Citalopram very up and down with anxiety? Need some advice please :(
Posted , 9 users are following.
I am on my 13th day taking citalopram for the second time for anxiety. So yesterday i had a super good day almost felt like myself went to a wedding almost no anxiety and really had fun for the first time in two weeks ate a normal meal, interacted with people. I mean i had to force myself to go to the wedding but once i got there after some time i had an awesome time and there were people i did not know. Today however i feel so bad, super anxious since the morning, so tired. How can there be such ups and downs inbetween the days. Is it normal???? i honestly thought i was getting better and then boom bad again...
0 likes, 21 replies
paul22356 lala25752
Posted
Hi Lala it's still early days it can take 4 to 6 weeks to start working. I'm on my fourth week and I'm up and down. I think your really brave going to a big social event like a wedding it seems you had a great time and it sounds like the meds are starting to kick in. it's positive that your starting to get good days. Paul
lala25752 paul22356
Posted
Thank you for that i do think i did well by going although it was super hard to get myself to go there. Its just when you get a bad day after having a good day it feels so horrible and you feel like you just took steps backwards and due to low mood it becomes hard to appreciate the nice day that you had.
Potatoghost lala25752
Posted
if you drank alcohol last night this will be a big factor. you shouldn't really drink on them atleast until you are 100% back to normal
even if you didnt drink 13 days is so so early
you're lucky to be feeling like you did that early in x most people dont see an improvement for atleast 6weeks
also the second time for me and a lot of other people takes a lot longer the second time round x
all completely normal so dont worry if you can x
lala25752 Potatoghost
Posted
uggh i know i worry about everything these days even irrational stupid things. It was very hard to go out but i have forced myself so hard and i am happy i went. I did have one glass of wine i guess i should not have anything. However what i realized that even when i am super anxious and feel crap i have to force myself to go and do stuff as once i am doing things i feel much better even if it takes time to convince myself to go. Anxiety is all about avoiding stuff as we expect the worse once you push yourself to go you feel better at least for a little bit. Staying at home and not doing stuff is the worst as you get stuck in that rut. Its extremely hard though i was trembling and felt like passing out before i went. Even today i went out and met a friend was barely able to walk so we came back to mine and had some tea. I just need to keep forcing myself to do stuff even though i am anxious as hell and have low mood that just prevents me from wanting to do stuff.
steven76286 lala25752
Edited
It can happen and its early days on citalopram I was on it for years and feel its lost its effectiveness of late so I asked doctor to swap my SSRI and I have commenced on sertraline. I should have citalopram out my system for first time on years in 1 weeks time. Persevere as it can be good for low mood and anxiety. I am also a mental health professional nurse who has had a recent relapse.
Potatoghost steven76286
Edited
can I ask you a question being a mental health nurse if that's ok? can it take longer than 12 weeks for some people to settle completely?
I'm back on citalopram after it pooped out for me 4 months ago on 20mg I was wandering if going back on it at a higher dose would help x as my gp said it will x
steven76286 Potatoghost
Posted
Yes it can take longer each case is individual usually 4-6 weeks is the given advice but it can take longer. Saying that I would probably talk to your GP about increasing dosage as it doesn't sound like it's enough to have the therapeutic effect for you.
Potatoghost steven76286
Posted
thank you for your reply
I really appreciate it. I think my gps plan was to get me onto 30mg-40mg but I'm not sure how long until I can increase.
I'm worried to increase because the 10mg-20mg made me have bad depression side effects x I hear this isnt uncommon but it's hard to deal with x thank you again.
hope you are doing ok yourself?
Guest steven76286
Posted
Hi Seven being a mental health professional just wondered if you knew which SSRI's worked better than others. i was forced to stop zopiclone in January by GPhad severe anxiety and intrusive thoughts caused by withdrawal. Been told will take 12plus months to recover. tried CITALOPRAM FOR 8 weeks didnt help & made my hair fall out, so stopped it and having break for week.So going to n try sertraline. as recommended for OCD type symptoms Never had issues before think the abrupt cessation def caused it
Hejohn lala25752
Posted
I think you've done really well. I had been on citalopram 10mg for 9 weeks when I had to attend a family wedding. I felt very anxious throughout and the whole experience knocked me back for a few days. You are very early days and all the interaction etc has probably tired you out. Things should improve again for you.
Potatoghost Hejohn
Posted
how are you doing now? are you feeling any better?
lala25752 Hejohn
Posted
Thank you! I had to force myself to go at first as i was anxious and did not want people to see me like that. However my partner was so upset about going by himself disappointing him would feel even more horrible. Then i felt great and was so happy that i went. I always loved social events though and being around people it is when i am on my own when i have to most issues. Usually i get charged from interacting from people, however having anxiety is different now. How are you doing now?
Hejohn lala25752
Posted
I took another dip at 13 weeks on 10mg. I really didn't want to increase I was worried after all the awful side effects when I started. But I did increase to 20mg at the start of June. I had no side effects and felt an improvement nearly immediately. I started counselling 6 weeks ago. I still get some dodgy days and am due to see my GP this week. Am not sure whether he will suggest another increase??
Hejohn Potatoghost
Posted
I increased to 20mg after 16 weeks on 10mg. I noticed an improvement almost immediately and thankfully did not get all the awful side effects that I'd had at the start.
I have been on 20mg for 4 months still get some dodgy days but I feel 90% better than I did.....I was a mess!! Due to see my GP this week so will see what he thinks!
sheila92428 lala25752
Posted
I think after any expenditure of 'energy' etc etc it wipes us out quite a bit & we need to REST UP a lot afterwards.
I'm more & more sure when suffering from 'anxiety, depression etc etc, we need to find /make more DOWN time to relax. I think when we find ourselves 'being normal'again we are using up quite a lot of our (nervous) energy, we need to re-charge ourselves.
So I think its quite normal you felt the way you did.
Just take it that you /we have good days & bad days, accept what comes each day without worrying too much about these changes.
Am sure with more time, you'll have more 'feeling normal' days etc etc.
Everything in this life takes time. Give yourself time & good luck.
lala25752 sheila92428
Posted
Thank you so much for your encouraging comment, i appreciate it. Its weird because i have always been so 'stable' or whatever that means. I was not a very emotional person nor was I worried about things. However anxiety hit me out of nowhere about 3 years ago, I literally had no issues at that time and a pretty happy life. Then citalopram helped and i was back to normal self again then came off the tablets about 7 months ago. Big mistake: anxiety came out of nowhere again but i guess it was triggered by some events this time. it is strange for me still to feel anxiety as i am very social person who does not worry much generally. However anxiety make me worry about irrational things and it is very scary at times. I need to take it easy i agree. These bad days make me feel so horrible like i take 2 steps forwards and 3 steps back.
sheila92428 lala25752
Posted
try not to worry too much about all this, just try to be calmer (not always easy!!)
I agree that sometimes it does feel like 2 forward & 3 back.
Personally I've been having some private counselling as well & this has helped me enormously. Its like being on a self discovery mission, you might always like what you find BUT it has helped me to learn to RELAX chill out etc & I'm finding this is just as important to my mental state as the medication that have also helped me. Everything takes time & we are all naturally eager for a 'quick fix / a quick result' it doesn't work that way, so be kind to yourself & give yourself the time you need.