I have been on citalopram for 8 weeks at 20mg, I still wake up with morning anxiety, will this get better, I expected this to be better by now, I am reluctant to go up in dose, any body felt like this on 8 weeks and it got better , would love some feed back , thank you
i don't know if i can reassure you or not sicne i am only 1 month in 20 mg.
I read that the serotonin level drop in the brain at night hence the anxiety in the morning and it can take as long as 4 month to feel that it's getting better.
If it's possible can i ask you how are you feeling now since i am 1 month in and i don't feel any benefits still.
Thanks
8 weeks is fairly early still. Took me 6 months to recover on 20mg. Recovery is generally really slow, there'll be blips (setbacks) and for me all symptoms didn't go at once, but instead they eased one at a time. Even though I recovered that early morning anxiety stayed with me every day, but I was getting better. Early morning anxiety was the last symptom to disappear for me which happened around 6 months ........ and then I knew I'd recovered.
A bigger dose doesn't mean it'll happen any quicker - its just what suits your body.
Give it time - much more time than you think.
K x
Hi katecogs i read alot of your posts and i jsut posted a post by name "Please help" , so can you please check it and tell me your opinion Thx
Hi, yes the morning anxiety will go around now. Hang in there
Thank you for your reply, could I ask you what sort of blips you had , x
Will do - I'll see if I can find it xxxx
Hi Jessie
Blips (or setbacks) are when you feel your symptoms coming back again, especially the anxiety. This is quite normal and seems the way the meds and recovery works. You can't avoid them and just have to ride them out as they do pass.
Set backs must be what I must be having, I think things are getting better one day then next day feel back where I started, its the anxiety in the morning that I have to cry some times, x
Yes that's it exactly. You feel you're making headway then find yourself like you're back at the beginning. It'll be 3 steps forward and 2 steps back all through recovery. Even when I could see progress and think I was turning a corner .... BAM!! I'd be hit with a setback and the anxiety would practically sweep me off my feet again. During the good days / weeks you feel calmer, have positive thoughts and hope, and as soon as anxiety strikes again all that good seems to go out the window in a flash.
Anxiety if often born from stress. Its just an outpouring of adrenaline thats built up over time when dealing with stress. Your body has been crying out to rest, but we ignore it and just pile even more stress on ourselves ... rushing about, taking on more work, etc etc ....... which results in anxiety. Anxiety is frightening which then causes fear, which equally causes more anxiety and you get caught up in a cycle.
As we start to recover and begin to feel better we then start up our usual rushing about again ...... and I think its also this that causes the setback. Again its our body telling us, giving us a warning sign its not ready yet. I do know when I used to overdo things as I was recovering I'd be hit with a blip / setback. Relaxing towards anxiety really, really does help (it doesn't help immediately, but with practice slowing everything down even when you feel better, helps the body to heal).
Mornings were the worst for me. Even as I recovered and began to feel like myself again, I'd wake every morning full of anxiety. But this wasn't an indication how the day would turn out ....... it was only the mornings. As I recovered I began to feel well in the evenings only, and that then grew into the early evening, afternoon, midday, late morning and finally at 6 months I woke with no anxiety. Throughout this time I'd still get setbacks which lasted days or weeks, but slowly those glimpses of recovery came back. Its almost like your body is preparing itself for its full return to health and it just has these little blips every now and then.
Your body physically needs to heal too. Step out of its way and let it relax as you move around (not just as you sit) throughout your day. Ride out the anxiety, let it be there, relax towards it ........ and let the meds do their thing. They will.
K x
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Bravo......👏
Thank you so much for your reply, x
reassuring words xx
Along with fatigue, morning anxiety is the last thing to go. It will slowly go away, 8 weeks is still fairly early but you've done the hardest part.
Hi katecogs
I have does anxiety attacks to in the morning 1 hour after waking up with bad shakes and still dry mouth, I take my meds in the morning
In the late afternoon I get to feel better from 5 till 9 pm bedtime .
The anxiety attacks in the morning make me scared about not getting to me me again and much more that then gets me started to cry is that normal
It’s morning after morning like that , is it ever going to stop
It’s very hard and it wears u out
thank u for your help
Hi babsyboo
Mornings are always the worst for us anxiety sufferers - apparently its to do with Cortisol being at its highest in the morning which then fall throughout the day.
Yes those mornings will stop - for me it was the last thing to go. They got easier and less intense as I recovered, and the nice normal feeling I had in the evenings spread further into my day, so I’d start feeling well in the afternoon and then the mornings. That early morning anxiety finally went - I woke one day and it wasn’t there.
Its best not to tense against the anxiety - its going to be there in the morning, so expect it, relax towards it, let is be - as you know its going to ease throughout the day.
But yes - it does go.
K x
HI how are you getting on ,
Did you up your meds at this time or just continue to take the same amount thanks