Hi everyone, before I start my treatment with Citalopram , I wanted to ask and hear some opinions from people which got any benefit from it, for panic attacks, anxiety . I wasnt keen on medication and hoped I will be able to cope without them.
I too am not the medication taker lol. Been on citaloprom for 6 weeks now for anxiety/panic attacks. Although my panic attacks have gone away. The past 6 weeks have been a real struggle. Can only speak for myself, everyone is different. I can only tell you if you decide to take it. Be patient with it. Bein weak, tired, dizzy, lightheaded and experienced heighten anxiety are just a few side effects you may deal with. But I feel as though I'm on the upside of things. Yes after 6 weeks.... best of luck to you.
I took for anxiety and they seemed to work really well after a few months when I look back. Coming off them and regretting it, my anxiety has gone through the roof. They really make you look at situations differently and take a moment to think it through rather than getting stressed. Good luck!
Hi Adrian
I've taken this type of medication for 15 years for depression and anxiety, and it's the best thing I did. I recovered.
Don't expect a quick fix - this medication take a long time to work, and it often gets worse before it gets better. But, it worked for me.
As I was recovering I had many ups and downs with my mood and it felt like I was repeatedly back at the beginning, but understanding this was just a phase to go through, I persevered and eventually recovered. It took around 3-4 months to feel some improvement and was much better by 6 months.
I started taking citalopram for anxiety and depression and took it for 10 years. It definitely helped curb those feelings. The bad part is that it also tended to flatten out my emotions in general. Also know that citalopram can be very difficult to stop taking once you've started, especially if you are on it for a long time. In fact, it would probably be a good idea to look in this forum or Google in general for "citalopram withdrawal" to know what others have experienced before deciding to take it. If you really feel like you have no other options, it will work but if I could do it again I'd only plan on taking it for a short time before checking back in with yourself. Hope this helps...
6 weeks in and feeling better. I was reluctent to take them in fact they sat in my kitchen for 2 months before i finally couldnt handle the anxiety any more and decided to try them, i would say give them a try they have made a big difference but you must be patient as they take a while to start working and may make your anxiety worse before they make it better but hang in there they do work eventually.. let us know how you get on.
Hi Adrian, as most people have said it can get worse before it gets better. I had lack of appetite and increased anxiety for the first couple of weeks. My panic attacks have gone. Perserve and things will get better. I have now been on them for 10mths, thou i don't intend to be on them for years. If you can manage on the lower dose all the better, i was initially prescribed 20mg and found that too much so now manage on the 10mg. It takes the edge off, anxiety now as virtually gone. Hope this helps.
Best wishes.
Elizabeth.
Hiya. ..I had citalopram for the last 17mnths or so and I was also not keen. The first couple of weeks on them I was told it can feel slightly worse as it takes up to 4 weeks to start taking effect. After reading these forums recently I have learned that the advice given to different people does seem to vary slightly. Personally I took up the cbt offered by the depression and anxiety team that was a referred by my doctor. I found it helped alot with coping strategies for sure. In hindsight I wish I had been able to manage with just that. Someone also recommended mindfulness and I got a book about it. Although it can be very hard to concentrate when suffering from anxiety/depression. ....
Exercise is a great mood lifter as is meditation. Although again meditation can be difficult if like myself you have an overactive mind. ...
Whatever you decide to do I would definitely say that you should remember that depression and anxiety is a medical condition and that if you need medication then not to feel bad about it. As I think you don't need to add that to your burden. It's just the way it is. My dr told me 1in 4 people suffer from it at least once in their lifetime. It's worth remembering that the side effects can be grim but they do pass. As with when coming off them. I'm weaning off now at 10mg per day.i think it's gonna take longer than the month I'd hoped for and I've been told that after stopping completely at about the 2/4 week mark you can have a bit of a blip and feel low again but that also passes. .I guess I'll find out lol......I do appear to be having swells of emotions every so often. It's quite nice to be feeling again actually. As I found the medication dulled that.but I guess that was the point. .
The most important thing I believe is to do what's right for you.you know yourself and what you need... even if it doesn't feel like that right now. ...and they say don't make any drastic lifestyle changes whilst on these medication. They may not be really what you want!
Sorry for the essay and good luck with your journey !! 
x
To add:
I came off this meds after 15 years and had no problem. Yes withdrawal was a little weird, but doing it real slow is the answer (and that means months and months) :-)
Unfortunately I restarted last year due to the emotional stress of family illness and it started to affect me, so I restarted the meds before I fell into a dark hole again. Am now feeling great again and have started reducing my meds once again.
People take meds for epilepsy, diabetes, heart problems etc etc., and anxiety, depression, panic is no different to this. Depression is an illness - a physical illness - like any other, and if medication is there to help then take it.
I was was ill for so long before starting these meds - and once I started on them, it was like being born again! :-)
K x
Thank you all for your replies and taking the time to tell me your own experiences , I will probably start them from tonight and I hope I will be able to sleep through some of this side effects , as you all said I hope I will see some improvement after a while.
