Citalopram and pregabalin help please 🙏

hello thank you for your reply. had 2 ecgs at hospital said they had no concerns about my heart and I could continue to take citalopram 30mg and gave me pregabalin. I went back on 40mg after I stopped them as I panicked coz of the side effects I was getting but a week later I was getting worse couldn't calm my anxiety down ect so hospital gave me sleeping tablets which don't keep me asleep long 😔 and lorazepan . I just want it all to kick in now. I'm been through 3 weeks of hell and I'm ready to give up 😔

You've had a terrible experience from all the messing about, and that's understandably made your anxiety worse and then you lose your confidence. Don't feel like giving up,have you got support while trying to adjust again to 30mg? It must be terrible if you can't sleep,the day is long when suffering from bad anxiety,and you need to have some sleep otherwise you'll get exhausted and stressed which makes things worse again. At least you were given the all clear on your ecg,but that means you were made to go through this when there was nothing wrong. Take care.

hello yes I'm staying at my mums for the time being as I've had to come away from my family life which is horrible 😔 had a fone call from doctor today and he said it can take up to 3 or so weeks to settle again and level out. thank you for your reply. are you on citalopram Ian?

No I'm not on Citalopram now,I'm on a different SSRI but they all work in a similar way. I've taken Citalopram on 3 separate occasions over a number of years, either 10,20 or 30mg over that time. I've withdrawn off all the SSRI's so I know what it's like. That's why I was so shocked when you said you just stopped. Some people take many months or even a year or more to taper from a high dosage and some people find it impossible to come off altogether. Although antidepressants are not addictive, withdrawal can be very serious. by jumping down to nothing,back to 40mg and down again to 30mg your brain won't know if it's coming or going,hence the heightened anxiety mixed in with withdrawals. These Dr.s by not experiencing anxiety and depression and taking antidepressants themselves are not aware of how bad things can get. Always ask someone's advice who's been through it, like on these forums before reducing or swapping meds. Unfortunately you can't go back so you will have to be very patient and wait to settle on 30mg now. The heightened anxiety and withdrawal symptoms, although horrible,are harmless and won't hurt you and you will recover again,but you will lose your confidence from this and have to work to get it back. At least your mother will look after you for now, don't put any extra pressure on yourself because Christmas is coming,that will only add to the stress. Take care.

yeah it's horrible that's it come so near to Christmas. my mood is so low feel sicky nothing interest me. is this normal ? till the meds pick my mood back up, how are you on your meds ? Happy? content? ect?

hello Ian hope your well. is it normal for my head to feel really tight and headache? like my head is everywhere and not clear. thank you

Hi Cheryl,they will be caused by the anxiety and stress you're going through. Although horrible and bothersome they are just symptoms and nothing to worry over. The more you worry over any symptoms you have, the worse they will get, and you will get stuck in a cycle of worry/anxiety then more worry,more anxiety. It's very hard, but try to ignore them and don't let them worry you. Everything will calm down again over time, more quickly if you just accept everything as harmless. Give yourself time to get better and get some sleep. Take care.

hello Ian thank you for your reply sorry ro keep bothering you 😏 hope your well? were abouts do u live? its allways nice to talk to someone that has gone through all this. and to no that it does get better and I will feel like my self again in time.

hello Ian hope your well. today I've had the heart palpitations back I thought by going down to 30mg would stop them but looks like it hasn't or it might be due to just the stress I'm going through at the moment. my heart doesn't beat really fast just slitey then it feels like my heart rhythm is all over the place can feel it in my throat aswell and slight tight chest. then it's like a hard thumb really scary 😨 . makes me go right into a panic I've been okay untill they started again today 😪

Hi,if you're ecg showed that everything was OK,it must have been,and is,anxiety and stress. Palpitations are classic anxiety symptoms and a tight chest. I had the tight chest last week. As soon as December comes and the weather is terrible and Christmas looms I always feel much worse,regardless of taking antidepressants. Thing is,if you were having palpitations on 40mg which is the maximum dose,and now on 30mg,it could mean you'll have to swap antidepressants due to you building up a tolerance to Citalopram. You'd have to talk to your Dr. about swapping. If you were just having them now, I would say it was only the stress of Christmas,but it's been a while now. Don't worry over the palpitations,they are completely harmless even though it feels horrible. All anxiety symptoms are harmless. The stress of worrying over anxiety symptoms is what makes us ill and depressed so try to accept them as harmless. Take care.

