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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask about your experience with citalopram

104 replies

Anxiousannie32 · 05/11/2020 11:32

I've finally given in and accepted that I need something medicinal to help me cope with my anxiety which has steadily been getting worse over the past few years. I've never taken anti depressants or anti anxiety medication so don't really know what to expect.

My GP has prescribed me 10mg citalopram. I know this might not be a magic cure but I'm hoping it will help with the panic and physical symptoms I've been been experiencing from anxiety. Can anyone tell me how or if it worked for them? Thank you.

OP posts:

WishingHopingThinkingPraying · 05/11/2020 11:38

Don't worry! It's just medicine and it will either work well for you (great!) or not suit you and you can try another. I'm on sertraline 50mg and it's completey invisible. I would like to come off it as I'm so well this last 3 months (after 3 months of going from very unwell to slowly back to myself) but will keep going to the New Year and then take careful advice from GP to do that.

I also had very physical reaction to Anxiety. Vomiting, diarrhoea, shakes, tensing muscles, loss of body coordination, wired at night, depressed feeling etc. I'm not sure how much was the medication and how much was me realising I was sick and focusing on getting better but I knew I needed medication certainly at first and then after I improved it did give me some confidence that something was helping me get better.

CounsellorTroi · 05/11/2020 11:38

I take it for anxiety and have done for 18 months. Started off on 20mg but reduced to 10 after 10 months with no problems. It works well for me. Hope it does for you too.

It may cause side effects like an upset stomach, dry mouth, tinnitus to begin with but it is worth persevering.

Original poster

Anxiousannie32 · 05/11/2020 11:51

Thank you both. @WishingHopingThinkingPraying I totally resonate with the physical symptoms - muscle tensing and diarrhoea in particular.

I felt almost like I had to persuade the GP to let me have it and even then she's only prescribed a very low dose. I have tried other holistic methods such as exercise and therapy but it hasn't helped me.

For me, the physical symptoms create anxiety (so worrying that I'm going to have an episode of diarrhoea while I'm out shopping for example) and then anxiety causes the symptoms. So it's very much a vicious cycle that I need to try and break.

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ZoeTurtle · 05/11/2020 11:54

It changed my life. I had side effects for a couple of weeks - I felt a bit spaced out and had trouble sleeping - but since then it's been wonderful. I still have anxiety but it's much more manageable and I no longer lie awake every night worrying about ridiculous things, or panic in social situations. I think I've been on 20mg for about eight years now and they'd have to pry the pills out of my cold dead hands.

Tearsofthemushroom · 05/11/2020 11:56

I take 10mg for two weeks out of four to help with anxiety linked to PMDD. It has been a life-saver for me and I haven't had any real side effects. I lose a little get-up-and-go for those two weeks but it is worth it!

amijustparanoidorjuststoned · 05/11/2020 12:08

Citalopram did bring me out in hives tbh! So I did have to switch medication reasonable quickly. Otherwise it worked well

Di11y · 05/11/2020 12:10

I take citalopram started at 20mg, headaches and body aches, exhaustion and weird dreams for first couple of weeks. Then much better, upped to 20mg after few months when intrusive thoughts came back and that worked really well. Just so less teary and snappy and much more emotionally balanced.

Di11y · 05/11/2020 12:10

*started at 10mg

PineappleTart · 05/11/2020 12:12

This was really life changing for me. I felt incredible release when they kicked in.

Original poster

Anxiousannie32 · 05/11/2020 12:16

Thank you all this feels reassuring. I'm wondering how well it will prevent the physical symptoms because they are really distressing and debilitating.

OP posts:

lemoncrisp · 05/11/2020 12:24

Ive been taking 30mg a day for a couple of years. Totally works for me. I dont intend stopping them unless my gp advises it.

shivbo2014 · 05/11/2020 12:42

I have been taking 20mg for almost a year. I felt a bit spaced out for a day or two but no other side effects. They do work well for my anxiety. I also sometimes take propanolol if Im feeling particularly nervous/edgy about something and that really helps the physical symptoms like that sick feeling in the stomach, headaches and heart palpations.

bridgetreilly · 05/11/2020 12:45

Like others, I find the first couple of weeks on it hard going - exhaustion and nausea, mainly for me. But after that it just makes me feel, well, normal. I take it for depression, not anxiety, though. And thank you, you've just reminded me to go and order my repeat prescription!

