citalopram

[justanothersoph]

Hi guys,

I've posted a very similar version of this in the welcome thread, so if you see a double I apologise.

I've suffered from various health issues physical and mental in the past. I have a history of mild self harm, food issues (though never full blown bulimia or anorexia), depressive times etc. My boyfriend and I have discussed it several times and felt that I needed to go to the doctor as I can't seem to lift myself up this time and have been "down" for over a year. I get palpitations and feel like someone is squeezing my chest. I get upset over silly things, snap at people and get annoyed over things I shouldn't, and wouldn't normally. I find it hard to concentrate and my only real distraction is cooking. I recently joined slimming world and have gone from 16st 4lbs to 12st 7lbs since Christmas 2013. I am concerned as I'm recently becoming extra anxious around this, binging when I've done well and not eating when I haven't. When driving I imagine having a car accident, what might happen if I make one wrong move accidentally on purpose. I habitually pick at "spots" on my arms, and have recently started sleeping worse than usual and pulling out my eyelashes. I recently feel a little bit lost, like I'm not all there, and I have to keep asking people to repeat themselves. There are very few people who know all this - doctor, boyfriend, best friend. And even they know very little of what's written above.

I've taken some of this to my doctor and he offered me citalopram 10mg. I've read a lot of horror stories about it, and I'm concerned about my ability to do my job (driving around, and having face to face meetings with supermarket store managers) effectively if I take it, even if it's just during the first few weeks. I'm quite bubbly and chirpy on the surface. I've never taken any kind of tablets like this, and I'm scared of not being in control. Saying that, I think I'm slowly losing control of my self anyway.

Given my history, is there a better option? Or do you think that I would be better trying this, and seeing if it helps, and battling through any side effects I may or may not have?

Any advice you feel is relevant I would appreciate. I feel a little snowed under and lost in all this.

[jessed03]

10mg is a low dose of Citalopram. That's not to say you wouldn't get side effects, maybe a small increase in anxiety to begin with or some nausea. But losing control? That won't happen :)

It's known for being one of the more mild anti-depressants. Doctors have a bit of a soft spot for it for that reason.

Some people report to feeling drowsy on it. Personally, nobody I've known personally has felt that way while taking it, but some people on the forum have. You'll notice it instantly though, and will be able to stop if that's the case.

They let pilots fly jumbo jets on this drug. It shouldn't interfere with your life at all. Good luck if you do decide to take it.

[justanothersoph]

I know it's a low dose, but I've seen loads of horror stories about it. I've never had anything like this stuff so it's all very new to me. It's also very important to me that I retain my ability to drive, and it states that you may not be able to drive on it. Before finding this forum all I've seen are the negatives - I'm glad to see someone who reports that they've not seen the other problems.

I think I have decided that I will take it. I've got some family things to get out of the way, so probably not for another couple of weeks - I'm looking at 8th October as a starting point.

Thanks for the message!

[jessed03]

Any time.

Perhaps it's worth talking to your doctor about Prozac or Zoloft then? I can't imagine you'd get side effects that would stop you from driving on Citalopram, but if you're concerned, the two drugs mentioned have close to a 0% chance of causing you any significant cognitive problems.

By the way, the main reason you see horror stories online is because everybody helped by the drugs get off of their computer and live, instead of posting online. If you search my username, you'll see I posted 2 horrible reviews on anti-depressants I took. When I found one that worked, I never posted a positive review. I was too busy living :)

[MAM090982]

That is kind of rude jessed03. I starting taking this drug this week and I had a lot of side effects, justanothersoph. I couldn't take the side effects so I stopped taking it last night and am going to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss the side effects and possible a new pill. Talk to you doctor and don't be afraid to post online. This is what this forum is for, positive or not.

[Emilym80]

Hi guys,

I've posted a very similar version of this in the welcome thread, so if you see a double I apologise.

I've suffered from various health issues physical and mental in the past. I have a history of mild self harm, food issues (though never full blown bulimia or anorexia), depressive times etc. My boyfriend and I have discussed it several times and felt that I needed to go to the doctor as I can't seem to lift myself up this time and have been "down" for over a year. I get palpitations and feel like someone is squeezing my chest. I get upset over silly things, snap at people and get annoyed over things I shouldn't, and wouldn't normally. I find it hard to concentrate and my only real distraction is cooking. I recently joined slimming world and have gone from 16st 4lbs to 12st 7lbs since Christmas 2013. I am concerned as I'm recently becoming extra anxious around this, binging when I've done well and not eating when I haven't. When driving I imagine having a car accident, what might happen if I make one wrong move accidentally on purpose. I habitually pick at "spots" on my arms, and have recently started sleeping worse than usual and pulling out my eyelashes. I recently feel a little bit lost, like I'm not all there, and I have to keep asking people to repeat themselves. There are very few people who know all this - doctor, boyfriend, best friend. And even they know very little of what's written above.

I've taken some of this to my doctor and he offered me citalopram 10mg. I've read a lot of horror stories about it, and I'm concerned about my ability to do my job (driving around, and having face to face meetings with supermarket store managers) effectively if I take it, even if it's just during the first few weeks. I'm quite bubbly and chirpy on the surface. I've never taken any kind of tablets like this, and I'm scared of not being in control. Saying that, I think I'm slowly losing control of my self anyway.

Given my history, is there a better option? Or do you think that I would be better trying this, and seeing if it helps, and battling through any side effects I may or may not have?

Any advice you feel is relevant I would appreciate. I feel a little snowed under and lost in all this.

Hi there,
Have you ever tried counselling? If not, I would definitely suggest that; long-term it could be just as if not more effective than medication. It's personally helped me a lot.

I personally have only just started this medication today so I've been reading this out of interest. I wasn't aware that people had experienced a loss of inhibition when taking this medication bur if you're the lowest dose then any major side effects are really unlikely. If they occurred commonly enough, there would have to be a warning on the packaging, but there isn't- just a warning about potentially causing mild drowsiness. Drug companies have to list every single side effect experienced in the pamphlet so they're covered legally, but almost all people use them without incident.

My dr prescribed lexapro because it usually has few/mild side effects and works a little faster than the other SSRIs- I'm sure your GP would have weighed up the pros that this medication will hopefully have for you vs the low risk of side effects before they decided to prescribe it. I'm sorry I'm not personally more experienced with this medication but all I have to report thus far is particularly bad nausea, which I think is unusual anyway. I can keep you posted if you like. Best of luck :)