hiya thank you for reply they did say that I had slight qt prolong but they wasn't concerned about it. so I think it's just stress and anxiety and will calm down once all settled again. I'm on pregabalin for anxiety aswell and then said that can take a little time to start working I've only been on the 30mg for 2.5 weeks and the pregabalin 1.5 weeks so I guess it's just waiting for all to kick in again properly. take care

Hi Cheryl, that's different if they said you had QT prolongation. Citalopram can cause that condition apparently although it's rare,so perhaps it's good you've reduced and maybe you should swap antidepressants if you're still having palpitations on 30mg. I'm not a medical expert etc so I would go back to the Dr. and tell them you're still having them on 30mg. Take care.

hello Ian. when i was in hospital they wernt concerned about it and they had a discussion if I should change my antidepressants and they said it was fine for me to keep taking citalopram so that's what I've done. I've had non today so maybe it is to do with stress ect. so I think I'm going to just keep plodding on for now and hopefully I'll start to feel myself again. I have a phone call tomorrow from the doctor too

aahh OK that's good then if they said that in the hospital. Means you don't have to go through the stress of swapping. If you have palpitations again,try to laugh them off as something stupid rather than something to panic over. Don't stress over Christmas either, it's just another part of the year,the main thing is to get well again.

so I am on day 15 of upping to 30 mg, this rollercoaster is crazy! headache to nausea to feeling down and no energy.

hello Ashley. its been just over 4 weeks since I lowered the dose and I'm still struggling with low mood .feeling just weriod like everything a dream if you no what I mean. seeing doctor tomorrow again to see what he says. was you still struggling on 20mg that's why you went up to 30mg? how long was you on 20mg for? take care

I was on 20 mg for around nine months. But this is about my third or fourth time to be in Celexa. I just up to 30 mg 14 days ago. Because my anxiety and depression was starting back up. I have her whenever we overdose or lower the dose we have to go through the side effects which stink. Not to mention I have a head cold on top of it so I started anabiotic two days ago and it has made me feel horrible. Hope you’re doing OK.

oh right okay it's horrible init I've been through hell lowering my dose from 40mg to 30mg . do you find you get really bad feeling sick to your stomach in the morning ? and can not eat a thing. has citalopram allways worked for you everytime you've gone back onit?

yes mornings are the worst! when i level out I can eat again but starting up I have increased nausea, headache, fatigue. every time I have taken celexa has worked I have never been up to 30 until 14 days ago. i just hate having moods up and down and feeling like i dont want to do anything

yeah it is horrible all the side effects you get are what your suffering from which makes it all so much worse 😢 how long has your doctor said it will take to level out again or have they not said a time scale. are you in the UK?

she has put me on Ativan .50 mg 3 x day to get me through the side effects so I assume four weeks she thinks i should start weaning off ativan and feeling better . I see moments but I still have racing thoughts or I fond myself on this page constantly reading reviews.

how long have you been on celexa? Im in the states

hey I've been on it for just over 11 years so I've been onit a long time. yeah I was giving a relaxer to get me through the side effects. I'm on week 4 of reducing I'm still not 100% but hopefully I will see the light soon fingers crossed 🤞 I'm allways on here searching things up

why are you reducing? Im hoping now that I have stopped the amoxicillin I will feel a little better, a guy on here informed me it can cause anxiety and depression or blunt my medicine. Im glad Im not the only one that is always looming on here, I usually google everything which I know is not great

I'm reducing coz I was getting heart palpitations alot and apparently citalopram can effect the rythem of the heart ect I also take pregabalin 3 x day . yeah antibiotics can effect how antidepressants work. so hopefully u will start to feel abit normal now whatever that is. oh I Google alot and it scares me to death!! I don't no why I do it.

I google everything, I have health anxiety so I drive myself nuts! glad to know about antibiotics now though, I thought i has the flu last night I felt so bad never again! I already googled today about sinus infections and covid, and I have already had both shots and break through covid.

what is the other medicine you take?

your like me I have health anxiety but not just on myself but I worry about family's health even though there healthy ect it really does drive you insane. pregabalin is a ani anxiety medication or it can be used for nerve pain or epilepsy. but it's meant to be good for anxiety. how old are you if you don't mind me asking ?

