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I have been on citalopram for about 3 weeks now. The first 2 weeks I was on 5mg and now I am on 10mg. I have been feeling a roller coaster of emotions since I started. Today, I made plans to see my partner and her best friend, and I instantly got anxious. Is this a side effect of the medicine? It's making me crazy.
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rachel62244 cosmickitty
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cosmickitty rachel62244
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rachel62244 cosmickitty
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matt1889 cosmickitty
Posted
Sorry to hear what you are going through at the minute, most of us on here have been through it so can relate to it all. So first and foremost don't go thinking it is just you and stuff as loads of people have or are going through it.
The quack decided to put me on Citalopram and if I am honest with you it only lasted about a month as me and the tablets just didn't get on and I realised that I was better off without them. I am not saying this is the case with you but time will tell and at only 3 weeks in you are just getting up to some form of steady level in your system so I guess you will figure out for yourself at to whether you think they are beneficial or not.
Citalopram is well known to intensify anxiety in some users. This was the case with me which is the main reason behind me knocking them on the head and going without. They do say the side effects subside in most users however for me it was the opposite end of the scale. I suddenly began to have some pretty severe panic / anxiety attacks in which my BP would shoot off the scale, my heart would race, I would get random tingling and I felt heavy headed like I was in a bubble. I was told that all of these things can be side effects of the drug by doctors.
When on Citalopram I also developed the whole anxiety about going out thing as well. The tablets cause all different changes in the body and in my case I allowed myself to become anxious about and reluctant to do too much as I was worried that something bad was about to happen health wise. I allowed myself to get some pretty crazy thoughts and became pretty fixated on my health at one point where I was convinced that I was about the have a heart attack or that my heart or breathing would suddenly stop. Here I am 18 months later seeing light at the end of the tunnel so obviously I was wrong :-)
Anyway I guess what I am trying to say is that the things you describe sound like extremely normal reactions to Citalopram that are commonly heard of so I hope that puts your mind at rest a little. In most cases once the loading period settles itself out and your body levels itself out and stuff things do settle down however as with all medications, sometimes we just aren't suited to them as it was in my case. Stay mentally strong and although it is tough stay positive and try and do things as normal as at first I let it all beat me and I wasted 6 months of my life worrying 24/7. If things don't improve then make notes of what you are feeling and what side effects you have had and stuff and go and see the GP to see if a different dosage or medication might be more suited
If you have any more questions feel free to ask x