A Quople Of Questions
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi, Hope You're Having A Good Day, I Have Been On Citalopram For 4 And Half Months, The First 2 Months on 20 Mg And The Rest On 40 Mg, For Anxiety, And Felt A Bit Good on 20 Mg, Just To Be Specific There Was An Evening Where I Felt Great Only For A Couple Of Hours, The Next Few Days After That I Felt Really Awful, So I Upped My Dose To 40 Mg, And I Have Been On It For 11 Weeks, The Thing Is I'm Still Feeling Awful, I Have A Couple Of Questions
1 - Should I Give This Dose A Bit More Time To See If It Works ? Or Get Back To 20 Mg ?
2 - Is " Derealization " A Symptom From Having Anxiety ?, And If It is, Will It End With Citalopram ?
3 - Any Good Feedback About Citalopram In Terms Of Social Anxiety ?
Any Answer Will Be Appreciated, Thank You ??
1 like, 69 replies
borderriever S97nna
Posted
You have been on this medication for four and a half months, if you feel a review on your medications may be a good idea, talk to your GP.
With regard your Derealiation, this was part of your condition, when you go for your Review, again discuss this with your GP
Regards your Citalopram I have been on 2mg now for near, around ten years and I am quite calm, I do not argue of loose my temper although I need to take Opiate type medications on top of Amytryptalene 75mg. I do get headaches every now and again. If my medications are working that is all I can ask for.
if you feel not very happy with the medication you are taking, talk with your GP and discuss a different way forward
BOB
sarah24378 S97nna
Posted
I am in a kind of similar situation as you.
I have been on cit for nearly 5 months.
10 for a week
20 for a week
30 for 6 weeks
40 for 4 weeks
30 for 4 weeks
20 for 5 weeks
I felt good for first 7 weeks on it but 5 weeks into 30 crashed so after a week went to 40. I did notice some improvements but the side effects at 40 were intolerable so dropped to 30 still felt pretty bad so figured I d drop back to 20.
Since being on 20 I have not felt ok much. The odd day have been ok but generally I have been very depressed and anxious. I have moved my dose around a lot so that will not have helped but shocked at how bad I feel.
I am due to see my psychiatrist tomorrow and feelso confused. Should I stick it out on 20 for at least 8 weeks....so 3 more weeks or come off or switch meds.
I don t have any answers for you but given the amount of time you have been on it without moving your dose around really I would see your doctor. I would expect to see some improvements by now for you.
Do you feel worse than when you started it ?
X
S97nna
Posted
thank you for replying
there was this one occasion where i felt great, on 20 mg, really really great, hadn't felt like that for years, very minimal anxiety, and the next day it's gone so ,is this a good sign that it will work ? , this my first ssri btw, the reason i'm asking these questions
is because i've learned so much from this forum, and your knowledge in terms of this illness is much more than my gp, i'm even thinking going to a diffrent doc, thanks .
sarah24378 S97nna
Posted
I don t have much trust in the doctors either.
This is the first SSRI I have been on too but I am on another AD called mirtazapine as well. Not sure if that helps either.
It is so hard to know what to do it feels like anything is a risk. Stay on it or change. I have a 10 month old baby so can t be this I'll. How long is too long ?
Anyone got any answers for us ?
caroline73041 sarah24378
Posted
Sarah 2437
I take mirtazapine 45mg and citalopram 20mg. I've just had my mirtazapine increased from 30mg to the 45mg 6 weeks ago. I have another appointment to see my gp on the 5th January 2017. And if this combination is not working when I go to see her she is going to take me off of the citalopram and put me on venaflexene.Lots of people have great results from this combination. I am quite willing to make this change if I need to.
sarah24378 caroline73041
Posted
How long have you been on cit and mirt ? Is it helping at all ?
I think the psychiatrist will suggest swapping the cit with venoflaxin tomorrow.
caroline73041 sarah24378
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Hi Sarah
I've been on AD that work on dopamine etc for 15 yrs. At one time I was on 90mg of douslepine
The doctor only added 10mg of citalopram 2yrs ago, then increased it buy another 10mg last year.
