Needing to up my dose. Very scared and need reassurance.
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi! This will be a little long so apologies in advanced.
I am 28 years old and used to be on 30 mg of celexa when I was younger. (No side effects) I stopped back jn 2015, thinking I did not need them any more but I was very wrong. In 2017 my anxiety took a turn for the worse and I had to go back on the drug. I started on 10mg and the side effects were horrible. They made me way worse then I already was, gave me severe depersonalization and completely apathetic. Eventually it did get better and I was back to my normal self.
Now I am back to square one. From december until now I had two health scares, lost my grandmother my cat and my dog, my brother moved out and I had caught covid. This has driven my anxiety out of control and have been recommended to go up to 20mg. Im terrified of the effects it will have on me or developing serotonin syndrome despite being on 30mg before. I need some advice, encouragement, maybe similar stories? Anything to make me feel better about all of this.
0 likes, 6 replies
ian90586 danielle37615
Posted
Hi Danielle, that's a lot of stressors in a short amount of time. Sometimes everything seems to happen at once,and just one of those events would be enough to have to cope with. You certainly wouldn't get Serotonin syndrome just by increasing Citalopram,you'd have to mix it with other things that increase Serotonin a lot like 5-htp etc to get that.
As for 10mg Citalopram,it is pretty much ineffective for severe anxiety,so I would definitely recommend going to 20mg. As you know, that's going to bring even more heightened anxiety and bothersome effects in the first months of increasing. unfortunately that can't be avoided as the benefits come later on when everything settles down.
As an alternative,I've augmented my antidepressant with Magnesium L Threonate which is supposed to enhance the effects of antidepressants. I've been slowly increasing since December because I also had some stressors since then and it's definitely helped a lot. I was debating for a while increasing my antidepressant,but I chose magnesium instead. Something to consider and research as an alternative. Take care.
jhoanna11390 ian90586
Posted
hi,
I was wondering on what antidepressants are you and if it was OK for you to take magnesium L Threonate with it?
I am considering taking it myslef but I'm a bit scared not to have some side effects.
also I think that it doesn't enhance the effects of antidepressants, but actually healing what needs to be healed maybe in people with anxiety that might have anxiety in the 1st place due to lack of magnesium.....so to be honest I am actually wondering if maybe taking magnesium L threonate will help make possible decreasing the dosage of my antidepressant? which for me it seems impossible.....
ian90586 jhoanna11390
Posted
Hi jhoanna, I was on Fluvoxamine 100mg a year ago when I added magnesium L Threonate. First one capsule,then nearly 3 months later,added another capsule.
Months later I had an epiphany over taking antidepressants for anxiety,and I spent the summer months coming off everything and I haven't taken anything for 3 months. No antidepressants or supplements.
I would definitely say from my experience,and I read beforehand that it was the case,that magnesium L Threonate increases the effects of antidepressants. It was exactly like increasing a dose of antidepressant when I took one capsule,(the recommended dosage was 3 x capsules a day).
I stopped the magnesium first,then continued withdrawal off Fluvoxamine. I did retake one capsule of magnesium to see if it would help with withdrawal and I continued with one capsule after I stopped Fluvoxamine completely,then I stopped the magnesium again a few weeks later. It may have helped with the antidepressant withdrawal,not really sure.
After over 30 years of taking antidepressants for anxiety,I now put my faith and efforts into all non pharmaceutical strategies of coping with anxiety. I have taken all the SSRI'S in that time,and taken just about every supplement and spent many hundreds of pounds on them. While undoubtedly some have helped to different degrees,and antidepressants can help somewhat,but they are not a cure. Hope that helps. Take care.
jhoanna11390 ian90586
Posted
Thank you for your reply.
well its amazing to hear u could stop the antidepressants.
it seems impossible for me even though i so much want to....
take care 😊
ian90586 jhoanna11390
Posted
Hi,it isn't impossible and can 100% be done without medication. I wised up in the summer after realising that anxiety is caused by our own thoughts, worrying,stressing, negative thought patterns etc not by chemical imbalances that need constant drugs put into our brains. Once you get your mind straight on these facts,realise there's another,better road you can go down towards proper recovery,have the right strategies and know-how in place,and stop focusing on drugs and supplements that don't really work like I have for 30 years,then you are on the permanent road to full recovery. Take care.
crabby57 danielle37615
Posted
hi Danielle
i know what you are feeling! i was told by my Doctor to increase also. i was PETRIFIED! i increased by 5mg (1/4 of a 20mg tablet). i did that for 3 weeks, then got to the 30mg. I had very little side effects. i know everyone is different, i just wanted to share how i did it.