Hello - newbie here.
I was diagnosed with depression and prescribed 10mg of Citalopram at the end of June. This was after struggling with the disease for almost 8yrs. I had reached rock bottom and needed help.
I had a few side effects; shakiness/tremor, indigestion, constant yawning, but these disappared after a couple of weeks. At about 5 weeks C kicked in - I felt great on my review. However, in the last few weeks I have felt myself slipping backward and visited doc today who has increased the dosage to 20mg.
How did you guys feel when going from 10 to 20mg? Was it noticable side effect wise?? Just wondering if I'll have the same side effects again.
I think initially I was so relieved to have finally done something about my depression, that my relief as well as the low dosage made me feel better initially. But the scratchiness, intolerance and catastrophising of everything has started to kick in again.
Hopefully th increase will kick in before too long.
Thanks for reading
:D
I too have been increased from 10 to 20mg and was wondering the same thing.
Well Leesy - I shall be taking my first 20mg tonight - Doc said I may get side effects again - but I guess it is worth it in the long run! I shall post an update.
Hope you get on ok with yours.
I started on 20mg and moved up to 30mg without any side effects from the increase. So you might be okay.
I felt a bit anxious yesterday and feeling a bit the same now, hopefully this will just be a short burst and then things will settle again. Fingers crossed!
Thanks Linda
Just proved I needed the increase - cooking kids tea, piece of fish fell out of the freezer onto floor, I screamed and cried.
Horrible to have this feeling back again 
We will get through this, just got to be strong and ride the horrible bits out. I am here if you want to off load.
You should feel a definite benefit if you are moving up to 20mg. If you read the leaflet that comes with Cit you'll see that this is the lowest recommended dose. A lot of people find that 20 or 30mg works best for them. The max daily dose is 60mg.
Keep going and don't give up. You can conquer this.
I am on week 15 and I am able to be the real me again - the anxiety and panic do not rule my life now.
best wishes Linda
Linda
How long does it take to then notice the increase? Does it take another four weeks?
Thanks - I took the first one and have had some sweats and tiredness - maybe a little nausea/dizziness - but I guess my dose was doubled.
However, I'm sure it isn't really possible, but I'm already feeling a little brighter this morning!!!!
(I am the same Mintcar, just waiting for my account to be activated - can't log on yet!!!!)
I noticed the improvement in a few days of the increase.
Hope it is the same for you.
Linda
Just got it increased from 20mg to 30 today. hade been taking 20 for 26 days. how long before I feel any difference?
Grace
Good question,
I'd been taking Cit 20 for 26 days when the doc increased to to 30. I've been on 30 for 5 days now and feel horrible. Very anxious, shaky, headaches, sick, no appetite. Has anyone experienced anything like this with the increased dose?
Grace
I know this quite an old post, but wanted to contribute to the topic... for me, personally, I wouldn't even consider jumping from 10mg to 20mg.. I just know the side effects would be too problematic to manage day to day..
I'm aiming to move to 20mg, as like yourself, although 10mg worked well for me for a month.. I feel its not the optimal dose, and my Dr said some patients for anxiety need 20mg or even 40mg.
So I've increased my dose to 15mg this week, and so far so good. I feel better even than I did on 10mg which was very much improved..hardly any side effects increase... this gradual dosage adjusting approach seems to work better, for me at least..
When I've been on 15mg for 2-3 weeks over xmas, I'll try upping it another 5mg taking me to 20mg in the new year, and report back on side effects/benefits.
Hi , i have been on citalopram 20mg for 4 months and tbh felt more panicky in shops than i was , my doctor yesterday increased my dose to 30mg and am feeling shaky and very sick is this normal?
Hello Kimberley,
I started on 5mg then 10mg, 15mg, 20mg. Stayed on 20mg for about 2 weeks felt like I was completely back to normal and then started feeling bad again. Doctor recommended upping dose to 30. I went to 25mg first and didn't feel to bad then just went to 30mg last week. I felt OK for about 3 days but now wake up with anxiety and shaky for most of the day. Feel good at night. I take the meds in the morning.
The doctor told me that every dose increase can take up to 6 weeks to start working and you can feel side effects. I've been on the 30mg increase for 1 week and feel like I might be feeling a little better but as I write this I have the fight or flight feeling in my chest and arms.
I've been on these meds a total of 3 months. I think we just have to ride it out. I think you will start feeling better in a little while. Everyone says stick it out so that's what I think we need to do. If you start feeling even worse then please tell your doctor!!!!
Would love to hear anyone else's opinion on up-dosing and how long it could take to feel the benifits and how long side effects last.
God Bless!!!
Robert,
I almost started tearing up when I read your comment about having that fight or flight response, as I feel that way often in various sutuations. It's mostly flight because I feel lik I can't even face what to some would be characterized as a "simple" task. I get so anxious and overwhelmed that I want to go run and hide. It is nice to know that I am not alone 
.
I have been on anti-depressents, geez, for probably 6-7 years (zoloft and celexa). I have taken relatively small doses from 10mg to 15mg. I take these in accordance with some bipolar meds (trileptal). I'm Bipolar 2 so no mania but really low moments of depression especially throughout my teens and early 20s.
10-12.5mg of Celexa has been working for a few years now but recently I have been feeling in a funk, no motivation to get up or even go to work, racing thoughts, insomnia etc.
My amazing Psych uped my dose from 10 to 15mg and my nervousness/anxiety has increased. I have been on 15mg for a week now and I feel very out of it. My doc said to contact him if I notice behavioral mood swings or out of the ordinary stuff.
I don't feel completely terrible so I am going to wait it out a few more weeks. I also heard it can take at least a month for the increase to start taking effect.
Even just writing this has made me feel better, I will keep everyone on this thread in my thoughts. Thanks for listening!
how r u going now with your increase? Ive was on citalopram 20 for several years then two wks ago upped to 30 as had stressful circumstances causing anxiety. First wk of increase I was very tired, shaky and headachy and nauseous. Had a couple good days felt ok then back to feeling yuk again. We r moving house this wk so it's been stressful and perhaps that's y the relapse. How long did your increase take to settle?
Hi Robert
How did your dose increase to 30mg end up going for you?
I had my dose increased from 20mg-30mg almost 5 weeks ago and I still feel awful. My anxiety has never been this bad. In total, I have been on citalopram for 12 weeks, so 3 months. I really thought I would be feeling at least a bit better but now but my anxiety is off the charts and yesterday I spent the whole day crying and kinda hyperventiling. Just started CBT with feels very promising, now that I am armed with a better understanding of the cycle of anxiety and some breathing exercises.
I too have heard what you mentioned, that after a dose increase, you can expect to wait 6-8 weeks for improvement since you are sort of resetting your system.
I am just feeling so discouraged and sick of being anxious all the time and fearful (and yes, my body is perpetually locked into a fight of fight mode).
I see my doctor a week this Wednesday so I will be definitely telling her all this. I think I have had some afternoons where I felt a bit better.
I just don't know if I should throw in the towel and try something else or I need to give it more time.
Thanks for listening!
How r u getting on with the increase ?