Citalopram for anxiety and now hearing voices
Posted , 7 users are following.
3 weeks ago i was sent to AnE due to a panic attack and anxiety it was the weekend and was prescribed zoplicone and referred to the gp. The next Monday the doctor prescribed me 20mg citalopram and propananol. Within a few hours of taking the medication my panic attack intensed along with chest pain. By that evening I was halloucinating, i went back to the gp the following day who advised this is normal and can last up to two weeks before the tablets work. By the next day my halloucinations were worse and I began hearing voices telling me to kill myself. I lasted 6 days on these tablets before I stopped. I am now 7 days off the tablets and although my halloucinations have stopped I am still hearing voices. On friday I went back to the gp who dismissed my symptoms saying "these things happen" I was advised to rest for another week before making another appointment. I am now extremely scared as these symptoms were not present prior to me starting the medication and I thought given I have been off them for a week they would have subsided. Does anyone have any advise on who I should see/contact? My gp surgery do not seem interested and I have seen 4 different doctors throughout this ordeal. I have a young family and just want my old life back. I am desperate but dont know where to seek help.
0 likes, 13 replies
toria_07298 dee1990
Posted
hi dee, i am currently withdrawing from this drug and ive had everything you describe, as you were only on it a short time it shouldnt last too long x
DavidjustDavid toria_07298
Posted
the citalopram or the propranolol? i had propranolol and it helped stop me getting panicky. its a beta blocker so stop the heart racing. the citalopram is awful and should be banned along with mirtazapine
dee1990 toria_07298
Posted
Thank you its good to know I am not alone in this. My family are worried this could be something else as the tablets should be out of me by now.
toria_07298 dee1990
Posted
no worries dee i know how scary it is, if you ever need to chat just message me x
DavidjustDavid dee1990
Posted
dee1990 hello , i myself was prescribed citalopram about 5 years ago and until i read your post i swear i was alone with this. i had to stop them after a few weeks because of excessive suicidal thoughts and "strange" happenings. one night for example i was "visited" by my long dead foster mum as i lay in bed. she was talking to me as i lay there unable to move and she was telling me never to give up. as she began to fade away i began crying "please dont go" and wanted to grab her but was unable to move. she actually spoke and was there as real as i see any other person. when she disappeared i suddenly was able to move and spent the next couple of days just crying and trying to rationalise it. another night i awoke frozen as a hooded figure climbed in through my bedroom window and picked up my phone and laptop and climbed back out. i was frozen solid unable to move until the figure left. as soon as i was able to move i discovered my property was still there! the window was closed and locked! but it was so real! another night i awoke to constant giggling and laughter in my room. like a group of kids or girls giggling! it stopped when i turned on the lamp. daytimes were full of paranoid thought that my door was going to be kicked in. i didnt go out and wasnt able to eat or focus. hours would pass by and i would realise i had sat on the sofa all day looking through the tv rather than watching it. i threw away those tablets and things returned to normal within a week or 2 but were noticibally better after 2 days. soon after i was put on mirtazapine which helped with insomnia due to it knocking me out at night and i thought i had found the miracle drug. i slept i ate but soon after the dose needed increasing so within a few months i was on highest dose possible. now a few years later i am back to no sleep and eating less and depressed with my PTSD symptoms and to top it off i now have to slowly taper from mirtazapine as the withdrawal effects are horrific. im halfway there and still struggling. but at least it never made me hallucinate like citalopram. the doc treated me like i was a idiot when i mentioned the hallucinations. i have no history of schizophrenia just PTSD from some violent past experiences so i feel that it MUST have been the citalopram. oh i must say, i know a woman who takes citalopram daily and claims that it helps her however we share a interest in the paranormal and she claims she has been visited hundreds of times by a lady in old victorian clothing who just stands smiling at her and also often hears negative voices calling her stupid and laughing at her! she is diagnosed with schizo affective disorder but me being me i cannot help but think its those horrible vile pills causing her visions and voices as upon speaking with her hundreds of times it seems the visions and voices started around the time she started taking that poison about 8 years ago. she doesnt agree but shes not the sharpest tool in the box without being horrible. her doc tells her to take it so she does. sorry for long reply but i hate the thought of you thinking your experience is isolated. if it helps i completely understand you and you have also helped me by posting because i now know i wasnt alone.
