INSOMNIA on Citalopram!! HELP! Anyone else?

Hello everyone. I’m new to the site and definitely new to anxiety disorders and panic attacks. I’d classify my feelings as hyper-anxiety because I feel so agitated and nervous ALL the time, but the attacks are definitely the worst. Here’s my story. PLEASE feel free to comment with any words of advice or similar experiences!

I was sick with a bad case of the flu for almost 3 weeks and visited Fast-Med and my Primary physician several times for help while not feeling better. My body was very anxious and I just KNEW “something” was wrong with it. Next a trip to the emergency room at the beginning of week 4 for persistent shortness of breath/ heavy chest. They tested me for so many things I lost track. Every test came back with me looking absolutely fine. While describing my symptoms to the on-call physician after the outcome of all the tests, it became obvious to us both that I was suffering from a severe anxiety episode that had been going on since the beginning of week 2 of my flu. She prescribed me a couple Ativan to get me through til I could see my doctor. I was prescribed 2 more weeks of .5 mg  up to 4 a day. It did NOT help!

Now my doctor has started me on Celexa/ Citalopram. I was hesitant to take it but eventually decided to give in since I could NOT control my symptoms myself. I’ve NEVER felt like this before!! I realize now I’ve always been a bit hyper, but had ONLY ever had infrequent panic attacks from smoking too much marijuana. Nothing like this feeling. It feels like my stress hormones are just coursing through my body at light speed all the time. 

I’ve been taking 10mg starting dose of Citalopram for one week now and I felt after 2-3 days there were some positive changes happening. That’s when my INSOMNIA happened. Now I’m just getting about 2-3 hours of sleep before waking up anxious and restless and laying there panicky til I finally get up. Last night I couldn’t even relax enough to sleep at all! It feels so weird to be utterly exhausted and hyper-active awake at the same time. From what I’ve read so far I feel like this is a normal side effect that may subside after a little time, but REALLY interested to hear from ALL who share similar stories as mine!!

??Anyone else had panic come from a prolonged illness or anyone having the same problem with their Citalopram?

 How did you deal with it?

What dose did you start and when/ how much did it change? 

How long before you felt positive changes/ effects of Citalopram?

What’s your insomnia story/ how long did you deal with it before it got better? 

PLEASE, ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Thank you 

Ron5130

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