Medicine HelpAdvice please :-/

[mishka]

Hi All


I've ALWAYS refused drugs that doctors have tried to put me on, I've always believed this will just mask the problem :unsure: Plus I am terified of taking any prescription drug.

My doctor has almost convienced me to take citalipram and have prescribed me 20 mg a day. He says it's the only way to help me get better as it will even out my moods and bring my anxiety back down to level.

Has anyone used this drug - can anyone please offer me advice on this pretty please :|

[zer00]

hello, mishka! I'm in the same situation here. My doctor wrote a xanax prescription for me, about one month ago, for my anxiety. I still have that prescription in one of my pockets, somewhere...I don't know if I'm doing the right thing by not taking it.Sometimes , these anxiety symptoms almost make me go for it and just buy the pills and get this over with.But, so far, I managed to stay away from xanax...I wonder what will happen if I just take it? Will I be that person I was before? Or will it make me xanax addict and throw me into even more health problems? :unsure:

[cymraig_chris]

Hi there Mishka!

It’s a long reply, but there are lots of positives to say.

Let’s get straight down to the facts, Citalopram, is an antidepressant, of the SSRI type.

Just because your Doctor has prescribed you an antidepressant it does not necessarily mean that you are depressed.

Anxiety and depression are basically two sides of the same coin. They are both manifestations of the fight-flight response.

Citalopram is an antidepressant that is licensed to treat anxiety/panic disorders. When I say ‘treat’ what I mean is that it has the dual effect of dramatically reducing the anxiety sensations and at the same time slowly treating the underlying cause which the bottom line being persistent negative thinking causing negative actions feeding back to the anxiety circuits which interpret these actions as further proof that we need protecting.

Citalopram is 100% non-addictive.

It also has a success rate of around 95%

As you can see we are already on to a winner here.

Fear of medication.
Everyone fears ‘brain’ medication, this is normal, but as ever … let’s face our fears. I have very positive experience with Citalopram. Why do we fear medication? Because we fear the unknown, we fear loss of control and we are prone to believing that there is a stigma with antidepressant medication.

Let not society’s misunderstanding be the fuel to our fear.

1) I occasionally get heartburn, I take an Indigestion Tablet.
2) I occasionally get a headache, I take a Paracetemol.
3) When I had anxiety/panic disorder, I took Citalopram
4) I have a brother in law who is diabetic, He takes insulin.
5) If I ever feel a bit ‘down’ I eat a banana

There is no difference in any of the above five examples.

The starting dose.
You have been prescribed the starting dose for Citalopram, 20mg per day. This is not a high dose. It’s a normal dose. Most people start on this dose. It is nothing to worry about. Although if you are worrying about it then forgive yourself, everyone worries.

Side effects
If you read the label you will see the potential for loads of varying side effects when starting a course of Citalopram you make get one or two side effects, you may get none. If you read the label as most anxiety sufferers do you will discover that practically every one of the side effects is an anxiety symptom. The side effects are compiled and added to every time anyone starts on a course of medication. We anxiety ‘sufferers’ take the medication which initially increases the anxiety (very short term) and we then tell the Doctor what we have experienced. He then may fill in a pharmaceutical form to say that this medication can also cause ‘this’ or ‘that’ side effect.

With Citalopram, my understanding is that 99% of all side effects are just anxiety sensations that the ‘patient’ has formed an association with the medication itself. The other 1% is headaches and tiredness. If you get tired, go to bed, if you get a headache, take a paracetemol.

Side effects usually last between 2 and 7 days, during this time they come and go, just accept them and know that time will cure.

Length of time to takes to work.
You can start to see the benefit as quickly as seven days; you will get the full benefit at around the six week mark. Each person varies but these times are a good ‘rule of thumb’.

The complete course of Citalopram.
Some people take it for 6 months, some for 12 months, some for longer. In other words you take it for as long as you feel you need to. Always discuss any changes in dose with your Doctor, not because it is dangerous, but because there are ways to ensure the course is of maximum benefit to you.

