Anyone NOT had any side effects on Citalopram?

Hi Amy

I took my first CIT in October last year (2013) and felt it kick in properly after about 6 weeks, then I increased on December 20th to 20mg and didn't feel any side effects except maybe a sore head, I still have tinnitus but I got that with the Anxiety not the CIT. I was absolutely terrified to take the Cit and originally got them in August but didn't take till October as was too scared, but was too ill in the end and knew I had to take them, after my first one I thought Wow I didn't die.... so I continued thankfully,

Yes Amy things will get better, once your body adjusts to the CIT, and its so good to be just yourself again, I hope your day is really soon. xx

Big hugs

Anne x

Well Doug,

Its in the past now move on and get yourself better, it will happen, nothing improved at all for me in the first 6 weeks, and I cried non stop. but now am so happy to be me again. I sometimes cant believe what happened, and how it affected me. but persevere YOU and your family deserve it.

Anne

Hello Everyone

I feel for those of you for whom Cit is taking a long time to take effect. That does seem to happen for some. For most people the maximum effect takes at least 6 weeks. It is best, though, to keep pestering your doctor as just maybe an increase would help (I know you'll probably shudder at the thought), but there is an optimum dose which suits people individually, and which also depends on their circumstances.

One of the things which many people mention is the terrible despairing fear which you get that you will be one of the odd ones out for whom Cit will not work. I felt so ill that I was constantly working out how I could bear to be like it for the rest of my life. Another BIG brain con! The statistics show that Cit is very effective and, yes, there are one or two for whom it does not do its job effectively. But it's equally true that those one or two people have other options available which will work. So don't despair!

Good to hear from you again Anne, and thank you for those lovely words. I can assure you it was not one-sided at all! I was 'lurking' (for those who do not recognise this technical expression, it describes a person who subscribes but keeps quiet!) on this list and read your posts, which galvanised me to stick my oar in! So glad to hear how well you feel - how are you getting on with the new med?

Pregabalin seems to affect my memory a bit. Reminds me of a joke:

Man to doctor: There's two things I must mention to you:

First, I have a very bad memory.

Second, um, er. Can't remember.

Take care everyone

Chris

Ha ha Chris, yes I am having memory problems too my doc wont test me for 6 months, its not major memory loss, just silly little things like forgetting words for a minute or two, or someones name that I know I know. sometimes been absent minded as well, she asked me if I was sure I was not normally like that - but I think I would remember (LOL)

I like that word "lurking" well my new meds are settling fine, I have an appointment for my MRI next Tuesday and they have told me its a new MRI scanner they have just got and its and open one, so I will check it before I subject myself to it, they said its the same as the one at the sick kids (which I was waiting on an appointment for) so lets see. I know I need to have it but I am terrified of having another major panic attack in it, so I will stay calm and do my deep breathing.

Best get ready for work, catch you all later,

Take care

Anne

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing OK today.

Just a brief update from me today - had my phone assessment earlier so they could work out what therapy options would be suitable for me. Not the easiest phone call to have, but I did get through it and they have assessed my depression/anxiety as being moderate, and have offered me CBT or traditional counselling. Based on how they described these options, I actually said I would probably like a bit of both! But anyway I have gone for the CBT and can always change if I don't feel it's having any effect. Only pain is I have to wait another 4-6 weeks before I'm likely to get an appointment .

GP again tomorrow, wait and see what he has to say as well I guess.

Take care all, stay strong.

Doug. x

Hi all. I am now on day 23 of 20 mg, but prior to that I was on 10mg so all in all it has been just over 7 weeks. I had 6 weeks of mostly hell with anxiety - before going on the cit I would just be anxious about events around health but once I took the cit I was anxious all the time. After 6 weeks the anxiety went and I was on cloud 9, so happy to feel me again - I was going to post to encourage everyone but didn't want to jinx myself - however last night I woke up in the early hours anxious again and spent hours up feeling anxious, this has left me feeling anxious all day. I am so gutted about this as I thought it had sorted itself out. Does anyone know if this is normal and has anyone experienced this? Will I have to keep getting these bad days - problem is I am so anxious about returning to how I was a few weeks back that I am now finding it hard to think of anything else which I know is not helping. Thanks

Masterchef tomorrow night Matilda! (oh deary deary me) I'll be at 6 weeks tomorrow as far as I can work out. I'm getting there but still waking up shaky and I had a bit of an anxious-y day today for some reason. There are good spells interspersed though ... not near 100% but without anxiety at least. I'm not going to LA but it would be a bit of fun!! I hope you're doing ok today and things are looking up, glad to hear you felt a bit better last night

Thanks Anne and Chris for the messages. Anne - you reduced from 30 to 20, was there a reason for that from the point of view of side effects outweighing benefit?

Doug - that's great that you're going to be getting some extra help. Sadly I see NHS waiting lists haven't come down. What an archaic system. I've worked abroad a lot and it's made me realise how ridiculous the NHS can be. The weeks will at least fly in and by the time you're at that stage you'll be settled on the Citalopram and wondering what the fuss is about!

Maisie, I've taken Citalopram for quite a while before this latest debacle when I tried to stop too quickly and have gone back on. During my time I did definitely get times of anxiety but they went away quickly. I think trying not to dwell on them is the key. I'm sure you'll get over this blip and all will settle as that's great that it is working for you

quick question ... does anyone find that things they eat affect them? I still have this weird "eating making me feel anxious/stressy" thing going on.

