hi everybody
Been on citalopram for 10 months, have reduced from 15 to 107 weeks ago, i ve just been out & got smashed with high anxiety, seriously dry mouth & frequent bathroom breaks!! is this side effect from reducing???..thanks for reading, great site rob
no!!! been hungover does but dnt be so hard on yourself and try stop overthinking coining down from 15 to 10 after 7 weeks this pratic drug is mild so enjoy the festive season just go easy on the beers lol enjoy best regards
absolutely rob yes!
sorry but its not mild at all! its taken me 2 years to reduce by 4mgs and its been hell!!!
hi toria
thanks for reply
i was going great, had a few really good nights out, felt like my old self again then last night just crashed!!!
really dissapointed, i thought i was coming out the other end!
hope your good anyhow
rob
Its the alcohol Rob. Alcohol is a depressant for one thing, and mixed with SSRI’s meds can cause you to feel very hungover and anxious too. If you’ve not had any adverse effects from reducing 7 weeks ago then its the alcohol - most definitely.
when i reduce its usually between 8-12 weeks before i feel withdrawals but you might not get any, try to stay away from drinking its not great when withdrawing.
hi kate
thanks for reply
geeeez its so frustrating, its the day before christmas eve & i feel absoultly dreadful, ive just got in from work and working tomortow with what i describe as flu like symptons, tired & spaced out feeling & not really connected, loss of appettite…is this normal?..i just keep my head down & plough through!
thanks rob
how long do you feel withdrawl toria?
i was sooo hoping this was behind me!
i ve got some partys coming up & apprehensive at present, i wanna go but dont wanna go!..does that make sense?
its a case of how long is a piece of string everybody is different!
It is very frutrating - no other medicine for other ailments seems to give people as much grief as these do. That’s why many people get it so wrong …
When you have anxiety its your body that is extremely sensitised, meaning your nervous system is on high alert. It notices every thought and feeling to an extreme, finding it hard to focus on anything else but how we think and feel.
Because your nervous system is behaving like this it will also feel every stress, upset, overwork, and probably too much alcohol too. Its very sensitive and will overreact.
The medicine calms your nervous system and with it those feelings and thoughts ease off too. A change of attitude towards these thoughts / feelings as well as relaxation also reverses this sensitiation.
Having alcohol could have possibly made that days dose not work, so it could be a mix of missing that dose, the effects of alcohol and your nervous system taking a bashing that’s caused all this. Your nervous system is tired, hence why you feel physically tired (your body behaves the same when recovering from any illness, even flu). Feeling spaced out is just those you being focused on how you feel at the moment.
Yes its normal to feel like this - its temporary and will pass. Take it easy for a few days, and try and go about your day with a relaxed attitude - it really will help. Your nervous system needs to heal.
thank you so much for reply kate, i think with this medication its the reassurance that you need in all likewise situations, just to say its normal & your not ‘losing it’.
what you ve just written makes perfect sense & feel better for reading it.
i just plough through at work & get on with it & likewise with my family…but yeh its not easy…
but you ve put my mind at ease as always kate thank you
Lol, I’m in the same situation. Went out last night with a few friends, took a few too many shots of tequila, and my anxiety is extremely high today but surprisingly I’m not too hungover.
I’ve increased my dose to 40mg about 5 weeks ago, so I’m hoping it’s still settling.
That’s the nature of a sensitised nervous system - it makes you doubt everything, and yes I remember needing constant reassurance too. You can’t see or feel the truth about anything to do with anxiety, because fear overrides everything (can’t see the wood for the trees).
But yes, carry on with your day but do try letting go of tension inside - slow things down. Also let those negative thoughts come and don’t follow them through. Again you won’t feel any benefit from doing any of this (anxiety masks it) but in time it will bring about a calmer nervous system, and when that happens those thoughts and feelings will subside too.
No not easy at all - hardest thing I ever dealt with - but it absolutely works.
hi nina
how long have you been taking citalopram for? its christmas & i got a load of partys to go to & your thinking …geez i feel rough now…after a booze im gunna feel super rough!
are you settling ok on 40 mg?
hi kate
talk about timing…trust me to crash & its christmas, i m suppose to be going to a party tonight on my street but you know when you just really really carnt be bothered at all!!!
i work hard & get stuck in but this feeling is really quite awful!
thanks again for reply kate
youve put my mind at ease
rob
Been on it for 4 years but this is the first time I’ve increased to 40mg. It’s been 5 weeks since I’ve been on that dose.
I feel fine while I’m drinking but it’s the day after I’m worried about.
I was getting better two weeks after taking the 40’s but two weeks after I got bad again so idk.
Hi Rob
Sorry, just seen this. Wondering if you went to the party. Just listen to your body - if you’re tired then rest at home, but don’t stay home just to avoid having any anxiety feelings when at a party. If it’s anxiety, then go to the party, relax, you could mention to a few people you’re feeling a little out of sorts so if you’re quiet they’ll understand (they don’t need to know exactly what’s wrong), have a little food / drink, have a little chatter … stay for a little while then take your leave. Even if you feel anxious, try and stay the hour, relax into it.
If however you stayed home then don’t feel guilty. There’s always another party. If you were suffering a massive hangover you’d want to stay home.
Whatever you decided to do, I hope your evening has gone well. Try not to worry about how you feel - it will pass.
hi kate
i got home from work & i felt lousy but i got cleaned up & went to the party for 2-3 hours and enjoyed myself, it was all the neighbours so plenty of friendly faces and with it being christmas eve it wasnt going to be a late or mad one so im glad i pushed myself. Its funny kate you almost have to go against what your brain is telling you! its like the fear before the event is never as bad as the event itself! But i went anyhow & glad i did.
As you say i must stop worrying how i feel all the time
thanks again for your reply kate , they very much put my mind at ease.
rob
Yay!!! Glad you went to the party, and yes, anticipatory anxiety is always the worst - you talk yourself into thinking you won’t cope, it’ll be bad, you’ll panic etc etc before you even get there, when the actual situation isn’t bad at all.
You did exactly the right thing - going forward INTO panic instead of running from it. That is the way forward. But you do need to go forward with relaxation, as tensing against it is also fighting.
You’re 100% right - you do actually have to do the complete opposite to what you think (though you can recover on meds without having to do any of this), but my god it helps so much it you understand anxiety and move into it rather than run.
It’s your sensitised nervous system that gives you anxiety, makes you focus totally on yourself and to constantly think inwardly - we become afraid of how we feel. It’s just a feeling.
We don’t need to fix ourselves, as our body will fix itself if we just allow it to. But instead we automatically start searching for a cure, an answer, a way to rid ourselves of this ‘thing’, we constantly go over and over things, analyse each feeling and thought, shrink from our thoughts, tense ourselves up, we hide by staying away from places we think we fear … all of these things keep us ill, as they produce anxiety which continually feeds the anxiety, but if we did the opposite then your nervous system will fix itself, it will calm down because you’re taking away the fuel that feeds that fire. As the nervous system calms down then so too will the thoughts and all those other feelings, aches and pains.
Problem is anxiety foxes you - it makes you believe you won’t recover, and even when you are recovering you don’t feel anything or see any results for a long time, so easily get disheartened and give up, slipping back to fighting it again. I did that for 16 years which got me nowhere. Changing the approach is key.
The cure lies within each of us. It comes from the inside - the real cure. Yes you can recover on meds alone (I did the first time), but having the knowledge of how anxiety works and how to help yourself is one of the most amazing things I learnt. This is why I’m able to be meds free - I have no more fear of ‘it’ anymore.