Hi Kate I was wondering how u and ur son are? We used to chat about fluoxetine but I'm on sertraline now after my baby was born xxx
Hi Rachel
Great to hear from you! You're baby isn't very old yet is she ...... and she's Ava isn't she?
My son seems to be going along at an even keel - sometimes he seems really jolly/happy and sometimes just so-so. He's still on Fluoxetine and Mirtazapine and I expect he'll stay on that for a while longer yet. I'm doing fine after my relapse when he became ill, and have started reducing my meds again (have gone from 20mg to 10mg) and must say I feel fine then flattish ...... but was on Citalopram10mg for years before stopping, so am happy to stay on 10mg for a while yet. Will stop them eventually, but will probably wait til next year. My daughter gets married next year so don't want to jeopardise anything until that's passed :-)
How are you feeling following the birth of baby? Are you feeling settled?
K x
Hi Adrian,
Ditto to most of the above!
Just remember, we are all different and you may or may not experience some or all, at different levels too!
Just remember you are at the right place for advice, reassurance or s chat!
Hope everything goes okay for you!
Regards,
David
Hi AdrianV
i started taking 10mg Citalopram last night for my anxiety disorder and panic attacks due to post traumatic stress and i was just as nervous as you! I took it at 8.30pm, got into bed at 10.30pm, slept well and was wide awake at 4am... eventually dozed off again after an hour but found myself thinking 'strange' things that never made sense. I woke up feeling okay and pretty calm. My doctor prescribed 10mg for the first 2 days and 20mg thereafter but i think i'm going to continue on the 10mg for the next week and see how i feel. I have been given a 6 months course and hoping that I will feel ok to come off them gradually...
P.S Adrian, good luck and keep us posted on how you go!
I am so happy i found this forum and I plan to do the same
I was really well but it came back when she was 7weeks. They but me on sertraline its been 5weeks now and I'm so so dizzy its awful still very anxious and jittery too. Giving up hope of ever been OK to be honest. Feel forgetful too. Fuzzy head! She is 13 weeks now and doing very well just wish I was better. Lovely to hear about your daughter, love a good wedding ! Hope u and ur son stay well xxxx
Maybe the adrenaline and buzz of having a new baby kept you above your depression/anxiety and when things began to settle it just came creeping back. Habits like to hang around.
A couple of very interesting episodes I had many years ago always reminds me that excitement makes more serotonin which makes depression go away. I'd been very depressed for years and when my first marriage broke up, it plunged me deeper into it. After a while I started dating a work colleague (my husband now) and the excitement of a new relationship made my depression and anxiety just disappear for about a year. It was great! It came back with a vengeance and I struggled on for a few more years. We got engaged and the excitement of that and the forthcoming wedding again made my depression disappear and strangely came back when on honeymoon. Again I believe when the excitement had passed,the habit came creeping back. After having our children I was put onto these meds which helped me recover. These meds 'hang onto' serotonin longer before it's re absorbed into the brain - probably a similar action was happening when I was excited and happy, which goes to show I have low serotonin levels. Once raised, I'm absolutely fine.
When we're depressed, lots of small situations can have such an effect on our well being - even a weekend used to throw me, holidays were another, and sometimes I couldn't account for why I felt so crap. These meds have evened it all out for me.
Having a baby makes our brains turn to mush ;-) (not literally of course) ... but you're so busy with little ones, always putting them before yourself, that I found there was no room in my brain to think of anything else. The meds make us a bit forgetful too - I know I'm not as sharp as I used to be, and that's after 2 children and many years of meds.
Im sure when your 'baby' hormones have started settling down and you keep on with the meds, things should start to turn around for you.
I know, my daughters wedding! We're having fun trying to find me a nice outfit .... my daughter has her dress ... sniff :,-}
Hello
I have taken Citolapram for 2 years. Before I took Amitriptilyine but it did not help.
Citolapram were the best for my friend and myself. It also does not have a sedatory effect. After about 3 weeks you should start to feel better.
Let us know how you get on.
Hugs
I just started Celexa 10 day's ago for years of chronic anxiety and depression. Not helping me yet. Been on a host of other antidepressants with no luck pretty discouraging. Want my life back
Hi I hope someone can help I'm on 15th day of taking 20mg of citalopram for heat anxiety the first few days I felt sleepy but thought they were helping but the weather was cooler now it's warming up I'm feeling like they aren't working I know they take few weeks to get into ur system and I know the side affect my mouth is always so dry and I have slight head ache but I can live with that my mood seems to have changed I don't really wanna do much and get panicky if it's warm I work full time so it's not as if I'm staying in the other day on the bus to work I had the worst feeling my chest and top part if my body was burning and I felt like I was gonna pass out o didn't and was fine after is this a side affect or as panic attack??? I have some many questions will I know when the tablets start to work ? As its summer I'm dreading the heat and have to check the weather a few times a day to make sure it's not to hot, did they work in the beginning and have stopped now? Or was it just cuz it was cooler I'm dreading the summer as I don't think I'll be able to cope. I have worried over the heat for years but now it's so bad I don't know what to do I can't eat when I feel like this although my appetite has come bk please I hope someone can answer my questions I know this is a old thread!!