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having a bad month on citalopram :(

Posted , 6 users are following.

natasha70054
natasha70054

i have now been on citalopram for 3 months nearly .This month and past week im having a really bad time .Feel like i dont want to go out , feel nervous and few anxiety attacks .Im on 20mg ... do you think i need to be on a bigger dose or will i just get times like this ?

how do you cope with this bad weeks ?

thanks very much :D

1 like, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Felis
    Felis natasha70054

    Posted

    Hi Natasha

    sorry to hear that you are feeling so despondent. I know how you feel I have been there. Sometimes it takes longer than 3 months to start feeling really well. perhaps you should talk to your doctor about increasing your dose or persevering with 20mg a bit longer. 

    I can also recommend a book called "Living with It" by Bev Aisbett (I Think) It's very easy to read and really helpful. 

    I also found getting out of bed and busying myself helped to take my mind off things. Also make sure that you are eating well and providing your body with nutrition.Stress and anxiety can lower your immune system.

    honestly things will get better just remember that you are not on your own.on this journey and plenty of people are here to support you. 

    Hope this helps. Take care😸

  • David_21660
    David_21660 natasha70054

    Posted

    Hi Natasha,

    You may possibly benefit from going higher, but as always discuss with your Dr first. I have been here 8 months now and increased to 40mg in stages.

    Keeping busy is good, accepting what is happening to you and really enjoy the ups so that you can reflect on them when down can help. It takes a lot of doing and everyone here should either get a medal or graduate as a counsellor at the end of our illness. Felis said in support we are here for you (and ourselves) and this makes for a nice onlline group of friends almost like Family!

    Diet and exercise with at least 10 minutes exposure to sunlight (when we get it! Lol!) vitamins D3 and B6 are a help with the serotonin levels too!

    Keep posting, keep asking, keep chatting, every little helps and you never need to hesitate regarding however insignificant something may feel to you, we're all just plain nosey and happy to help! Lol!

    Regards,

    David

    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 David_21660

      Posted

      thanks david for all your help :D i think i will benefit from taking up jogging again and keeping busy .I know this has helped allot in the past .Its just the motivation to do it on a really low day rolleyes put we must all push through :D
  • cindy1957
    cindy1957 natasha70054

    Posted

    I wasn't on it as long as you and only on 10 mg and if your doctor thinks you should up it than that's what you'll do but I've heard it can take time and 3 months is pretty close to the time it takes to get use to this pill. Keep your doctor informed on how you feel but yes up and down days I noticed and other do too, so that's not un usual. Walking is good, I always walked when i would feel anxious, or do something to keep your mind off yourself.  Do keep in touch with your doctor to your feelings, only they can say if you should go up a dose, and remember it does go to 40 and there are plenty of people on that dose. Good luck to you and always stay here for questions or talk about your feelings, someone out there will answer you. I was told about a couple vitamins too that might help you, vitamins B6 and D3. Your friend, Cindy
    • natasha70054
      natasha70054 cindy1957

      Posted

      thanks very much cindy :D being only 21 and seeing all my friends soo happy all the time and enjoying life does make it very difficult and i find it hard to explain to them what im suffering from .Almost embarassed .So its a real help to have such amazing people on here .Ive recently opened up to my friends about it all though .I seem to be getting allot of support from them but i still know its all hard to understand and they cant answer my questions like you all can :D i honestly dont know what i would do without this forum !

      xxxxx

    • cindy1957
      cindy1957 natasha70054

      Posted

      I felt the same way. People here seeing they too have been on this pill know what it is like, as for my husband and other friends and family that haven't had anxiety issues, they don't understand and well kind of think I'm nuts at times but it was all handed down by my mom's side of the family and like I said she's no longer here to talk to so this forum does help out big time for people like me. Good luck and yep keep yourself coming here when ever you need an extra ear, someone like I said out there will answer you in time. Good people out there in the world and one day you'll be happy and laughing again too with your friends, yes you are very young, plenty of life left in you so giver yourself a little healing time and friends here, you'll make it through!  Your friend, cindy
  • cindy1957
    cindy1957 natasha70054

    Posted

    I notice David answered you before I did just now so he is one of the friends on here that really seems to know this stuff and helped me to feel good on my low days. Also the tiredness goes with this pill too if you feel any of that. David said it all, good place to come and chat and they all feel like family, probably because these people here know exactly what you are going through so don't be afraid to come here and read up on all the other stories, you'll see that fit right in with how you feel. Take care Natasha. Your friend, cindy
    • David_21660
      David_21660 cindy1957

      Posted

      Wow! Cindy, your POSTIVITY BURSTS through these two posts of yours!