Spence - hows it going, are things settling a bit for you? hope all is ok

anyway I hope we all have a good evening.

take care

Rick

Evening all. Hope you've had a good day. I had my first day back at work after my holiday. Didn't come back to too much which was good. I am still really concerned that I am not sleeping at all well. I am lucky if I get 4 hours. A friend of mine said it may be lack of sleep rather than the cit that's causing the shakes. Also sometimes I feel quite anxious and low. I hit that magic 6 weeks on 20mg on Sat but I'm so scared that I will still feel awful as it would be 8 weeks in total including the 10mg. I would so love to come off these but I think I'm too far in now.

Doug I had my cbt assessment yesterday, I am going to be doing group cbt.

Maisie wouldn't want to say for definite but when I was on cit before I would sometimes have down days hopefully its just a blip as they say x

Rick we always post at the same time don't we? 😄

we seem to yup!

I'd love to come off them too but as you say it's not a great idea yet until I'm completely stable on them. Then I I'll see how it goes for a while I think.

I sent you a message about something that might help us restarters :-)

well done getting to work and it going ok. I'm much the same, still have spells of doing not so well and feeling stressy and anxious and I definitely have the shakes at times, especially after waking up. They'll go eventually :-)

take care,

Rick

Hi Richard,

I haven't reduced, I went up from 10mg to 20mg not reduced yet, but don't see myself reducing either, cant ever go back to how I was. Rick with regards to your weird eating thing, are you afraid of putting on weight as lots of folk do post that and you may be aware of this and maybe anxious about it, ??

Dougie,

I had to wait for my CBT as well due to the long waiting lists and you will be much better by the time you do it, but its good training for life. x

Maisie,

Well done on all your good days, that's great news and great to hear from you, however we can have glitches due to hormonal changes, upset stomach, lots of reasons, I had them but they are few and far between now. so stay positive, you wont just go back to how you were with the bad anxiety, stay strong remember to use the deep breathing at difficult times especially xx relax in the knowledge NO you are not going to back to how you were, how many mg are you on?? as you could speak to the doc about an increase if you feel the need, remember lots of folk whom have been on Cit for as long as you dont really get any side effects with an increase as the CIT has already adjusted in your body. Speak with the doctor if it becomes a problem, but I think going by my own experiences that it will just fade away again. (the anxiety that is !!!)

Matilda

Glad you are going to be joining a CBT group, you will enjoy it, I think sleep plays a massive part in us getting well, have you tried deep breathing in the bed, counting in for 5 and out for 7 and soon your body will be oxygenised and the counting in and out will help you nod off, this is how I got my sleep patterns back, as the Tinnitus was keeping me awake for hours maybe only getting 2 hours sleep a night and I got totally stressed with it, but now I sleep a full 7 to 8 hours, more if I am not working LOL

Hope all are having a good day/evening stay strong and remember the deep breathing it really helps keep you calm,

Anne xx

morning all. hope your all well.

Day 38 on 20mg I I have to say things are getting better. starting to feel more like the old me, laughing more and a lot more positive in myself. still struggling a bit being around people I dont know, but thats me I was painfully shy before cit. I have friends visiting next week and am a little worried about drinking, last time I drank was day 8, spent 9and10 in a mess. now im not sure if that was down to the bottle of baileys id polished off or that my side effects were peaking. anywho gonna see how it goes, try not to worry and just enjoy being with my friends.

I would like to say to anyone that has just started on cit, keep at it, I know its hard to think positive right now bit things will get better. this forum has really helped me through the bad days. one day you will look back and think "wow I got through that". panic attacks are horrid but accepting them and sometimes even embracing them as part of your life can and will help. try not to think "im not going to panic today" because to think thay you first have to think about panicking which I can guarantee will start you on a bad note. I found if I woke up and thought "today is going to be a good one" worked amazingly, even got my wife to say it too. it is amazing what positive thinking (although extremely hard at first) can do for you.

sorry for waffling.

ally xx

Hey, this is great to hear Ally, thanks for letting us know. And very encouraging for anyone either in the early stages of the side effects or (like me) still waiting for that eureka moment.

It's a good point about starting the day positively - I'm trying to do the same, with varying degrees of success at the moment! I've been finding your posts very helpful though, I like your way of thinking. (And you never waffle, it's all good stuff!)

Rick, how are you doing? I've been ok, still having my ups and downs - my most prominent symptom is still dissociation, and I'm still trying to deal with that better. I don't get on well with the "unreal" feelings that come with dissociation but I'm persisting with trying to accept it and relax into it.

A big hello to everyone else, I hope you have the best day possible.

Cheers,

Spence

PS. Rick, Matilda - Masterchef tonight!

Hi everyone,

I've not posted in ages because my CBT man said I wasn't allowed, but I'm back because I've been struggling. I've been on Cit for about 3 months, and I've had ups and downs all the way. My lows haven't been as bad as they were at the start, and I've been coping at work etc, but today I've woken feeling anxious, tearful, low, spaced out, not like I'm in the real world. I'm at my desk panicking that I can't make it through the day. I'm panicking that it's all coming back. Please help! XXX