How long does Citalopram take to work?

Hi Paul,

You are still very early days yet and it is so normal at this stage to have good and bad days, I would say 6 weeks is when you notice the best improvement, so stay strong and it will get so much better, I tried to cope myself at first also till I just gave in and went on cit .... best thing I ever did, ...please join us on the forum Anyone NOT had any side effects on Citalopram? as there are lots of folk at different stages of taking different doses of Cit and they are always there to support each other and answer questions, they are a great bunch.

Hi Whiskas11

your right in that its sad so many folk have this but I suppose we were unaware of how many folk suffer till we get it ourselves

Ms Mac hope you will join us on Anyone NOT had any side effects on Citalopram? and anyone else whom needs that little bit of help and support.

Anne

Hello everyone,

I have been suffering from depression for nearly 3 months and taking Citalopram for 5 weeks. I took 10mg for 1 week, 20mg for 3 and have up-ed the dosage to 30mg in the last week. I am still waking up each morning feeling restless and constantly tired. I have diarrhoea and am really fed up of feeling so low and lacking in motivation and energy. It feels as though this will go on forever and I will never get better. How can I feel more energetic? I just want to be back to my normal happy self, but nothing seems to be happening. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I've been on a 20mg dose of Citalopram for a couple of years now, and the side effects do lessen after

about 8 weeks or so. I had the runs and couldn't keep food down for the first couple of weeks, but that

does subside after a while. The tiredness is pretty constant, but not as bad as when you first start to

take the tablets and the restless feeling will subside. It takes several weeks for the medication to start

to work on the actual depression, but it will happen and things ill get better. I found that regular exercise

really helped to combat the tiredness and also lifted my mood - I am physically disabled and found that

swimming regularly was best for me, but if you have no physical restrictions, any form of exercise you're

most comfortable with will help. The important thing to remember is to take the tablets at roughly the same time every day, and try not to miss any, as missing a dose can make you feel queasy. When you are

recovered and it's time for the medication to stop, your GP will reduce the dose gradually, but you will

probably feel a little nauseous and tired - it takes around four weeks to reduce and then stop, but if you feel the process is too fast, tell your doctor and he will adjust the dose accordingly. Good luck and please be

assured that this will pass.

Thanks so much for your reassuring message, it helps psychologically. Hopefully, as you say, things will start to improve soon and I'll feel better. Spoke to my GP today and she said that if I still don't feel a difference by the end of next week (which will be six weeks on the drug) she's going to take me off it and put me on a different SSRI, but the thought of going through that is worrying. I had actually been on Prozac for 10 years constantly before being put on citalopram and coming off the Prozac to start on Citalopram was hellish due to side effects. I really want to avoid doing this again if at all possible. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for your kind and reassuring response, it helps a lot. Kate

Hello

I have just taken my first tablet of CIT and feel totally spaced out. Is this normal?

Hi Paul. I started taking Cit about 15 months ago. Started at 10 for a month then 20 am now on 40. I can't honestly say I had any serious side effects. I take a lot of medication for other problems, so maybe that had something to do with it? I'm not saying I had no side effects, I do have dry mouth & get extremely tired. I believe it has helped calm my periods of anxiety, which is a big thing for me. I do have good days & bad, like last week I had 3 great days in a row, then crashed with a real downer. Just couldn't get going, so lethargic.

I have been on citalopram 10mg now on day 12. Wake up anxious and uneasy but seems to pass as the day goes on. Still get strange panicky feelings creeping over me. I'm looking for some reassurance that this is a normal. Because I'm getting anxious about been anxious ! Just want to feel normal again. Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks. Laura x

I've started a course of Cit 10mg 2 weeks ago and been up and down like a yo-yo. 2 out of 3 days are great, then 1 day is massive anxiety and 'the end of the world' so it seems, bigger than before I took CIT. I am sure it's my bod just getting used to it. I'd get some comfort learning if this is the same for others and if so when you start to really notice the old you coming back please?

I use to be on CIT a year or so ago after having a terrible panic attack one night. Felt great after a couple weeks. 5 months ago I went off the medication because I felt like I didnt need it anymore and my anxiety was back to normal. Well just recently my anxiety flared up again and I just got back on CIT 3 days ago. I know how everyone is feeling. Just last night I woke up from sleep feeling very anxious and my heart was racing like crazy! Thought I was having a heart attack! Finally I calmed myself down after an hour and was able to go back to sleep. 

I forgot how much the side effects makes anxiety worse after awhile.  I'll still perservere and deal with it but it is hard.

Hi everyone, please join us over on  'Anyone NOT had any side effects on Citalopram?' so many folk just like you some starting out some hafl way and some feeling great, read our posts then speak to us, always support on there xxx

Anne

I've been taking mine for only a few days, and i have the same, a dry mouth, and get points in the day where i get very tired.

 

Hi 

I'm new at this I went to the doctors two weeks ago ,I broke down in front of her I was uncontrolable I couldn't quite get out what I wanted to say ,she gave me a sick note for two weeks with work related stress ,I'll be honest I am stressed with work but no more than the next person, it's a multiple of issues that I'm struggling with, but nothing that makes seance there just everyday things that everyone has to deal with I feel angry with my self for not being strong enough, I don't want to talk to anyone, I just want to sit in a room on my own , I feel like I'm crying all the time at stupid stuff , if anybody talks to me I'm angry, snappy or start crying , the doctor has given me a prescription for 20mg citalopram I don't no wether to get them I bothered about being addicted to them if I start taking them I feel I'm giving in to my weakness and then I will alway need them to get me out off everyday stress I want to deal with this my self but I now I'm struggling, I keep telling myself I'm stronger than this but true be known I'm not and I don't now why ,I'm sat hear crying while I'm typing this how stupid , I'm not suisidel but I do think a lot if I could just go to sleep and never wake up it , it's only my kids well there not kids any more they've got there own families know but it's only cause of them I'm still hear if they had there dad s around it would make life a lot easier, so to the point now do I fall weak and become dependant on these tablets or deal with it .