      I have a big smile and soooooo proud!

      Love,

      David & Ann XXX

    • cindy1957
      cindy1957 David_21660

      Posted

      Well you and Ann sure have helped me when husband and family can't, big huge thanks goes out to you 2 and the rest on this forum. Your friend always, cindy
  • E.L.R.
    E.L.R. natasha70054

    Posted

    Hello Natacha. 

    Welcom aboard. This is a great place to be. As someone said on another post I read the other day. We are all on the same journey. Just at different stages. 

    Im on Citalopram, and have been for 9 weeks. I started at 10 mg, progressed through 20mg, am currently on 30mg and am due to increase to 40mg next week. As anyone who has been following my journey will tell you, it has been one of tremendous ups, and dreadful downs. We cannot tell you what is the best dose for you. That is a job for you, and your doctor. Yes, you too! You have a fundamental right to be involved in decision making about your meds. If you think you need a higher dose, then tell your doctor. True again if you think you are doing ok, say so. 

    Ive been through the wars in the short space of 9 weeks but was lucky enough after 8 weeks to obtain a proper psychiatric doctors review of my case. Together we knew the gradual increase I'm meds my that the GP was prescribing me was not enough so we are running harder at my illness with an increase from 20mg to 30mg Citalopram this week, progressing to 40mg (the mad Citalopram dose) next week. On top of this my anxiety & nerves were all over the place. I wasn't sleeping and this was making everything worse. I was becoming more anxious. Paranoid. Angry. Stressed. The more these applied, the less again I was sleeping. The psychiatric doctor has therefor added another pill to my mix. Pregabalin. I'm on 150 mg of that for a week, increasing to 225 next week. 

    Since Friday when I had this review, and started adjusting my doses and taking the new pill too, things have really been turning around for me. Ok, I have got side effects. I'm spaced. Got vertigo. Can't drive or cycle for a couple of weeks while I adjust. But at last, I'm confident I can see the road opening up ahead of me. Last week I was tethering on the edge of a very dark place. Look at what I'm typing now, only a short 5 days later. 

    The moral of my story? Please try and get involved with your treatment. If it's not working, seek changes. Don't take your doctors word as final. If you want psychiatric help, seek it. It's so tough, especially when we are down and anxious, to push for the services and support we need, but it is there, and together we shall get better. 

    Take care Natasha. Onwards and upwards. 

  • natasha70054
    natasha70054

    Posted

    thank you all so much for your support :D this website is such a help .Ive decided to stick with the dose and keep going for a bit longer .It is still early stages and youve all given me the confidence to go on a while longer :D thank you all , you are amazing people !!
  • David_21660
    David_21660 natasha70054

    Posted

    Morning Natasha,

    That's the ticket! Each time you feel like it'll never end come here and we'll help you to the next stage and so on until, before you know it you'll be out the other side!

    Well done!

    Best Regards,

    David

  • Felis
    Felis natasha70054

    Posted

    Hi Natasha 

    Just thinking of you and hoping this week is going well for you.If you have an episode and feel awful remember it's just a minor setback. Eventually the Meds will do their thing and the anxiety will fade.

    Take care.

  • shazzer69
    shazzer69 natasha70054

    Posted

    Hi,Natasha,

    Welcome.

    How are you feeling this week?

    I'm glad to hear you are going to persevere on 20 mg.

    Youre going to have ups and downs. Its natural.

    I was on 20 mg for 18 months and I had bad days.When you have bad days you feel as though you're going backwards but you're not.Anyone can have bad days whether they are on tablets or not.

    I saw my doctor every 2 months and he reassured me.

    Also at first I couldn't wait to take the tablet every morning because I wanted to feel better quickly but it doesn't work like that and if I had a bad day I thought WHY!!

    So as I've said in previous posts.I had to pretend I was taking an aspirin every morning and relax about the whole tablet taking business and let the tablet do the work slowly but surely.

    You can always see your doctor if you're concerned.

    Plus you've got us on here when you need a chat.

    I've loved coming on here because you know you're not on your own and others understand.

    I came on here asking for advice which was much appreciated and now I have been tablet free for 5 weeks but I am enjoying giving advice now because I've been there.

    I'm still in the early stages of being off Citalopram but it's been a hard journey but worth it.

    Stick with it Natasha.

    love,

    Shazzer.x

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