Success on Citalopram😁
Posted , 115 users are following.
I just wanted to feed back to you all how wonderful I am feeling week12 on citalopram 20 mg
This is my second time on this drug since 2013. With hindsight I should never really have come off it but stayed at a very low dose .
I spent hours..again ...researching the internet in the early stages. This time it took 6 weeks until I started to feel better. It had taken only 2 the first time
Yes I had all the side effects and felt much much worse whilst my brain waited to rewire itself in those initial weeks
It may not be the drug for everyone but it's worked wonders for me
So I just wanted to comfort and give empathy to those of you out there who are still on their journey
My path is now much straighter
Good luck all
43 likes, 689 replies
merry_christmas gillian176
Posted
up till now but said he felt awful last night having morbid thoughts,
Panicky..and anxiety worse,dont know wether to wring Drs tomorrow or what..
Do you think it could be the Citalapran getting in his system x
Gerrymoo merry_christmas
Posted
Tell him to hang in in there and take one day at a time - worst of the side effects are usually out of the way around 2 weeks but the full benefit of citalopram can vary with different people which is usually measured in months.
Good luck
merry_christmas Gerrymoo
Posted
But started getting low,so she put him on Citalapran 20mg i am so
Worried about him hes lost 2 stone ,gets a feeling in is stomach cant
Eat ,never been poorly in his life ,never had a day off work..he was put
on citalapran on tuesday x
gillian176 merry_christmas
Posted
It's probably still getting into his system. Please read on the groups ..there is a very good article explaining this and its effect at the beginning.
i had morbid thoughts and gross anxiety. That's why I went back on cit.
tough it out that's correct. It took 6 weeks for a small light to start shining for me 😀
Gerrymoo gillian176
Posted
Hi, like Gillian days you will get lots of advice, personal stories and lots of support on this forums. Try not to dwell on things and look forward to better times ahead. Personally I lost 2.5 stone last year and everyone on here will tell you that they've been through hell to get to the other side but good times lay ahead. Try and get him to manage healthy food, meditation and mindfulness really helped me too.
merry_christmas Gerrymoo
Posted
katecogs gillian176
Edited
Hi Gillian
You wanted me to repost this post under here about 'Reason why meds take so long and why you feel rubbish'
Be warned folks ...... its a l-o-n-g post
Hi everyone, hereās something I found online which you may find intersting. Its about why you feel so rubbish when taking these meds, why your mood is up and down, why it takes so long and the process it all goes through.
Sorry its a long post.
When starting an SSRI or increasing it's dose often makes people feel really rubbish, which can cause a great deal of stress as you begin to wonder whats happening, why is their illness getting worse, are these meds working etc.
Somone recently posted a great post explaining what these meds do in our brains, and Iād like to add further to this. So, as already posted ā¦.. the brain is basically a big dense bundle of nerves which carry electrical signals around our brain and body. The nerve cells donāt touch each other, leaving a small gap between each cell, called a synapse. So how do signals get from one nerve to another?
Neurotransmitters are chemicals released by nerve cells that tell a neighbouring nerve cell to pass the signal along. A bit like pass the parcel. Serotonin is one such neurotransmitter. So when an electrical signal reaches the end of a nerve cell that deals with serotonin, that cell releases serotonin into the gap (synapse), which then crosses the gap and interacts with the nearby nerve cell and tells it to pass the signal along.
Once the serotonin has done it's job, the serotonin is then reabsorbed from the gap so that no more signals are passed until the next one comes down the nerve. SSRIs, (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) interfere with this reabsorbtion process and thus it stays in the gap longer, which equates to more serotonin and more signals.
So furthering on from there ā¦.. why do you feel so rubbish?
So, along with the releasing of serotonin, and reabsorbing it, nerve cells also have parts that detect an increase in serotonin level and tell the nerve cell to stop producing anymore serotonin until the level drops. These are called autoreceptors, which are the reason you feel like so rubbish.
So the SSRI will increase the amount of serotonin thatās gathered in the synapses between nerve cells, but unfortunately the autoreceptors of the nerve cell pick up on this increase and tell the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin. The result of this is that when you first start taking an SSRI your serotonin levels drop.
How do they go up again?
Eventually with continuous use of the SSRI medication, the autoreceptors become desensitised, that is to say they've continually told the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin but yet serotonin is still there. In short they simply give up. They stop telling the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin and your serotonin levels start to increase.
This desensitisation takes time, it doesn't happen over night and it won't even begin to happen until the SSRI levels have stabilised. This is why you feel so rubbish, and is why your mood drops and your anxiety increases (also fuelledd by the fear of not knowing whats going on). Your mood will be up and down as the seronotin continues to try to stablise.
So, to summarise:
SSRIs cause your serotonin levels to drop when you first start taking them. Your serotonin levels will not rise until the autoreceptors in your brain have stopped working (become desensitised), all of which takes lots and lots of time. Everyone is different, so for some it can be many weeks and other months.
I hope this helps some people to understand what these meds are doing and why you don't get instant results, compared to other meds that work in different ways which is the reason they can have a more immediate effects (benzos for example).
K x
leticia89168 katecogs
Posted
katecogs leticia89168
Posted
How are you now?
