Success stories of Citalopram please.

As a result of being a target of workplace bullying and harassment, I lost my confidence, morale and felt anxious all the time; my mind was constantly racing with thoughts of suicide and conspiracy theories - that was until my GP prescribed 20mg Citalopram. Before I started taking the medication I read reviews from patients who have or who are currently taking Citalopram; the reviews about the side effects that they encountered frightened me and almost deterred me from taking the drug – I am now glad that I persevered with the medication.

After a brief spell of losing my appetite and broken sleep, I have not had any other side effects and now the dose has been increased to 40mg – with no side effects. At first I wondered if the drug was working, but after recently experiencing a fresh campaign of harassment from staff (which I hope I have seen off) my mind feels stronger than it did before. I am no longer feeling depressed or anxious; in fact the medication, online self help website called “mood gym” and my determination to be the victor and not the victim of workplace harassment are helping me to rise above the hostility and to think more clearly

I have always suffered from anxiety and depression and I am now beginning to feel confident enough to use the above tools in other areas of my life. I am going to “live more, love more and laugh more”.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Citalopram gets my thumbs up folks!

Famous Quotes to inspire you:

“I have never been remotely ashamed of having been depressed. Never. What's to be ashamed of? I went through a really rough time and I am quite proud that I got out of that.” J. K. Rowling

“If you're going through hell then keep on going.” Winston Churchill

“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” Paulette Sedgwick

Hello! I'm new here and my doctor prescribe me citalopram 20mg yesterday. I'm a little scared of taking this med, but reading everyone post gives me comfort that some kind of normality will come soon in my life. I've been struggling with anxiety since January on this year. Along with take this medicine, do you all exercise, that vitamins, or see a therapist for additional help?

Hi Nekia , im still waiting for an appointment with a therapist , I will say it took a good four weeks for medication to start working .I still have the odd anxiety attack but nothing like before !! I no longer stay in bed for days on end clutching the pillow ! they come but I KNOW THEY WILL PASS , I can get up and hey even have a social life

Hi all, I'm new here!

I have really enjoyed reading the posts, encouraging me through the cit journey shall we say!

I've been on citalopram for just under 3 months, starting on 10mg then 20 and now 40.

40 for just over a month. So these are for my anxiety and panic disorder. This struck me down in May and since then I've gone from not having lunch breaks at work because I was too scared to go out in case I was sick (the main issue I have!) I've never actually been sick when the 'sensation' comes over, but my immediate reaction is to run to the toilets, where I'm not sick, and the IBS kicks In and you know, I gotta go!

My temporary contract of 18 months was terminated by my very selfish old manager who cared for nothing but herself, this was shortly after my grandfather passed away and because of the anxiety, I was unable to attend the funeral, which was and still is heart breaking. So I got worse and worse til eventually I couldn't leave the house, this persisted for 6 weeks when I finally had my dose upped to 40mg. Now I don't know how much of a difference it's made other than I have a job within walking distance of my house and I have been to retail outlets and even out for a FEW meals. I am still unsteady and when I feel slightly anxious I really dig my heels in not to go! I think many of the symptoms have subsided although I still get nausea - not as great as before but like a gagging feeling or full feeling? Nausea is my one enemy and I fight it even if I don't sleep for 24 hours (unless I'm drunk, I have to get it out) I don't drink anymore because it makes it worse and to be honest, I'm scared to in case it interacts with the cit.

so I haven't visited my parents in 4 months almost. They are in reading and I live in Swindon, I know, it's only a 40 min journey in the car. But it's my idea of hell and where the panic comes in the most, on the motorway with nowhere to stop incase i think I will puke! When I have braved it in the past I've gone through hell and when we reach our destination all I do is worry about the journey home! I'm OCD about every feeling in my stomach in case it turns to nausea or being sick! Why is this?! All I want to achieve is a recovery instead of feeling like a freak who has to carry bags of mints and all kinds of ginger around with me!

Any advice would be so appreciated

Oh, I've had a few counselling sessions - he basically told me what I already knew every week instead of a progression plan.