The harmless mid course ‘blip’
It is not uncommon for the Citalopram to seem like it’s losing it’s effect at around 3-6 months. Rest assured this is not a bad thing. If you doctor says, ok we need to increase the dose from 20 to 40mg per day then follow his advice. You just have to find the right balance for the medication to really ‘do its stuff’ properly. This is not a sign that you will need higher and higher doses in future. After a while your dose will be lowered and finally stopped.

So why does this work/how does it work?

Why …
Basically a negative mood, this will cause negative actions and negative actions cause anxiety sensations and ( … to complete the loop) anxiety sensations cause the negative mood.

Citalopram helps the ‘patient’ think positive, which results in positive actions which demonstrates to the limbic system that anxiety is unnecessary, which causes less anxiety sensations which further increase the good mood. The positive feedback circle is established.

Once you start this positive feedback circle the brain starts to rewire itself (neuroplasticity) back to being non-anxious. Once you start to slowly discontinue the Citalopram ... the non-anxious rewiring will still be present. You will no longer need the medication and you will be on your way to a fulfilling life.

In layman’s terms the Citalopram “points your ship in the right direction until it becomes second nature”.
How …
How does it help you think positive?
Emotions are the glue that stick thoughts to the forefront of you mind.
Adrenaline causes ‘bad’ emotions
Seratonin causes ‘good’ emotions

(there is no such thing as ‘bad’ or ‘good’ emotions in reality … but I’m simplifying it for the sake of simplification and understanding)

The more serotonin you have the more the good thoughts stick around. They balance out the bad thoughts and the less adrenaline is created.

Why does Anxiety cause the chemical imbalance that occasionally needs rebalancing with medication?

We need to understand that the imbalance is not an unnatural thing, it is the body doing what it is supposed to do. It is a sign of a healthy brain. Please see my other posts for a detailed explanation.

Discontinuation sensations
Expect a few odd sensations and an increase of anxiety for a few days when ever you lower the dose. They soon they disappear completely.

Relax
Whether you choose to take Citalopram or not, the choice is yours. There is no wrong choice because anxiety is harmless. Print this off and show it to your Doc if you want his opinion on my thoughts. Please … any additions, modifications or corrections are welcome by all who do or don’t agree with anything I have mentioned.

All my Regards,

CC

[lorelei13]

Citalopram is 100% non-addictive.

It also has a success rate of around 95%

Both statements are not true. No antidepressant has shown greater than 70% efficacy. And while Citalopram is unlikley to cause addiction in that you need higher doses, it can induce physical dependency that causes withdrawal symptoms.

Not to downplay the many things it can do - just that those statements are not 100% accurate.

[dimspace]

mishka, ive now been on citalopram for three or four months, and i wish i had done it sooner.

I did get myself a long way with vitamin B, magnesium, relaxation etc, but the citalopram has been the final help in getting me somewhere back to normal.

Dont be scared to ask your doctor to start you off on 10mg, i did, and its been fine.. probably 20mg would do me better as i do still feel some tension and im not back to normal, but we are progressing with 10mg for now.

Like you i was nervous, and very scared of the side effects etc, so when i finally started taking them I kept this diary
http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewt ... sc&start=0 (http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6498&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)
partly to monitor my own reaction but also so that others could read a more detailed account of how citalopram benefits (me) rather than the many scare stories that are on the internet.

[mishka]

Thanks for your posts.

Dimspace I've read your updates/diary on taking citalipram hats off to you for riding it through and I'm so pleased it's worked for you. :)

Right now I am in a hell hole, I never thought things could get worse but they have.

Last thursday night I took my first 20 mgs tablet. By midday the next day I was a mess, I had a servere reaction to the medication. I was suacidle - if I had been alone I would of suceeded. I can not even begin to explain how I felt, the symptoms where out of this world, the sweats, body tremours, seeing things, just wanting to die, I couldn't swallow water let alone anything else. It took 48 hours for the drug to be out of my system and believe me it was the worst 48 hours of my life , I am still suffering now, my anxiety it now at an all time high, I'm more depressed then ever and all I want to do is give up.

This should of been out of my system last night but I flipped, I didn't know where I was, I took a razor to myself and ended up in hospital.

