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Had been on Citalopram for 4yrs and felt normal and good so

Posted , 6 users are following.

maria46312
maria46312

 thinking i was going to be ok without it i winged myself off but it was. 3 miserable months of terrible anxiety nonstop crying was having a  hard time driving my 6 yr old to school and was having panic attacks as well.. Doctor started me 3 weeks ago on 10mg but felt so anxious still and sad so asked him to up it to 20mg 3 days ago but i get this headaches and feel so hot all of a sudden im hoping this will pass and they start working again soon

0 likes, 21 replies

21 Replies

  • katecogs
    katecogs maria46312

    Posted

    Hi Maria

    If youve restarted meds again, dont be in a rush to increase to quickly.  Doing it slowly will reduce the side effects.  I came off these 2 years ago (also cried for England) but I took a natural SSRI - 5-HTP and l-tyrosine.  I took these for a year and had great results.  No side effects and can start/stop them anytime, unlike Citalopram.  I did however restart Cit after this year due to the stress of family illness, and dediced to restart meds as was beginning to feel unwell again.  Ive now reduced again again and am back down to 5mg and intend stopping next year to go back on 5-HTP and l-tyrosine.

    Its something worth thinking about if you want to come off them again.  Both can be bought from Holland & Barrett (if you're in the UK) and you need to take them both.  Read a book called 5-HTP The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity by Michael T Murray ........ it's a really interesting read.

    You need to be off SSRI's completely before starting 5-HTP as they must not be taken together.

    But dont stop your Citalopram without your doctors advice.  

    It is hard restarting Cit.  I'm sure second time round for me i felt the side effects more.  You will feel side effects for some weeks yet, and it will be quite a while before you're back to feeling good again.  You've done it before, you know they work for you - so keep persevering and you'll soon be back on top again.

    So ...... if one day you feel well to try again, keep 5-HTP and l-tyrosine in mind.  But do not take them with Citalopram.

    K xx

    • katecogs
      katecogs

      Posted

      Excuse the typos 😊
    • maria46312
      maria46312 katecogs

      Posted

      thank you so much for your advice..i will consider that when i try coming off this again but i guess i also have so much stress i am a caretaker to my handicap mother , i have a 6 yr old boy as well and i am going to school as well.
    • katecogs
      katecogs maria46312

      Posted

      Citalopram will help you get back on top again.  Headaches and other side effects are all too common when starting these meds and will ease off in time.  They helped you before so you know they work for you ....... just keep persevering with them and things will get easier.

      Being a carer and having young children is indeed a tough job.  xx

      Take care

      K xx

    • lizz1976
      lizz1976 katecogs

      Posted

      Just reading what you have written just gave me a new hope, thank you x
    • katecogs
      katecogs lizz1976

      Posted

      Hi Lizz

      Read you used to be on these, came off, had a relapse, and have started them again.  I did the same, though knew i needed so ething when I stopped them, hence using 5-HTP etc.  

      When I restarted Cit I found it tougher 2nd time around - but persevering I got through it and once again the meds worked for me.  I need medication of some sort, whether its Citalopram or the over the counter ones - both act differently.  Both can't be taken together though.

      I've reduced Cit to 5mg and have been on that dose a few months now and will stop next year again to go back on 5-HTP and l-tyrosine.

      Citalopram works differently to 5-HTP.  Cit hangs onto your serotonin before its reabsorbed into the brain making, and 5-HTP increases your serotonin - bith make us feel happier in different ways.  Without serotonin, or low levels of it, it'll make you feel depressed, emotional, anxious etc and just unable to cope with life in general.

      You'll soon be back on top once Citalopram has built up in your system.

      K xx

    • lizz1976
      lizz1976 katecogs

      Posted

      Day 21 , I've found it harsher this time getting back on them, spent 2 weeks in bed, but slowly I'm feeling a bit better each day x
  • michelle72432
    michelle72432 maria46312

    Posted

    Hello Maria! Yes with cit I think you will have headaches. During the last couple of months I was on cit. I was having them daily and they were terrible - that is why I stopped taking this med by weaning myself off of them. I did let my nurse practioner know about this. As far as feeling hot I was thinking it was because I am menopausal. Right now without cit I do have periods of sadness, brain fire shocks, muscle pains, thoughts I am not comfortable with and confusion but then all the symptoms stop. They come and they go. I am trying to see what life is like without cit. I am unsure whether the feelings I am going through are withdrawal symptoms since April 2015 or are they the symptoms from my illness. I will say when I first started on cit I did not feel anything then after sometime I was so sleepy all the time. Then at some point I would jerk while sleeping and get these awful headaches. I went to the doctor about it but they insisted it was not the cit. One thing I know is I do not have those kind of headaches I used to have while I was on cit. As I stated earlier the symptoms I have they come and go daily. - Good luck Maria with everything! - God will make everything ok smile
    • maria46312
      maria46312 michelle72432

