believe I even felt a loss of appetite briefly. I do believe it was the chemical effects of reintroducing the drug and I can honestly say, no side effect (loss of libido, digestive uncomfortability, derealization, etc.) is permanent, even as you continue to take the drug. I would encourage you to keep track of how you feel, but don't dwell on it. I believe a lot of what we experience in terms of SSRIs does pass. Of course, call your doctor immediately if you feel very dark thoughts. I think it's important to try to give the medication a little time to work in your body. In the meantime, try to relax as much as you can. Deep breathing exercises can be very beneficial.

Good luck and keep in touch with the board.

[elibabes]

Elibabes, I used to take Celexa. I actually took it on and off for many years, and I think it was extremely helpful for me. I now take a drug that is related to it chemically and have had success with that...That said, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the disturbances you are experiencing are a normal result of your body acclimating to the drug. I remember that when I stopped taking Celexa and would come back to it I would often have a day or two of weird sensations and a not-fun euphoria feeling. That all went away though. I do believe I even felt a loss of appetite briefly. I do believe it was the chemical effects of reintroducing the drug and I can honestly say, no side effect (loss of libido, digestive uncomfortability, derealization, etc.) is permanent, even as you continue to take the drug. I would encourage you to keep track of how you feel, but don't dwell on it. I believe a lot of what we experience in terms of SSRIs does pass. Of course, call your doctor immediately if you feel very dark thoughts. I think it's important to try to give the medication a little time to work in your body. In the meantime, try to relax as much as you can. Deep breathing exercises can be very beneficial.

Good luck and keep in touch with the board.

Thank you again for your kind comments
i will see after say a month, how citalopram has helped
im sure i will be way out of the `initial side affects phase` and surely it should have started to have gone into my system by then?
or do you think i should more like give it 2 months to see if it helped over all

[Emilym80]

Thank you again for your kind comments
i will see after say a month, how citalopram has helped
im sure i will be way out of the `initial side affects phase` and surely it should have started to have gone into my system by then?
or do you think i should more like give it 2 months to see if it helped over all

Hi there,

When I first started taking it, my doctor said it works faster than the other SSRIs for most people and generally starts to become quite effective by 2-3 weeks. In my case, I found it helped my physical symptoms within a few days. Unfortunately, I had to stop taking it because I didn't tolerate it especially well, but that's quite unusual for this medication.

Perhaps wait a month and see if there's a noticeable change? You're best to ask your doctor though as they will know how quickly the dosage will work for your particular condition (etc). Do let the doctor know if you experience any side effects that concern you; again, this is pretty unlikely with citalopram.

Best of luck :)

[elibabes]

well
i took it to one
and let me tell you
i took it for 3 and a half weeks
it took a good week maybe more to `settle in` (felt awful at first)
and have as of friday been off it for 2 days as my prescription ran out
i can instantly tell the difference
anxiety back etc

these things really really help
tomorrow morning im ringing up for an appointment and a new prescription, as i more or less cant live without these things now

so yes, they work -- BIG TIME, perhaps too well actually