Posted , 6 users are following.
HI everyone,
been on citalopram, 4 weeks tomorrow, 2 weeks at 10 mg & 2 weeks at 20mg, im taking it for anxiety, which i think started due to perimenopause. i have had 4 good days & last 2 days, feel like ive gone back to start. does this mean its not going to work, ? its worked in the past. the mornings are usually worse, but today has been awful x
0 likes, 25 replies
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Chris00000 chrissy69015
Posted
no this means its early days yet and they will work once the side effects diminish, youl have great, bad, ok, strange, and terrible days but everybody's different, iv read that this med at first takes away seratonin ( happy chemical) thus giving all sorts of nasty feelings (side effects) etc, then slowly realeases boosts of seratonin once the side effects go in time, some people take longer than others and some get rare effects but the end result is normality, just wheather the storms and come here for support, much luck.
chrissy69015 Chris00000
Posted
thanks for replying, have you been on it long? with success x
Chris00000 chrissy69015
Posted
sorry for the late reply, nearly 4 year's, started 10mg for 8 weeks, 20 for 7 weeks, 30 for 3 months but dropped back to 20 because i had strange eye sensations, first couple of weeks i had every side effects on the list even some of the rare ones, i was one of the unlucky ones, it took me about 8 months to feel back to my self and now im feeling better than iv ever been, but it was hard and long for me, you will too in time, katecogs, lois and alot of others helped me with advice and knowledge on this med and reading about how your nervous system works, much luck to you, x
ron60331 chrissy69015
Posted
I wish I could day something different other than stick with it, it'll get better. For the vast majority of people this is true and I'm sure you ARE one of that vast majority. My experience was horrendous but I made myself believe what others on this site told that it does get better. It did. People ask how long it'll take but everyone is different in how their system gets used to this drug. Looking back I'm so glad I stuck with it. I feel so much better these days. I really hope it won't take you too long feel the benefit.
chrissy69015 ron60331
Posted
so do you think i should stick at 20 & stop being impatient ? which i know im being x
ron60331 chrissy69015
Posted
In a word "yes". But don't tell yourself you're being impatient. You've got enough going on to give yourself something else to worry about being telling yourself you're being impatient.
chrissy69015 ron60331
Posted
went to the doctors today & they said to increase to 30 then 40, do you think i should wait it out a bit longer? anxiety terrible today
Grounded chrissy69015
Posted
Definitely stick with it, you will have good and bad days, good and bad weeks in the first few months at least, some take longer but they do work as everyone else has said. Just remember when you are feeling bad, remind yourself that its just one of those days and it will pass. The good days will become longer and more often until one day you realize you are feeling much better. Takes a lot of patience but we all get through it, and are glad we stuck it out.
As far as the mornings go, its very common to feel that way, and that will most likely be the last thing to go. Reason I have come up with is this:
Since morning anxiety is a reaction to excess stress and worries, there are several potential causes that may contribute to your symptoms. The “stress hormone” cortisol is released by the adrenal glands in response to fear or stress. ... This helps explain why you may experience an increase in anxiety in the morning.
So once you start to feel better and your stress levels start to go down so will the morning anxiety.
chrissy69015 Grounded
Posted
doctor said to increase today to 30 , going to 40, should i, in your opinion, anxiety bad again today, worred its not working & got a holiday in 11 days time x
lois95799 chrissy69015
Posted
and up dose does not mean quick relieve.you will start the whole process all over again .everytime you up the dose is like starting over.i would stay on 20 if i was you.30 or 40 is quite high.i recover on 10.best regards
lois95799
Posted
four weeks is still very early .
chrissy69015 lois95799
Posted
did you still get bad anxiety at 4 weeks? x
ron60331 chrissy69015
Posted
my own thoughts are that its too early to increase the doseage just yet. leave i for a couple more weeks then decide.
lois95799 chrissy69015
Posted
i had bad anxiety for 34 weeks .yuck
laura45992 chrissy69015
Posted
Increasing to 30 only made mine worse. Ive been on it 18 weeks and still havent improved. Two weeks ago, I dropped the dose to 25, but no change. I am really starting to question if these meds are right for me. I hope you have better luck!
Grounded chrissy69015
Posted
That is because doctors are ready to just increase dose after 6 weeks if you're not feeling a lot better. But they most likely have not taken them before so, they are just going by the 'book' reference. Those of us who have know that 4 weeks, or even 8 weeks really isn't enough to know if it's working yet or not. I've been on them 8 months total now and it took me about 6 months before I really felt good enough, and still had the occasional bad day. So you will have ups and downs, good days bad days good weeks bad weeks for a bit still. In my opinion it is BEST to stick with one dose for quite a while and give it the time it needs to level out. Switching is not always best, as someone else said you could delay your healing and start over with side effects.
Also, as I have found that higher doses aren't always better for anxiety issues, it seems a big percentage of people recover quite well on 10mg. I myself was on 20mg for 6-7 months waiting for it to work and never did because I believe the dose was just too high, soon as I reduced I felt a huge difference and have been on 15mg ever since.
Just try to stick with one dose, be patient, and let it settle before increasing.
chrissy69015 Grounded
Posted
thank you all for advice, going to stick with 20 for now x
chrissy69015 laura45992
Posted
its horrible isnt it, ive had awful anxiety for months now, mornings are especially awful & now my mood is very low x
Grounded chrissy69015
Posted
Thats good! You will be glad you did. I'm not saying doctors are bad because they go by the textbook on antidepressants and doses but knowing that they themselves probably never took them or know what they are actually like. You may possibly have to updose later or decrease, but at least you are giving one dose a chance before changing it.
Best Wishes!
chrissy69015 Grounded
Posted
had an awful couple if days with terrible anxiety & intrusive thoughts, that i always get when i have high anxiety, its like ive just started, is this normal at 4 weeks, 2 on 20 , just want some relief
laura45992 chrissy69015
Posted
yep. i still get that at 18 weeks
chrissy69015 laura45992
Posted
have you had any umprovement? thats a long time. /are you goung to yp it ?
laura45992 chrissy69015
Posted
im still much worse than i was before i started the meds. very little improvement from the horror that was the first month. i can function most days ok, but mornings are awful. everyone keeps saying it takes time, so im not going to stop yet, but am working my way back down to 20mg from 30mg. i didnt stay on 20 long enough.
lois95799 laura45992
Posted
the morning anxiety will subside dont get discourage .
Grounded chrissy69015
Posted
Yeah it's normal unfortunately, for the majority of us it takes quite some time for the anxiety to get better. Have you talked to your doctor about possibly getting something for temporary relief while you level out with the antidepressants? I had to do that, and it was such a relief. If you're really struggling I would speak to him/her about it and see what they can give you, no need to suffer.