I am 40. I have never been told about that to help with anxiety! I google medicines, symptoms etc...

no I've never even heard of it till I went to the hospital as I was getting really bad thoughts in my head and I was seen by the local mental health crisis team. yes I'm just like you I Google symptoms ect. and sometimes I even convince myself I have something when I have absolutely no symptoms of it at all.

we sound so much alike! how old are you? my anxiety had my BP up a few weeks ago and convinced myself i needed bp medicine and was put on it and it caused me to be much more anxious and sick! worried even more!

are you still taking the BP medicine probably made you feel worse as you didn't need It as it was just the anxiety making it go up stress ect. I'm 35. how you feeling today?

i feel a little bettwe today, just waking up slept better, but i have a sinus infection i assume with stuffy nose and head ache above my right eye and been coughing so last night i felt so tired and got a little upset at bedtime crying to my husband worrying i have covid again. i just dont get why our minds think the worst. how are uou today?

awwww bless you yeah I worry about everything way to much but medication does help me get on with live easier. I had covid in beginning of the year Jan. I've had both jabs. cant you do a flo test if your worried you have it again?

i had both shots and break through in sept so was hoping i wouldn't get it again, but my son had a sinus infection/cold a few days ago so i guess that is what i have. i guess i could do the home test, are you still having side effects?

i look forward to talking to you seems no one know how we feel unless they ate going through it ya know. luckily im a teacher and off for two weeks

side effects from covid or citalopram hun? no not getting any side effects from covid I don't think. citalopram yes I can't sleep properly keep getting vivid dreams loads a night that wake me up 😪

yeah it defo sounds like you got the sinus infection rather then covid hun. if your son had it now you've got it defo sounds you caught it off him xx

i have been googling of coarse since i jave a cough with it, but he does also. i hate not being able to sleep cause i love to sleep. do you have anything that can help you sleep?

yeah I have sleeping tablets but don't seem to keep me sleep so I don't take them xx

i hate that for you, us teachers i have found have had to take medicine more than ever these days for sleep. is it the decreasing dosage not letting you sleep

yeah I lowered my dose 4 weeks ago now so hopefully my mood will lift soon fingers crossed. I'm at my mums. so I've left me husband and 10 year old son at home as I just couldn't be there feeling the way I do. I really do just want to feel myself again and back to my family xxxx

oh Im so sorry it makes you feel that bad. you know medicine that is suppose to help us makes us feel so bad for a period of time is just absurd. I am in a googling mood today and i hate it. knowing anxiety is already up and racing thoughts during these few weeks

yeah it is horrible. as medication allways makes you feel worse before you feel better. have you tried anything else other then citalopram? xx

i did i have tried lexapro , vviybrid , zoloft. celexa works for me but i jave never been up to 30 sode effects are usually a good sign i thought

aww okay I've never tried anything else I've allways been on citalopram for a long time. got doctors tomorrow for ecg has still having heart palpitations which they think it's the citalopram causeing it were I've been on citalopram such a long time 11 +years and I was on the max dose aswell. yeah I was allways told that side effects are a good sign that it's working. it's such a shame antidepressants take such a long time to settle. why can't they be like pain killers and work within half hour xxxx

i know right! as if we don't already feel crazy and won then they make us worse and make us feel ever more out of it. i think them lowering your dosage it should help you, but do you feel you need that amount to feel better and you are coming down because of heart?

yeah comming down on them to see if it helps with palpitations as ive had blood test ect and its all fine so must be the citalopram I'm thinking. so might have to change citalopram to something else if palpitations don't go away as they making my anxiety worseso just have to see what the doctor says tomorrow about the ecg. what time is it were u are? here in UK its 6 o'clock in evening xx

it is 1 In the afternoon right now. I hope your doctors appointment tomorrow goes well and I’m also glad your blood work came back normal. I see a psychiatrist also because I feel like my GP doesn’t understand me well and just puts all my symptoms of to anxiety.