I think i need to come off of the citalopram and increase my dose of the dopamine enhancer.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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caroline73041 sarah24378
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sarah24378 caroline73041
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caroline73041 sarah24378
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I usually stick with any changes for months, ,when they appear to not be working. But I refuse to do that anymore. I want to be well .
sarah24378 caroline73041
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It has been nearly 5 months on this combo. See psychiatrist today.
33cody sarah24378
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Any news on the appt? I too am struggling and I've been on for almost 4 months I think. I'm on Celexa and buspar, prior to the medicine I started feeling goofy headed like a spacey can't focus type deal also had pressure in my head for a while then the meds did take the pressure away but hasn't touched fogginess for more than a cpl hours a day on a good day, my wife just told me today my pupils were different sizes so I immediately started panicking, I've read on another site others have suffered this on both the meds I'm on. I'm just so ready to not have these symptoms and to move on with my life without the fear of life threatening illness completely taking over my life and the symptoms
sarah24378 33cody
Posted
I saw the psychiatrist and it was agreed things were nt working out on cit.
I was advised to drop to 10mg for 5 days then switch to venoflaxine. This is my 4th day on 10mg and since I dropped I have felt a lot better. I know this will probably not last as I have a bit of withdrawal coming uo but it has confirmed the side effects were too much for me.
I m very nervous about starting a new med and am considering staying on 10mg and seeing what happens....at least for a couple of weeks.
Overall I have felt a lot worse on cit even though I moved my dose around over the 5 months I have been a lot worse than before cit.
33cody sarah24378
Posted
Hopefully withdrawal isn't to bad for you I see my physciatrist Friday, yesterday my one pupil was larger than the other which obviously I panicked lol I've been to scared to look today to see if it's back to normal but I've also read cit can cause this so I'm hoping for that as I'm having a really hard time accepting its anxiety in the first place because the only real symptom that I had was foggy kinda headed with almost like a pressure in my head which either in turn caused anxiety or the anxiety caused the symptoms if the dr has put you on another med maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to start it on time you never know maybe that med is the answer and the longer you put it off the longer you might be avoiding feeling good you never know I'm just so ready to be back to my normal self it's driving me mad lol
sarah24378 33cody
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Pressure and foggy head is one of my symptoms too.
Just worried if I start the new med on tues I will be I'll over xmas.....not that I feel well now.....just don t want to be worse.
A different size pupil cannot be anxiety.
33cody sarah24378
Posted
Yea they say it can happen from buspar or cit my head pressure and foggy deal has been pretty constant so I'm getting used to it now I'm just hoping the new dr confirms it's anxiety and gives me med that takes it away lol
caroline73041 sarah24378
Posted
Hi Sarah 24378
I'm glad to hear that you feel a bit better now that you have made a cut on your citalopram.
The psychiatrist has given you venoflexene to take in place of the citalopram then. Let me know how you get on if and when you make the change.
I will be seeing my doctor on the 5th of January and she said if the combination of my citalopram and mirtazapine were not working, she was going to take me off of the citalopram and add venoflexene to the mirtazapine and try that.
I must admit I will be very nervous about any change to my medication. But I don't think that the citalopram is doing me any good, so am willing to try something else.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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caroline73041 sarah24378
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I think that going to 5mg first maybe a good idea.
I will be cutting from 20 mg to 15 mg to 10mg then five mg then off. So its going to be a month for me to completely get of off the citalopram and onto the venoflexene.
I wish that I had never started the citalopram. But it's just a case of finding what works best.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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caroline73041 sarah24378
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Sorry if I didn't make myself very clear. One week at 15mg one week at 10mg and a week at 5mg. Then straight onto the venoflexene. I know that I will have withdrawals that's what i am afraid of. But I don't feel a 100 percent right now anyway. I keep thinking that if I wait things will improve. But I'm not sure that they will.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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33cody caroline73041
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I'm not sure how withdrawal when going into anther med straight away I mean they kinda do the same thing just a little different so I'm. Not completely sold on the having withdrawal symptoms atleast not super bad ones anyhow
caroline73041 sarah24378
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caroline73041 sarah24378
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caroline73041 33cody
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33cody caroline73041
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I hope so as I have a feeling when I meet with the physciatrist on fri I may end up doing the same cause I'm honestly just sick of dealing with it all together just wanna get better and whatever the dr says will get me there the quickest I'm willing to give it a shot lol
sarah24378 33cody
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Well let's all stay in touch x
caroline73041 sarah24378
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Yes good idea. I feel terrible tonight. My anxiety is sky high. I'm really struggling at the moment.
