Anyone NOT had any side effects on Citalopram?

Thank you Maria and Susie I had a lovely weekend, I drove 2 hours there on Friday and 2 hours back today and I didn't have any anxiety at all so that's defo a move forward, my partner kept me chatting all the way so he kept me occupied, and he is such a calm person it rubs off I think, the hotel was lovely however I wouldn't recommend the place as there was nothing to see or do, so we chilled out most of the time chatting to other guests and slept a lot, it never stopped raining but it didn't bother us we enjoyed been taken care of.

Maria you don't have to put up with an unsympathetic doctor, ask for someone else, you are too important to just take some one like that whom cant help you, if they don't understand your problem in the first place. Also Maria I lost 3 stone to start with which for me was a good thing, but I could eat for Scotland now lol so your appetite will return with a vengeance I might add. lol

Hey Susie, I feel you are improving well, because that's some great advice your giving there, many thanks from us all. Even tho I am feeling much better I still read every post as it still encourages me, as not all days are good, and I want to be ready for them !!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and stay strong everyone,

Love n hugs Anne x

Hi all,

Had a good weekend here. Lots of sleep, less sweats and today managed to go for a pub lunch with my fiance and a friend. Was really busy and noisy but managed (even though I was eyeing up the door to the garden regularly because I wanted to go out for air, I stayed inside). Felt great when I eventually did go back outside, luckily it was a lovely day.

Anne, well done you!

Maria, it does sound like things are improving a little even if you don't feel it. You should stick to seeing a doctor you trust as much as possible. That will help your progress.

Mrs VN and Sussex, hope things are good with you.

Susie even (damned autocorrect).

Hope everyone else is having a quiet day.

:-D

Hi everyone I don't usually suffer from anxiety but I am feeling very anxious this week as I have a work event coming up on Friday which I am very nervous about. Also, I know I will feel pressured to drink alcohol which I normally avoid as it makes my depression worse and I know you aren't meant to drink on citalopram. Does anyone know the effects of this or how to cope with nerves before an event? Thanks so much, love to you all xx

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all well and had a peaceful weekend?

I had a lovely but exhausting weekend down at my sister's 40th. I even managed the three hour drive down there and back, not bad for someone who thought they'd never be able to drive again about three weeks ago! I was pretty shattered but at least it meant I slept well last night!

I'm on my last day of being off work today, I'm pretty nervous about going back but I've kept busy by walking to the shops and baked a cake to take in to say thank you to my colleagues for covering my workload for me for the last 6 weeks. I also just got a call about a competition I entered recently to nominate my mum for a luxuary spa thingy and she's been shortlisted so that's cheered me up too, the only thing is apparently we'll have to feature in a magazine if she wins so it does mean being interviewed, which obviously made me anxious straight away when they said that, but it turns out it's only a phone interview and I've thought about it since and I'm sure I'll cope with it if it means my lovely mum gets to be spoilt for a day!

Diane and David, you both sound like things are really going in the right direction for you. I'm so pleased for you both!

Maria, I'm sorry things are still bad for you. I agree with David that it can take quite some time to see improvements. Also, the lower dose didn't seem to be effective for you and when you increase your dose it can be like starting from the beginning for some people so I would count from when you increased rather than the dosage you were on before. I had a week on 30mg before I went up to 40 and I didn't begin to have proper 'good' patches, that lasted a while, until week 3 on 40mg so hang in there. I know it's horrible and you'll want to feel better now but if you can hold tight for a little while longer you should start to see some improvements soon. I know when I started on my increase having never had any problems increasing or decreasing my dosage before I naively thought I'd be right as rain within a few days. I was so disappointed when I read that it can take a good few weeks but I got there in the end and there's no reason to think you won't do too! Also, obviously I don't know how old you are but people who are older can take longer to feel the effects.

Anne, so pleased to hear you had a good weekend away too and managed the drive!

Susie, you sound like things are going really well for you too. Long may it continue!

Kelly, I hadn't been told I couldn't drink on citalopram, it was only since this episode of depression that I found out I wasn't supposed to and I'd been going out drinking and clubbing regularly when I was first on it (at 32 I'm too old for all that now ) but i'd still have a few too many on birthdays and special occasions. I did find that one or two drinks would be fine but that if I had any more than that I'd get very drunk very quickly and I'd have the most horrendous hangovers, it became a running joke that I'd still be hungover on wednesday if I'd been out on the saturday! I just thought I'd become a light weight in my old age! Now I've realised from reading other people's experiences that that was because of the citalopram!

