1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

My Citalopram diary

Posted , 16 users are following.

davidblue85
davidblue85

Well following a admission to hospital 3 weeks ago for extreme fatigue, weight loss and pains in my abdomen and many test including a colonoscopy which all came back 'all clear' I've been persribed anti-depressants for stress and anxiety.

I have always had anxiety since my early teens but have NEVER been medicated for this I have always just 'dealt' with it. However with the pressures of work and imminate house move and young family I think my body/brain finally gave in!

So I'm trying medication in the hope I can lose the anxiety and get my life back on track, after reading many scare stories of the side effects (which nearly put me off) I finally gave in and took my first dose tonight - I was given sertraline 50mg last week as the first option but after what felt like a heart attack (I'm 30 btw) on the 3rd day I threw the towel in.

Having researched since I now know 50mg was quite a strong dose to start on!! So here I am round 2 and a new drug - this time Citalopram 10mg and I started my first dose tonight...well when I say first dose I took a quarter of a tablet effectively (2.5mg) I'm starting slow this time and building it up, I also have Gilberts Syndrome which makes some drugs reactive differently.

I'm going to keep this thread going to help explain any side effects and hopefully dispell and scare stories and hopefully share my own happy ending.

Stay tuned!

1 like, 71 replies

71 Replies

Prev
  • davidblue85
    davidblue85

    Posted

    Day 1 second time on Cit.

    I took my 5mg of Cit last night before bed and I have to say, other than feeling a bit hot in the night I slept better than I have done for a week or more - oh also had the return of the vivid dreams, but I actually quite enjoy them!!

    I went to visit the GP this morning and she was fantastic! She had the measure of me in minutes and could see I was putting pressure on myself by trying to avoid the whole taking antidepressants again! She was very knowledgable as opposed to some doctors who just chuck you a box of pills. She recommended a book called 'quiet the mind' which I've looked into and think I'll give it a go, she also spoke about the importance of keeping your mind balanced and how to give both sides of your brain (the planning and creative) things to do.

    As per my last post I was interested/concerned/anxious (fancy that!) about having to go on and off antidepressants for the rest of my life and interestingly she told me new research suggests that 2 years of use should be enough to 'reset' your levels and I probably should have continued through to Oct this year rather than stop back in Feb - probably should have spoke to this doctor before I made that decision! She also used the example of someone who gets dry skin at different times of the year and needing to use a cream and how it's no different, at certain times my health issue needs treatment and others it's perfectly fine.

    Anyway I'm going to make the leap to 10mg tonight mainly as the brand I've been given today are so small I can't realistically cut them in 2 and I'd rather take any pain now in order to get going and feeling the benefit (which I know from experience can take several weeks).

    I'm just hoping I mange not to puke all over my desk at work tomorrow! Worst case if I feel that bad I'm able to work from home so I'm quite lucky in that respect.

    That's all for today - will keep you posted.

    • lois95799
      lois95799 davidblue85

      Posted

      When you last recovered .did you recovered on 10mill.or 15mill.?take care
    • davidblue85
      davidblue85 lois95799

      Posted

      Hi Lois, I pretty much was back up and running with 10mg, but I did increase to 15mg for a time then reduced back to 10mg last summer through to Feb this year. I guess everyone is different and such a low dose was enough for me, if I had to increase further I would have done however.

      Are you taking Cit yourself?

      Take care

    • lois95799
      lois95799 davidblue85

      Posted

      Yes ten milligrams...it's going on 16months...it's a rollercoaster ride...take care

    • davidblue85
      davidblue85 lois95799

      Posted

      Not knowing the full picture it sounds like you may need to consider a dose increase if you're still experiencing ups and downs 16months on??  

  • davidblue85
    davidblue85

    Posted

    17 day update.

    So the past 17 days have gone by fairly quickly, most of the initial 'effects' seem to have eased off - apart from the dry mouth in the mornings and I still find myself waking up early and struggle to get back to sleep (I take my tablet at night btw)

    I did experience increased anxiety but I was already feeling pretty crappy the weeks leading up to starting the meds again so it really wasn't too much different.  Other than that I'm continuing to operate, I'm going to work, dealing with the family life etc. I'm just waiting for the ease of an anxious free mind to slowly return to me.  I did struggle this week a bit as I've come down with a cold bug and anytime I'm ill the anxiety tries to ramp up and sneak back in! 

    Anywho - I'm sticking in there and hopefully things continue to improve over the next few weeks.

Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.