Retaking Citalopram, severe anxiety
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi everyone, I have suffered anxiety for 8 years now and been on 20mg of citalopram for that time. Stupidly I decided (with the support of my doctor) to slowly start coming off them and after a slow decrease stopped taking them in May, 5 months ago. Since the end of September my anxiety has hit the roof again and 5 weeks ago I went back on 10mg which initially for a week had no side effects. Two weeks ago I was hit with severe anxiety attacks and the doctor increased the dose to 20mg. Now day 13 of the increase and I'm feeling dreadful. Early morning wake ups with feelings of fear and anxiousness, which improves slightly at times and then hits me again at any time. This last week when my husband has gone to work my mum or dad have come to sit with me as I just feel I can't move I'm so worked up. Nausea and retching in the mornings and no appetite whatsoever, I've lost a stone in 3 weeks. I fear that I will never get better, maybe the citalopram just won't work for me this time. I'm also on propranolol for the palpitations and diazepam 6mg 3 times a day if needed, but that just doesn't seem to take the edge off for me. Having CBT therapy also but find it so hard as the last thing I can do when I'm in the middle of an anxiety attack is think straight to do calming exercises!! When speaking to my doctor she said there should be an improvement within 10 days of the Citalopram increase, now on day 13 and feeling worse if anything. Feeling so low and scared that my anxiety will not subside at all 😞 Any advice/reassurance welcomed ?
Sara xx
1 like, 23 replies
allison_91730 sara8798
Posted
I'm so sorry you are going through this. I have an anxiety disorder with almost identical symptoms. I experience extreme anxiety for weeks at a time. My heart races, I can't eat, I vomit frequently, I sleep for an hour then wake up. Everything you described was familiar to me. What has worked for me is exercise, I love riding my bike, CBT (which you said you are doing, so that's good), citalopram, and time. None of these things work quickly, but they do work. I hope by this time you are already feeling better
sara8798 allison_91730
Posted
Hi Allison, thank you for your reply. Unfortunately have had to decrease my citalopram as the doctor thinks they are affecting my liver enzymes which are raised. I'm now on 10mg every other day and stopping completely on Monday. The doctor is hoping that my bloods will then be okay and he will put me on sertraline. I feel my anxiety has worsened since the decrease and am having more panic attacks. I am back at work mornings though which is positive, but I feel constant anxiety and am afraid this will never go away which then sends me into a panic! Vicious circle! I count the weeks that I've had anxiety (7 now) and dwell to much on this. What has helped with the heart racing for me is a beta blocker the doctor prescribed, although this hasn't stopped the mental aspect, it worked wonders for my heart racing x