I'm sticking with the tabs They feel like my last and only help! Xxx

@kristie7 hi, hope you are ok , I read your post and it interested me as it felt similar to how I feel - I take it you suffer with ibs? So do I and that's the reason I suffer with anxiety it's taken over my life I feel very down about it I have been prescribed citalopram and I really want to take them as I can't see any other way of trying to live normally - I lie to friends to get out of doing things which then means I lose friends because of it, I avoid stuff! I don't know how my man puts up with me becauSe I prefer to not leave the house thts the place where I am happiest! If I didn't work I don't think I would leave the house I'm always late for work in the morning something that causes massive anxiety but I'm too busy contending with my stomach issues and nerves to leave the house. Basically I wanted to ask you does the citalopram affect your stomach? That's the only thing that makes me nervous i can deal with all the other side affects I have heard of. I'd be also happy to hear off anyone else who may have any opinions on anxiety/ibs/citalopram. Thank you x

hi i have just joined this site, i had my first 20mg tablet yesterday around 5pm, its now 8am and iv not been to sleep yet! i feel 'wired' very anxious sick and trembly the symtoms were worse in the night bit im.wondering if anyone experienced as many symtoms in such a short space of time like this? i worried about taking anymore now

Stick with it, it could be a rough ride for 2 weeks. I bounced off the walls until it calmed down.

You may want to talk to people and you should find a good friend to let them know what is going on.

Hi amy54321 - try and stick with it, it may take a while and you think why am I taking this to feel worse but try and give it at least 6 weeks for the physical symptoms to subside, hopefully it won't take that long. Take care and talk to people on this site there is lots of support and friendship if you need it. Good luck.

Hi Amy , I suffer from anxiety attacks .it did take me around 5 weeks for the nausea , tears , feeling wired to subside , but boy when they did ,what a relief to find my happy self again . I still get the odd attack but nothing like before .. good luck ,persevere , Im here to chat you through , I still remember the relief waking up ( normal ) that glorious morning .

thank you for the replies it really helps. i will persevere and fingers crossed it will all be worth it. its nice to know im not alone with this!

I started taking Citalopram several weeks ago for a bout of depression and chronic anxiety. I have suffered with social anxiety for most of my adult life. I have tried all kinds of medications in the past for the anxiety but only managed to control the symptoms until things finally got out of control with a lot of stressful things going on in my life all at once.

Anyway back to the Citalopram.. I was so anxious I wouldn't see a GP and started taking this self-prescribed, I just ordered it online. Since I generally don't tolerate SSRI's very well and have severe side effects, I decided to try it on a low dose as I read doctors sometimes do this to allow the body to adjust. I began taking 2.5mg a day and found the side effects noticeable, but certainly tolerable, (some of then even positive, bizarrely). I continued taking 2.5mg daily, and found the best time to take it is before bed in the evening.

Then, after about 3-4 weeks of this regime, I began to experience heightened anxiety, and severe depression which really scared me. I've never really experienced depression like that before, only mild symptoms. This was different. A feeling of hopelessness, sadness and even suicidal thoughts creeping in. Quite strange for me, as I'm normally a very strong minded and strong willed person, always optimistic and positive, even when things are gloomy. Anyway, I put this down to the side effect of the Citalopram which is known to cause a worsening of symptoms in the first weeks.

Although I tried to take the Citalopram daily, I would sometimes not take it if my anxiety and depression was severe and immediately I felt a little better for not taking it. Silly I know, as they say for the medicine to work you have to keep taking it and skipping days all over the place isn't likely to help the body adjust.

Last month I plucked up the courage to see my GP to discuss my problems and whether Citalopram was a good thing to continue taking and what dose I should be taking etc. My GP was very helpful and supportive (usually they are not very good for anxiety sufferers in my experience). She said the Citalopram was a good SSRI choice for anxiety, and thought that perhaps my depression could be exasperating the anxiety, or vice versa. She told me to stick with the 2.5mg until I feel ready to up the dose to 5mg and then aim towards moving to 10mg, for which she wrote me a prescription.

