Good morning I have just had my review with my dr after 7 weeks on 20mg and she has now increased my dose to 40mg as my health anxiety still hasnt improved.
I told her that id read on here that i should give it at least 12 weeks however she doesnt agree and thinks i need to increase now. I also said im worried about the side effects if i increase but she also said that shouldnt happen.
Has anyone else had success with going up to 40mg?
Thanks
with every increase/decrease you get side effects, i bet she hasnt taken them!
I only have experience of going from 10mg to 20mg and didn't suit me at all, had bad muscle twitching and jerking at night but I'm an 8 stone female - I'm sure the dose affects people differently! All you can do is follow the advice of you GP. I've read on here some people increased to higher doses and it had a positive effect straight away
have you lost weight since being on them aimee? im 5.7 and weigh around 8 stone x how you doing? x
Hi, I have lost weight about one and a half stone but when I'm anxious I haven't got an appetite so I think that's why. I'm 5 foot 2! I'm ok thanks, sleeping much better on Sertraline and my mornings are calmer than they we're. Muscle twitching not as bad but still not fully gone - I've got a really dry feeling in one of my eyes had it for a few days not sure if thats a side effect.How are you?
aw thats good news :) hope it continues x i had 2 days last week were i felt completely normal, no symptoms so holding on to that as in a bad wave again now x
That's good you've had some good days, are you on citalopram or coming off it? Don't get me wrong I am still getting anxious thoughts and have my moments but this time last week was waking every morning at 3am or 4am, lying awake panicking to the point of heaving and crying. After two days on sertraline that stopped and still the same a week in. I've done some research on the difference between them and apparently Sertraline is better at treating panic disorders and anxiety, and citalopram for depression - would you agree? I'm not depressed, just anxiety and panic which might be why Sertraline seems to be working better for me x
im coming off lovely, down to 6mgs, im glad its working for you as know how horrible anxiety is, i never had it until withdrawal, keeping everything crossed you keep improving x
Thank you! How long have you been on citalopram for?x
Hi graham you obviously know your own body and circumstances better then anyone and also if you have trust and faith in your GP but my personal opinion and I am not medically trained but have years of experience taking this kind of medication, as well as working in a very good GP surgery, is no do not increase, I have. been on citalopram 3 times in the past at 20mgs and it has taken 12 weeks each time to be back to normal, going through nearly all of the side effects listed. If you increase at this rate, double dosing, then I think you are storing up trouble that you can do without, in the future if you find that need to increase then the way to go is low and slow, I know there will be some who would say that 40 was their magic number but I do feel that you have not given 20 enough time to settle yet. What ever you decide to do I wish you well and hang on to the positive that you will get there
Hi I agree with u stay on what u on if u can going up to 40 MG is a big jump that fast and yes u will get side effects no matter what going down or up wish u well
Hi not a Dr but I think that's way to fast and way to much MG to up ur meds u only on week 7 it takes 12 weeks at least for it to balance out do u feel any better after 7 week on it , if so it's working yes slow but it's working I know because I'm going though the slow getting better I feel things better each week not day stay on 20 MG if u can ☺ and yes every time u go up or down on the meds u get side effects again 😡 I pray u stay on 20 MG and wait it out I'm on my first day today of week 11 and still have side effects 😡 but I also have gotten better then we're I was before I started the meds so it works I still get nausea , headache, chest pain and anxiety attacks and crying but my evenings are doing better . So look at what has gotten better in the 7 week praying for u to get better babsyboo
nearly 10 years now with taper x
totally agree x
your GP must be kidding. increase to such high dose after only 7 weeks. This is ridiculous. No wonder psychiatrists are always so vocal about giving more training to GPs about SSRIs. 20 mg is a good dose for anxiety related disorders. this dose should be given at least 12 weeks to work if not longer. this medication works by altering the levels of neurotransmitters. while that happens serotonin depletion occurs making us feel worse for few weeks for some people like in my case it made me feel worse for about 11 weeks with slow improvements from there. only now after being on this medication for over 16 weeks I can say that its finally working. I been studying and working in mental health for few years and seen so many people that fell victims to GPs either over prescribing, increasing too much or switching of medication. this in turn sent a lot of them to psychiatric hospitals where I worked and finally they get put under a psychiatrist care and get back on track.
because of these sudden increases and overincreases people sometimes are so against ssris. as they go through horrible time while it could be avoided by just giving time for the dose to work.
I would say stay on this dose for a other 7 weeks and see how you do then. it is a very slow working medication.
Hi Aimee, I'm on citalopram was on 20 then 30 and doc has just said to up to 40 as not feeling better but also mentioned sertraline. I'm on week 7 or 8 and still no better. I have ocd thoughts and really bad anxiety. Not sure whether to switch or not?! Thanks for reading xx
totally.
Hi, I am only a week into Sertraline but it has been a better week compared to the 11 weeks I was on Citalopram! x
Thank you to everyone for your advice, i have decided to remain on 20mg for another few weeks and review again after 12 weeks then and only then maybe consider an increase. A jump straight to 40mg does seem a bit extreme and im unsure why my dr suggested it after only 7 weeks, perhaps it was because i told her that my health anxiety wasn't improving yet although i did say that id read on here i need to give it longer
good im glad :)