I know what you mean about feeling under pressure to drink. I went to my sister's birthday bash on saturday and was really conscious that I'm usually first up on the dance floor and the first to get the drinks in. I got around it by driving and saying I wanted to not be hung over so I could enjoy her birthday meal the next day. It was difficult. I found it quite hard as I just kind of sat in one place (the conbination of not having a drink and being daunted by being in a loud room full of lots of people who I know but don't know all of them very well) and felt very boring but I felt very smug in the morning! You could tell a little white lie and say you have to be up early in the morning, or I used to find that if I alternated soft drinks with alcoholic drinks it did mean my hangover wasn't as bad and I didn't end up blind drunk. Hope it goes okay. Have you tried taking bach's rescue remedy to settle your nerves? I find that it helps, not sure if it's a placebo or if it actually does anything but it helps me. Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.

xx

hi Mrs VN

Just thought I'd check in. Feel like I have good days at the moment and bad episodes during the day sometimes, but started CBT depressiontoday, gosh it was heartwrenching is the word I'm looking for cathartic? Facing my demons etc I decided on group therapy after long chat with CBT therapist, also there are only 5 people in the group. So I go back on Thurs I'll see how it goes. Meds seem to be working slowly but surely.

Take care everyone

xxx

Hi faraway girl,

It's great to hear from you, especially to hear that you're tending to have good days now! I think you summed it up really nicely, it kind of goes from bad days with some good patches to good days with a few bad patches.

The CBT can feel quite uncomfortable at first because it can sometimes mean acknowledging and voicing those horrible negative thoughts and feelings but I'm sure it'll be really helpful for you and once you start to learn the process and get a few sessions under your belt you'll know what to expect so that should make it all a lot easier.

Has your sleep started to improve yet? I'm still waking up a little in the night but I'm asleep more than awake through the night if that makes sense!

Xx

Hi Mrs VN,

Sleep not too bad just taking occassional sleeping med like last night because of today anxiety level high.

Thankyou so much for the reply good luck tomorrow!

xxx

Thank you, I'm getting quite nervous now (but nervous rather than anxious which is good!) I'm only doing 11-4 because I'm having a phased return and I've planned the day with my manager so I know exactly what to expect which is good. I'm just trying to relax on the sofa now but I'm finding it hard to settle. I've got some trashy magazines to distract myself now though!

Glad to hear your sleep is getting better too, I know you struggled with that to begin with.

Xxx

Good luck for tomorrow Mrs VN.

Let us know how it goes, am sure you'll be great. Remember the mantra - tortoise, tortoise, tortoise. :-D

Had my second acupuncture session tonight. Am hopeful that it might help.

Hope everyone is doing well.

:-D

Hi Mrs VN,

Just wanted to let you know that I came out of my bad patch. I went back to work today and started my phased return. So glad I made the decision to do it. I feel amazing tonight and so proud.

I hope tomorrow goes well for you and I will be thinking about you.

I have to say about my dosage increase it took 7 and half weeks to work to what I think is a very good level and friday last week I felt like the light finally came on at full power. I hope this will give everyone reassurance that sometimes it takes a little bit longer.

Looking forward to some more counselling/therapy to help me focus on staying well for the future and deal with anxiety long term.

Love to you all x

Good luck tomorrow, Mrs VN. I'm sure you'll be fine!!

Maria (and others). Today I popped in my local chemist to ask the pharmacist why I should be careful about taking ibuprofen with Citalopram, and ended up having a really helpful discussion with him.

He told me that Citalopram is extremely effective, but takes about 4-6 weeks to work, and in the interim can actually deplete seratonin levels and make you feel much worse until it regulates itself and starts to get your body chemistry back into line. And he also said it's a good AD for long-term use, as the potential long-term side effects are minimal.

I had a bad day yesterday, very low all day, but today feel a lot better. I seem to be all over the place, but I'm hanging in there, and the pharmacist boosted me a lot. Maria, stick with it. You really have nothing to lose, and lots to gain. I'm on day 7 of 20mg now, and if it wasn't for this forum, my doctor friend in the States, and the pharmacist today, I'd also be wondering if it was worth keeping on with these. Let's hang in there together!!

Thank you Diane, I'll let you know how I've got on tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be fine, I think I'm most worried because we share an office with another team. My team all know what's happened but I'm worried about the other team we share with asking questions about where I've been and getting myself tongue tied and not knowing what to say. At the end of the day it's no one else's business I guess.

Oh Emma, I'm so glad things have improved, I felt so disappointed for you when things took a dip. I'm so glad you've gone back to work successfully. I know it was a real worry for you and it's a big relief for me to hear of others taking the plunge and it going well! How are you doing your phased return if you don't mind me asking? I'm doing 25% of my hours this week, 50% next week and 75% the third week.

Xxx

Thank you Jules! I'm really touched by everyone's good wishes.

I'm pleased you've had a good day Jules, it was lucky you made that trip to the pharmacist! I often think that we can keep telling ourselves these things but when we're feeling low the illness often stops us believing it and I found it started to become meaningless when I tried to remind myself that I would get better. I found hearing someone else reassuring me or telling me things would get better and reminding me these things take time, especially people who've been there before and come out of the other side. Hopefully those good days will start to join together for you! Xx

That's great news Emma xx well done for getting there !! keep up the great work, proud of you for sticking in there.

Also all the best with your phased return to work Mrs VN, it will help you get back to normal. It will be another focus for you, and keep you going.

Lots of good news recently, you too are getting there Jules, stay strong, we will all get there together !!

Take care everyone and stay strong

Anne xx