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Citalopram advice needed please re side effects

Posted , 6 users are following.

kathkat2016
kathkat2016

hello, I'm currently on citalopram (about 3 months now) and having a real dilemma with side effects. The tablets have never quite agreed with me and I now take them in the evenings as the dizziness and tiredness was too much during the day. I take them about 7pm and am now finding that around 10am the following morning I have an odd off balance/ feeling weird feeling for a while 

. I tried taking the citalopram at 8pm last night and weirdly enough had the same sensation at 11am so I'm sure it's the citalopram. Then around 3pm every day I become really groggy/spaced out and suddenly feel so tired until around 7pm when I suddenly start to feel normal again. I'm wondering whether all this is due to the tablet starting to wear of? But it says it's 36 hours half life so I thought it would still be working?  I'm begin going to consider coming off them and trying something else but not sure what else is good for anxiety? I'm really struggling with the side effects and have tried to up the dose a bit but my anxiety went sky high. Advice please anyone  would be appreciated thanks 

0 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • icejan
    icejan kathkat2016

    Posted

    Try not focusing on the meds. take them and try to get on with ur life. ITS easy to blame everything on the depressief or meds.

    do u have hobbies or work or sport?

    im not preaching just trying  to give u a different outlook on life

    good luck kathkit

     

  • Foxy_polly
    Foxy_polly kathkat2016

    Posted

    Hi kathkat

    I was still having lots of side effects at 3 months and my mood and anxiety was still very up and down, some days were good and some days I would feel really tired and spaced out.i also upped my dose from 20mg to 30mg and my anxiety rocketed so I went back down to 20mg. I'm now on month 5 and I can honesty say I'm back to my happy self again and the anxiety pretty much gone! These meds do work but they take time to level out and work differently for each person. Give it time and eventually the good days will come more often than the bad days and the side effects will eventually disappear! Keep your self busy as it helps the mind but also be kind to yourself, let the bad days happen and the good will follow! Hope this helps xxx

    • lee1111
      lee1111 Foxy_polly

      Posted

      What a wonderful post! At the end of this week I would have done 3 months on 20mg. I still have some miserable days, and a few niggle side effects. Your post is so inspiring, and I made a commitment to myself and my Dr to not change dose for at least 6 months, no matter how tough some days are. I am so happy to hear that things have settled for you Foxy polly. Yay for you and so looking forward to posting a similar story x Lee.
    • Foxy_polly
      Foxy_polly lee1111

      Posted

      Hi lee

      I'm glad your starting to feel better like you I was very up and down and sometimes I'm still am a bit, like today I feel a bit anxious don't really know why but I did have a couple of glasses of wine last night and one thing I realised on these meds is that it only takes a small thing to upset the balance a bit! This site is great for support and katekogs has been brilliant for support helping me understand how the meds work! Good luck your doing brilliantly xxx

    • lee1111
      lee1111 Foxy_polly

      Posted

      Thanks Foxy Polly. Don't know that I'm doing brilliantly yet, but getting through the days, waking up, getting stuff done at work, and hanging in there, because the option of quitting this and starting something new is too daunting for words. Thanks for all the positivity though, I really need it right now. Lee x
  • icejan
    icejan kathkat2016

    Posted

    Thanks Kathkit,

    I am hopeful that all will work itself out

    Thanks for your kind words 

  • David_21660
    David_21660 kathkat2016

    Posted

    Morning Kathkat,

    We all suffer from some side effects, some more or less and some with different intensity of these, if they have them at all.

    I started on 10mg 14 months ago due to work related stress and gradually increased to 40mg where I'm still at. There were side effects, but less with each increase as I was possibly used to them and secondly as I was I could handle them and tried and mostly succeeded in ignoring them, As Icejan says try nor to focus too much on the meds, by all means learn as much as you can, but don't think everythiing applies to you as we are all different. Otherwise you may (only may) end up having a little health paranoia as I did, whic my Doctor said it most probably was ran tests and eased my mind. Only by coming here will you truly learn and find what you need, Of course a good knowledgable and understandiing Doctor does help, I am lucky my old Doctor retired and the new one, well she is brilliant!  Knows a lot about sticking plasters for the brain. Also having someone close to you can be a great help, my Fiancee learnt along with me from the first day I joined this wonderful forum and has helped discuss and talk things through. Finally, as mentioned, we have this wonderful forum, probably the best forum in the world! It is inclusive and it is so very helpful to know there are others llike us that can help and, look here I am, hopefully, helping you and others in return.

