Side Effects

I just thought at 5 1/2 weeks things would have settled down. My dr said I am better to continue taking it in the morning because of the insomnia at night and might make that worse. Does ur body ever get used to taking Cit. I have spoken to people that I know who take 40mg and seem to cope ok. Always wanting reassurance that what I'm experiencing is normal. Thanks for replying.

Hi Aileen,

Try not to worry about the time of how long it takes. Depending on what this sticking plaster for the brain has to repair it takes as long as it takes. The other thing that I always mention (having been there me self) is that as we are also so very different we don't always get the same added extras (side effects, sound too negative) as others, no matter how many we may or may not get, nor do we get the same intensity either.

I started on 10mg and over the first five months increased by 10mg each month until reaching the max (allowed) 40mg. I am fine, levelled on 40 and have been, give or take, for 11 months. One day I do want to reduce, but that is when my GP says its okay to do so. This has to be a small reduction at a time over a long period or you get withdrawl. Must mention at this stage do not miss a dose and if you do take as soon as you realise because you do not want withdrawl. I missed two only recently and YUK! My Fiancee and I couldn't work out what was happening to me until she checked the card. Duh! 

How you proceed with your life (and lifestyle) from now on does have an affect too, especially on yer seretonin levels. Try if you can to cut out all things that are unhealthy especially food, alcohol, smoking, cr*p and depressive TV. Don't watch or listen to the news more than once a day, trust me all these do help for a better you. You know the saying you are what you eat, breathe, read, watch, listen to, well that is a very true saying. Also, Shakey (Speare not Stevens) said "if music be the food of love, play on" so, any time you feel a little low (or high!) turn on or play yer favourite music and scream, shout, dance about the house. This does work as discussed last year and carried out by many here. You may remember there were reports early last year of possible minor earthquakes in various parts of the country, there wasn'y - it was us! Lol! Seriously now, exercise is also one of the better things we can do to help ourselves. 

If you just try to accept things will be yuk for a while, how long, like I said we never know, just remember things will eventually get better. In the meantime keep talking to yer GP telling she/he exactly how you feel and have felt since the last appointment. Keep reading the posts here, but try not to over worry they won't all apply to you, apart from when people reply direct. Keep posting questions or concerns, no matter how insignificant or silly they may or may not seem, we've all been there ourselves so, don't worry about that either!

You will get all the advice, help and reassurance from this forum, which reminds me Welcome to the Club!

Regards,

David

 

Hi David, are u and administrator on this site, ur posts are always very informative and thank you for that,

what I want to know, do u just wake up one morning and bang the anxiety is gone?

Hi,

No, I'm not an administrator - I'm an inmate! Lol!

Seriously. I was diagnosed 16 months ago with work related stress and it wasn't until the second visit to me GP that I accepted I needed help and then completely broke down in the surgery. Luckily for me my old regular GP retired and the new, now my current and only one, GP knows a lot about the old sticking plasters for the brain and she has been just fantastic! She has helped me all along since the beginning and recommended this site and I have not looked back once.

Gradually, after a short while here and as each question has been answered I found myself being able to answer others due to my own experiences. You have, I noticed earlier, and that is brilliant because, helping is therapy in itself, sharing and caring is good for the mind as well as the soul!

Keep reading, posting and being positive!

David

That's interesting, i sometimes think I spend too much time trolling the Internet looking for answers and reassurances, instead of getting off my backside and doing more. I have been trying to find work after being made redundant and getting knockbacks constantly which had lead to me being in the situation. But hopefully that us all going to change sn. Can I ask which country u are from ?

UK.

The interweb is a great and amazing piece of science and knowledge is a good thing, but too much well, we have to be careful not to overload!

I am currently back in the job market myself and it is hard. Sometimes and even more so, when someone like me is being very particular about what they want to do as I do not want to return to anything that may make me ill again.

I am not frightened of work, never have been. I have had a military career, worked in the public and private sectors, but my last job (for a charity) really caused me the worse stress than I had ever experienced before. To be honest it was not down to the charity, but a fellow management colleague who was and still is total sh*te! It is a fact that more people leave because of sh*te managers than the company or organisation itself.

Phew! That was good to get off me chest! 

Anyway, try not to look at these as "knockbacks". You have not found the position you deserve, nor the company that deserves you YET!

In the meantime why not take the time to continue with or expand an interest or hobby - you never know where that may lead?!

