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Citalopram upped from 20 to 30

Posted , 4 users are following.

steven1976
steven1976

Hi all. Just need some advise or insight on anyone's experience when upping meds. I have been on 20mg for 2 years. Then out of the blue my mind started to be out of control. I had a little medical issue nothing of concern. Since then it appeared to cause a trigger hence why my GP upped my meds to 30mg. This is day 7 of feeling worse in the mornings tearful all the side effects i had when starting Citalopram. My question is: how long does it take for these increased side effects to improve?

Many thanks Steven **

1 like, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest steven1976

    Edited

    Hi Steven, for some people a dose increase is almost like starting from scratch. So it could be some weeks yet until you feel relief. I'd give it the usual 8-12 weeks x

    • steven1976
      steven1976 Guest

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply... I will give it some time.

  • amybelle88
    amybelle88 steven1976

    Edited

    Hi Steven,

    Like you, I was on 20mg of Citalopram and felt like I needed to up the dose as it wasn't quite working the way it had done previously.

    I went up on 21st December and went through the usual side effects - euphoria in the first couple of days, then it settled and I was dizzy, nauseous, tired but had insomnia, more anxious and nervous, dry mouth, headaches, sinus problems - I seemed to get the full hit of side effects and I don't remember having them the first time around - upping your dose is like starting from scratch.

    After a couple of weeks the side effects settled down and I'd have maybe a couple of good days, followed by one bad, and it just kept levelling out to where the bad days were getting less and less.

    However, I did have a brand change in the middle of the transition, so after 7 weeks of stabilising, I went back to square one and actually started withdrawing from the citalopram - I had fever and chills, nausea, heartburn, brain zaps, severe mood drop, extreme fatigue and my anxiety made a massive comeback. I was taking 20mg in the Accord brand and 10mg in the Milpharm brand - I stopped the Milpharm due to a bad reaction to this brand in the past, halved my Accord tablet and then got 10mg in the Accord brand. My advice would be stick to the same brand, don't transition to another, keep it consistent as this was a big setback for me and whilst it doesn't happen for everyone, it's not worth taking the risk of a relapse.

    Since I've been back on Accord, I've picked back up again and now feel on an even keel - it does get easier, you will eventually just get back to how you felt on 20mg, it just takes time to adjust. These are strong drugs and mess around with the whole chemistry of your body. It's so hard because we just want to wake up to a 'ta-da' moment where we feel OK again, but it's more of a transition but it does happen. 7 days is still early days, look at it as a new med start and it might reassure you a little that it will get better. I always come on here and read the success stories when I feel a little lost.

    Amy

    • steven1976
      steven1976 amybelle88

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply... I will give it some time to work.

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