My anxiety/depression journey so far.....

Hi Stuart,

Sorry you had to go through that experience, its horrendous. I know a few people who have had an awful experience with Sertraline and had to change meds. I've had very few side effects with Citalopram and my GP has increased my dosage slowly which I believe has helped. I'm sure you'll be fine with Citalopram as you've had it before and yes it may take a bit longer to kick in, but please stick with it. When I was in the thick of my anxiety I didn't believe it would work either and thought that I would be stuck like this forever!! It has took months which people on here said it would, but I'm improving and just wanted to help people on here, as I know we're all looking for reassurance. D 🙂

Hi Jessica,

Yes I had blips along the way. Like you I had a few good weeks on 10mg, not 100% but better than I had been, I always thought there was room for improvement. I hit a blip which lasted for about 2 weeks, that's when my GP increased me to 15mg, she always said she would increase my dose if the blips lasted for a couple of weeks. I started to see an improvement but again not 100% a few off days but not as bad. My aim was to get to 20mg ( therapeutic dose) just to see if I levelled out for my own satisfaction lol It took about 7 weeks until I started having less anxiety, racing thoughts and low mood. Its 9 weeks now on 20mg and I'm feeling more like my old self, not in my head all the time, my mood has lifted and life is good. Don't get me wrong I still have apprehension about the future and hope I never suffer again, but now it doesn't linger like before and I can get on with my day. I would never of believed just how horrendous anxiety/ depression can make you feel. Keep pushing through you will come out the other side, just take a day at a time and focus on YOU WILL GET BETTER. Hope this has helped D x

Thank you very much Denise. I'm staying on 30 mg for awhile see how that goes. I hit another blip. This one has lasted 5 days so far. I'm still going on about my day as normal as I possibly can🙃 the symptoms are more annoying now rather than scary. I'm glad you're feeling better😀 this is no fun! I cant wait to feel like my old self again. That's what Im looking forward to and I know it will come. Before I could never see it but now I can. Thank you for the reassurance😁

Hi Jessica, funny enough I've just had a few iffy days!! strange isn't it, just when I was saying how well I felt. They've not been bad as they have been, but still discourages you, I have blips that have lasted for a couple of weeks. Its passing now and I've had a couple of days when I've felt up and down in one day. As we know, we've got to try and push through it, but its difficult!! Like you I can see the light and just keep thinking I'm better than I was, so something is changing and patience is a virtue lol Keep talking on this forum, it's a great help when you feel lost. D x

hi jessica i was wondering if you find your anxiety gets worse on the week running up to time of the month. it seems to be happening to me every month 😦 . were you on twenty for long before moving to 30? feeling so disheartned today after feeling better for couple of weeks now feel back to the start! leigh

thank you for your post! its making me feel

hopeful! i tried zoloft as well and it gave me crazy intrusive thoughts. im now on citalopram (7 weeks at 10mg and 2 weeks at 20.) im

not feeling much better yet but hoping as the weeks go by i start seeing improvement on the 20mg. i also have depression and started getting bad anxiety last May so a doctor decided to try out some new meds (i previously took prozac)

it was an awful process and my anxiety abd depression both just increased through all the changes. i have a new doc now and shes kept me consistently on the citalopram since ive had glimmers of hours and a couple days where ive started to feel better.

just hoping thats a good sign in the right direction.

again, thank you for your positive post.

Hi, I was very reluctant to try Cit after the awful time I had on Sertraline. It was a different GP in my practice who persuaded me to try them, as much as the journey has still been hard, I'm pleased I gave them a try. I'm sleeping much better and my appetite is better. My GP thinks my Depression/low mood was a result of my Anxiety. Any improvement as little as it is, is progress and a sign the meds are working. Recovery is an up and down process and takes time, lots of time. D x

I've never suffered with panic attacks, just anxiety and low mood. My heart would race (which I took Propanalol for) and I felt joyless and sad. Never had dissociation, but I would worry that I would never recover. However I've been on 20mg for 17 weeks and feel great, having started on 10mg in May. It takes months to see improvements and then you have to continue with the meds until fully recovered, which again takes time. D

my wife has been on 20mg of celerex for 5 weeks and up it to 40mg about 2 weeks ago im still waiting for it to help her. Any thoughts?

Hi, can I ask why her dose has been increased? 20mg is the dose most people take, its takes your body a long time to adjust, I mean months not weeks. Your wife is still in the very early stages and increasing to the maximum dose of 40mg is probably too much, this will not help her symptoms but make them worse. I started on 10mg for about 7 weeks, during this time had a few side effects ie increased anxiety, low mood, headaches and loss of appetite. I then increased to 15mg for a further 3 weeks and the side effects improved, then up to 20mg with no side effects. It took about 12 - 13 weeks to see real benefits, ie less anxiety, mood lifting and feeling more like myself, still had the odd blip, but for the last 3- 4 weeks felt great 🤞🤞🤞 Personally I would ask to reduce the dose, and stay with it for a couple of months. There is a lady on here called Katecogs, she's brilliant at explaining how ADs work. Hope this helps, things will get better but it takes lots of time, count in months not weeks. D

hi @denise1306 i was was wondering if your anxiety was still bad at 12/13 then started to improve. i have been on cit since july slowly moving up and have been on 20 for 10 weeks but still very anxious. i am a few weeks behind you time wise. i am in two minds wether to keep waiting or or move to 30mg. feel like it isnt going to work for me. leigh x

Hi, I would say from about 14 weeks, I have felt really well. Up until then I was still having off days, where my mood would be low, which then started my anxiety off as I was worrying it would never end. I was prescribed Propanalol to help calm me down and up until 14 weeks I would still take one or two a day if my anxiety was too bad. I've stuck with 20mg and now feeling the benefit, I've never had to take Propanalol for a good few weeks now. My advice would be to stick with 20mg for another month or so before speaking to your GP about increasing. However it doesn't matter what dose you're on, you still go through the same journey, until your body adjusts to the meds, increasing will only bring further side effects. We all recover, but timescales are different for everyone. I was like you and a lot of people on this forum who thought I would never feel myself again and was trying to chase recovery, I can now say it's been tough but finally I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's hard I know, but please give it more time, you will get there. Hope this helps D x

Hi Denise, by 12 and 14 weeks, do you mean on 20mg or in total with the weeks of 10 and 15mg included?

I'm on week 10 of my dose and hearing your improvement after 12/14 weeks give me hope!

Hi David, 12-14 weeks on 20mg. I started with 10mg beginning of May for a few weeks, then 15mg for another few weeks, then finally 20mg. Feeling really well and no anxiety, and let me tell you that feels amazing. You can do this, but it takes time which I have found out. I was like everyone else on this forum and thought I would never feel myself again when I was deep in the middle of it all, but HEYYYY I DO. It does get better I promise and you will feel yourself again. Dx

hi @denise1306 thank for taking the time to reply. it is such a long journey isnt it. I am so glad you are feeling good thats amazing. I suffer more from anxiety than low mood however it does get to me as I just want to feel good and calm again. I had propanalol in the very early days of taking cit and it added to my side effects. What symptoms did you find that it helped with? I am still waking up most days with my stomach churning and it comes and goes throughout the day. Its so hard to know what to do with doses as some people need a higher dose. My cbt therapist also said people rarely stay on first medication they try and sometimes takes awhile to find the right one. the thought of changing and starting again fills me with dread. hope youve had a lovely christmas and new year. leigh x