David

 

I'm UK too David. I was a payroll Administrator for a large company, but they moved the Department to another location and I did not wish to relocate, so I took redundancy. I don't wish another payroll position as it can be stressful as ur constantly working to deadlines, but like yourself I don't shy away from work I like to be busy but can do without the pressure. I worked last summer at the Airport doing security administration, but starting at 4am was not much fun and was glad to finish at the end of the season. But desperately want to find a new job as I'm finding the days increasingy long I don't do much in the way of hobbies......but perhaps I should put my mind to something new.

I take mine at night and it doesn't cause insomnia. Plus I'm less tired in morning. And anxiety in morning gone.

What time of night do u take it Claire? How would I make the transition from 8am till evening that's the problem. My dr said to take them in the morning that's why I have persevered.

Just to add from what I said earlier about changing taking Cita from daytime to bedtime, do it by moving them up a few hours at a time that suits you. I found moving it three hours later each day until I got to 10pm. This has the added bonus of making me go to bed earlier to get more rest and as I rest Cita is doing its job. When I did it I found that the mornings were better and the days a little clearer and progressively so.

Think it over and talk it over with your GP, if she/he is not sure then tell her to ask the Doctors on this site, they know a lot.

Anyway, nearly time for bed and me horlicks, now where did I put me Teddy! Lol!

David

 

I see my GP next Thursday, so if I feel the same way I will discuss the changeover from morning to night.  Enjoy ur horlicks....a bit too early for me I would be up again at 2am lol. Sleep well.

I've always taken at night as I take other pills too. Usually 9.30. I did try mornings for a while but didn't agree. I didn't slowly move just changed suddenly but whether this was y it didn't work I'm Not sure. I just know nights work For me.

Hi clairepop, when u say u just changed suddenly, do  u mean u did not take ur tab in the morning and went all day until the evening before taking it. Did u not have any mega panic attacks during the day?

I think I took at Night then next morning and following mornings for about a week but switched back to nights.

Morning!

When you see yer GP make sure you discuss everything that you have felt since the last appointment - make notes to remind you. Mention this forum too, as many GPs are unaware not just of us, but may not specialise in mental illnesses. As general practioners (that is what they are) they have to cover many areas to help us humans and that is one big subject. Some GPs do specialise in a specific subject and I hope mental illness is one yours, at least knows something about. Like I mentioned mine does and I know how fortunate I am! .

If you do change to night time like I and others have said, do it slowly over a week or so, it is possibly, unlikely that you will have a problem leaving it a couple hours or an hour each day. It is up to you, after all you know yer own body and like the rest of us you will get to know it and yer mind better as time goes by.

There's that word again 'time'. Try to remember there is no rush, you are starting a new journey to the better and new you. With all this that is happening to you, it kinda proves things have gotten too much the way they were and now is the chance some of us are lucky (did I say lucky? Qualify that with yucky thrown in too!) enough to have and not remain a slave to the system's whims. No I am not an old, outdated communist, just a realist. There are so many people out there crying for help and have not have found their voice yet. I am still surprised how many of our friends open up, when I (unashamedly) talk about my illness, to reveal they have been or are feeling quite ill these days due to work and the lifestyle they believe is one they must keep up with.

The horlicks didn't work by the way. I had a bad dream (ex-work related) and woke uparound 3am with buzzing and didn't really sleep well from then on. Got up just after the Fiancee went to work and did some house work. I am better and I know what I (and we) want and where we are going, but I also know that it'll take a while longer for me to be able to deal with the one or two issues left; finally, once and for all. The thing is I can deal with everything, because when I get the odd blip like this I know how to deal with it, I know how to carry on without letting it upset me like it used to - it is just a pain I still have a while to go. I guess remembering my own advice to others does help as it slowly sinks into me own cerbral vortex!

Wet weather again this morn, but we're going out for a walk anyway, enjoy the best you can whatever you do today.

Good luck with the job hunting, that is my next task.

Regards,

David

Regards,

David

 

Hi David, had a really bad night had to go to A&E with neck/shoulder & chest pains, got all checked over bloods & X-ray done and put down to acute anxiety attack. I never had a wink of sleep last night and I am so exhausted but can't shut my eyes. The hosp gave me some anti sick tabs as I said I was constantly nauseous. I am really at my wits end, can't take much more of this. It's a beautiful day here today and I am sitting here so miserable. When u have such a bad night it takes ur confidence away and I can see the same thing happening tonight again. So glad to be able to spk with u about this...someone who understands. Sorry if I'm rambling a bit tho.

Ramble on!

Raining here, first thing I suggest you do is try and get out in that sunshine for a walk, if it is difficult on yer own, call a friend or borrow a neighbours dog. I recommend you don't steal one, just causes inconvenient problems like getting arrested etc!