mmmm yeah not all GPS do understand. what symptoms do you get? xxx

constant worrying, but when i do actually have something wrong like sinus or bp was up it starts my anxiety up

yeah I am the same. and I worry about family too when normally they are fine it's a horrible condition to have it really is. did anything Start your anxiety off for you to go up to 30mg ? xxxx

well in November is the anniversary of my husband death he passed in a car accident in 2016, i am remarried to a wonderful man but nov os always hard

oh sorry to hear that how awful I'm so sorry xxx

ty its k, i go to therapy but ill probably be on medicine the rest of my life. when upu are sick what medicine do you take. i know we cant take certain things

yeah I'll be on medication for the rest of my life now as there really no reason why I'm like this I've not had a hard life or upbringing at all. think I've just got an imbalance in the brain. what do you mean by when in sick what medicine do I take? x

like sinus or cold

I just keep myself dosed up with ibrofen and paracetamol when I have a cold xxxx

my dr told me today to take mucinex not the one with decongestant but just plain mucinex and of coarse I got anxiety tonight thinking about taking it, but i did cause im so stopped up on one side and my teeth hurt so sinuses

its 1 there correct? you not sleeping

aw bless you I'm not to bad when I have a cold it doesn't seem to effect my anxiety. yeah it's ten past 1 in morning and I can't sleep as usual I'm so tired and tearful got headache 😫

bless your heart! i cant imagine, so what have they said they can give you to help you sleep. so are you emotional and cry? i have those times also but most of mine is anxious thoughts constantly . could you sleep before they lowered your dose?

i also have pcos which is an imbalance so Not only did i have a tragic event i also jave an imbalance

yeah I was fine before they lowered my dose it was just the heart palpitations that were getting me down. they've gave me sleeping tablets that don't work and lorazepan 1mg which doesn't really get me to sleep. yeah I cry most of time as my mood is so low and I miss my family at home ect but I no I'm.not well enough to go home yet 😔

awe that makes me sad for you. i take lorazepam also . i take .5 3 times a day

do you get to see your husband and child? os your family understanding

hope you are good today!

yeah I still get to see them once a week or so. not to bad today just keep getting a horrible overwhelming feeling all through my body and feel really sick. 😕 how are you today?

I would say that is anxiety. I get like that a lot I kind of tingle and I feel overwhelmed. I have felt OK today. I am heading to counseling right now.

yeah its manly in the morning I feel like it like really down like sick to my stomach feeling its horrible. awww good glad your feeling okay today. how did counseling go today? xxx

saw my son and husband today too ☺ how old is your son? xxx

yay! how are you feeling? I have a 12 year old and a 6 year old

yeah I'm feeling okay, not 100% yet if I dint feel any better by new year I'm going back to doctors. how are you ?

i slept ok just waking up had dreams and woke up anxious so that always stinks. But anxiety is always the last to go in side effects

yeah I allways found that anxiety in morning is allways last to go. yeah I have dreams aswell that's what makes us more anxious I think when waking up. xxxx

how many weeks have you been on 30mg now? xxx

2.5 weeks now.

are you feeling better? or still up and down ? I'm still up and down seem more relaxed but my mood is still struggling 😪 it's been 5 weeks for me on Saturday . xx

you are still early sunshine. I am also, I am up and down also, my mind just thinks of so much and the what ifs. like this cold still has me worried but im feeling better with it each day. but I still worry

yeah my mind Is like that allways thinks the worst. have you ever reduced your dose before?? awww bless you. colds are horrible to have though I've not had one in a while, xx

yes I have been on 10 mg I’ve been on 20 mg this is my first time up to 30 mg I have completely come off of it before I’ve always been on Celexa. I’ve tried other stuff but nothing works for me except Celexa. The first time I took Celexa was right after my first son was born in 2009 I had postpartum depression.

ok when you come off them how long did it take for you to feel yourself again? xx

sorry to hear that. I was really bad after I had my son 10 years ago. xx

i have always just tappered off like i was on 20 so i wpuld do 15 one day then 20 for a like a week then i dropped down to 10 and would do 15 and 10 for a week, then i got down to 5 and 10 . did your dr just deop you by 10?

yeah she said I think we should try lower your dose and go to 30mg instead of 40mg so that's what I've done think I should of done it more gradually but it's done now it's been 4+weeks now so hopefully I will start to settle soon and feel like myself again soon 🤞xx

yeah you have made it four weeks but i would have thought to tapper