My Citalopram story and its a 10/10

Hi everyone,

I have read so much negativity over the last few months I thought id add something positive. Sorry for the long post but here goes, my experience of A/D's. Basically I was prescribed Sertraline for severe anxiety, intrusive thoughts and to a lesser degree depression. Weeks of hell before it got slightly better but nowhere near back to normal. A dose increase just made things worse so i eventually plucked up the courage and decided to stop. I really didn't want too after reading all the horror stories, i couldn't face withdrawing and then start over again with another SSRI. I dont know why but i decided to go cold turkey for 2 days and change A/D's, i told the GP a little white lie and that i had tapered down slowly and she prescribed 20mg daily of citalopram saying in her experience she found it worked much better than sertraline with less side effects, not what the previous GP had said, he thought Sert was the bees knees. I asked for the prescription to be 2x 10mg for more flexibility. I could start on ten or cut one in half and take 5mg if i was struggling or go up to 15mg rather than 20mg (better than trying to quarter a 20mg pill). So i started on 10mg, i took it at night with 3.75mg of Zopiclone (sleeping pill) my thought was although it could affect my sleep like sertraline the zopiclone would knock me out and the worst of the side effects would have dissipated by the time i woke up. Once the zopiclone run out i would switch to the morning. So i started, i woke the next day with zero side effects, the same the day after and the next day and the next. Bare in mind i was in horrific mental pain with the sertraline for almost 4 weeks. After 4 days i upped the dose to 20mg, same again nothing, not one side effect and I'm acutely aware of how they feel. Severe anxiety, sharp pains in my head, shakes, total insomnia, feeling detached, restless, stomach pains, diarrhea etc etc etc . I couldn't believe it, i started to feel better with every day, better than i have felt in ages, if anything slightly hyper, not really noticeable (or so I've been told) but i couldn't shut up, happy as pie but not in the same sense as the effect of say a recreational drug would have or alcohol. If its a side effect then happy days, i can live with it. I had read how the side effects will last for so long, the meds don't work for so long, you will feel terrible with every dose increase, then it will take time to work again. The odd post i read that people said it had worked really quickly i thought it was a placebo effect rather than the meds. Your brain takes time to adapt to the new medication etc I am a total cynic so this is no placebo effect trust me, it had to work as i was fully expect a lot of pain. I was scared half to death of starting again, massively glad i did. I can only speak of from my own experiences but its a 10 out of 10 from me. Now i know how well A/D's can work if you find the right one i would be far more inclined to advise to change if it isn't working, i stuck with something that didn't agree for far too long due to all the posts id read on how it would get better, well it didn't, not much anyway. The trouble with these boards is, people who are in need of help and in pain go searching on google, they then share their experiences, its human nature. You believe what you want to believe. You start to paint a picture of what to expect, how many people who have a positive experience like I've had go to the trouble of posting on here. I wouldn't have done if citalopram had been prescribed first, i only went searching because i was struggling so much, that's the problem its not balanced.

My dad tried everything under the sun until the newer SSRI's came onto the market, he was one of the first to try citalopram and he's never looked back, I didn't know any of that until yesterday otherwise I would have insisted on trying it first. Also, I have been having CBT with a great NHS therapist, I had it a long time ago and thought it was rubbish, this time Ive really engaged with it, i still get the odd bad thought or fleeting worry but it goes very, very quickly. The blend of good therapy, the right medication, masses of exercise, little alcohol and eating better has worked wonders. Finding Citalopram has been the biggest factor but all the rest have helped as well. I may have been lucky, it hasn't felt that way but i wanted to share how positive this medication can be. I wish all the very best, i know how gut wrenchingly horrific it can be. I had put up with it for way to long, trying to manage whilst slowly sinking further, it had become a way of life and then when i finally went for help i was given something that made it worse. Keep the faith and persevere no matter how difficult it is, the reward is better than winning the lottery. Good luck all.

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