Twin sister on week 5 of Celexa and still struggling
Posted , 8 users are following.
My twin sister, Jessica, is entering week 5 on Celexa and is still having a hard time. Waking up anxious, retching, nauseous throughout the day (although, this is getting better). Her evenings tend to be a little better. But she is just so scared and so tired of feeling this way.
She had actually been on Celexa for years, but started to get depressed and anxious (I believe this was situational), so she thought the Celexa had stopped working, so she changed to Prozac (40 mg from the start, which is TOO MUCH; it was her family doctor, not a psychiatrist). Big mistake. She turned into a mess. So, the family doc put her back on Celexa (40 mg, which has been her dose for years) but added Abilify. She was good for a couple weeks but the Abilify was giving her a mental restlessness that was very disconcerting. So, she got off that and found a pysch doctor (very young, inexperienced) who dropped the 40 mg of Celexa to 20 for a week, then down to 10 for a week and put her on Effexor. Her coming off of the Celexa was making her an even bigger mess. So the doc says that she believes the Celexa was working all along, so she (the doc) told her to quit the Effexor over only one week, and upped her Celexa from 10 to 40 mg in one shot.
Now, she is in week 5 and doesn't think it is going to help her. BUT, Celexa had make her even (not happy all the time, but "normal") for 12 years or so. I keep telling her that just stick with it, that her brain chemicals have been through the ringer and it is going to take time. I keep telling her that to go from 10 to 40 in one fell-swoop is A LOT to handle. She keeps thinking that because she had been on Celexa for years, that it should be working fully by now, that her brain should know the drug well and be accepting and working by now. I think it is still stabilizing and will take some more time. Anyway, I just wanted to reach out. Tell you her story, and if you have any words of encouragement that I could pass on that would be great! Sincerely, the other twin (Hilary, USA)
0 likes, 21 replies
Potatoghost DandyDaisy
Posted
no wonder she's not feeling great after all that swapping and changing! bless her. her brain has obviously been put through a lot with all the changes so it's not unreasonable for it to take a little longer settling back on the celexa.
remember aswell 5 weeks is still really early days and the fact she is slightly better is a good sign.
first time I was on it at 20mg it took me 4 weeks to feel good again and I'm on week 12 now and it's taking a hella lot longer since I upped to 40mg.
tell her to keep going, be strong, drink plenty of water, go for walks when she can handle it.
it's not uncommon for antidepressants to poop out and stop working aswell. that's what happened to me. if that is the case and she does have to change one drug at a time. mixing too many just causes more problems.
she hasn't been looked after very well at all by the docs and psychiatrist upping dropping swapping and changing! no wonder she's a mess.
my advise would be to stick with the 40mg for as long as she can. and you're right 10mg-40mg is a massive jump but she's their now so would be best to wait for it to settle x poor thing x
DandyDaisy Potatoghost
Posted
Thank you so much for your response and words of advice. I will pass them on to her!
Potatoghost DandyDaisy
Posted
please let us know how she gets on bless her.
its gonna be really difficult but if she can try her best to do the things she enjoys it will take the edge off a bit. the more she does it the easier it will become.
it will be hard but it will just be a little break for her when things get tough.
I am a gamer and haven't played any games in months and I forced myself to do it, it made me feel sick at first but it got easier and it doesn't make me feel better but it passes the time. a day gone past is one more day closer to knowing what the next move should be x
toria_07298 Potatoghost
Posted
how you doing today? x
ron60331 DandyDaisy
Posted
i agree with potatoghost 100 percent with everthing he said i just wanted to add how angry i am by the lack of knowlege and care given to her by "professionals" who should know better. i really cant put myself in her shoes and how bad she must be feeling. i mistakenly came off the drug but went on a downhill slide a few months after. my general practitioner, who was lovely with me put me back on the drug but on a lower dose. this was after not having drugs in my system for months and i felt dreadful.she carefully monitored me as well. just knowing a professional cared about really helped. i didnt have the cocktail of drugs that your sister had which i why i cant say i know how she feels. i cant imagine what a termoil shes in. the only advice is the same as potatoghost's . stick with it, make sure she keeps hydrated and try to get out of the house when she can even ifs just a few mins. i really feel for her and for you witnessing what shes going through.
DandyDaisy ron60331
Posted
Thanks for responding as well. YES, the doctors have really failed her lately. She takes it to heart as she is a nurse herself!
toria_07298 DandyDaisy
Posted
wow your sisters story is almost exactly the same as my partners aunts, its terrible the lack of knowledge the doctors have it really is, ive been through lots of withdrawals myself (currently withdrawing from citalopram) ands its hell, god bless her x
DandyDaisy toria_07298
Posted
thanks for the response! means a lot!
ruth08109 DandyDaisy
Posted
Drugs can poop out, thats true, but I very much doubt that's the case for her. Much more likely to be the shifting around on dosage and coming on and off.
Her providers are shocking! That's really bad care.
She needs to give it at least three months before she can really tell how she's doing.
Also, whoever changed her from 10mg to 40mg in one go is a total idiot, they have basically quadrupled her dose, not at all surprised she is feeling so awful. That is a huge shock to the system. The absolute most really they should have done is double the dose eg from 10 to 20.
She will feel okay eventually but it could take some time. Please send her my good wishes x
DandyDaisy ruth08109
Posted
I thought the jump from 10 to 40 seemed like way too much. But, she's been desperate to feel better, so she did whatever the doctor said. UGH!
ruth08109 DandyDaisy
Posted
Of course, she's not to know at all!
I actually made the same mistake last summer.
I went from 2.5mg to 10 mg in one go....I thought it wouldn't matter because those are such low dosese.....it's not so much the dosage as how much of a percentage increase that counts. I felt totally mental, severe agitation, SI, racing heart, waking up in a panic........to be fair to my own gp at the time, he was really good. It was HE who told me you shouldn't make such a big leap. Double at the most. Lesson learned.
toria_07298 ruth08109
Posted
hi jessica no you havent screwed up your brain i get every symptom you describe and until an accidental updose i was improving massively x
jessica18407 toria_07298
Posted
how many weeks did it take to see an improvement?
toria_07298 jessica18407
Posted
to be honest every person is different i was on it i think 8 years and had come off another med just before so my central nervous system hadnt settled, i dropped too quickly and through myself into hell, so it took me a long time to improve, months rather than weeks but i do believe some people suffer really badly whilst others dont but think they do as any withdrawal is nasty, years ago i came off other meds without problems, this time around ive been unlucky, if you want to ask me anything dont hesitate to ask, but believe it does get better, unfortunately it takes time x
jessica18407 toria_07298
Posted
Just deeply frustrated. I was further along at this point in JAN/FEB of this year when i reduced my celexa and then got back up to 40. This time I did go down to 10 for 7 days. It must have made the difference. I look at every day that passes with no significNT improvement in how im feeling as a failure. I just imagined that this week week 5 was the one I'd start to see myself again. one detail that has been left out is that while she put me back on 40 of celexa she also started me on Rexulti 0.5 for two weeks and now 1 mg for the last two weeks. wondering if that is contributing to my anxiety. by far my worst symptom.
lois95799 jessica18407
Posted
oh dont blame the celexa .the rexulti is a strong antiphychotic med that comes with its own drama.i strongly believe in the Acronym too many hands spoil the soup.you could be right about the rexulti.best regards
toria_07298 jessica18407
Posted
honestly jessica 5 weeks is nothing ive been trying to settle for over a year, just want off it but cant rush it x
jessica18407 toria_07298
Posted
thank you for your time honesty!!
toria_07298 jessica18407
Posted
if you need to talk im here x