When will Citalopram stop making me miserable?

Posted , 5 users are following.

I have officially been on Citalopram for 4 weeks now. The first 2 weeks I experienced racing heart, insomnia, and heightened anxiety after taking it. Every single morning I was extremely sick to my stomach and puked. These side effects finally went away after 2 weeks and I was very excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel. NOT! Week 3 I began to notice myself more and more anxious through out the day and began to get extremely worked up over the smallest things. This really takes a toll on me as I am a person who cries when I am starting to spin into a panic, and that is the last thing I want to do at my full time job. I have just taken my first pill of week 5 and this is still continuing. I know everyone says to wait it out, but so far this drug has only made me miserable. This is my first time taking something for my anxiety.

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  • Posted

    ALSO noticed during week 3 that it is affecting me sexually... it's extremely hard to climax and seems to be getting more difficult. Someone please for the love of god tell me this will go away.

    • Posted

      How many mg's are you taking? Are you taking it at night or in the morning? As far as loss of libido I happens to a lot of people in my case it increased my libido when I felt better.

    • Posted

      Just 10MG for now, my doctor said to check back at 2 months to see if I need to up it or not. I was told to take it at bedtime but I take it around 6P as I found it was easier for me to fall asleep if I took it a little earlier. Hopefully that is my case too!!! Lol
    • Posted

      That's is a very small dose I had bad side effects with 10mg too it took 3 months for my side effects to go away because of this I waited a year and a half to increase my dose to 15mg. I increased a week ago. Did you tell your doctor how sick you had been? I would think maybe you should try another SSRI like Zoloft?

    • Posted

      On week 7 & I haven't been able to the whole time I've been on it. I've basically given up on the idea 😢 sorry. Hang in there.

    • Posted

      It's more so weird bc I only can't during sex..... my poor boyfriend lol

    • Posted

      Same!! We just got married & he feels bad thinking it's his fault! It's so hard to explain that it's got nothing to do with him lol. Just strange things happening in my brain & body!

    • Posted

      A lot of Rachels on here!

      (I'm Rachel, too)

      It killed my sex drive too, as I told the other Rachel (who started the post.) Yes, definitely let him know that there are other people besides you who's libido has been dropped by Celexa. I've read several other forums saying the same thing, and it happened to a therapist that I personally knew, too! Hang in there

  • Posted

    Recovery on these SSRI's is often very slow, and some people have to wait 3-4 months and beyond before reaching recovery.  Also you'll find you'll be up and down during recovery - you'll often feel week and the next week it could feel like you're back at the beginning.  It's normal.  Slowly the bad times get less and you'll start noticing thighs getting easier.  

    You our need a lot of patience of these meds and a lot of perseverance.  Took me 6 months - but it was so worth it.  I recovered from 16 years of illness and have stayed we'll ever since.

    Many people hop from one medicine to another hoping to find relief.  You won't ..... not immediately anyway.  You need to stick with one meds, one good dose (for me it was 20mg) and wait.  Increasing your dose too much too isn't always the answer either as you can recover on a smaller dose.  You can't hurry recovery - it'll come to you in its own time.  You need to stay on one dose for weeks or months before you can tell.  But these meds will help you - just give them time, lots of time.

    Everyone's different - for some, they recover after 6 weeks, and others (like me) it can be 6 months.  You can do this.  Just dig in, expect a lot of weirdness, and just keep going.

    K xx

    • Posted

      Missed a bit.

      Meant to say - one week you could feel good and the next week back at the beginning.

      Thighs??  Meant to be things cheesygrin

    • Posted

      This is what I keep trying to tell myself!! Thank you for the reassurance.
    • Posted

      Yes thanks for the encouragement. Lots of weirdness is a good way to put it!! I'm trying to stay strong. I hope we all can bare through this and get better!!

  • Posted

    Hi Rachel,

    I was on Celexa 3 years ago, and was told that I should start seeing a difference in about a month or so. I noticed that I was more energized and motivated but not so nervous, but it killed my sex drive, not that I had much to begin with either.

    Let your doctor know because those are some bad feelings to be dealing with, and especially for how bad it's gone on. Usually, doctors will schedule regular visits with you for medication maintenance.

    I'm a person who cries and panics too. It's awful.

    and I'm also Rachel!

    Take care

    xo Rachel

    • Posted

      This was my first time at this doctor and we briefly talked about my anxiety and she prescribed me. She told me to check back in 2 months. I do not feel more energized or motivated, if anything it has made that drive go away. i haven't worked out since getting on it. How fast did the medication actually work for you? I am trying to stay positive as I just passed my first month. I had a fairly good day today so that is good news!!

      I'm sorry you cry and panic too. It really does suck. But at least you have a pretty name. :-)

    • Posted

      Thank you, and you too! smile

      So sorry to hear you're going through that! It must make you wonder if it's even really worth taking it, but It took about 2 months for me to start noticing. Everyone reacts differently. When my brother started Celexa, he became super tired all the time, but it wasn't the case for me.  If it keeps up for you, keep your doctor updated, maybe the best thing for you would be to stop the medication or your doctor may even try you on a different one. I hope things get better for you very soon, and since you had a good day, that's a good sign!

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