What you are going through is the same as myself and quite a few others and you just have to try and ride it out - with a little help from yer forum friends of course! I had health paranoia, sleepless nights, which is when an emergency duvet downstairs comes in handy for when you just want to crawl under and curl up between bedtimes.

The nausea YUK! I just about managed to control by eating whatever I fancied and comfort food played a big part in the early weeks, but did mean that what I wanted I did keep down and was never sick. In fact I very rarely hear (can't remember if I have actually come to think of it) of anyone here actually being sick.

We have all visited Wits End and I certainly won't go there again for a holiday (not that I thought it was anything like). All these horrible things are all part of what you will overcome, it is tiring you out and you haven't a clue what is happening nor if it will ever end. However, and yes it is easy to say, but we have all been there and it will, promise you, get better!

So there is little you can do at the moment apart from grab a tub of ice cream (you may have to go get some!) grab that emergency duvet curl and wrap yerself up in it on the sofa (other pieces of furntiture are available, but probably not as comfortable) stick some of yer fave music on or watch an uplifting DVD film or documentary. There you will stay until you feel good enough to raid the larder once more or until you few well enough to do something more energetic. If you wake up tomorrow morning stil curled up on the sofa, so be it!

Keep postin as and when and we'll all answer as and when we can.

Keep the faith!

David

 

Ur right haven't actually been sick, just constantly have that sickish feeling. I can't even curl up on the sofa, I don't feel relaxed enough to do that. I managed to get Drs appt at 3.50 today so hopefully some anti sickness tabs, as the hosp only gave me 6, and perhaps something to make sure I get a sleep tonight. I say this do often if I get a nights sleep I can deal with the issues during the day, but when I have been up all night and feeling like this during the day, I can't do it.

I was exactly the same. But I got better!

How did things go at the Drs? And hopefully you had a better night?

Like this morning, I find, if I wake up at silly o'clock (today 5am) I lie there for as long as I can before getting up. If I do get up anytime after midnight and before 6am I am done for the day. I used to be able to do silly things like miss sleep, but not anymore.

Sorry to hear that you have trouble relaxing which is probably the cause of your poor sleep pattern. There are many things you can do to try and help you relax more walking, meditation, breathing exercises and the emergency duvet were mine. I found it difficult at times, but it worked and still does. We have discussed hop pillows before on the forum, where you get (or make) a small pillow (say 30cm sq) stuff it full of fresh or dried hops and place it under your main pillow at night. It does aid sleep although some people do put lavender or other nice smelling plants/herbs in also as they find the hops a bit too much on there own. This was the craze in the medieval period and if you look at recent dramas like the White Queen there are a few bedroom scenes which show the hops in garlands around the top of the four post.

Anyway enough of the history lesson already! Meditation and relaxation are good mental exercises that will help you focus on the light at the end of the tunnel which may be difficult to see for a while however it will appear and eventually become brighter and brighter. We just have to have faith. There are quite a few people on the forum that can give you a better idea of the various relaxation techniques and I'm sure you will find one to suit you, if you just ask. So, I suggest that be yer next post! Start a new discussion with a suitable heading.

What are you up to today? I got an answer to a job enquiry I made yesterday and I'm going to follow that up.

In the meantime make that post and wait for the replies!

Regards,

David

 

Good Morning David, slep on and off the aid of a few tabs. My GP decided to stop the Citalopram and start me on mitrazapine to be taken at night as its a more sedating drug, I was a bit sceptic about it, but I have to reduce my citalopram today to 10mg and take the mitrazapine tonight apparently it's a very quick acting med and can make u sleep for about 12 hours.....so hopefully catch up with all the sleep I've lost. He also prescribed anti-sickness tabs, I didn't need them last night but have taken one this morning so see if that helps. The only downside to the mitrazapine is rapid weight gain. Yes David I will put a post on regarding relaxation technics and see what responses I get.

Gd to hear that u got a response about a job, good luck with that one and hope it all works out for u. I also got a job offer pending successful references and PVG check, it's something totally different for me it's working in a Local Nursing Home, so fingers crossed for that. I only hope the new meds don't space me out to much in the early days, because I have to go for  induction & training. Let me know how u get on with ur job.

im not up to much today, weather a bit dull, not done much in the way of housework this week so will try and catch up with that. Take Care.

 

Im comsidering switching to mitrazapine let me know how u get on good luck

I was unsure, but dr advised best meds for me as insomnia is increasing my anxiety. Have been reading lots of positive comments .....so looking forward to getting a gd nights sleep tonight x