patient_mod2 DavidjustDavid
Posted
Hi DavidjustDavid,
We note from a recent post which you have made to our forum that you may be experiencing thoughts around self-harm. If we have misinterpreted your comments then we apologise for contacting you directly. But if you are having such thoughts then please note that you are not alone in this, and there are people out there that can help.
If you are having these suicidal thoughts then we strongly recommend you speak to someone who may be able to help. The Samaritans offer a safe space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.
Their contact details are on our patient information leaflet here: https://patient.info/health/dealing-with-suicidal-thoughts, which also offers lots of other advice on how you can access the help you may need.
If you are having such thoughts then please do reach out to the team at the Samaritans (or the other people detailed in our leaflet) who will understand what you're going through and will be able to help.
If you are based outside of the UK.
The Samaritans is a UK based charity, but they also have suggestions for how you can access help in other countries.
Please have a look at this page https://www.befrienders.org/directory
Patient
tempest1 dee1990
Posted
if i were u go back to A and E. ask for the crisis team. They will come pretty quick if u say about the Voices etc. i did this when my GP kept saying take the tablets. Which was mitrazapine 30 mg. Sent me loopy. i got the help i needed.
DavidjustDavid tempest1
Posted
30mg wasnt ideal for me so they said take 45mg which i did for a long time and it was making me really angry and combative so they told me to split the dose 15mg morning and 30mg nightly. i tell you they have treated me like a guinea pig. now im on a step down program because just stopping it abruptly can make you seriously unwell. believe me i threw all my tablets away once and was crying at the doctor within a week. awful awful stuff. now i have a decent doc who says he works in mental health and 3 or so years ago i should never have been put on it. it has zero effect on PTSD and thats coming from a doc.
DavidjustDavid tempest1
Posted
also crisis team in nottingham told me that theres not alot wrong with me because i kept eye contact when speaking to her. around 30 minutes she spent with me. she also told me to keep scoffing down mirtazapine because its THE best medication for PTSD. honestly im fed up with conflicting advice. i wont even see them anymore and its not like they have bothered to find me. PTSD is a lonely condition. nobody actually knows how to deal with or treat it. prisons are rammed with people with PTSD who have become violent and committed crimes so it shows that PTSD is not treated properly.
dee1990 tempest1
Posted
Thank you - did they prescribe something else or did they offer therapy.
tempest1 dee1990
Posted
i went on pregablin for anxiety and 15 mg of mitrazapine which i started after a month after being on pregablin. pregablin worked great and calmed me within hours of taking it. i also paid for counciling.
patient_mod2 dee1990
Posted
Hi dee1990
We note from a recent post which you have made to our forum that you may be experiencing thoughts around self-harm. If we have misinterpreted your comments then we apologise for contacting you directly. But if you are having such thoughts then please note that you are not alone in this, and there are people out there that can help.
If you are having these suicidal thoughts then we strongly recommend you speak to someone who may be able to help. The Samaritans offer a safe space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.
Their contact details are on our patient information leaflet here: https://patient.info/health/dealing-with-suicidal-thoughts, which also offers lots of other advice on how you can access the help you may need.
If you are having such thoughts then please do reach out to the team at the Samaritans (or the other people detailed in our leaflet) who will understand what you're going through and will be able to help.
If you are based outside of the UK.
The Samaritans is a UK based charity, but they also have suggestions for how you can access help in other countries.
Please have a look at this page https://www.befrienders.org/directory
Patient
brandon42504 dee1990
Posted
seek a preacher youve be possessed