Reassurance of the process.
Posted , 10 users are following.
I'm looking for the advice from ones that of been through this.
I'm still under two months into this and only about a week at 20 mg things just seem so much more dire. I feel so strange and off and not like myself. My anxiety is tripled. Is this normal? Does your mind come back? I feel so foreign. I've never felt this way in my life
I feel detached. This is very scary. Please let me know that things got better for you and what happens next? I am frightened and will continue on but I'm just in a personal hell right now . Before I started this medication my anxiety was unmanageable and it still is but now I just feel very weird. Thank you all for your advice caring and concern. May the sun shine for us all soon
0 likes, 31 replies
tomhopeful walter_06293
Posted
Walter
Sounds very familiar , first two weeks on 20mg were the worst of my life , thank god I found this forum or I would have binned the meds, things will improve & ive had all the side effects you mentioned, I'm good now & it was all down to the meds, try & take some pressure off yourself as with any illness you need time to recover , just believing you will get your life back will help your recovery. Keep posting its good for recovery. Good luck tom
walter_06293 tomhopeful
Posted
Thank you so much Tom!! Is strangely makes you feel better knowing that somebody else has endured this and that is part of the process. I was not told any of these things were going to happen by the doctor.
These headaches have also been the worst I've ever had my life nothing but tension and pressure and just the worst! I suppose that'll get better too it's probably stress and anxiety give me those
Zio10 walter_06293
Posted
I think it's easier talking to a stranger who is going through this to. Im on day 11 of 20mg. Before that 7 days at 10mg. Anxiety comes an goes rt now. I have GAD an depression. See a psychiatrist. Im on med #7. Yes, iv experienced depersonalization . Its wierd. Your just there. Thats it. But anxiety pokes its head up at unexpected times or when stress (i have tons of it rt now!) Is rampant. I start worrying about health an dying an keeping my elderly parent's alive an my two sons an my husbands health an my health....on an on until I boil an it comes out as yelling at everyone. We lost our daughter in 2000 an that just escalated this over protecting health issues or"worrying someone to live forever" mentally. Iv always even as a child would cry myself to sleep thinking of day my parent's die. An we had ALOT of elderly relatives an went to nursing homes an funerals alot up until teens. Who does that! Stomach pains, joint pains, biting skin on side of nails till bleed. Been doin that since 10 yrs old. Im adopted an dont know medical background so unsure of mental health in family. My adopted parent's hovered over us all time. I think that made it worse. So trying exercises, movies, worry journal, screaming alone in pickup out in country (wierd I know but helps)not getting bored or just taking Klonapine an going to sleep.! Anxiety does increase at each dosage raising. For me, the only Anti-depressant that worked mentally for sure was Zoloft 50mg. After 5 wks it was litterly like a light bulb was turned on an I was me again! Energy, no worry, felt like I could handle things, not end of world about everything! But unfortunately it made me very very sick physically an messed with my liver, anorexia, flu symptoms bad, joint pain bad. So had to stop by Dr's aftwr 2 an half months. Slowly, depression came after 2 months. Bad. Lexapro next. Nothing mentally. Dulled me. Sleepy. Wt gain. Then in March 2015. Tried Zol8again an same thing. Then Cymbalta. I have fibromyalgia an lower back herniation an it did help with pain but blood pressure shot way up. 177/ 94!! Im little an never had that before. Took for 6wks. Bad withdrawls. Then Prozac. Devil drug. No way. Suicidal. Crying. Anxiety through roof. Stopped after 5 wks. Then Wellbutrin XL. No way again. Extreme rage. Stopped. Then Lamictal. Why I dont know. Im not bi-polar. Horrible feeling on it. Stopped. So started Celexa an day 17. So far only increased anxiety an some depersonalization. Cant cry now. But paralyzed in bed.(?) So I hope we all can get on with our lives an learn to cope with our issues. Mine is involving getting rid of stress an some people in it. Getting a job, if I can hold one.
Goodluck!
anna78365 Zio10
Posted
I hope the Celexa works for you. It also increased my anxiety and I had strange depersonalisation and so sleepy at times. Hang in there. I've been taking Celexa 20 mg for 5 weeks now and I'm starting to gradually feel better.
Good luck
Anna
sarah3612 walter_06293
Posted
I just want to assure you these feelings are COMPLETELY NORMAL! So many of us go through this to begin with, it felt like absolute hell for me too! I felt detached, out of control, frightened that I would never be me again, my anxiety went through the roof! I suffered so bad with insomnia and nausea as the tablets started to kick in I thought I was gonna end up going crazy. Some nights I didn't sleep at all and sometimes the nausea was so bad I didn't want to leave the house. I started on 10mg, then went up to 20mg and finally settled on 40mg. It took a while for me to settle on the right dosage but this process takes time, unfortunately for us there is no quick fix. But you CAN do this and you will. Everyone around me kept saying I'd get through it but I didn't believe any of them. It was only when I started to get stronger that I decided that the anxiety wouldn't beat me and gradually things got better. I feel absolutely back to myself now, and in some ways even better than before because I have learnt how to deal with my anxiety better (I go to local mindful meditation class which has helped me immensely). Don't get me wrong I still get anxious it's a normal emotion for all of us but when I feel it happening I acknowledge it and know what I need to do to put it back in its place. I used to be hung up on taking antidepressants and always kept trying to get off them but I now realise that even though it was the toughest time of my life getting on them I need them and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Like my doctor said if the tablet was for my kidney or my heart I wouldn't think twice! Don't try and fight your feelings it will only feed the anxiety, accept that you're having a tough time at the moment but it won't be forever. I hope my reply gives you hope and reassurance that you will be ok.
