Citalopram 10mg - and lethargy

Hi

They didn't mention potential lethargy to me as a possible side effect.

I'd say my issues are partly work related, and partly other things.

If this lethargy persists much longer, I'm really going to have to consider stopping them.

Hang in there. I am typing this at 430am just after waking up with dreed. I put myself back on meds 7 days ago because I didnt know if I would cope with 4 kids Christmas etc. But now I regret doing jt becuase I forgot about the side effects. Its bloody hard. Trying to stay in the presence longing for who I was before.

Stay strong

If you want to recover from this you have to go the distance, these meds are not a quick fix to put you right back to that place which caused you to be here in the first place. So many of us want to 'get back', or 'be our old self, the old me' and what has happened is a sign that where we came from just ain't right.  Let's face it if it were, why would there be so many of us in this situation? By all means get a quick fix, but that is a dangerous road to travel as it inveriabley leads to a downward spiralling one as 'quick fixes' are only temporary and the need to get a better than the last becomes permanent and can become deadly.

No one, who has gone or is going through this, is going to say it is easy, it isn't.  It is simply because, we are from different backgrounds, environments, personal status, children or not, work related or not. Then there is the fact that we are uniquely different, one off beings, who respond to life and meds in a different ways from the next person.

This sticking plaster for the brain has been prescribed not to get you back on your feet to carry on as before, but to repair the damage that has been done over a short or usually a long term, whether you were fully aware or not.  Mine was a final build up of Work Related Stress over six years and it very nearly killed me.  

Most of the 'side effects' we suffer, differ in type and/or intensity from one person to the next, this is Cita actually getting down to repairing the damage caused us by modern life.  This damage can be for all manner of reasons, some of which have been there since the early days of our ancesteral development. However, there are many more these days and the instances of mental illness is increasing. They are compounded by the 'system' (call it what you like) and our lifestyles which is promoted by the system and keeps us held in a continuous circle of submission to that system.  With crisis and chaos all around the world it is little wonder so many of us are pretty much f*cked up! Now, I have said this many times before to other forum-ers who have accepted the free and caring advice, which I accepted as well when I started asking for help here, if you want to recover, which you will, you have to let the med do its job!

You must not let Christmas or any other religious or secular event that you may celebrate get in the way. By all means celebrate if you want, but ask yourself one question, do you want to be here healthy and happily mended for the many Christmas' to come, or do you just burnt out after this one? You can get a quick fix, but that is a dangerous road to travel as it inverabley is a downward spiralling one. What we need to do is make changes in our lifestyle, what we eat and in doing so the numerous amount of chemicals in processed foods, that affect our brain, not just through what we eat either, through smoking, drinking or doing drugs. Then there is TV and the tabloids, being fixated on the news and negative events, the people we mix with, work with, live with and allow to hurt us, verbaly, mentaly or physically.

I'll put me hands up because, most of the above applies to me, that is, until I found the courage to change myself! I only managed to do this with the help of people here, a loving partner (now Fiancee) and a GP that knows a hell about sticking plasters for the brain! It has not been easy, but with the help, advice and guidance of the wonderful people here we are free of most of all that cr*p! I am healthier, firt(ish), I do need to exercise a bit more and shed some weight however, my excuse is that I have been concentrating on mind, if not totally body. At first after an intial weight gain due to the med (not everyone does) I trimmed down a little, but then we began rejecting processed foods and unatural additives and replacing them with the healthy alternative. Not really an alternative a more natural way of eating and we do not eat much differently than before. Most are the same meals, but cheaper, healthier and easy to to do saving time. For example we make our own bread with wholemeal flour, water and easy bake yeast (actually the original ingredients for bread, basically). We leave it over night to do its own thing and bake the next day. No kneading or stuff like that just mix cover and leave! Two loaves out of a 1Kg bag costs 90p to make and you know it is healthy and you can make chip (healthy chips of course) buttys no sweat! What we found with this is that because it is a more substantial loaf it is more satisfying and the urge to consume round after round (lovely as it is, believe me) is not there!