      Posted

      Thank you Michelle.Im just praying that this work for me and for the headaches to go away ..I am menopausal too and experience all the same symtoms you have and notice they get worse around my period, I tried seeking hormone therapy..bcuz my sons pediatrician recommended it since she was trying it herself ..and she was having forgetfulness, groggy feeling, tiredness, and sadness but my doctor and endocronologist told me since i had a period still i did not need it...Good luck to you too and God Bless you...prayer helps so much when i get the headaches.
  • dawn66355
    dawn66355 maria46312

    Posted

    Hi Maria, I was the same as you, came off them in Feb this year and I have really suffered with anxiety and had a panic attack which I have never had before, so after fighting going back on the pills, I went back on them 2 weeks ago and I am still on 10 mg, thinking about going up to 20mg as I still have the anxiety, I am sticking in there as I know eventually they will work, keep strong hun xx

     

    • lizz1976
      lizz1976 dawn66355

      Posted

      Hi dawn, I'm too fighting to get back on them, day 21 on 20mg as I thought if I'm going to have side effects I may aswell get them over and done with, take care I know it's not easy xx
  • dawn66355
    dawn66355 maria46312

    Posted

    Funny about menopause being mentioned, a friend has just been prescribed Cita for the menopause, never heard of that before ? x

     

    • maria46312
      maria46312 dawn66355

      Posted

      Thank you Dawn , I woke Up with this immense feeling of burning rush and anxiety started praying settled but it's awful...so I'm wondering if I jumped up on the dose to quickly.
    • lizz1976
      lizz1976 maria46312

      Posted

      Hi ladies, I was on citalopram 20mg for 5 years, they were the best thing to ever happen to me, I felt so good I started weaning myself off them over a few months and finished them in June, fast forward to September and I started to suffer again really bad with anxiety and panic attacks, I'm now day 21 getting back on them at 20mg , I've been to hell and back, I've lost 2 stone, and until today I haven't left the house in over a month, I think I've had every side effect going this time finding it much tougher, but I'm pushing on because i know I will get my life back, so hang in there everyone xxxx
    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 lizz1976

      Posted

      Hi Liz, funny you should say about the weight I have lost a stone and a half since coming of the Cita, and I kept having worries that it was Cancer, cause obs with Anxiety you only think of the worst thing it could possibly be xx

       

    • nicola45014
      nicola45014 dawn66355

      Posted

      Hi everyone,

      I too was on cit for nearly 6years for PND and I got my life back 100% after a couple of months!! I started on 10mg then 20mg and 30mg then weaned myself off over the years

      I was off them for about 7 months when anxiety and panic attacks started again, so gp put me back on them starting at 20mg and after 5 days I felt much worse than I did before I started increased anxiety, insomnia and lost 11/2 stone as I just couldn't eat, it really has been a tough two months (8 wks in full on 20mg) and I am still battling as hard as ever as I feel I am more depressed now than I was, just keep questioning myself will i ever be myself again?? So my gp has upped me to 30mg which I started yesterday I am very nervous about this as I dnt want the same side effects but really feel like I need that extra 10mg to get me over please god it will, it's a very long battle but one we have to win xx

    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 nicola45014

      Posted

      Hi Nicola, I felt the same way as you when I came off them, and I was detemined not to go back on them, but I could not take it anymore, mine is more for anxiety than depression, but I suppose they are linked, Ihave heard of people having a harder time going back on them for the 2nd time, but you know they work and you will get there, I have just got my doc to give me Escitalopram, so I start them for the first time tonight, which I am also very worried about, take each day as it comes and you will get there in the end xxx

       

    • nicola45014
      nicola45014 dawn66355

      Posted

      Hi Dawn

      Thanks for your reply, I am very down this morning as I only got about 2 - 3 hours sleep last night might because of dose increase I suppose, I just feel awful not myself at all I am so sick of feeling like this, I thought antidepressants were supposed to make you feel better not worse I just feel I am totally lost forever, I don't know what to do for the best anymore x

    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 nicola45014

      Posted

      Hi Nicola,

      You know they work just stick it out, I know that does not help when you are going through such a bad time sad , maybe go back to the docs and see if he can give you something else to get through this bad period, thinking of you hun, but I know I does take a while until they kick in and I you will feel better again soon hun x

       

    • nicola45014
      nicola45014 dawn66355

      Posted

      Thanks Dawn, do you not think I should be feeling alot better by now? I know if I contact my gp he will probably want to change my meds which I am nervous about !!

      I know alot of people are taking lexapro, this is what you are about to take gd luck with it xx maybe this is a better med , I am so sorry for going on but my mind is just spinning, thanks for your reassuring words xx

    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 nicola45014

      Posted

      I dont know hun as everyone is different, it is early days as they do say it can take 6 months to be up and running, the reason why I think it better I change is because I drink a bottle of wine each night and I crave alcohol on Cita, i thought if I gave another SSRI a go I might not crave it, but i have always been happy with Cita, but they do take a while to settle down in your system smile

       

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