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4 months and counting

Posted , 4 users are following.

louise1974
louise1974

HI all

I've been on Citalopram for 4 months now.  To any newbies starting out I can guarantee the horrid side effects do dissapear eventually.  Before I started taking it I was a mess.  Constantly anxious, depressed, panic attacks. That horrid feeling of not being real, foggy head, really really struggling in general with anything in life.  Spent most of my time walking the streets taking deep breaths to attempt to calm down.  Work was bloody hard work, home was hard work, no sleep etc etc.  I am on 20mg and really feel tons better than I did.

In saying that now I want to ask a question to anyone that has been on 20mg and evened out then upped the dose to 30mg.  As I was so severely anxious and although I feel tons better on 20mg I still have moments or days when I feel anxious, nowhere near as bad as I did but Im still not quite there.  My doctor has prescribed 30mg but I'm loath to take them as I really don't want to experience that increased anxiety and panic that I did when I first started the meds.  I have a lot on in the next month and although I'm still mildly anxious I can function.  I don't want to ruin this by upping my dose and finding that I am back where I started for a few weeks.  Can anyone advise or tell me their stories of upping the dose when they had evening out?

Thanks xx

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • zoopanzee
    zoopanzee louise1974

    Posted

    Hi. I've been on 10mg for almost 2 years now.  Some days i don't feel great but I prefer this to upping my dose. Being on the 10mg helps me stay in touch with real life. And in some ways I think that is key; I am an anxious person and always will be, I am sensitive and prone to depression but so long as the edge is taken off I can live with it. It's important to accept yourself and not look to up the drugs whenever a little anxiety cones back.  Good luck anyway.  
    • louise1974
      louise1974 zoopanzee

      Posted

      HI zoopanzee

      Thanks for the reply, I feel the same way, I don't want to drug myself up so that I feel numb.  I think I'm also an anxious person and probably won't up the dose, it's manageable.  Just wanted to ask advice. xx

  • Hed1066
    Hed1066 louise1974

    Posted

    I'm on 20mg and I thought the anxiety was part of the depression. After coming off citalopram and going back on, I now know it's a side effect. If your anxiety is mild, do you think you could live with it? if not, is there any time in the day you could take some time out and just relax? I spend every lunch time in Costa, it gives me the space I need to breathe. Could you do something similar? x
    • louise1974
      louise1974 Hed1066

      Posted

      HI Hed

      Yes I have plenty of time to take time out. I'm finding the most difficulties at work.  Im a secretary in a hospital and most of that time is spent in front of a pc and that is my biggest struggle.  Probaby because I can't just get up and go, so I find I get that agitated feeling, leg cramps, breathlessness etc.  It does go cos I can talk to my colleagues and take my mind off it but it's really uncomfortable for a few hours each day.  No comparison to before and like I said I really don't want to increase the meds because I truly believe I don't want to be drugged up too much.   I like this dose because I still feel emotions etc, I'm not numb.  x

    • zoopanzee
      zoopanzee louise1974

      Posted

      One of the biggest things for me was dropping caffeine - it's terrible for anxiety. Just a thought in case you're drinking too much coffee at work. 
    • Hed1066
      Hed1066 louise1974

      Posted

      I see, tricky one. Silly idea but could you go to the loo when you feel agitated? Lock yourself in a cubicle, take some deep breathes and do some stretches. You could only be gone for a few minutes. Is that possible? x
  • holly_t
    holly_t louise1974

    Posted

    Hi Louise

    Just a bit of advice from me- the last time I was on cit I was also on 20. I felt the same as you and was prescribed 30mg. I can honestly say I don't remember the extra 10mg making anything much worse and I went back to 20mg after around 6 months, eventually 10 when comfortable.

    You could try weaning slowly? eg. 22.5 for a week, 25 for a week, 27.5 for a week then 30?

    X

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