Hi guys
I have been on cit 10mg for 5 days now. Increased anxiety, depression, panic attacks (which i have neve had before), chest pains, dry mouth, jittery, and the lis goes on and on.
I have a HUGE decision to make. My biggest fear if feeling numb or stuck. It makes me anxious infact just thinking about it has made me cry now. I am afriad that the pill is goin to cause me to lose a part of myself.
I am a person that relies alot on my emotions and if they are dulled or taken away i dont know who id be.
I started seeing a therapist who suggests that utlimatly the decision is mine but think that I can manage without the meds. In order to keep my anxiety in check id possibly use someyhing herbal.
If i stay on cit id do so for a month and the. Decide if i want to stop or keep going. The only problem is that it is around a month from now when i write exams. So this is possibly a bad plan.
The pills are also causing me to struggle with concentration and as a student i have lots of work to do, assignments to complete essays to erite etc. and the fact that i am incapable and struggling to do so and acheiving nothing but staring at my computer screen all day is making anxiety worse.
So i see my Dr tomorrow to discuss, but i need to make the decision. Stay on or stop and go for the herbal option.
I dont want that numbness, id rather feel all the pain than nothing at all.
What should I do?
Dear Chelii
I have been on 10mg citalopram for nearly 7 weeks now. For the first week or two the side effects were horrendous. My anxiety went through the roof, increased depression, nausea, insomnia etc. I couldn't concentrate or do anything really, I felt so knackered. I was considering going off them. However, I went down to 5mg, and this really helped.
sorry go cut off short there!
Now i am up to 10mg and feeling fine, the side effects have all gone.
My depression and anxiety have lifted, i am feeling much better. It does not stop you having emotions. I still get very sad, i have just split up with my partner (on top of everything!). It just seems to curb the anxiety and lifts the depression. So, the world seems a brighter place, i take more pleasure out of life, in a way, it does the opposite of dulling your senses, it makes you feel more alive. I have more motivation and increased interest in things. I am going to stay at 10mg and see how it goes.
You could either give it more time, see if the side effects wane or go back to your GP tell them your concerns and they may suggest another AD or a plan to come off.
5 days is a really short period of time. The meds will not start working until at least week 3. Maybe wait and see what happens? The side effects should go soonish as your body adjusts. Don;t throw the towel in too early, give it time. It does not dull your emotions, it just makes the anxiety and depression more managable. Good luck
Stick with it! I have been on 20 mags now for three years plus.
When I first took a 20 mg pill having never taken it before I ended up in A&E with what turned out to be a massive panic attack the like of which I had never had before.
I then reduced my does and built it up slowly over a few weeks. Much better for me that way!
In the long run it will be worth it
I do not feel that the Cit munbed me. I my experience it made me "feel so I could deal" (deal with life etc.) I've been on it a year now and it's one of the best decisions I've made. Talk to your doc. Perhaps a different med will be better for your situation
Hi I had 10mg for 4 weeks the side effects were horrendous I had increased anxiety, bad stomach. Panic attacks, aching legs shaking the lot!! I started taking 20mg on Tuesday had a massive panic attack thurdsay but the last 3 days I feel like I'm turning a corner do fingers crossed . Every body says it gets worse before it gets better and it certainly has for me 4-6 weeks they say for the pills to get into your system.
Good Luck
Sx
I just wanted to say also that maybe you could speak to your college/tutor. Explain what is going on for you and ask if there is any possibilty of an extension or something? When i went on cit, I had to write academic reports, as part of my job. It was really difficult to even construct a sentence let alone write a offical report! I spoke to my supervisor and she was very understanding and gave me more time. During this period i set myself small tasks, so i said to myself, i'll write for 30 minutes, stop for a break and then do another 30 minutes, i took it step by step and manage to get through it. Before taking the cit in the mornings i would be more alert so i started taking the cit later in the day, after lunch, this gave me some time in the mornings to get stuff done.