Keep strong
Sarah
walter_06293 sarah3612
Posted
Thank you so much Sarah. I feel right now exactly as you felt. It's awful. I'm going to keep pushing it's just hard right now. You do feel like you have lost your life and sanity.
Zio10 walter_06293
Posted
debbie17569 Zio10
Posted
Hi. I've been getting a racing heart and skipped beats and wondered whether it was the cit but to be honest, I think it's just my anxiety. Trouble is, she. It starts, I get more anxious and it's like a visious circle. I've been on cit before years ago for post natal depression and no issues at all then. I'm on 20mg at the moment but for the anxiety so I think it's all to do with that. X
groovynana debbie17569
Posted
I've been taking 20mg citalapram for around 4 years, the only side effect I suffer from is that they make restless legs worse..I'm prescribed pramipoxeole for RLS which works well..This is the 3rd time in the past 20 odd years I've asked for antidepressants the previous times after deaths of close family members, I weaned myself off them both times when the time was right...At the moment I feel very emotional and not strong enough without them but I'll know when I'm there.for now they suit me well.
debbie17569 groovynana
Posted
Hi there. Yeah I've been on them before for post natal depression and I was fine then. I think mine is more the anxiety over a health scare. Just can't stop thinking about it and I think that causes further issues like my chest pain and shortness of breath. I don't have restless legs though but my mum suffers from that, drives her nuts but she was given something from a pharmacist in Turkey and she hasn't had any issues since! I think that we obviously need these meds and I think I will stay on them. A lot of people have said they've come off them after feeling better and the gone downhill again.
Do you get any anxiety, especially in the morning?
hope you feel better soon, life is tough at the best of times xx
groovynana debbie17569
Posted
Hi Debbie, to be honest I managed to reduce to 10mg for a while and some silly telephone call from a neighbour concerning our sons who were friends and grown up sent me hurtling into anxiety...It was Christmas day and it stressed me right out..I don't know why as it was so trivial but I could feel my heart racing and I thought I was going to have a heart attack...After I calmed down I realised I was quite anxious about everything (I had a lot going on) so I doubled my dose and asked my GP to increase to 20mg. I'd say Im not anxious on this dose and it suits me but I know it's numbing my natural emitions, having said that I'm a naturally upbeat happy type of person but I've been in a very dark place after my brother died, I never want to feel like that again and without meds I'm not sure how long id have closed myself off from everyone, I'd never describe myself as depressive or anxious and always thought I could handle whatever life threw at me but I know as I'm getting older I can't. I think it's a fear of returning to the dark times so I'm sticking with my dose for now. Hopefully you'll find the dose that suits you...There are so many different antidepressants on the market have you thought about switching ??
debbie17569 groovynana
Posted
Hi there. Yes, I can understand where you're coming from. It just takes the slightest thing and the anxiety gets overwhelming whereas before I had anxiety, I would have just brushed it off. Maybe it is a part of getting older. I'm 48 now and toyed with the idea that it may be the menopause but the doc said no as I'm still regular. Like you, I'm normally a happy cheerful person, so it's a bit out of the blue. All over a health scare which normally, when told it's ok, I'd forget all about it. Too much overthinking!! And yes it is fear over returning to those times. This all started two months ago and I was a mess. All day panic attacks, pacing the house, thought I was going mad! I'm not anywhere like that now, thank god, but certainly not back to normal. The cit obviously works but I feel not quite enough. I've thought of an increase but unsure whether I want to try another AD as I really don't want to go back to two months ago with the side effects again! That's just too scary!!! X
groovynana debbie17569
Posted
You know Debbie, I didn't ever get poorly then when I was 30 my father had a massive heart attack and just died. It made me ill for a year in which I picked up the most horrendous virus...I'm not sure what I had but I was quite ill for 6 weeks..I recovered but every year since I'm struck down with a nasty chest infection..Then at 39 I got really tired and my periods stopped..I went through early menopause and a year later I was through but I couldn't shake off the overwhelming tiredness..I was tested for thyroid and it was underactive so prescribed thyroxin but I just felt so tired all the time..I had 2 small children a business and a Victorian property (derelict) id bought to renovate and live but then my brother died suddenly aged 37 epileptic fit and a week later my mother passed. Looking back I now see that I was completely overwhelmed but thought I was coping okay...I think you just have to get on with it but I was emotionally drained...I thought I'd picked up with the help of meds but about 2 years later I started to trip over and I felt clumsy and couldn't guage step heights etc..When I moved my eyes I could hear a dull fast heartbeat sound and couldn't stop my eyes from watering....Then I just simply crashed and couldn't wake up for 6 days...I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome which I struggled with for 8 years on and off..Some days I was okay and some days Id drift in and out of fog bad dreams and disorientation until it passed.. my nightmare...I'm over the worst if it now and don't have those attacks any more...My doctor said it's highly likely I'd had glandular fever all those years ago..And attacked my central nervous system...It makes sense really as although I'm well now restless legs are CNS related...I pray I never return to those times and the cit helps me a lot...Take care xx
mark89813 walter_06293
Posted
You will get there Walter, the spacey detached feeling is not nice but does go away as your brain gets used to the medication. When they are doing their job therapeutically your anxiety will go completely. I posted a couple of years back when I last went on them a laymans guide to how they work. Here it is again.
You take your first pill and immediately there is more serotonin available but AT FIRST your serotonin receptors think hey there is too much serotonin here and scale it back so you actually produce less, this is why we feel crappy at the beginning. After chronic dosing which varies from person to person the receptors get the message that more Serotonin is the norm and become desentensised, then the benefits begin. It's a gradual process but you will notice the difference on a weekly basis rather than a daily one. For me if I do the right things, eat well, exercise etc by the end of the second month I'm feeling pretty good. I'm currently on day 31 and today is the first day the side effects seem to have lessened somewhat.