Celexa Experience?
Posted , 6 users are following.
I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder 9 years ago. i am 28 years old. I do not have children and due to the pandemic I am completing my education online. I have completed my social work degree and switched careers and am now taking medical office administration. My anxiety has been pretty manageable for the last 2 years. It has now come back all the sudden worse then ever. I have always been scared to take medication as my mother has been so dependent on antidepressants that I think after 20+ years of use it has messed with her brain. She is now schizophrenic. My father is an addict.
I finally caved and started taking medication. I was prescribed 10mg of celexa. Its my 5th day and I have severe dry mouth and have been sleeping a lot. After reading a lot of peoples experiences with citalopram, im fearful im going to lose myself and lose interest in everything. I'm also fearful to get used to these and then have to stop taking them so soon as I would like to try for kids soon. Anyone have good experiences with Celexa and care to share? I'm feeling very skeptical and uneasy.
0 likes, 7 replies
laura45992 jacqueline93455
Edited
give it time. and when you think you have, give it more time! it can take a long time to settle. took me six months
sam48584 jacqueline93455
Edited
Hi There. I'm still very early in my journey but wanted to reply as my experience may help you.
I started with sudden onset of severe anxiety following several years of unmanaged stress - mostly at work.
I got to the point where i had palpitations and a churning stomach most of the time, couldnt eat and lost a stone over 2 weeks, couldn't hold a conversation without crying. I felt broken!
I was started on 10mg citalopram and told to take some time off work. To complicate things i only had 4 weeks left in my job and was then starting a new job which includes a masters degree and working in a new environment.
Ive now on my 5th week of citalopram. I've had ups and downs but am eating again, I started my new job Monday just gone and am rarely tearful. I have days where i am anxious and have a churning stomach and palpitations but am in a much better place now. I couldnt face my old job 4 weeks ago then alone a new one! I'm not sleeping well still but i know i need to give the medication months to work rather than weeks and things are definitely better than they were. I still laugh, i still cry and i still feel like me(just with anxiety) the citalopram hasn't zapped my whole personality. I am happy that this medication along with some counselling and my daily walks will get me back on track.
katecogs jacqueline93455
Edited
Some types of older style anti-depressants which are meant for short term use only are addictive.
SSRI’s (Celexa) are not addictive and you won’t become dependent on them. You won’t need more and more or higher and higher doses - you’ll find a dose that suits you and you won’t have to increase. You can take them long term too.
You do however need to withdraw from these meds though and that’s not because they’re addictive, but purely because they just need a slow reduction.
I recovered on these meds and 1000’s of others do too. I took these for around 20 years and was perfectly well and happy on them.
Pregnancy and SSRI’s - you’d have to speak to your doctor about that - when I had my children it was before I took SSRI’s though was taking a tri-cyclic anti-depressant then and was monitored by my doctor throughout.
Get well on these meds first and then you can discuss when they just need a reduction for pregnancy or an alternative during the 9 months.
jacqueline93455 katecogs
Posted
i tried the medication for 8 days. i found i was getting extreme onset shortness of breath where even standing up to walk to the kitchen or bathroom made me feel like i just ran a marathon. I also had a lump like feeling in my throat all the. I took the meds in the morning and noticed the onset throughout the day. When i would go to sleep and wakeup the next day, it would be gone. i stopped taking the meds for 2 days to see if there was a change and I feel so much better. I wonder if these were not the pills for me. I was only taking 10 mg and was supposed to start 20 mg next week.
royal02360 katecogs
Posted
please Reply im having a really bad time...my story is so long 6 months ago i was having a panic attack after panic attacks im Experiencing Very Bad Intrusive thoughts finally i decided to go to a pcychiatrist ..he Diagnosed me Pure O ..OCD Anxiety and deprssion he prescribed Paroxetine 20 mg which i took for 3 months but not seen improvement ..i quit taking paroxetine and now my Psychiatrist put me on Citalopram 40 mg ..its My 9 th week on citalopram but i haven't seen Much Improvement in My OCD ..after 8 weeks i was ok but one of My friends told me that OCD leads to Schizophrenia Psychosis after hearing this my OCD become Worse..and i Always google My Symptoms and Doing Research about OCD and Mental illness...im Very anxious .. I'm having thoughts that My Intrusive thoughts will never Go away im worried alot and thinking to Change My Medicine Plzz tell me will this Get better or not waiting For your Reply.. My English is not good sorry
katecogs royal02360
Edited
Hi royal02360
Anxiety causes all sorts of side effects - panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, tiredness, brainfog and more……..
Paroxetine and Citalopram are both SSRI medicines and will help you, but you can’t expect to be well after 3 months.
Stop googling your symptoms - you’ll end up getting confused which will add to the pain of anxiety.
Yes this will go away - in time.
I see you’ve pm’d me - I’ll chat to you there 😉
katecogs jacqueline93455
Posted
Hi jacqueline
Sorry didn’t see your reply.
Shortness of breath could have been overbreathing due to the anxiety - and yes, anxiety can make you feel like you’ve a lump in your throat as its due to the tension.
Sorry you had issues with these meds though - they do heighten symptoms of anxiety when initially taking them, but no, they don’t suit everyone.
K 😉