The doctors evened me out by giving me valium, which allowed me to sleep this morning. Any water, food, fluids I take now kicks off sweats and tremours.

I'm now waiting for the crisis team to see me today and I also have a GP appointment.

I don't want to put people off taking these meds, it obviously works for alot of people, it just so happens that it did not aggree with my body.

I still need to share and I'm pleased today that I can turn on the pc and type. I just hope I can get some help today as I really cannot handle another day of this crap.

Thanks

Gail

[forwells]

Hi mishka

Sorry for what you went though , if you need someone to talk to drop me a line .

This is why i am so against drugs , yes they may work on a few but they also do so much harm to many many more . Not only now do you have to deal with the anxiety you had but also the anxiety they caused .

These drugs should never ever ever ever be giving to someone and sent home to take them. They should only be giving to someone in hospital who can be kept a eye on. If that saves one person then its worth it .

I am in no way against drugs but i am against the way they are treated like some harmful sugar pill. These are drugs , chemicals that effect the workings of the mind. They can say all this rubbish about chemical in our brain being out of whack and then give someone another one and not keep a eye on them for the reaction. They expect a person in a bad state having reactions to these drugs to be able to think like normal and get help for themselves . What a joke ??

I know this might hurt to hear this but i think that you should use this as a positive and not as a negative. I think what you are thinking is you are beyond help because the drugs didn't work. This is not true , many many many times i wanted to resort to drugs but i refused .

I think the one thing that Dimspace diary shows is that when you take these drugs they give you hope and if you get very little side effects then that hope is still there and you slowly get better but if the side effects of taking them are there bad you go back wards . It is in no way proof that the drugs worked in my mind but more proof that the power of hope is the best way past anxiety. If you have hope and believe you will get better then you will .

Over the last few weeks i have let anxiety get to me and if i stay and think about things and the thought crosses my mind that i am stuck with this forever then it builds and makes things worst . I can fell it building and chose not to let it .

You need to sit down with someone and get a plan together. Yes i know you want it gone but wanting it gone is keeping it there. Your plan needs to look at ways you can support your body , ways you can let of steam on bad days , ways you can learn to except that it may be around for a while and that it takes a while for your body to settle back down.

People get over anxiety and the way they do that is they get angry at it, not angry because of it. You need to find the strength in you and say

I am not going to take this any more , i am not going to let you rule my life , I except you will be there for a while but i shall just let you be .

Take the power back from it .

I shall give you a tip , one that i believe saved me .

Anxiety is symptoms of stress , theses symptoms cover the whole body .

They start with little things in the body , a twitch , a pain , a headache . When you choose to let them get to you they start with the mental symptoms . These mental symptoms are nothing more than that twitch . They just effect a different part of the body . You are not losing it , you are not going mad . Your mind is in overload just as that nerve controlling that muscle is .

If you except the small symptoms as stress and do not let them build then they do not turn into mental symptoms . The good news is the mental symptoms are the last to come but the first to leave. Without the mental side of these anxiety is a lot easier to except . So try not to let it build . Do that plan and revert back to it when you can feel things building .
Yes i know its hard and it sucks but you can do it . But you must have a plan of action against it for it to work . You must also have many tools in your box and use them all.

Get people on your side , When you are bad then you talk to them , ring them and get it out. It is the inwards focusing of our pain that builds anxiety . I think you were in OZ , There is a hotline you can ring and talk to , dont feel bad for doing it , dont feel like you are putting them out . They are there to help and you need to get things out weather you see it or not . Often people that are not close to you are best for this i believe

cheers and wishing you well kev

[dimspace]

Really sorry to hear about how they affected you.

One of the listed risks with citalopram is self harm, they are not recommended to be given to anyone with prior attempts or thoughts of self harm. This is another reason i didnt take them last september when they were prescriped as over about two months of the worst of my anxiety i had wanted to end everything. I needed to be past that before i tried.
My anxiety in the run up to taking them was awful as well, part of the reason i started at 10mg and not 20.

really sorry to hear they affected you so badly. The side effects are awful, but clearly yours were too much :(