Hey , i have just been put on citalopram 3 days ago on 20 mg. Im so tired and have not left my bed in the past 3 days. My head feels weird and i do feel really sick till round the afternoon. Im thinking of taking the tablet before bed see if that makes any difference as i might sleep through it. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms ? Will this actually work , i know it doesnt work straight off but will i start to feel better in time ?
I have zero energy , i feel constantly down , i hate leaving the house and i have shut myself of from the outside world. I have lost my friends but that was through my friend who went out to ruin my life and turned everyone against me. I really hope these tablets will help me get back to the person i was. Im going to start the gym once im more confident and have controlled my anxiety. Just hate feeling like this
There are quite a lot of side effects to Citalopram hence why I think there is a whole forum about it. Maybe ask your doctor about taking a lower dose say 10mg, (this is what I was on) then gradually build up from there 
tas89. Stop taking this drug for heaven's sad tas. It clearly does not suit you! It is having an adverse effect upon your brain and you see for yourself what it is doing. I wrote elsewhere on here how shocked I am at people being given anti-depressants in the UK by GP's. These are medicaments that can only be prescribed by specialists in other countries. They are forms of narcotics. Acting upon your brain, and not suiting you, the effects are devastating to your brain and you describe exactly the same reactions I had to Tramadol! I didnt know where I was. My head reeled, I had nausea for several hours, unable to throw up as I hadn't eaten. I was dizzy and falling about the place. In short: my brain was telling me this medication was not suited to me! It is good you write on here as you will be communicating by others who have had the same reactions! It is far better to be in touch with users instead of prescribers! Citalopram does not suit you! End of! When I had these reactions I knew the medication was contraindicated for ME. We are not all the same. Try your very best to get over your disappointments with friends. THINK POSITIVE. They were wrong and not you. The world is packed with people out to harm each one of us and we have to take strength to ignore them and get on with our lives. You WILL go back to the person you were, with time. Meantime don't fill that with medication. Get out and about. This world also belongs to you! Forget those who did you harm. There are thousands out there who did not want to bring you down. They are still out there! Many are on this forum. You hate feeling the way you are you say. Well DO something about this. Take heart, laugh at them. Get to that gym and give it all you have. Talk to others but not about your chagrin! Get your confidence back by mixing with a new set of people. And keep writing on here. Getting your problems off your back by writing about them is far better than keeping them inside and allowing them to fester! You know this is true. Get back to the person you once were and the first thing to do is to sling the Citalopram down the loo! You don't need medication, you need people! And here we are. Get off to that gym without procrastinating about it. Once you are there you are out! Once you are out, you are going to meet people. With people in your life you have friends. Already you have many on this forum! Gym is excellent for you as physical movement is the best thing for depression and blows away the anxieties. Get out your running shoes and your shorts and GO.
Thank you for reply , worse today so im going to go back to docs on monday and see if i can be put on a lower dose. x x
Thank you so much for your reply it really means alot I'm going to go to the doctors and ask for a lower dose. If i could just go out to the gym and make new friends i really would do it. But the thought really sets me off , i have been feeling down for so long now. And i know i should be grateful for the life i do have and i am. I feel terrible moaning about the way i am when theres people worse of who cant even do the things i can do. I have tryed so hard to do things , but then i just fall of track so easy and shut myself off. I have got a counselor to talk to which will start in a few weeks so that should help to. As there is another under lying issue that i havent quite dealt with. I really love your drive and positive out look on live though. And i am going to do something about this i promise , i just think i need a little help just to get me out of this rutt. But i will contact the doctors and talked to them first thing monday morning tell them how im feeling and that. Thank you so much x x
Tas: People are do very different. I like to remain positive in life and never forget others are far worse off. I find that helps. 10mg of Cital is lowest dose and no doctor should put you straight away on 20mg. It seems doctors in UK are turning many into addicts! When I went to pharmacy for Fentanyl my name was entered into the pharmacy register! No way would my doctor put me on anything but the minimum dosage. I thought only Specialists could prescribe narcotics? I must have been mistaken. There is a cult now that doctors fear the patient won't go back to them if they haven't prescribed something! Likewise if doctors don't give a prescription, the patient says they are no good as gave them nothing! People are all different and one man's chalk is another man's cheese! Likewise I believe there are two types of people; Those who Eat to Live and Those Who Live to Eat! Why not take yourself out for an evening meal? I find this snaps me out of any sort of depression. But then I enjoy eating. It keeps me positive and believing the next meal will be even better than the last! I recommend you laugh more. In the long run that is the best medicine and doesn't cost a dime! xx
Hey there, sorry you haven't got on with citalopram. It is early days though and the drug hasnt had time to kick in. I've been on 20mg for a year now and I too felt really weird for the first day or two - on reflection, I think it was more because I was scared about something altering my mind than a reaction to the medication. I also slept an awful lot and I felt completely empty. I seriously never thought I would get better. Then it kicked in, and I'm much better. Nausea is also a side effect, I never had that though. If it helps, we all have varying degrees of side effects, so don't worry about them. See how you feel tomorrow, if you start to feel better, stick with it. If not, speak to your doctor.