It's been a couple of weeks since then and I've been really struggling still. This weekend I have increased my dose to 5mg and I'm feeling improved and the side effects are still tolerable and even seem to be lessened, so that's a good thing at least. The only problem is, my anxiety is so severe I have to take tranquilizers and drink daily to cope with any big social things but I try to limit my intake to the minimum. They say you shouldn't drink though on this med and it can affect how well it works or even make the side effects worse.

I have found the best thing is exercise (jogging, weights, cycling) to keep my self positive and confident. Also getting proper sleep and definitely avoiding caffeine and stimulants of any kind.

Reading all your stories and comments has been a great help. I see from your comments realistically it could take 2 months (or longer even in my case), to start seeing any improvement if this is going to work, but I'm willing to stick it out and keep going as I do feel it's helping, slowly but surely. There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel after a few dark weeks.

Hi Morphix sorry to hear you are suffering, I just wanted to say try not to stop/start Cit if you possibly can as would think this won't help you acclimatise. I know if I so much as forget one dose I started getting terrible headaches and generally felt I'll. Also maybe it will take you a little longer to get through the initial period but please do talk to you doctor if you are struggling as it sounds as though you have an understanding one. Good luck.

you are so very lucky to have a doctor who understands and it will get better honestly it,it sucks the first few months but they need to build up in your system but once they do do not as ali has said miss just one dose, i was in hospital with my heart problems and thought they would have them one day without them i was sobbing like a baby and shaking like a leaf and went tits up basically badly i phoned my brother who brought me one as i was going to sign myself out as i was so weird and wanted i do not even know what ? but they will work,i have come down from 40 mg to 20mg now and am living a normalish life i am disabled and have heart problems but this is far better a drug than the first one they put me on SERTRALINE MY GOD never touch it ever it makes you turn to stone no feelings no empathy you just want to hurt the people closest to you i tried to kill my brother with objects thrown at him ,i cut my arms and thighs with a razor trashed my bedroom and the home i love it was not me i have been told these things by my then teenage son and they just say to me when you were not you with the drugs, you are you now and we will never refer to it again when i ask as i do not remember anything like that its like a missing part of my life and you feel so digusted with what you have done ,good luck

morphix do you realise the dangers of taking crap off the internet it is so not what it seems !!!!

Ali: thanks very much I will follow your advice, be a good boy and not keep stopping and starting it. I think it's cost me a few weeks of ups and downs but I've learned my lesson so thank you for the heads up.

Sadsack: Yes I guess I am lucky but really I should have tried other doctors sooner. My original doctor was not very nice at all. He basically insulted me to my face, told me (politely) that I was a nutcase, alcoholic and should just not go out if anxiety bothered me that much. Not really what you expect to hear from a GP is it. That's because I had dared to question his assumptions and treatment approach. So after that, I lost hope in GP's when it comes to anxiety treatment and took matters in my own hands.

I've had anxiety for 20 years and had every kind of therapy and drug there is pretty much, you reach a point where you just have to do the best you can don't you? Whatever it takes to I get stuff done.

Then some stressful stuff started happening this year, an illness I got diagnosed with which required surgery and a long hospital stay then lots of physio after. My mother got cancer and I have a mortgage that is taking forever (7 months and still going) to finalise, plus ontop of the pressures of doing 2 degrees while working full-time, and running a house alone.

Your experience on the Sertraline sounds horrific that's not one I've heard of before. Like you said though, you weren't yourself and the meds can alter personalities sometimes and make people do things they would never dream of doing normally. Don't feel guilty about it, your family seem very understanding and supportitive. When you reach the low periods you can only get better and think of better days to come. This is an illness we have like any physical, it's just the stigma of it being a mental illness. But the brain is a very complex organ and surely its obvious so many things can go wrong with chemical imbalances that it shouldn't shock or surprise people to hear that a lot of people suffer mental illnesses.

The only thing which has consistently worked on anxiety for me is tranquilizers (Xanax specifically, but Valium helps too). However as most people know, these types of meds are no good for daily, long-term use. So I had to quit them. I never felt as close to anxiety-free though on Xanax on anything else.