Depression and switching from citalopram to sertraline
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi -- I'm in my late 60s and have been on antidepressants since I was 30 (stopped when I was pregnant, but otherwise almost continuously). Most recently was on 20mg citalopram for 3 years. It was never as good as my previous antidepressants -- imipramine and venlafaxine, but I had to stop those because of gastric side effects and raised liver enzymes. The citalopram seemed to stop working a couple of months ago -- was getting bad anxiety and my mood was low. After a middle-of-the-night panic attack (never happened to me before) and a mood crash, my GP switched me to 50mg sertraline, plus zopiclone to help me sleep and propanolol for anxiety. That was a month ago. A week later, a different doctor upped the sertraline to 100mg, and then he upped it to 150 a week and a half after that. He has also put me on 150mg pregabalin instead of the propanolol. I started getting palpitations after upping the sertraline, so after a few days, he said it would be ok to go back down to 100. That was 4 days ago.
So I have been on sertraline at varying doses a total of 4 weeks, and I still feel horrible. The initial crippling anxiety, which I had never experienced with such intensity, has gone. But I have no appetite, can't sleep without zopiclone, and my mood is in a black hole. It has never taken so long for an antidepressant to kick in before, and I am thinking that the sertraline is totally ineffective (although every now and then I have an afternoon and evening when I feel a bit better). I'd really be grateful to hear from anyone else who has experienced anything similar -- when you switch antidepressants, how long do you give the new one before you decide it's not working? Thanks for your help!
1 like, 25 replies
bernadine97255 LadyLavender
Posted
Hi Ronnie I was on 40 mg citalopram for about 4 years than when my mum was diagnosed with cancer I felt the medication wasn't working . My doctor put me on 50mg sertraline in oct 2016 than every two weeks it went up . I'm now on 200mg sertraline and over the last 4 months i have never felt so bad. My doctor introduced quitiapine to also help with my anxiety. In the 4 months i had a breakdown and was than diagnosed with clinical depprssion I was suicidal . I have never felt anything like it I'm still consumed with chronic anxiety I have stoped going out of the house in the day time I just feel to frightened. My mum passed away in Nov 2016 it was all so sudden
I feel like iv lost my life since going on this medication iv had to see physiatrist I was than put under the mental health team and all they kept saying to me was u have to give the medication time. Well it's been 4 months now and I feel horoudous I know I'm greiving my mum but in the time iv been on them there hasn't been a day I'm not crippled with anxiety and fear. I will be ringing my gp again tomorrow I can't go on like this. No one seems to know what to do
Please let me know how u get on God bless
LadyLavender bernadine97255
Posted
Hi Bernadine - thanks for replying to my post. I am so sorry to hear what a hard time you've been having, and so sorry about the loss of your mum. That's a lot to deal with (especially with your mum's death being sudden) -- it's no wonder you've been anxious and depressed.
It took a long time for the sertraline to kick in for me -- probably 10 weeks or so -- but I am feeling much better now. I'm taking pregabalin as well (300mg a day), which I think is helping.
Four months is a long time -- if the medication still isn't working, maybe ask your GP or the mental health team about trying another kind of drug, or maybe adding something like pregabalin to see if that helps. Have you thought about bereavement counselling? You could ask your GP about that too, or call an organization like Cruse. I really hope you get the help you need, and start seeing some of the blue sky behind the clouds. Good luck. xx