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9 weeks and panic attacks

Posted , 6 users are following.

cosmickitty
cosmickitty

Hello all! I am on week 9 of cit, and I've recently started getting more anxious. I was on 5mg for 2 weeks, 10mg for 2 weeks and I have been on 20mg for the last 5 weeks. I felt a lot better on 20mg, but recently I've started getting anxious again. I get numbness in my arm, chest pains, and just general shakiness. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with a panic attack, which has never happened. Has this ever happened to anyone? Would increasing my dosage help?

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • robin67880
    robin67880 cosmickitty

    Posted

    HI there, I can not comment on the dosage upping. However I can tell you the night panic attacks are horrible! I lived with them for almost a month! Finally I have had a few good days of not having any. I am taking 20 mg and have been for about 3 weeks now. I started on 10mg for the first week. Do you have a regular bedtime routine? I find that helps for me now that I have one. I still wake up multiple times a night but have not had the panic since.  Personally i would not increase the dosage until you talk to your doctor. Maybe Cit is not the right drug for you? I hope you find some answers and peace soon. XX Robin
  • katecogs
    katecogs cosmickitty

    Posted

    Hi

    Try not to worry as this is normal when recovering.  You start to feel better, and after a while feel bad again.  It's normal, and it will readjust itself again and you'll start feeling better again.  This pattern will probably repeat itself over a few months, with each time the bad feeling getting less intense.

    Don't increase your meds as you'll just get side effects again plus you'll get back to this same stage again of being up and down.

    Could be a few weeks or days, but just go with the feelings and keep carrying on.  Recovery comes and goes, but eventually it'll come and stay with you.

    K x

    • laura86158
      laura86158 katecogs

      Posted

      Hi Kate

      I always find your words bert reassuring, and think you definitely know what your talking about. I have been on citalopram for 8 weeks now and originally started for anxiety caused by sleep problems. The anxiety is alot better but my sleep still isn't good, my doctor wants me to up to 30 but i really dont want to yet. Sometimes i dont know wether its the cit causing the sleep or anxiety as my sleep had improved before taking cit. Any advice you have would be hugely appreciated?

      Thanks sorry for hijacking this post!

      I hope you are ok cosmickitty, is a tough road xxx

    • katecogs
      katecogs laura86158

      Posted

      Aww thanks Laura :-)

      I had this illness for so many years and read up on such a lot during that time, and having experienced the medication plus watched my son go through exactly the same path on medication, it's something I find interesting still.  It could still the Cit causing your sleep problems, but it should right itself in time if it is that.  

      These types of medication do cause insomnia for a while, but that's usually a side effect and should wear off in time.  My son was also prescribed Mirtazapine to help combat sleep whilst he was on Fluoxetine, and that sorted him out.  

      Things to help for the moment though are to get fresh air, maybe sleep with the window open too, don't sleep during the day if you feel tired as it'll mess up your sleep, don't use iPad, phones, computers etc before bed as the light from the screens will surely stop you sleeping, having a relaxing warm drink before bed helps, reading in bed is good too, make sure you have a regular time to go to bed even if you don't feel sleepy ....... but I expect you've tried most, if not all of these?

      I wouldn't up your dose to 30mg.  If you feel the anxiety has eased then the dose you're on has started working.  Upping the dose will give you side effects again, and why increase it if improvement is being noted already?  It'll probably make you not want to sleep too.  Mind you, best discuss that with your doctor as he may have other reasons for wanting to do that.

      There was a good programme on TV about a year ago about insomnia.  I'm sure patients were told to stay up if they weren't tired, and only go to bed when they started fighting sleep, even if it meant saying up til 4am.  Their bodies will eventually need to sleep.  Eventually their sleep increased until they could go to bed at a normal time.  Not sure if that was exactly what they did, but it was something like that.  It was a good programme and most patients got their sleep back.

      Has your doctor suggested a sleep clinic?

       

    • laura86158
      laura86158 katecogs

      Posted

      G

      Hi Kate

      Thanks for getting back to me, yeah ive tried most of those i do keep a regular bed time and try to all the things they say to do. The sleep and had defo improved before i started the meds but anxiety was horrible. Ive read on site thats it takes months for some peoples sleep to settle. I think my doctor wants to up me because he thinks its the anxiety causing it because i had problems with sleep before. I feel this is the right dose for and that increasing would only exacerbate the problem.

      Its such a catch 22 because it is helping me anxiety which

  • gwen1953
    gwen1953 cosmickitty

    Posted

    Is your 20mg 2 doses of 10mg i.e. morning and evening. If so take the morning one after breakfast and the evening one an hour before going to bed. Whatever you do don't drink alcohol as this could be what is causing your symptoms. If things don't improve in the next couple of weeks go back to your doctor.
  • stevo1975
    stevo1975 cosmickitty

    Posted

    Hi Cosmickitty, I would stick with the dosage really, give your brain a chance to adapt to meds I had tremors for 11 weeks that eased to almost nothing the anti depressants take a long time to get into the system I was very surprised and frustrated the first month or so but we have to remind positive and patient! give it a good 11 weeks before chaging anything I'm sure the side effects will ease and you will feel better!
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