1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

20mg to 30mg citalopram

Posted , 4 users are following.

hollie92553
hollie92553

Hi everyone. I've been it citalopram 20mg for over a year and it did help but the last couple of months I've been getting anxiety bad and tightness in my chest nearly everyday and night. I saw my gp yesterday and she has upped my dose to 30mg I'm ment to be starting them today but I'm so scared of the side effects as went through hell started on 20mg. Any advice would be great thank you.

1 like, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • el_shiz
    el_shiz hollie92553

    Posted

    the side effects on going up doses , i have found, tend to be nowhere near as bad as when starting the drugs for first time
    • hollie92553
      hollie92553 el_shiz

      Posted

      I didn't no whether to split the 10 mg in half and just take the 25mg for now. They are still sat on my side to scared to take them
  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 hollie92553

    Posted

    All I can say is that your body is in an arms race with the drug.  You have likely hit tolerance with the current level, meaning that you started having withdrawal symptoms even though the dose is the same.  The doc's answer is to increase in hopes of overcoming tolerance, but you are likely to have the same thing happen on the higher dose if it works.  Then you have a longer way to come down to get off of it, because that is all you can do when it stops working.  However, it is doubtful that your doctor ever discussed with you the difficulty of coming off these drugs, did she?

    Do you feel that the anxiety is related to anything in your life or is it more of a chemical feel?  The later would definitely be tolerance withdrawal.  You may actually feel better doing a slow taper off.  You can investigate this by going to the link "Reducing ADs using a 10% withdrawal method" in this thread:

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

    That link takes you to a support forum where you can ask about your situation if you join.  Free, non-profit.

    Good luck :-)

    • hollie92553
      hollie92553 betsy0603

      Posted

      Thank you for replying. I'm upping my dose to 30mg from 20mg. I got them last week and still haven't done it. My anxiety has come back especially at night and I feel more down later.
  • james_21
    james_21 hollie92553

    Posted

    Hi hollie.

    I was on 20mg of citalopram and after 7 weeks still felt awful. My depression and anxiety were so bad i could barely leave the house. Ended up upping my dose to 30mg and within literally 3 days i started to feel better. Things only got better from there and no feel happy in myself and life a good few months later. Obviously everyone is different but the side effects shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as when first starting. Its a medication that, for me, took me to the bottom before taking me to the top. Upping the dose is just that little extra push to the top!

    I would definitely reccomend it and hopefully you feel better. This world is a beautiful yet crazy place and theres no need for fear! Something that helped me is instead of worrying at night, write down the good you did in the day, as well as what you want to do tomorrow. By setting targets it can bring stability.

    Hope this helped and keep bettering yourself to be all you want to be

    • hollie92553
      hollie92553 james_21

      Posted

      Hi james. Thank you for your reply. How did you feel the first few days when upping your dose to 30mg. I've been taking by 20mg and the 10 mg have just been sat on the side because I'm scared of taking them. I've been feeling really down lately and my anxiety has slowly creeped back on me. I was going to cut the 10 mg in half and do it slowly that way. Do I take it all in 1 go or shall I take my 20mg then the other 10 mg later on ??
    • james_21
      james_21 hollie92553

      Posted

      It's up to you really holly. If you're a bit scared of taking the full 30mg straight away, you could take 25mg for a few days and see how you get on. This could just let your body ease in to it so there won't be any side effects. Then if you feel the need to increase again you could go up to the full 30.

      Everyones different but i honestly didn't feel any side effects from upping the dose (which was good because the first 6 weeks of citalopram made me feel awful. Even worse than before i started taking them!) And once i was on 30mg i was able to feel a peace of mind which allowed me to sleep better and therefore felt more rested in the day. It kind of turned into a positive cycle rather than the negative cycle i was in prior.

      I would certainly give it a go! It might just give you that little bit of a boost and allow you to get some peace of mind.

      Hope this helps Holly and feel free to message me any time for advice or support!

       

    • hollie92553
      hollie92553 james_21

      Posted

      Thanks for your advice james I really appericate it. Do you think I could take 20mg in morning and 5mg in evening would that still work ?
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 hollie92553

      Posted

      Hi Holly, you can try that but I would recommend you keep good records in a journal, of the times you took what dose and any symptoms you are having and what times they came up.  This will be good information to determine if things still need to be tweaked.
    • james_21
      james_21 hollie92553

      Posted

      Hi hollie, you could do. My only concern with taking citalopram in the evening was that i wouldnt be able to sleep that night. If you wanted you could even quarter the pills and have 22.5mg for two or three mornings and then add the other 2.5 making it 25mg after a few days, so it can ease into the body.

      It's just about finding the right doseage for you, so defintiely take your time! There's no rush. You might find that you don't need 30mg to make you feel better because 25mg is perfect for you. We're finding the right dose to give you peace of mind which is what you deserve and will find. Therefore taking your time can make this transition better and the journey can be easier. then its smooth sailing!

      I also agree with betsy about keeping a journal of your doses and how you feel each day to ensure you find the best way!

    • hollie92553
      hollie92553 james_21

      Posted

      That's a good idea. I will start it Saturday morning when I know I haven't got to work and do like you said just up it over the days. This month has been so stressful that I've just been miserable and snapping at everyone and I hate it sad
    • james_21
      james_21 hollie92553

      Posted

      It's a horrible experience holly but not your fault in the slightest so don't feel down about it! Life's stressful but all we can do as individuals is take control of ourselves so that we can be the best we can be and thrive in it. Thats a good idea starting when you want and taking it slow because it shows you taking control! There's all the time in the world so you don't need to rush it. And then one day soon you'll message me saying you feel so much better in yourself and can be a positive influence on those around you.

      In about 6 months i've gone from being as down as could be to having a great peace of mind, so i try my best everyday to be positive towards people and help them to get the peace of mind that they deserve. And so will you because i can tell you're a good person who will get even stronger and more confident! 

      Take your time and always feel free to message me if you need to!

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.