Citalopram rollercoaster?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hey everyone,
What a rollercoaster of a journey the first few weeks has been. I was wondering if new things can appear even a couple weeks in?
I'm about 2.5 weeks in, first 2 weeks were awful. The last couple days have been ok but sometimes this dark wave of anxiety/despair comes over me and I feel hopeless and then it just lifts and I feel ok. As I had low anxiety for the first time in ages tonight whilst watching tv and my partners. When I went to bed, I felt amazing for the first time in forever. However, I've woken up at 4am (waking in the night isn't very common for me), feeling very tingly and clammy and that's made me feel very panicked and worried. Unfortunately I have medication phobia, so I get convinced the citalopram will make lose my mind or make me have a stroke etc, even though my doctor has said it won't.
It's hard to feel it working and then not. Is this extreme rollercoaster normal? My anxiety when it happens is worse than before the tablets still
0 likes, 5 replies
jones44 tessa09610
Posted
hi thats really early on into the treatment so consider trying to keep going with it if you can. if things get really rough though do let your doctor know. i generally try to give new tablets at least a month if i can, to give them a chance to work. expect ups and downs as well as feeling worse during this phase. as i say though, if it's too difficult to cope in the meantime do speak to your doctor again
ps. it would have been helpful if you mentioned your dose you are on? 10mg isnt high, 20mg is the usual dose (although often doctors will start the patient on 10mg for the first few weeks to decrease the uncomfortable start up effects). 30mg+ are higher doses.. hopefully your doctor didnt start you that high (if he or she did, consider changing to another doctor....)
tessa09610 jones44
Posted
Thank you for your reply! I'm on 10mg and my doctor said she's happy for me to stay there unless I want to increase. I did think it's a bit low but she's a partner at the surgery and a GP trainer, so hopefully knew what she was on about. I have seen lots of people have success on 10mg though. I just want my body to have a chance to get used to 10mg.
I've had some moments lasting hours where I feel so good and then others where my anxiety is around a 7 out of 10. I seem to get hooked on fears (such as the tablets causing me to hallucinate) as that's part of my panic disorder fears. Even though I've read it's very unlikely and also usually only at very high levels/overdose but the joys of an anxious brain.
It's done nothing for my sleep, I'm still an awful sleeper. Hoping this improves as anxiety does. Also hoping having good periods is a good sign?!
jones44 tessa09610
Edited
thats good you were started on 10mg thats certainly sensible to do that
keep going and as time goes on your depression/anxiety should ease down. you will have ups and downs in the meantime, that's something most people get in the early stages and things get better as time goes on, so keep going and try to find things to occupy yourself with if you find you are ruminating/worrying too much. wishing you good luck
ashley92970 tessa09610
Posted
how are you doing now? I also have the medicine phobia and I have been on 20 mg for over 9 months and felt good but beginning in nov my anxiety came back and now I have been up to 30 mg for 17 days. I have a cold and Im scared to take medicine cause I don't want them to interfere with my celexa.
TaraLin tessa09610
Edited
Hi Tessa!
I'm in a very similar situation. I'm 3.5 weeks in, started for two weeks at 10mg and now 15mg. It's been a nightmare... heightened anxiety, weird feelings, stomach upset, etc. I'm so hoping that it gets better soon. My psychiatrist prescribed Trazodone for sleep and it's helped a lot. I take a very small amount (25mg) about 30 min before I go to bed. Its an anxiolytic so it helps with the anxiety immensely, and also makes me sleepy. I too am hoping someone will chime in about this rollercoaster being "normal." ... I was on Celexa before and didn't have this much of an issue... but I also have been on Lexapro and with that the worst was lifting by two weeks. Why is the Celexa taking so dang long? Some of these threads talk about it taking many months and that terrifies me.
Also, I do experience waking up in the night with sweats, like you... it's gotten less intense/sweaty in the third week... but I haven't slept a whole nights through yet. I'm lucky if I only wake up once. But again, I have the Trazodone helping a little.