Original poster

Anxiousannie32 · 05/11/2020 15:56

My anxiety is very situational. So if I'm at home I'll be ok. If I go out (especially to specific places) it flares up. So I was hoping she might give me something like a beta blocker which I've read can be used as and when needed rather than everyday.i guess I will just have to see how it goes.

OP posts:

justjuggling · 05/11/2020 17:35

It’s worked well for me, Hope you find it helpful.

Livingtothefull · 05/11/2020 17:36

I have been on Citalopram for a couple of years now and it has been a life changer for me. I am much less socially anxious and stressed these days....I still feel like 'me' just emotionally a lot more resilient.

CovidCrazy · 05/11/2020 17:38

It didn’t agree with me so I changed to duloxetine which changed my life & I swear by it.

If citalopram suits you, stick with it.

FrancesHaHa · 05/11/2020 17:46

I took citalopram for less than a year 20mg. Like others I had side effects for the first week or so, but otherwise they really helped me. In the time I had some therapy which really helped, and supported me to put some coping strategies in place for when I stopped taking it.

I always had problems getting to sleep before, but I took them before bed and they helped me sleep. I'm still able to get sleep even after stopping taking them, which is good - like a reset.

TheoriginalLEM · 05/11/2020 18:01

Have been on citalopram/escitalopram for about 10 years, more on than off. I feel better when i take it.

The average time is about 6 months but i have come to accept I'll always need it. I still struggle occasionally with anxiety but it keeps me functional and able to enjoy life.

Be prepared for a rough week when you first start as there are side effects, head aches, nausea and heightened anxiety but they go and then you start to feel better

ChittyChittyBoomBoom · 05/11/2020 18:04

I’ve been on a few and found citalopram the worst for side effects when you first start taking them and AWFUL to come off. Hopefully they suit you though.

I find propanalol the best for tackling the physical symptoms of anxiety.

Hope you feel better soon 💐 x

madamedesevigne · 05/11/2020 18:07

I’ve been on them three times and they worked brilliantly for me. Whatever you do, DON’T suddenly stop taking them. I did this the first time and it was hell but tapering off the dose slowly worked really well.

Worriedwombat2015 · 05/11/2020 18:20

I take 30mg, they've really really helped me.

Bear with the side effects for the first few weeks, I found my anxiety was heightened and panic attacks were worse (I wont lie) vivid dreams and muscle twitches. But it all settled down after a couple of weeks and not problems now, so bear with it, it's worth it in the long term.

If you are worried, can you talk to your gp about starting on a low dose and see how you get on with that?

scentedgeranium · 05/11/2020 18:27

Didn't quite save my life but gave my poor traumatically stressed brain a chance to remember life before. I was on it for 2 years and came off with no problems. I wouldn't hesitate to take it again

Original poster

Anxiousannie32 · 05/11/2020 18:27

She has prescribed a low dose of 10mg so will see how I get on with it. I'm just hoping it will be enough to ease the physical symptoms because it's those that are causing me the biggest problems. I'm constantly panicking that I'm going to vomit or have diarrhoea in public and of course that panic makes the symptoms worse.

OP posts:

wildraisins · 05/11/2020 18:34

I was on citalopram 20mg for about 4 years, and it was great. No pill can be a magic bullet but it really did help me to cope and made me feel better. I did lose some of the edge to my emotions, both bad and good, so you have to be prepared for that - you might not feel as bad but you might also not feel as happy/ excited when good things happen. I also totally lost my libido for about 2-3 months but it came back when my body got used to the pills. It's a compromise.

After 4 years the effects of it started to wear off (this can happen if you take SSRI's for a long time) and my GP upped it to 30mg. Still didn't make much difference so I switched to a different drug, which I have found to have more side effects.

So yes, overall, my experience with citalopram was a good one, until it stopped being effective for me, but I had a good 4 years with it.

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