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New to sSRIs and need guidance

Posted , 8 users are following.

megan29836
megan29836

I a 36 year old female, 120 lbs, and was prescribed 10mg citalopram for minor to moderate anxiety/irritability that had been building after several stressful years. i took 5mg for 7 days bc I was terrified of the side effects. The first day i had a constant headache, but for the rest of the week, I felt fine--maybe even a little more energetic and "lifted" than before i took the medication. A bit happier than before.

I decided to take the 10 mg pill to see if the positive effects would be even more beneficial, since that is the dose my doctor originally prescribed.. But, I'm 3 days in and I feel very lethargic, tired and just as irritable as before. Each day is the same; I don't notice the symptoms lessening yet.

My question is, do I wait it out to see if this passes and improves, or should I not mess with a good thing and go back down to 5mg? I was feeling pretty good at the 5mg and seemed to have no side effects; is it possible 10 can make me feel even better?

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • lala25752
    lala25752 megan29836

    Posted

    the therapeutic dose for citalopram is 20mg. this is not to say that people don't recover on less, some people do recover on 10mg. 5 is very low introductory dose and any positives you were feeling might of been placebo. The medication usually has severe side effects for 2 weeks when starting and increasing the dose starts the side effects again. for medication to start working it can take 4 to 6 weeks or even longer. To be honest 5 mg is nothing. you need to give this medication time to work and it will have side effects.

  • mike07300
    mike07300 megan29836

    Posted

    Hi Megan, I would recommend staying on 5mg a bit longer, I myself had been up & down doses for years,to thankfully now settling on 5mg, good luck & keep up the posts though.

  • laura37392
    laura37392 megan29836

    Posted

    stick it out.. it takes at least 4 weeks to start to work..I'm just over the 5 week mark.. I had 4 weeks at 10mg and 20 mg now for 8 days. it does get better..I'm not 100% yet but I know I'm no where near as bad as I was 5 weeks ago.. ppl say uppin doses restarts symptoms for me upping to 20mg wasnt as bad as starting..I'm still very tired too..keep takin them..good luck

  • marsh23433
    marsh23433 megan29836

    Posted

    Hi Megan/every time you change dosage the side effects starts as if you were just starting this medication.What this means is don't change your dosage just stay on one dosage for 10/12 weeks and let this medication build up inside you ,then you will feel the difference

  • lois95799
    lois95799 megan29836

    Posted

    i would of stay on five .why ruin a good thing .i recover on ten but it was not easy.higher doses does not mean better results .my phychiatrist has many folks on five milligrams. she says any milligram is the therapeutic dose.best regards

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