    Please try to focus on something to take yer mind off what is happening to you and let the meds do their job. I used to take Cita during the day, but found it dibilitating one way or another so, I posted for help and an angel answered and I have taken them at bedtime as I believe (me) that it does its work while I'm asleep.

    Last year someone raised the subject of feeling down (that is a reguar feeling) and what could they do. The response was amazing and the bottom line was MUSIC, if all else fails (like exercise etc., etc.) Put on yer favourite and crank it up! Sing! Dance! Prance about and shake it all about! IT reall does work and is good for the old cardio-vascular system too.

    Another thing to pick up on that Icejan mentioned about hobbies. I started back into my art and a bit of domestic design outdoors as well as in - I painted the front of the house brick red we now have one of the most colourful houses in the street to my fellow (male) neighbours complaints as  they are being pushed to do something similar! Lol!

    Anyway, the main part of our recovery is being here. There is nothing "normal" to go back to why would I for example; go back to that and those which made me ill in the first place? Nor do I want to find my "old self" either as I am becoming a far better person because of (slowly coming through) my illness.

    Keep readin, keep asking (no matter if you think the question is may sound silly) therefore keep posting and we'll keep answering and help you through this!

    Welcome to the Club!

    Best Wishes and regards,

    David

     

    • David_21660
      David_21660

      Posted

      I should have read my post before posting! Do not think Cita affects spelling or grammar - thats just ME! Lol!

      Regards,

      David

    • icejan
      icejan David_21660

      Posted

      Hi David,

      good to hear positive experiances with the ciltopram. 

      I sometimes wonder if its working. 

       

    • David_21660
      David_21660 icejan

      Posted

      Yeah! I thought that last year at one stage and it was only when I messed up (should have left it to Ann) re my prescription and went a weekend with only one tablet. I was on 30mg at the time and only had 10mg on the Friday. I had 2 x 5mg tablets so I tried to stretch them over the weekend however, come Monday morning I found myself in the waiting room of the surgery feeling rather cr*p! (to put it politely!). Since then I have never messed up like that and it did make me realise how Cita was working to gradually fix the things that needed fixing.

      I would like to come off Cita if I can, but will be careful and if it doesn't work then I shall stay on for as long as it takes!

      Have a great day of rest!

      Regards,

      David

  • kathkat2016
    kathkat2016

    Posted

    Thank you for the replies had a bad night last night major anxiety and bad sleep as I'm only on a low dose and mentioned how I wondering if it's beginning t wear off during the day then I might see my go about a small increase as been on the same dose for 3 months now 
    • David_21660
      David_21660 kathkat2016

      Posted

      Possibly, I increased by 10mg each of the first four months, because I needed to. This is why it is so important to have a General Practitioner that knows about sticking plasters for the brain. Go, make an appointment to discuss yer feelings, any side effects and how you are doing generally. Then it may be benefical for you to increase or not or give it a little longer. You know yerself and yer Doctor knows you and should, hopefully, be able to make a professional judgement regardingly. If your Doctor doesn't know enough perhaps another in the practice does. A good Doctor that doesn't know everything should know their limitations and if they have your well being at heart will not mind you asking to see a colleague that does.

      Good luck enjoy the rest of your weekend!

      Regards,

      David

  • Lilyknightx3
    Lilyknightx3 kathkat2016

    Posted

    I'm on day 9 and take the 10mg tablet as soon as i wake up in the morning, i've found thag it doesnt really effect the way i sleep at night as i've never been great at getting to sleep and staying asleep but i've noticed that i am constantly tired and cant stop yawning? Is this a side effect that will wear off eventually or do i need to think about switching the times i take the tablet?
    • David_21660
      David_21660 Lilyknightx3

      Posted

      Morning Lilyknightx3,

      It may help to switch as you may find it helps as I found it did for me.

      I posted here about experiencing multiple vivid dreams and was there anything I can do? Someone suggested switching to take at bedtime and I did and it worked for me. I still get the odd dreams, but far, far less than I was.

      It may be psychological, don't know and don't care it worked! I believe that Cita can get to do what it needs to do while I'm asleep.

      May be worth a try! Good luck!

      Regards,

      David

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