Posted , 6 users are following.
I was in the car on the way home from picking an order from a friend, less than 10mins from home I had an attack in the car. I'm on my 10th week of citalopram, I've been ok on the medication but I still don't think it's the type for me. Anyone else have some hints/tips?
0 likes, 20 replies
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.
Guest lauren5225
Posted
Hi Lauren,
I had my one and only panic attack whilst driving several years ago. I didn't realize what it was at the time. It was very scary so I know what you experienced.
When I started Citalopram I took 10mgs but at one point must have felt that it wasn't working so increased my dose to 20mgs. I remember feeling terrible on 20mgs, it seemed they were too strong for me so I went back to 10mgs and eventually stabilized. I remained on 10mgs for several years, I am currently reducing on 5mgs.
If you read some of the posts here, some people feel ok with 5mgs, 10 mgs seems to be a popular dose.
My personal feeling, for what it is worth, is try and get by on a low a dose as possible. Once you are on the highest dose there is nowhere else to go and should you decide to come off at any time it will take a very long time to wean off.
You may need to just give them more time to work on your current dosage (my choice).
If you decide to increase, you will have more start up side effects to begin with, I would go with 15 rather than 20.
If you decide to come off them, my advice would be to wean off them slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms. I made the mistake of coming off cold turkey and the withdrawal effects are not pleasant.
Furthermore, there are alternative medicines and therapies out there.
Only you know how you are feeling on them, the choice is yours.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Paula2019 lauren5225
Posted
lauren5225 Paula2019
Posted
Hey there Paulafreeatlast,
I've been on 20mg since around the 2nd week of going onto citalopram. Before i went on the medication i was in a really bad state, when i started citalopram things got rough but after the 2nd week i was beginning to see a difference. It was yesterday (on my 10th) week of citalopram things took a very scary turn. I started on 10 for the first week then it was upped to 20mg
ruth08109 lauren5225
Posted
Honestly Lauren, try not to worry, I know it's easier said than done.
The higher the dose, the greater the risk of side effects.........and yes, they can occur out of the blue, even when you've been relatively stable. So you've been on 20 mg for around 9 weeks... that's still early days. Not two months yet at that dose. Things will settle. How have you been since the attack?
Paula2019 lauren5225
Posted
You have seen improvements which is great, think of cita as support to assist with your anxiety, if you do have an attack it does not mean it is not working. If you start feeling worse then it would be worth speaking to your doctor.