As far as dose goes, 10mg is for anxiety and 20mg plus is for depression. If you are quite depressed, it's most probably a good dose to stay on. Again. Talk to your doctor.
Hang in there and I hope you start feeling better soon,
Hey, I was put on them for depression had traumatic year looking after sick dad who passed away end of jan, fights with mum, tore the family apart, did not want to wake up etc etc... However same side effects as you, came off them against my doctor wishes, they are devil drugs! Doing councelling trying to eat properly and sleeping tablets, zopiclone, instead to keep the nightmares away. This suits me much better, if they do not work for you come off them before you have more problems. I decided that feeling that rough and not being able to get up or function, or eat as felt so sick was counter productive. Good luck.
Chik07 A very sensible post. We should not be pushing others to take a drug simply because it works for us! If you felt so lousy, I agree that this can be far worse than putting up with depression and being unable to enjoy food. If drugs make you feel bad then they cannot be good for you! This is the very reason there is such a wide choice of them. If the same one was good for us all, there would be no need to research others!
And by the same token we shouldn't be telling people to come off. Just because it worked for you, it doesn't mean it works for everyone. Let Tas89 speak to their doctor and find a solution that's best for them.
Tas89 is in a very tough situation right now and is feeling very delicate, they need support and room to breathe. Stop being so domineering.
Don't be so hard on mayday we are all in the same boat trying to help, the doctor prescribes these drugs so easily, no need to be so nasty! We are simply sharing our experiences which is what has been asked for. The doctors do not always know best unfortunately otherwise my dad would still be here.
That's the trouble with forums, disagreement is always perceived as agression. Sorry, it really wasn't my intention to be nasty. I've read other posts and mayday seems a very lovely person, who genuinely cares. But I think on this occassion, mayday is being a little bit domineering. Well intenioned, but domineering.
Just because medication doesn't work for some people it doesn't mean it won't work for others. By the same token, just because it works for me, it doesn't mean it will work for others. That's what I meant by giving Tas9 room to breathe. Don't push them one way or the other, just tell them your experience and give them the space to work out what's best for them. I just felt that mayday was pushing the non medication route and that's not a route that's suitable for all. I hope that makes sense and clears up any thoughts of nastiness. These forums are such a nightmare at times!
Please note we all have the right to express opinions. For your information you write '... because it worked for you...' Clearly you have not read any of my comments. I have never touched the stuff!
I'm confused, in another post on this forum you say that taking medication in the evening is better. Was that based on opinion and not your own experience?
FYI - just beause it worked for you in its full context. 'And by the same token we shouldn't be telling people to come off. Just because it worked for you' meaning just because not taking mediaction worked for you it doesn't mean it will work for others.
You know what, we're both on here because we're a little mentally imbalanced, we really shouldn't be arguing. You've got your issues and I've got mine. You've got your way of dealing with it and I've got mine. We're not going to agree and that's cool. We're different people with different ways of dealing with the same problem. Again, it wasn't my intention to be nasty and I apologise if you feel I was. Take care and have a good day x
Tas89, I hope you're feeling better today and if not, have a chat with your doctor. Maybe a lower dose, maybe a different drug or maybe nothing at all will be better for you. If citalopram isn't working, try something else. If that doesn't work, think about counselling and a change in diet etc. Do whatever makes you feel you can get through the day. If it helps, I do a lot of crafts now, it keeps me on my own (which I prefer right now), keeps me occupied and also makes me feel better. I also took up mindful meditation, it's really good at focussing your mind on you and how you feel. It's helped me no end. You can download an app called headspace from the app store. It may help you too. I also did the 100 happy days challenge (you can find it on instagram, twitter, facebook and you can also email in). It doesn't have much, sometimes I would just post a picture of a cup of coffee or my headphones because it cut me off from the noise of the world and made me happy. I also would post pictures of the crafts I'd done. It makes you try and look for the good in everything - you have to, you have to post it every day! These are little things alongside my meds that made me feel better.
Hang in there, it does get better in the end. Much love and hugs to you.
No worries :-) yes they are a nightmare and taken wrong sometimes... Like facebook and texting... Being back the old days of speaking! Maybe not, I like being alone at the moment, poeple annoy me! Hope you ok x
People have that habit of being annoying don't they! I'm in sales and it does my head in at times. Seriously, stop being so happy people! Lol
I'm good thanks, I hope you are too. Take care of yourself, big hugs x
Not sure how you manage that, dealing with people, people think you can snap out of it and be cheerful, really!!, I am never gonna see my dad again, do not expect me to be happy I wanna scream at them, lol. X
Yeah, know that feeling! I found out I couldn't have children and I was devastated. When I told my boss I had depression she said, I thought you were over it! Seriously! How can I be 'over it'??
I am really sorry about your dad, I can't imagine how awful that is. You will move on, the pain will always be there, but you will feel better. It will just take time - lots of time. I found out January 2013 and it took me 18 months to feel relatively normal. I still cry sometimes but I'm over the worst of it. Well, I hope I am! lol x