HA and AD

[choclab]

Hi i suffer with health anxiety and doctor prescribed ctalopram 10mg
anyone els ?
im nervous as reading the leaflet soooo many poss side effects ...

when should you take it night or morning ?

can you drink any alcohol if you take it ?

[GetDownYouWillFall]

They have to put ALL the possible side effects but in reality they are rare. Even the ones stated as "common" are still only around 1 in 10 I think. And the "common" ones are usually very mild.

Some of the serious stated ones will only occur once in many many thousands. So try not to worry. I know it's hard. I am a bit of a worry freak too when it comes to medication.

I think citalopram can be quite stimulating so would advise taking in the morning, but go with whatever your doctor said.

You should avoid alcohol at first whilst you get used to the medication. After a month or two you may be allowed one or two drinks but best to check beforehand.

I have the occasional drink but rarely more than one in a sitting. I think there is a risk of you becoming overly drowsy, I don't think there are risks over and above that if you see what I mean. But obviously do not drink to excess at all, that would be a bad idea.

Good luck with it, hope it helps you.

By the way, it probably won't kick in for several weeks, so persevere even if you don't feel better straight away.

[choclab]

thanks , getdown,

doctor didnt tell me much about them , or when to take , have heard others say can keep you awake at night ..

and the drinking thing , well i dont drink very much only like to have a couple on a sat night to relax but dont go mad , i will miss that if i cant have any ..

Do you take the same one or have you ?

[ellenjames]

hi i am on 40mg and have been since last may. I take mine at night and have no problems sleeping. But when i first started i was also given 10mg of diazapam as i wasnt sleeping at all, so dont know if it would have affected sleep at first. I dont drink anyway but wouldnt drink on them at all alcohol is a depressant so def not good if you suffer from depression!
I also suffer from health anxiety regarding my children and its a bloody nightmare to be honest but am doing better but have good days and bad still x

[choclab]

thanks ellen,

im in a bit of a state at moment to be honest and still dont know weather to take them or not .
iv been given 10mg to take .

[GetDownYouWillFall]

hi choc

I started on citalopram 10mg but switched and now I'm on mirtazapine 15mg.

[choclab]

Hi getdown ,

why the change ?

how are you now

[GetDownYouWillFall]

hi choc

Well, citalopram didn't agree with me, I had a bad reaction. But please don't be put off, I think that was quite rare what I went through.

The mirtazapine suits me much better. I have been great on it, feeling properly myself for over 6 months now

x

[choclab]

Glad you are ok and the other one works for you .

dare i ask what side effects you had with the citalpram ?

do you take for anxiety ?

[GetDownYouWillFall]

well, I'm sorry to say it did make my anxiety much much worse.
I had very severe vomiting with it - up all night being sick and diahorrea. Gave me a terribly dry mouth which was so severe I couldn't eat without taking a sip of water after every chew. Because of the dry mouth I got very bad cracked lips which were raw and painful.
I had dizziness and palpitations, sweating, shaking etc. Had to call NHS direct because it was a weekend and the GP wasn't open.

I think this is what they call "serotonin syndrome" - and can happen with SSRIs. It is very rare though.

The mirtazapine is a tetra-cyclic AD so works in a completely different way. I would not be allowed to go on another SSRI now.

But - please, let me say again, it is very rare. Millions of people are on citalopram and are absolutely fine.

[choclab]

OMG sounds though you had a really bad go ...

glad your ok on the ones you take now ..

what is SSRI ?

i suffer with health anxiety ,and cant seem to shake it off ...

[GetDownYouWillFall]

SSRI is a "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor" - to do with stopping serotonin being re-absorbed by your brain, and the increased amounts lead to you feeling happier / calmer etc

There are lots of different classes of AD and they all work slightly differently, hence different side effects with each of them.

I can understand why you suffer with health anxiety, especially if you've been through a bad experience in the past.

After what I went through with the citalopram I was so terrified of trying another AD, but was finally persuaded to as my depression was really very severe. I'm glad I summoned up the courage as the other type did help me.

Maybe you could make a pact with yourself to try them for 2 weeks and if you don't get on with them, ask to try a different one?

[choclab]

thanks , and yes worth thinking about .

i feel like i on a roller coaster most of the time , one day im up and happy , next im down with fear and anxiety , mainly over health , if i see , read or watch anything that involves health im off self checking etc , i read the front pages of magazines carefully and if theres any hint of health issues i wont read it ...i stere clear of health topics with people and never watch tv like ER or casualty ..

Sad but thats how iv become .