Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello all on Citalopram for anxiety.
I've been taking 20ml daily since the beginning of January. It's the second time I've been prescribed this medication. Does anyone else get skipping heart beats? I feel it in my throat and it makes me more anxious and of course I check my pulse which is stupid and I know I shouldn't do. Any advice?
0 likes, 6 replies
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mari01487 Kang05
Posted
peter71650 Kang05
Posted
I am on 40mg per day and yes I get some heart rumbling, also a bit tired mid morning, I don't worry too much as it is far better than the anxiety I use to have. As for the checking of the pulse, a action you know you should not do too often, maybe that is the anxiety and will also stop in a month or so. Stick with it, short of dying the anxiety is the feeling (I) you must shake.
Kang05 peter71650
Posted
Thanks for your reply. I know that heart palpatations are listed as a very common side effect with Citalopram so with that and the anxiety it's a double whammie!
heyhullo Kang05
Posted
Hi Kang05,
I had to respond to this thread as I too had that problem while taking citalopram for depression and anxiety. I've been on one type of SSRI or another since 2001 and while taking citalopram, I started getting a heart flutter sensation that would cause me to take a deep inhale to make it go away. It seemed to happen twice daily at times and was somewhat startling. I then went on another anti-depressant, I think it was sertraline (Zoloft) and it didn't cause this. Skip a few years and yes, everytime I went back on the citalopram (Celexa) I had the heart flutter sensation. Since I am now in my early 50's, I decided this was not an acceptable side effect, and did some reading and read that escitalopram (Lexapro) doesn't cause this, so I switched to it and the problem went away.
Kang05 heyhullo
Posted
Hello heyhullo
Thank you for replying.
I dont understand why as I've been taking 20mg since January that I didn't get the throat flutter / skipped beat for the first few wks. Or I certainly didn't notice them.
I have decided to reduce the dose very gradually over the next couple of months and see if that helps.
It's tricky to know if it's my anxiety or the Citalopram as I think both can cause palpitations.
heyhullo Kang05
Posted
Sorry to get back so late. Dial up here in the country, so I don't do much internet surfing.
I understand about the concern whether it's caused by the medicine or anxiety and unless, but for me it was about three months after I started taking citalopram. Just keep in mind that many side effects don't show up right away, especially something taken daily that affects the brain. About six years ago my doctor switched me to duloxetine, new at the time and I would get a hot flash what seemed like every 45 minutes throughout the day. Terrible. I knew it was the medicine since it went away as soon as I discontinued it.
Same with citalopram and the heart flutters. Going off of it and eventually switching to (here's a long list: bubpropion extended release, venlafaxine extended release, short trial with fluoxetine, and then finally escitalopram) that the heart flutter went away. Some doctors also caution against using escilatopram, but I found it didn't cause the heart flutter problem.
As a side note, I'm so happy to say that as of two months I have been off of any antidepressant. This is a milestone for me seeing as I 've been on one kind or another since about 2001. It took a severe case of eczema to get me to stop taking escitalopram as I wanted to see if it was causing a rash. Prior attempts to stop taking antidepressants always failed within two weeks as my stress level would go back up and I couldn't handle it as my emotions flooded back. Maybe taking oral prednisone for two weeks helped with the withdrawal process, but anyway, I'm just happy to say that I've been A/D free for 2 months.