Citalopram effects

[Misscbu17]

Hi,

I started 10mg of citalopram 8 days ago and I’ve got no appetite, have a near constant anxious, panicky bubbly feeling inside me, mild thuds in the middle of chest which I guess are heart palpitations, and by the afternoon I’m yawning loads.

I do feel more relaxed as before I never sat still and would always be doing ‘something’ and at the moment I don’t feel like doing anything much at all!

Are these all normal effects? Should I stick with it?

Thanks x

Yes all normal effects, I also had difficulty concentrating and migraines. Took about a month to settle down but I came off it after 6 months as the side effects were intolerable and I didn't feel like myself (didn't feel anything).
I know people who have been on it for years though and it works really well for them.
Hope you feel better soon OP, it should start to help in the next few weeks.

Yes completely normal in the beginning weeks. Stick with it as it’s worth it eventually. Try mindfulness or mediation to help with the anxiety.

Yes after starting it it took me about 3 weeks to feel better and the side effects to reduce.

When I came off it I cut up the pills and reduced the dose by 2.5mg every 2 weeks and did not get any withdrawal symptoms. I would recommend increasing/reducing doses really really slowly. I did find it beneficial for the 2 years I was taking it.

Yeah stick with it. It took 6 weeks for my side effects to go completely at 10mg then every time i raised the dose i had another 3 weeks or so of side effects. I used to take it in the morning but moved it to the evening so most of the side effects happen overnight. The benefits definitely outweigh the negatives for me.

I've been taking 10mg for around 7-8 years. The first 3-4 weeks I struggled- feeling of icey coldness wooshing through my veins and goosebumps, weird eye/sight tunnel feeling, panic etc all settled down nicely, however I did feel strangely apart from myself and usual soppiness. Over a while when things were settled I cut my tablets in my half and managed my anxiety quite nicely until a particular situation was looming and I knew it was probably time to up the dose to 10mg daily again. I've been "ok" on this now for a good while but recently (with all of covid issues and changes/worries coupled with a blinking painful shoulder injury) I've felt the icey/unsettled anxious feeling wooshing me again. After a chat with gp by phone (actually to review pain meds) she asked about my wellbeing and I said I'd been finding it difficult, she's suggested I slowly increase my Citalopram (alternating daily 10mg&20mg) to counteract the side effects a bit, although she warned I may feel out of sorts in the next couple of weeks. I'm happy to give this a try as currently having to do the grocery and medicine collections weekly for my parents (awkward but understanding) and (difficult) mil alongside my own families needs and it's hard work (physically with one working shoulder and a tiny car) but mentally I'm spending 2 days prior building myself up to face the supermarket. Dh or ds are trying their hardest to help but are either working, or have a chronic condition.
Sorry, full on history there!
Overall I'd say stick to it for now and allow yourself time (months/years who cares) to find yourself again. You're doing great x

Yes, it's normal. It took me about 14 days to start feeling normal again - but stick with it, it's well worth it

Has anyone had side effects for more than 6 weeks? I've been on it for 9 weeks now and still getting migraines.

Yeah it's not very pleasant when you start taking it. Just try to power through and be consistent with the time of day you take it, I prefer taking it in the morning otherwise I find it impacts my sleep!

@franfine That is quite a while. They say a few months to feel a marked difference but the migraines might suggest it's not working for you. Maybe speak to GP

Took about a month for me to stop feeling panicky all the time. Helped me immensely when I needed them but if I was in the same situation again I wouldn't take them and would explore all other options first. I was given citalopram without being offered counselling (or anything actually).

Was on citalopram for about 5 years - 40mg. Stopped cold turkey and had awful side effects for about 8 months.

If you're having such strong physical symptoms it might be worth asking your GP about beta blockers.

Gave me a sore throat, dizzy disorientation and constant yawning. Came off as the side effects didn't go away after 6 months and if anything my anxiety was worse.

Thanks all - that’s so helpful and reassuring! I’ll stick with it for another month - hopefully the side effects will subside!

I tried all other routes, natural products, cbd, exercise, cbt, books etc and I couldn’t control my anxiety myself unfortunately (have done for years but a lot has happened past few years and think it all came to a head!). Hopefully this route will work xx

Yes, all normal, within 4-6 weeks it had all stopped and I felt much better. Take care and stick with it.

I felt bad to start with too and like yourself had tried lots to help with my anxiety and depression. I started at 10mg and gradually went up to 40mg. Last year I reduced to 30mg and tried down to 25mg but the feelings came back and I gave myself the fear and went back to 30mg. Maybe I'll try one day to come down to less as I would like to stop completely however they allow me to function and deal with life so I shall carry on just now.
I take mine in the morning as I found taking it at bedtime was awful. Wishing you all the best as it's a crap place to be but hopefully this time next month you'll start to feel better.

I'm very lucky as I went onto 40mg of citalopram, 150mg of quiteapine and 15mg of mirtzapine all at the same time and didn't get any side effects at all!

It was a severe depressive episode though so that might make a difference.

I've been tapering off them the last few months. I'm now down to 10mg of citalopram and the mirtazapine at night still.

@franfine did the migraines stop?