It may have been hard at first, but the change helped me mentally and both of us physically.

If you do not have someone close then talk to family members or a friends (you'll soon find out who your true friends are) because I'll think you'll find there a lot that have suffered (usually in silence) and may be able to help you, which will help them too.

Anyway, do not give up, let cita repair you and you will recover and be a better person for the (sometimes yuk experience). Try to be positive, do not look back only forward, there will be a light at the end of this sh*tty tunnel eventually, I promise!

In the meantime keep posting and reading, do not over think or worry and keep asking!

Regards,

David

(PS going for a lay down after all that! Lol!)

Hi Taylren42,

I thought I'd post this to you as I noticed your similar situation to HelpNeeded and thought, why not it may help!  Hope you don't mind.

If you want to recover from this you have to go the distance, these meds are not a quick fix to put you right back to that place which caused you to be here in the first place. So many of us want to 'get back', or 'be our old self, the old me' and what has happened is a sign that where we came from just ain't right.  Let's face it if it were, why would there be so many of us in this situation? By all means get a quick fix, but that is a dangerous road to travel as it inveriabley leads to a downward spiralling one as 'quick fixes' are only temporary and the need to get a better than the last becomes permanent and can become deadly.

No one, who has gone or is going through this, is going to say it is easy, it isn't.  It is simply because, we are from different backgrounds, environments, personal status, children or not, work related or not. Then there is the fact that we are uniquely different, one off beings, who respond to life and meds in a different ways from the next person.

This sticking plaster for the brain has been prescribed not to get you back on your feet to carry on as before, but to repair the damage that has been done over a short or usually a long term, whether you were fully aware or not.  Mine was a final build up of Work Related Stress over six years and it very nearly killed me.  

Most of the 'side effects' we suffer, differ in type and/or intensity from one person to the next, this is Cita actually getting down to repairing the damage caused us by modern life.  This damage can be for all manner of reasons, some of which have been there since the early days of our ancesteral development. However, there are many more these days and the instances of mental illness is increasing. They are compounded by the 'system' (call it what you like) and our lifestyles which is promoted by the system and keeps us held in a continuous circle of submission to that system.  With crisis and chaos all around the world it is little wonder so many of us are pretty much f*cked up! Now, I have said this many times before to other forum-ers who have accepted the free and caring advice, which I accepted as well when I started asking for help here, if you want to recover, which you will, you have to let the med do its job!

You must not let Christmas or any other religious or secular event that you may celebrate get in the way. By all means celebrate if you want, but ask yourself one question, do you want to be here healthy and happily mended for the many Christmas' to come, or do you just burnt out after this one? You can get a quick fix, but that is a dangerous road to travel as it inverabley is a downward spiralling one. What we need to do is make changes in our lifestyle, what we eat and in doing so the numerous amount of chemicals in processed foods, that affect our brain, not just through what we eat either, through smoking, drinking or doing drugs. Then there is TV and the tabloids, being fixated on the news and negative events, the people we mix with, work with, live with and allow to hurt us, verbaly, mentaly or physically.

I'll put me hands up because, most of the above applies to me, that is, until I found the courage to change myself! I only managed to do this with the help of people here, a loving partner (now Fiancee) and a GP that knows a hell about sticking plasters for the brain! It has not been easy, but with the help, advice and guidance of the wonderful people here we are free of most of all that cr*p! I am healthier, firt(ish), I do need to exercise a bit more and shed some weight however, my excuse is that I have been concentrating on mind, if not totally body. At first after an intial weight gain due to the med (not everyone does) I trimmed down a little, but then we began rejecting processed foods and unatural additives and replacing them with the healthy alternative. Not really an alternative a more natural way of eating and we do not eat much differently than before. Most are the same meals, but cheaper, healthier and easy to to do saving time. For example we make our own bread with wholemeal flour, water and easy bake yeast (actually the original ingredients for bread, basically). We leave it over night to do its own thing and bake the next day. No kneading or stuff like that just mix cover and leave! Two loaves out of a 1Kg bag costs 90p to make and you know it is healthy and you can make chip (healthy chips of course) buttys no sweat! What we found with this is that because it is a more substantial loaf it is more satisfying and the urge to consume round after round (lovely as it is, believe me) is not there!

