Almost 7 months

Posted , 10 users are following.

Been on cit for nearly 7 months now. Last week I had 3 good days in a row where I was totally anxiety free. I thought I had cracked it then on the 4th evening I got a panicky sensation all over my body and since then I've had the knot in the stomach / nervous feeling again. Surely I should have recovered by now? What's other people's experiences?

0 likes, 27 replies

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  • Posted

    hi john

    its such a tough call, everybody recovers at different times......the fact you had 3 good days is a positive, have you stayed on the same dose for the 7 months?

    • Posted

      Hi Rob, I've been on the 30mg for about 12 weeks now I think

    • Posted

      12 weeks is still early john, every time you change your dose you start again having to resettle everything.

      i dont wish to pry but why did you up your dose?

      only because i was on 20 mg for 5-6 months & i felt it was too strong for me so i ve spent the last 7 months reducing from 20mg to 10 mg.

      ive been on 10 mg for 5 weeks now & hitting some real 'bumps in the road' at the moment.

      the fact you had 3 days anxiety free is fab mate, look at it that way.

    • Posted

      I upped on the advice of the Dr. I explained that I wasn't feeling settled so she wanted me to try a higher dose. I do feel a hell of a lot better but everyday I still have episodes of anxiety and unrest. Apart from the 3 days I don't feel like I'm getting any better now. Are you recovered now Rob?

    • Posted

      I have been on 30mg for 20 weeks and on citalopram totally 25 weeks. I am now so much better and I was really bad. Keep on the same dose I would say

    • Posted

      when you say it was too strong how did you feel? I am on week 7 today and i still wake up anxious and nauseated and worry about my health when the dr has ran test and said everything was fine, beside my liver enzyemes a little elevated.

    • Posted

      hi ashley

      i went 5 months at 20 mg & i just felt reslly out of shape, i had constant brain fog & derealalization, felt horrible all the time so i reduced slowly, put my head down & ploughed through. im on 10 now.

      ive had vertually all the side effects, nausea is a horrible one but i never stopped working all through it.

      these meds work so slowly its hard to call, what i do know is upping the dose all the time isnt necessarly the answer,

      7 weeks is still early days

      how do you feel in yourself?

    • Posted

      How are you doing on 10mg did put a post to see if others recovering on 10mg but only 1 reply. Istarted on 5mg about 6 weeks ago for intrusive thoughts and increased to 10mg about 10 days ago. Seem very sensitive to meds so wanted to try stay on 10 but not sure if will be strong enough long term. Cant take more than 20 mg anyway. But are you finding 10 still helping ?

    • Posted

      Hi Rob,

      Your post resonated with me as I'm wondering whether to reduce.

      I started on 10mg 4 months ago and had horrendous side effects for the first 2 months, this happened with sertraline too a few years ago and I couldn't even manage 2 weeks on fluoxetine so I seem to be very sensitive to SSRIs, perhaps they're not what I need, who knows?!

      Anyway, after 3 months things settled a bit and I managed to get some sleep but I've never felt relief and this last month is worse, I've lost my sleep again - I still have bad anxiety and mornings are horrific.

      I know 10mg is very low but I'm wondering if I should reduce, I had severe side effects on 5mg for the first 2 weeks when I started so I know low doses have some sort of effect.

      Doctor says I can try 7.5 but I'm terrified that I'm going the wrong way, unless I don't need these at all...but there's no way to know, it's all trial and error.

      Any thoughts appreciated, apologies for the long post 😃

  • Edited

    Hi John!

    Stay at your 30 dosage and yes its normal to feel anxiety. It took me 10 months to get where you are. FYI: I was a real hot mess back in 2015 after a very bad car accident that I walked away from. I did have internal injuries and spinal fluid leakage. Then the panic attacks started a month later. It took me 1 year to find a Dr to help me. I was losing my mind. When I started the celexa I was even worse. I had every side effect imaginable. My Dr had me go to 5 mg snd then I moved up to 10. Today its 2 years and at 10 mg on Celexa and I'm better than ever. I'm back at the gym every other day.

    Keep at what your doing. Cut caffeine out and exercise. Even if its walking. Hang in there and you will get through this. Keep me posted of how you are doing.

    Will 😃

    • Posted

      Thanks Will , that all sounds very positive! how long until you felt recovered?

    • Posted

      10 months .... each week was a small noticeable improvement.

      Will 😃

  • Posted

    john,

    Forgive me I meant to say Cut out caffeine and sugar. Incorporate exercise in your daily routine even if its just walking. I listen to music as I work out to let my mind escape.

    Will 😃

  • Posted

    Hi John,

    Can I ask how you are doing now? I found myself in the same boat. 7 months in and bam feeling awful with 2-3 weeks probably just as bad as before I started. Going through all the thoughts of dose increase. dose decrease, change of medication etc. Although from reading positive comments on here it seems the best thing to do is wait it out!

    • Posted

      I am feeling so much better. I reduced my dose and felt a bit strange for a couple of weeks but I feel really good now. Still not totally free from anxiety ( mornings still have a touch) but I feel a lot more normal. I keep thinking back on how I was and I keep telling myself how bad I was which makes me feel better to. When I do start to feel uncomfortable I bring it on myself but it doesn't last long now. I was on 30mg and it was too high and causing me to feel worse so a higher dose isn't always better. What are you on?

    • Posted

      hey, that's great. I'm glad you're feeling better, long may it last. I'm actually on escitalopram 10mg which i believe is equal to 20mg citalopram so not a big dose.

      i have to say I'm feeling better even since the comment i made and i do find it easier to pull myself out of that mindset. I guess it just sucks when you feel back to square one. Small steps and just ride out the setbacks.

      I appreciate you replying. It is very encouraging to hear about people getting better.

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