Hi everyone!!!
Been on 5 mg cit for a week and I can tell the effects are wearing off and I might need to try 10mg. However I was wondering if this will be the case that I'll keep upping my dose indefinitely or will a particular dose maybe 10mg last me for years and won't wear off so quickly. Thanks.
hi bud did you have any bad side effects on 5mg cause I want to start taking it and when do you take it
The effects don't wear off I can assure you. These meds are not addictive so larger doses are not needed in order to maintain recovery. I took 20mg for 16 years.
When you start taking these meds you'll recovery is not straight forward like taking asprin and your headache or pain eases off - with these meds you don't just start getting better and that's it. The first few weeks on meds will give you heightened anxiety and other side effects. Each time you increase your dose you'll get side effects. These do wear off.
These meds take months to work, so you won't be able to tell after a week. Recovery also often comes in waves, so once the side effects wear off you'll be up and down with your mood for a while - do not stop taking the meds thinking they're not working, because they are - just that you won't see any progress for a while.
20mg is the typical dose, though some people take 30mg or 40mg. A bigger dose though doesn't mean you'll get better any quicker - you just need to take the right dose for you.
Took me 6 months to recover.
K x
Hi shawn23899...I think we have spoke before. My advice is if you felt the benefit...speak to your doctor and then up it to 10mg! I started on 10mg...and I felt my symptoms coming back after 5 days...I spoke to my GP and he upped it to 20mg...felt immediate relief! I stayed on 20mg for about 5 weeks with no side effects at all...then felt my symptoms coming back again (not as bad tho) so I upped again to 30mg. Again...I felt instant relief. I've now been on 30mg for 3 weeks...touch wood, no side effects at all! I was very reluctant to keep upping my dose..but...if it means I feel 'normal' again...for the sake of taking a tablet every day...I'll take it forever! My advice is...if you need it...take it...try not to stress about the dose...your peace of mind comes first! 😊
Hi,
The only side effect I had on 5 mg was constipation. Other than that it worked great for me till today.
Levi, if you're concerned about side effects, then it might be a good idea to try 5mg and see how you feel. That way you'll ease yourself onto the meds. Probably much better than starting on 20mg.
However, everyone reacts differently to the meds, so what one person might experience re side effects, then another may not. Typically though most people do feel slightly more anxious, heady, dry mouth, etc but these side effects do wear off. The meds really will help you.
K x
Hi.
Thanks for the reassurance, the 5mg were working for me for a week but today I can tell they're are loosing its effects and thinking about taking 10mg tonight but I just wanna make sure I can stay on a low dose for a while and not keep upping it but I guess I'll have to if I need to.
Hi Claire,
Good to connect with you again, yeah the 5mg worked wonders for me for a week but woke up today and I can tell the depression is coming back so I'm thinking about taking 10mg tonight but I just want to stay on a dose for a long time and don't wanna keep upping it. I would think upping the dose means more side effects but I guess I don't really have a choice
Hi Claire
It doesn't matter what dose you're on you will feel the symptoms coming back - even with the max dose it will do this. This doesn't mean the meds aren't working, but its typical how they work. It also doesn't mean you have to keep increasing your dose. When you start the meds you often feel good followed by the symptoms returning. That's normal. You have to let those symptoms be there, relax towards them, they will go in time (they're called blips). This pattern will repeat itself throughout recovery until the symptoms no longer happen.
You don't need a large dose in order to recover.
K x
I heard taking milk with citalopram helps?
Yes, that's absolutely normal and how the meds work. By all means increase to 10mg but you'll still get the symptoms back. That doesn't mean the meds aren't working ..... they are. Even if you take the maximum 40mg you'll still get this yo-yo effect.
You have to go through the symptoms whilst on your dose. Most people feel good for about a week and then start feeling ill again. Its normal. The meds are working, but you won't see any benefit for a while yet.
Yes you can recover on 10mg - just expect to get this wave effect of feeling good and feeling bad. When the bad times hits, just go with it - you can't avoid it. It actually means your meds ARE working as this is typically the pattern you follow.
Recovery for most people starts to happen around the 3-4 month mark, and during this time you'll be up and down.
No, you won't have to keep upping your dose. I can assure you.
K x
So are you saying that I don't need to increase to 10mg and can stay on the 5mg and see what happens? I've always thought you need the increase to feel the effects...
Hi Kate
I ve had a very bumpy ride on cit.
Started on 17th July on 10
1 week on 10mg
1 week on 20mg
6 weeks on 30mg
4 weeks on 40mg
4 weeks on 30mg
6 days on 20mg
Up to 40 the doc just kept telling me to go up. I felt good till 5th week on 30. I have decided to drop back to 20 as I felt better early on. Given my constantly changing dose what do you think I should do now. I have less side effects but don t feel as good as the first few weeks on it. Should I persist on 20 or is it not the right AD for me.
I have a 9 mth old baby and really need to feel better.
Hi Shawn...I think this is where it gets confusing..and people's opinions all differ! I try not to come on here that often anymore because I was getting stressed with people saying different things! I think the meds work different for different people! For example I've read people saying that they instantly felt awful after day 1 of taking cit...yet I felt so much better with the instant relief of the headache I'd suffered with for weeks!! So I just go off how 'i' feel and how my mind works! After reading comments I'm now stressing thinking I've been on 30mg now for 3 weeks so am I going to start feeling awful again in a couple of weeks!! So trying not to think about it! When I upped from 20 to 30 I tried to bare with the 20 for about 9 days before I upped again...and I thought 'why am I doing this when upping it may make me feel better...so I went with my gutt instinct and glad I did...and upped to 30! A family memeber works for a mental health consultant and in her advice I upped it! So...I'd follow your own gutt instinct darlin...if it was me...I'd up it and see how you go...but that's just my advice...5mg is like a little spit full...either way I hope you feel better soon 😊
It all depends on your GP, looking on the 5mg dose is a very low dose, your GP may increase this to a 10mg dose, then upward to 20mg. Are you cutting 10mg tablets.to give yourself the 5mg dose, should you be taking 10mg ??.
B.
Hi Claire,
Thanks for following up, I've just started to feel a tiny bit better now it's the afternoon, mornings are still the worse so maybe the meds are indeed still working and it'll be a roller coaster for a while who knows but I'll keep taking the 5mg maybe for a night or two more and see if anything changes. I'm seeing my gp today and will talk to him and get his take on it I'm also going to talk therapy cbt counseling that might help as well.
Yes I'm cutting the 10mg in half to get 5mg. I also have 20mg tabs that I can cut in half to get 10mg.
Per my gp, I was supposed to be taking 10mg for a week then upping to 20mg after that but I wanted to ease myself into it so I've been taking 5mg instead of 10mg for about two weeks now.
Shawn you should not be cutting tbs, the doses you need to take should be 10mg, or 20mg, your crack a tablet and the dose will vary and your GP will know that. A split dose will not give you the relief you seek.
Trust your GP with your medications, splitting a drug is wasting the drug effect. When they say ten you take ten if He says take an increase to twenty, you take twenty. You are in ways stopping your recovery.
B.
This sounds like a plan darlin...and as long as you feel in control about it that sounds like a good sign!! I also start my CBT tomorrow after putting it off for months...so again...that's a positive for me too!! Good luck flower...😊
My GP and many people said if your to worried about side effects cut the tablet that's not a problem? People got so many different views on this drug I'm cutting mine in half tonight to start it