Really strugglig

[Gsteve54]

I have been diagnosed with anxiety and have been struggling with it for 3 months now, for some reason I'm convinced I'm dying, my doctor gave me citilopram which made me have severe panick attacks so he changed it to fluoxetine which has caused me to shake and tremble all over as well as have suicidal thoughts.

I am lying on my couch in absolute despair wondering if il ever be "normal" again.

[gypsylee]

Hi and welcome..

I just wrote a reply and my iPad went weird so I'll cut to the chase.. How long have you been taking the meds (including the Citalopram)? Fluoxetine is barely any different *rolls eyes at clueless doctors*.

Hang in there! You will feel better!

Gypsy x

[Gsteve54]

Hi and welcome..

I just wrote a reply and my iPad went weird so I'll cut to the chase.. How long have you been taking the meds (including the Citalopram)? Fluoxetine is barely any different *rolls eyes at clueless doctors*.

Hang in there! You will feel better!

Gypsy x

I have only been taking them for 1 week in total I lasted 3 days on the citilopram and 4 days on the Prozac. It's ironic they call them antidepressants because they are making me feel terrible.

[Kirk]

I would call your physician and explain how you are feeling.

[Anne1221]

I agree with Kirk. It takes 3-4 weeks for the full and helpful benefits of antidepressants to kick in. It's not good that you are having suicidal thoughts so please talk to your doctor. I don't think the Citalopram gave you panic attacks because it hasn't even started working yet. But you will feel the side effects at the beginning.

[gypsylee]

I have only been taking them for 1 week in total I lasted 3 days on the citilopram and 4 days on the Prozac. It's ironic they call them antidepressants because they are making me feel terrible.

Yeah they work by altering the brain's neurotransmitters to increase Serotonin. It's not a nice process but eventually the brain adjusts (in most cases) and at least the side-effects go away. I've had to wait 6 weeks before I felt any better (than when I started them). I've spoken to various people though for whom they never worked.. So they're quite hit-and-miss unfortunately. I still take Fluoxetine 20mg but mainly just because I never want to go through that initial stage again. They also give you withdrawal symptoms which are quite unpleasant (people call them "brain zaps" because you get this dizzy feeling when you move your eyes or your head).

So really, I think they have a bit of a way to go with medication for anxiety/depression. I've been on the older ones too and they were useless. There are some threads in the "stickies" by people who overcame anxiety without meds, which are quite good. A lot of it is lifestyle and our culture is not exactly great for people's mental health..