How long does Citalopram take to work?

i've been on 20mg citalopram for just over a week after 3 days i felt like i wanted to be sick and the feeling of being ill then the next couple of days i was ok but now i'm feeling like i am going downhill again i'm not sure if this is normal after just 8 days of taking them i feel like i want to just cry and be left alone but i feel bad for feeling like this can anyone give me some help regarding this please i have a lot of issues that i have to deal with.

regards

dave

Dave you are not alone. I first went on citalopram last year for chronic worrying and anxiety. I felt awful for the first couple of weeks but I was also taking propranolol to help ease the physical symptoms. I started to feel better over the coming months so naively decided I was ready to come off them and weaned myself off over about 2 months. I was fine for about 4 months then wham... the anxiety hit me badly. It seemed out of nowhere. I had been really stressed out with work but I'm generally a very negative person. Anyway, I started back on them last Tuesday and I have felt absolutely horrendous. Strangely, I have been able to function okay at work but on the inside I feel like I'm breaking apart. I am shaky, nervous, agitated and I can't eat or sleep. I have lost weight and feel weak from not eating and seem to be spiralling downwards. I know that last time it took a couple of weeks for the cit to kick in so I am holding on and hoping that this is the case again. I just want my normal life and my normal feelings back. But remembering that there are others out there is comforting, not that I would wish anyone to feel as we've been feeling. Anyway, stay strong.

I was on fluoxetine for many years and about two months ago I stopped taking them because they were making me feel aggressive. I'm in the middle of a lot of stress so I went to the dr and he prescribed me Celexa 10mg. I was apprehensive to start it because all I've ever known was the fluoxetine. I gave in this morning and started it after a horrible night of constant anxiety and negative thoughts. I'm hoping it kicks in quickly so I don't have to deal with the fears I think about all night.

I recently started 20mg of cit and i wld say first few days i was exhausted, yawned constantly im in my 3rd week an my dr thought to up to 40mg i took 40 for two days as was a lunatic! Stopped at went bk to 20, and been ok i still feel like one min im happy an next im flipping out. Hoping i get to a stable center in time.

Hi

I was on citalopram for approx 3 years, i went off them june/july last year.  Slowly but surely i have become depressed and anxious again.  I really didn't want to go back on cit but i felt so desperate.  My depression and anxiety has effected all areas of my life.  I am day 5 back on cit and I feel very down and anxious.  Yesterday was good, i almost felt normal apart from anxiety in the morning.  I know side effects are normal but i am finding it hard. I have a dodgy tummy, very tired and weak also.  I was wondering if swimming might help at this stage or whether it will make me even more tired? Should i wait before taking exercise?

 

I am 12 and just started taking citalopram getting anxious is one of many symptoms its worrying i know, but it will make you stronger when you have overcome it trust me. you get symptoms like chest pains, nausea, vomit, skin rashes, diarhea, and more but my mum tells me theyre highly unlikely to come to you. after two weeks your body copes with it better and starts getting better and better until it doesnt happen much.

hope i helped everyone if anyone can help me highly appreciated :P

-Reece

Hello disco123 . I have been going through the SAME thing as you ! I have been dealing won such horrible anxiety and visions recently my social life went from high to non existing . My father passed away last year who I was very close with and ever since then it's just gotten to such a high level. I was prescribed citalopram as well 20 dosage . My doctor told me to take a quarter of it every 2 days . My anxiety is so bad and I am so scared that it's been sitting on my counter for weeks . I am so scared of the side effects like gaining weight which I recently lost a lot with diet and hard work so that scares me and most of all the visions and scary thoughts . I never took it but yesterday I finally took a quarter of it and I'm already wondering if I should not take it agin . My anxiety is unbearable but side effects scare me ... Nice to know I'm not alone 

Did your gp not tell you that it takes about 2 weeks for the tablets to start working and up to 8 weeks for them to work completely?. You are experiencing side effects and it's totally normal. I am on week 5 now and I feel 100% better. I was exhausted and slept for 11 hours a night for the first 2 weeks. I also had a couple of panic attacks so hang on in there. It will soon pass. 

Best wishes

Hi I have been suffering from anxiety and depression without even knowing it! becoming very irritable andgrupmy was really upsetting and unlike my normally happy go lucky self! I started to worry about the slightest thing and as so many of you have woken up through the night feeling nausious and panicking! I went to my doctor today and explained my life for the past 3 months and he told me that I was suffering with severe stress, anxiety and depression, and the cause he thinks was a high pressure job, a new business, moving house and renovation of the new one all within a space of 3 months! I had no idea!! he has prescribed citolapram and having read some of your stories I am fairly worried to start taking them as I cant imagine what it will be like to feel worse than I already do??