1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

Citalopram advice

Posted , 5 users are following.

timothy_55985
timothy_55985

Hello all,

I am a 24 year old male from the United States. For most of my life I have been a chronic worrier and suffered from anxiety.

In March of 2015 and that is where the worry really reared it's ugly head again. I was putting a lot of stress on myself to preform well in the Police Academy and no matter what happened I would take any situation and spin it into the worst Stephen King novel ending you could possibly imagine. It had consumed my life. Things that I would normally have excitement for seemed dull and I had no interest. It progressed and progressed until it began to effect my daily life and my relationships. It was so bad that on the graduation day of my academy i just thought of different situations that would negatively effect my career and cause me anguish instead of enjoying myself.

On August 30, 2016 for some reason I hit rock bottom. I could not sleep, my mind did not stop wandering to these "what if" situations. The majority of my day was me in a constant argument with my thoughts and trying to rationalize why what I was thinking wouldn't happen. It got to the point where the constant worry was turning into a depression and I had no motivation to get off the couch, go to work, and when I went places with my family and friends I was not "present" and was too consumed with my thoughts.

On September 6, 2016 I got to the point where I could not take it anymore and went to my doctor to seek help. My doctor prescribed me 20mg of Citalopram and .5 mg of Lorazepam and recommended counseling which I am currently doing. Naturally as anyone with chronic worry I researched every review I could find on the drugs I was about to take. As is normal there were both negative and positive reviews but I was eager to feel better so I began to take them as prescribed. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not suffer from most of the side effects that were mentioned. I had a bout of the yawns and I couldn't really sleep at night but that was the extent of it. I got what I figured was a placebo effect the first few days and felt better but then went back to the racing thoughts. As time progressed I felt a little better each week and started feeling somewhat normal. I was beginning to enjoy work and worried less. I was still having worrisome thoughts but they wouldn't linger.

During this time I proposed to my girlfriend and she accepted. Then the quick paced wedding planning began. While that was going on we ended up seeing a house we liked and began the process of purchasing our first home. I was really excited and had no real concerns seeing how we both are financially secure. All of a sudden out of nowhere the last week the negative thoughts and depressed feelings have been returning. I am having the same dull blah outlook that I used to have when I should be excited for all the positive changes occurring in my life.

At this point I have been taking Citalopram for just over 7 weeks. Is this still too early to feel the full effects? I am concerned because I was seeing progress and now it seems as if I am regressing? Should I go to my doctor and seek a higher dose? I am not one to usually reach out but I thought that reaching out to individuals who are going to the same things may be able to give me insight and advice.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • melissa20698
    melissa20698 timothy_55985

    Posted

    You have to give it more time for the full effect. It has really helped me with the intrusive thoughts. I've taken it for 4 years at a low dose.

    Counseling really helps along with the medication. Just hang in there.

    Good luck!!

  • amkoffee
    amkoffee timothy_55985

    Posted

    Ooh my gosh Timothy can you add more stressors to your life? Maybe add a baby too. Just kidding. Your on over load. And just because they are positive things doesn't make it easy. You need to try and slow down if possible and give yourself a break. I'm sure you are on a high enough dose but your therapist might want to add an additional med to take along with your citalapram. I take Wellbutrin. But in my case I am on another medication that conflicts with citalapram so I can only take 4 mg. But without those 4 mg I'm a mess even with the Wellbutrin.

    So get with your doctor that prescribing your meds and let him know that you are experiencing the same problem again and the doctor will likely give something in addition. Ohh who is doing the prescribing? A psychiatrist or a medical doctor? I hope it's a psychiatrist.

    Slow down. Life is not a race! Good luck

  • tomhopeful
    tomhopeful timothy_55985

    Posted

    Tim

    I like you had a lot of worry & stresses that built up over a one year period but didn't seek help till I hit rock bottom this June , I ignored all the signs & tried to plough on with work to take my mind of my worries which just made things worse till I too just ended up on my couch all day & all night with no inclination to do anything including eating. I was prescribed 20mg I was convinced I was permanently damaged & the meds would do no good , I've been having a horrible time with the cit & have been yo yoing up & down for months , six weeks ago I had enough & although my doc thought it best to increase the dose I asked if I could try reducing first, this has worked for me & I feel great , although I've had a rough time with the meds they have been working in the back ground & have put me back to being the organised chilled out person I was two years ago being able to put my problems in perspective & not letting minor issues get to me. Try & take some pressure of yourself & remember just because your illness is not physical it is an illness so treat it that way when it comes to work & other commitments , let the meds do there work & you will feel great again

  • 33cody
    33cody timothy_55985

    Posted

    I know what you mean I was on them for 4 weeks and I had two good days where I felt like I was coming out of this then got a little sick and went back to starting line, I also have a constant worry even over things that I know can't happen lol but I pushed on and tried to really work on my mental approach when I felt them coming on I told myself it was anxiety and tried to make myself busy to think about other things, week 5 and I really feel a big difference now I still have a constant worry over a cpl things but I'm just focusing on the progress I've made from where I started when I got on this medication to just remind myself that it's working and it took time to get to where I'm at and will take more to get to where I'm going, keep your head focus on the positives and I know easier said then done but try and move through your day ignoring the symptoms and keep moving forward it's hard but it gets easier once you find a routine that works for you. I also take buspar twice a day while taking my cit so maybe ask about that, it has made a huge difference for me the first week made me a little dizzy sometimes really bad but once you get passed that if you even suffer that side effect as I've heard most people don't have any, it will really help as it is an anxiety medication only so you know it's focusing on exactly what you need

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.