Posted , 3 users are following.
I have been upped from 30 to 40 and dr said take 10 when I get home (around 4pm) to start it in my system and then 40 from now on. My question is does anyone split their dose morning and afternoon maybe 30 morning and 10 afternoon to try and alleviate side effects or does it make any difference. Just asking....
0 likes, 6 replies
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louise32849 johmac
Posted
Hi , I feel like a right busy body as been on here twice tonight already lol but if it helps others I don't mind 😉
I'm on 40 mg and split into half so i take 20mg in morn and 20 mg in evening .
I find it helps to reduce that tired feeling as I'm.spacing my dosage and pharmacist said it's fine which is why the tablets r scored for even splitting .
Hope this is of help
Kindest Regards
Louise
johmac
Posted
Thanks Louise,
I may try that. Only because my body is used to 30 in the morning and taking 10 maybe around 3pm may just help my body get used to it. Always helps even more when a pharmacist corroborates, I find they are very helpful and don't get enough recognition. I may try a few days that way and see how it goes. When I went from 20 to 30 thank the Good Lord, I had no side effects at all but we all know that history doesn't always repeat itself with these meds.
No one would say a busy body if you're helping others. Thanks Louise,
louise32849 johmac
Posted
Hi John
I'm sure you will be fine either way as these tablets have a longer half life so they stay in your body longer . You are also right about Pharmacists as they are very knowledgeable about medication and dosages and can give great advice .
The reason I started splitting my 40 mg Citalopram was because I feel so lethargic on them whereas I'm usually an active , energetic type . It has helped taking first half in morning then 2nd half in evening and I also sleep really well .
I'm glad I may have helped you as we are all in this together and it's a comfort to know there are others in the same position .
Hope all works out for you and let me know how you get on or give me a shout as I'm always happy to help 😊
Best Wishes
Lou
johmac
Posted
Hi Louise,
My name is Jo (female) it happens all the time so not your fault.
I talked to the pharmacist and she said i could do it either way. You're right about the half life so maybe doesn't matter. Just trying to avoid the big anxiety that comes with this. The dr said that usually the first step up is the worst for side effects so that would have been 20 to 30 but I think we are all very different. How did you manage when you increased to 40 - were there many side effects. I think we are always apprehensive about what is to come. Right now i'm very irritable - maybe just the thought of increasing. How long have you been on the cit. I'm always wondering how we all got here (together) lol. I will see how it goes over the next few days.
Best Jo x
louise32849 johmac
Posted
Hi Jo!
Hope u have had a good weekend 😊
Will give u a bit of history with my journey on Cit if it helps .
Started 8 years ago on 10mg as my anxiety was terrible , everything was stressing me out , I was always either shouting and very irritable and angry or crying in hopeless despair . It was my partner who persuaded me to go to docs and I'm so glad I did which is when I was diagnosed with GAD and put on 10mg Cit. I found the side effects very worse in this first stage just on 10mg then when my body got used to it I upped to 20mg and carried on quite happily this dose until just over a year ago when I had a major breakdown due to workplace bullying from my Practice Manager at the Dentist where I worked .
I think I always tend to blame myself and overcompensate for others issues as I can overthink problems due to my anxiety so over my last year in work I just didn't recognise the obvious signs of bullying which I , myself and others were at the receiving end of .
I actually became very ill with depression , got signed off by the doctor and upped dose to 30mg which I did VERY CAREFULLY , I started on 20 and 1/4 mg, then 20 1/2mg and so on until I reached 30 mg, I bought a pill cutter off Amazon and it proved priceless . Doing it this way , I felt in control of my side effects and as a result I had a smooth ride so when I upped to 40mg I did the same again over the course of a week creeping up slowly .
As I'm in a better place now worksite I have decided to try and reduce down to 20 mg from 40mg so I'm using my pill cutter to decrease . I'm just starting my second wk on 35mg and will continue for next 4 wks until I will try to get down to 30mg .
Decreasing dose is alot more difficult than increasing due to withdrawal effects which is why I'm doing over a longer period .
Just another word of advice , when I took that extra 1/4 of a 10 mg tablet I would keep myself busy , either a walk , or housework , I actually painted my house 😂 just so u are not sat there trying to feel different as quite often we can imagine side effects when it's just our anxiety playing tricks with us making us feel dizzy or wierd.
I honestly didn't have any side effects from increasing dose and I'm so sure you will be the same 😊
Quite often we can be our own worst enemy imagining the worst but there are no rules about taking things at your own pace which is exactly what I did .
I really hope this helps and please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any more advice 😊
Big Hugs Jo 😘
You can do this !
Spk soon !
Lou xx
Mark7004 johmac
Posted
I don't think it makes a difference other than sleep loss. I always take mine in the morning