It may have been hard at first, but the change helped me mentally and both of us physically.

If you do not have someone close then talk to family members or a friends (you'll soon find out who your true friends are) because I'll think you'll find there a lot that have suffered (usually in silence) and may be able to help you, which will help them too.

Anyway, do not give up, let cita repair you and you will recover and be a better person for the (sometimes yuk experience). Try to be positive, do not look back only forward, there will be a light at the end of this sh*tty tunnel eventually, I promise!

In the meantime keep posting and reading, do not over think or worry and keep asking!

Regards,

David

(PS going for a lay down after all that! Lol!)

Dear HelpNeeded,

You are stuck in a bad place by the sound of things and one not disimilar to my own experience.

First off, I changed to taking mine in the evening because of multiple vivid dreams and it did the trick, they eased right off.  My sleep pattern did eventually get better, but the lethergy remained which I accepted, got used to it and adapted to it until one day it kinda wasn't there!  Feeling low, spaced, far away, is all part of the Cita working to repair the damage however, this is being compounded by being in that situation, it really does appear, that brought you here in the first place - work!

Also, your employer has a legal respponsibility for your health and welfare while at work so, do not let that part of your problem worry you.  It is really a sign of a sh*t emplyer that you feel may be "getting a bit annoyed/fed up with the unpredictable nature of what is going on with me".  You are ill, just because it is initially, an invisible illness does not mean you are not ill.  I carried on for years drinking and smoking to get by and it darn nearly killed me!  No lie, it really nearly killed me!

Ridiculously, I tried to stick with that which was making me ill until my GP (Doctor) said enough is enough and that day, two years ago, when I broke down in the surgery was the day I began the long road to recovery.  Financially, we could not afford to lose my income and as a Transport Manager it was good.  However, I mainly changed my lifestyle as part of my own input to my recovery and that meant leaving behind me that which was making me ill - work!

Since joining this forum I have come to realise that people everywhere are being treated as a 'resource' and basically being abused.  We are not the problem, although we suffer for it, the system is the problem.

We have dropped every processed food stuff, don't eat meat, although we do seafood, grow our own, bake our own bread, cakes, chocolates (with local honey no sugar at all) and may be poorer, but just about keeping our heads above water.  We are happier and healthier and it has helped me by stepping of the ladder in getting better!  We didn't know we could do it until we tried.

This has led to me and us have a new and better life ahead of us, never looking back, wanting to be the old me - why the hell would I want to go back and kill myself?!

There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, just make sure it ain't a train called work about to crash into you and then drop you.

After two years I have recently got a little part time job and I will admit I am fortunate, I got it on my terms.  No stress or worries go to work, do it, have a joke and a chat with my co-workers first thing, do my part then come home.  My partner (now Fiancee) has only a part-time job too at the moment, it is hard, but with love and understanding we are managing.

I visited 'Wits End' I found a cul-de-sac and if I had not turned around I would have died there and no one would have given a - well my Fiancee would have and that is why I turned around before it was too late.

I hope you have the strength to free your self from this modern slavery of working to buy and not working to live freely, happily and healthily.

Thinking of you,

David

Then unless there is a specific reason for this I say he knows very little about Cita.  Cita takes more than just 3 weeks to work on everybody I know that has come here, including me and 10mg is a starting point to see how it effects you and that way given dosage and time you would have then, if needed, increased to 20mg.

Every GP/Doctor who knows anything about sticking plasters for the brain knows it takes time and sometimes a higher doseage.  It is not a quick fix and swapping from one to another when not enough time by far has been given is crazy.

Really feel for you, unfortunately, every so often we hear of GPs/Drs recommending meds when they know very little about them.  I would seek a second opninion if you feel stuck bewteen this forum where you get the best advice and him!

I really hope things work out for you.

Regards,

David