Hiy Chelli. My experience of short term citalopram using up to a maximum of 20mg for about 18 months was all good. I have always shared the same concerns as you - i don't want to be something I am not, don't want to lose my emotional life and have a hatred of chemicals and the whole aleapathic system, BUT the citalopram has been good and i've made some huge strides towards my dreams and I take on big things like i've never done before without all the usual drama and doubt. AND yes i too have experienced the lack of concentration, a slight fuzziness, as if the more familiar fear was not doing its usual job of making me concentrate like hell and things do drift a bit and i'm less conscious of how I am around others, to such an extent that my partner sometimes says it's embarrasing. but the lack of anxiety has allowed me to achieve things ok. I've completed an access to arts course and just completed my first year at universtiy, managing to ride the crappiness and shoddiness of the institution and have just been to Weimar in Germany on an unsolicited visit carrying my portfolio t to try and get myself admitted to the University there for my second year. my fearlessness and my ability to take on these big projects is down to the citalopram and my other anti-anxiety strategies, so the fact that i lose sight of certain details and struggle to keep to time is more or less compensated for by the lack of doubt and dithering. And like the doctor said this drug is not that strong as to make me think i'm becoming someone else and i'm coming down off of it ok, having a lot of dizzy spells and very tired is all. but that'll pass
ps if you are going to university make absolutely sure to apply for Disabled Students Allowance and get ALL THE HELP you are entitled to and make a point of flagging up 'my mental health issues' and don't let the university get away with catering to you. when i was choosing my university i visited each one and met the support team to see how on the ball they were. but that's a long way down the line. first things first and one day at a time. get the exams done.
and yes i agree i am not numbed, if anything i'm rather speeded up and have boundless energy and enthusiasm - too much i don't stop making art all day long, i did 12 hour days at university for every day of my first year. in some ways i sort of wish i could stop, but i'm happy and i fall asleep at night tired but satisfied . I also split with my partner but again this all feels ok and i get on with life. sometimes i wonder if i'm supposed to care more!!!!!!!!! in other words i worry that i'm not worrying enough!!
My wife is on 30mg of citalopram, she started on 10mg and after a week of no effect went up to 20mg, after about 3 weeks on 20mg she was taken up to 30mg and has been on it for about 3 months,
She has always been the same as before she started just not anxious with panic attacks or paranoia, her emotions haven't been dulled or taken away the way I feared they would, she's still all the same just a lot happier due to not ring anxious etc.
I worried at first when she went on them because I grew up with a mother on addictive high anti depression tablets and she was the dull non emotional woman so I was scared my wife would end up the same.
The only warning I'll give you is my wife wanted to come off them and though it would be a case of slowly decreasing the tablets but she has been told she has to have 6 months of feeling okay and happy before being able to come off them because else your body will just go back to before.
Hope this helps.
That may be a good idea, I will metion that to my Dr as I am very sensitive to meds. 5 mg may just be the answer, thank you
That is a good planning stratagy, i will deffinitly try it. I have a week of hard work ahead of me, many deadlines to acheive, hoping the pill doesnt stand in my way!
Thank you x
Thank you so much for the advice abd support. Just need that concentration back as I have maby deadlines to hit and this is slowing me down and possibly affecting my future.
U have acheived alot! Thats amazing! Keep doing it.. Sorry that u went through a break up. But yes thats part of my fear, i have started to not care about things...lets face it, a break up is a big thing, and if u dont really care surely there are alarms goin off somehwrre?
For me not carin would feel wrong, and the little bit of not caring i am experiencing now is not great, i dont like not being in control haha
Goodluck with everything
Thank u x
Hey,
Thats really good to know, my girlfriend is also scared of how I may change, i think it helps us both to know that things may not go as badly as we are anticipating.
Growing up that way must have been hard, my gf had the same situation as you, so I sympathize.
Thank u so much for the help and advice.
Im hoping my story will be as positive as yours
x
Good luck with it all and I hope you have a positive response if you decide to use them,
The only side effect is my wife takes them at night and the one side effect she gets is that they make her tired so she's asleep after like 5 minutes.
Good luck 