33cody caroline73041
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Me too, I just keep thinking if this symptom with the head would go away I could get over the anxiety all together, for me when my anxiety got the worst it was when I had this symptom and then when I the dr said I had an infection causingit all I took antibiotics and I honestly felt great after about 5 days then for around two weeks following it and then it came back again and have been struggling ever since so it's been around a 5 month journey all together and I'm just tired of always feeling this way
33cody sarah24378
Posted
Sounds like a plan. It's a lot easier to talk to people with similar symptoms who also have a similar time on the meds or switching meds. I also might meet with a Neurologist to just so I can have everything checked out so I know, the problem with that however is im scared to death of getting the tests cause a big part of me doesn't want to know if it's super serious but the other part just wants to know and get whatever treatment i need to back to normal, hopefully it's anxiety and once i can accept that maybe the symptoms will fade away
caroline73041 sarah24378
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Hi Sarah
I hope that you are feeling well. I had a terrible time on Sunday, my anxiety was really bad. But since then I have felt amazing. It's so strange one minute I'm okay and then just like that things can change. But I am keeping my fingers crossed that things stay as they are. This is the best I've felt for 5 years. Anyway enough about me.
Have a great Christmas.
caroline73041 33cody
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How are you now Cody? I hope that things are improving for you.
After my bad day on Sunday i feel amazing. And each day i feel better and better.
I hope that this continues.Have a great Christmas.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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I have felt better since I dropped to 10mg on the cit but still not great. Getting headaches. But anxiety is not as bad and I m quite irritable.
Hope this improvement holds out.
Keep us informed x
33cody caroline73041
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I'm ok it seems that the decrease has atleast started making me feel a tad bit better other then headaches and hopefully getting off cit will help even more but honestly I'm starting to get anxious over feeling a little better now so it seems it's a never ending journey for me, I have a an appt with an eye specialist Tuesday and physciatrist tmw so hopefully after those I'll have some clarity and the answer to my problems and I can go forward and not look back lol I'm glad to hear your doing good, from what I understand good days with a bad day here and there are very common so seems you are on the right path. Good luck
caroline73041 sarah24378
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Today is great again so far. I hope it stays that way as well. And I hope that things will keep getting better for you.
I will post again in a few days.
caroline73041 33cody
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Thanks 33cody
I'm glad that things are going in the right direction for you Cody. I hope it stays that way.
Today is another great day for me.
caroline73041
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Hi Sarah
How are You . I hope that you had a good Christmas and felt well
I see my doctor next week. I think that i will still be coming off of the citalopram. I'm just not sure that it's doing much for me. I take my mirtazapine at night i used to take it at 10pm but I've had to bring it forward to 9pm.And even now and i get a tiny bit anxious it starts at about 7pm and lasts until about an hour after i take my mirtazapine so that is telling me that I may need to increase that med. But I'm on 45mg which is the highest dose that you can take of the mirtazapine . So it will be the venoflexene instead of the citalopram that I will be going on.
sarah24378 caroline73041
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Christmas was up and down. Yesterday was horrible but today is ok.
I thought you were feeling great ?
I start ven at 37. 5 tomorrow. Am really nervous about it. I take my mirt at bedtime.
Don t think you can go over 45mg in the UK. I am hoping if the ven works I can slowely come off the mirt and diazepam. Fingers crossed.
caroline73041 sarah24378
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Hi Sarah
It's so frustrating, i feel really good all of the time up until about 7pm then I have some anxiety until about an hour after i take my mirtazapine. I usually take my mirtazapine at 9pm.I suppose that I should stick with it for a while longer. Who knows what to do. I will speak with my doctor and see what she suggests. I know that she will not increase the citalopram because she said you have to be careful about not having to much serotonin . We have a mental health hospital here called long fox and i have seen a mental health nurse and she would not increase my meds because of serotonin syndrome.