K x
merry_christmas gillian176
Posted
It could be weeks or months till he feels better,he frightened he want be ever be able to go back to work
Hes only been on them 4 days , l feel sorry for him hes such a strong man
Never been ill in his life .and he keeps saying weres the old me x
zoe62821 merry_christmas
Posted
Hi merry Christmas.
Tell your husband to give it time and allow the meds to do there job.
I know things look bleak and there seems no end in sight buttons there is.
I HAVE BEEN TO WORK TODAY. 🎉🎉
After 12 weeks of these meds. Even at 10week I thought I would never feels better.
gillian176 merry_christmas
Posted
Yes..exactly Zoe.. merry christmas.., 4 days is nothing. It is going to take your husband several weeks to feel better
i don't think it will be months. Maybe upto 6 when he should have felt some improvement
There will be days when you want to chuck in the towel as it WILL get worse before it improves ...but it WILL get better. It's not a quick fix as u have read
The oldhim will return
merry_christmas gillian176
Posted
merry_christmas zoe62821
Posted
louise81209 merry_christmas
Posted
Hello I've been in citropalm for 3 weeks and was feeling a bit better last week than I do this week.im on 10 mg but going up to 20 tomoro I hoping to start feeling myself very soon.what is your husband on what mg.ive never had anything like this before either and I'm off work 3 wks now.
merry_christmas louise81209
Posted
Stop taking them,his anxiety is worse dry mouth,only been
On them since tuesday x
nicola99452 merry_christmas
Posted
I think he should stay on them. It's too early, anxiety will get worse to begin with. Does he take anything for the anxiety? I was given an antihistamine which is good for anxiety and not addictive so you don't have to work about that.
You really need to wait at least a month to assess if they are working.
gillian176 merry_christmas
Posted
He will feel a lot worse and it will probably get worse. Ā
You have to understand and go with that if you are to carry onĀ
its only day 4Ā
your looking at several weeks journey on this medicine
its not an overnight fixĀ
Nicola is saying same thing
Read what I asked Katecogs to repostĀ
Ā
elliot22511 merry_christmas
Posted
Hi Merry Christmas,
From what I can tell, I'm in a very similar situation to your husband but this is the second time round for me so It's a little easier! I'm sorry to hear he's having such a tough time but he needs to recognise that its completely normal. I'm on day 16 of Citalopram and for the first week I was an absolute mess and had literally no hope in me at all. I can happily tell you that I'm steadily improving now and I can feel the "old me" coming back much like your husband will if he sticks it out. He needs to accept he's just going to feel wierd for the next few weeks and its the drugs making him worse before they make him better - I can honestly say that I've felt like I couldn't go back to work but I have done!
gillian176 elliot22511
Posted
Well done Elliot
I felt myself improving after two weeks ,three years ago on Cit
However it took me a good 6 /7 weeks this time and I thought it was never going to work this time
I was a real mess. . Much worse than when I started !! As happens !
I couldn't understand why it wouldn't be the same 😒
But I stuck with it
Kate clogs posted a very concise article about the initial start on Cit and I asked her to repost it. It's very reassuring to newbies
My mission is to do the same for others
mark24694 merry_christmas
Posted
I was on them 7 years and came of them worst thing I did .
sunnycms mark24694
Posted
How long were you off of the meds before reinstating? Hope you see this as I am afraid to go back on after being off for 8 months. Long story short, they worked for me for years then stopped working, doc upped the dose and they worked again, and then stopped working, so I went cold turkey. It's been hell. Want to reinstate but have read it can make it all worse. Your story makes me feel better about going back on them. Just wondering about your reinstatement dose and how long between not taking and reinstating. Thanks so much.
angela1234 sunnycms
Posted
Hi there!
Well I was only off them very briefly in 2000. Then went straight back on the 20mgs. So I've been on 20mgs for 17 years and they have kept me going. So 4 weeks ago I had to have hem upped to 40mgs due to moving house, job etc and it kicked everything off. Not been like this for 17 years!!
I'm still quite anxious and getting up in the morning is a struggle..
But hopefully the next couple of weeks they will start to work. I hate this feeling so much as I feel like it's such an effort to just get through the day.
Keep in touch and let me know how you get on.
Lots of love x x
gillian176 sunnycms
Posted
I was on them in 2013 for 6 months. Withdrew over year very slowly
With reflection and probably from both of us I nevertheless should have. I am chemically deficient somewhere. It runs in my family. Went back on jan this year after struggling with herbal things etc. Didn't work
Am great now! On 20 mg . The initial two months were tricky and I felt worse but I knew to expect that although I did keep questioning would I feel better
I do 😄😄
however I do. Self help.....relax gym meditate. Mindfulness sleep diet. Deal with one thing at a time
You can't just rely on the drugs to do it all.
I keep forgetting that myself. Am not perfect.
I also got a SAD lamp
am sat with it on know. I think that helps too
stephanie_76028 sunnycms
Posted
May I ask how you are now? I've been off 11weeks still feelingcrappy am thinking about starting celexa again but scared
gillian176 stephanie_76028
Posted
You poor thing. I know just what you mean. You will have read I went back on it again. Couldn't cope. Should never have stopped it
its hard going back but was best for me
babsyboo nicola99452
Posted
Hi nicola99452
May I ask what the name of the antihistamine was
they gave me lorazapam 0.5 MG to help me with my anxiety attacks
thank u babsboo