To ask your experiences of Citralopram?

[sleighbellsjiggling]

I'm on day 3 and I feel odd. My anxiety is worse than ever and I can't focus on doing anything, I'm supposed to be working today 🤦‍♀️.

Also I have very sore eyeballs which is odd and I can't see that as a side effect anywhere. My LFTs last week and today are all negative so presumably not covid...

How long did it take you to feel like they were benefitting you? Have you got any tips to feel a bit more human in the meantime?

It might not have been the best idea to start them at the same time as my iron tablets tbh, it's hard to know what's doing what to me!

Thanks for any advice!

Hi. What dosage are you on? Mine was gradually increased to 30mg and I've honestly never felt better. It's not a magic cure, of course, and I still have off days but I can cope with them better.

It took a couple of weeks for them to start working and in the early days I was still anxious. Not heard of sore eyeballs, but it could be you're more aware of them as you're still anxious.

What are you taking them for (you don't have to say or just give a broad outline)? Is it anxious thoughts, overwhelming feeling etc?

Yes, it takes a while to work, so don't worry yet. Do check the dose though - I was given 20mg from the start, and it was awful. I dropped to 10mg and worked back up gradually, and it was much better. I did have some side effects: slight ringing in the ears (nothing unbearable, only noticeable when there was absolute silence), and a loss of sex drive but that improved too. I was far better with the pills than without!

By all means talk to your Dr again if you're worried but they'll probably say to hang in there for a couple of weeks before making a decision to change medications (unless you're having sever symptoms obviously).

I hope they start working for you soon!

Been on 20mg for three years nearly now.

It saved my life but took about a week for me to settle down.

I remember how I get just before I saw the doctor and got a prescription and I wouldn't want to go back to that ever again.

Mine have never been upped as I also do other things to combat some of the physical symptoms of anxiety like one or two ten minute yoga sessions a day and I walk and listen to podcasts a lot.

Don't get me wrong I still get very overwhelmed at times of high stress but you gradually learn to see the signs and put things into action

I also talk myself round better now in my mind when I can feel my levels getting too high.

Thanks so much for your reply. Im glad you've found them to work. I'm on a starting dose of 20mg.

I'm taking them for anxiety and low mood, I'm on the waiting list for CBT and hoping my brain has calmed down a bit by the time it comes through. At the minute everything is a jumble and my head feels very 'messy'.

I’m not on these anymore. But I wanted to add my experience. I was a mess, the GP had made me try CBT first. But it made things worse.

I woke up in a good mood everyday, felt excited for the day ahead. People noticed the difference. I was full of energy. I don’t remember any side effects.

They helped me overcome my panic attacks so much that when I came off them I didn’t get panic attacks again. I loved being on them, I was so positive every day.

I hope you have a good result with them. They do work.

@LaMadrilena

Yes, it takes a while to work, so don't worry yet. Do check the dose though - I was given 20mg from the start, and it was awful. I dropped to 10mg and worked back up gradually, and it was much better. I did have some side effects: slight ringing in the ears (nothing unbearable, only noticeable when there was absolute silence), and a loss of sex drive but that improved too. I was far better with the pills than without!

By all means talk to your Dr again if you're worried but they'll probably say to hang in there for a couple of weeks before making a decision to change medications (unless you're having sever symptoms obviously).

I hope they start working for you soon!

Ah that's interesting, maybe I'll give it a couple of days and speak to my GP if it still feels too much. I have a check in with her next month to see how it's going so hopefully could review it again then.

@wtfisgoingonhere21

Been on 20mg for three years nearly now.

It saved my life but took about a week for me to settle down.

I remember how I get just before I saw the doctor and got a prescription and I wouldn't want to go back to that ever again.

Mine have never been upped as I also do other things to combat some of the physical symptoms of anxiety like one or two ten minute yoga sessions a day and I walk and listen to podcasts a lot.

Don't get me wrong I still get very overwhelmed at times of high stress but you gradually learn to see the signs and put things into action

I also talk myself round better now in my mind when I can feel my levels getting too high.

I feel the same, it took me so much to actually put into words how I was feeling and luckily this time got an understanding GP who didn't brush my awkward start to the conversation under the carpet. I don't want to have to do that again.

I plan to do some yoga as soon as I can, I'm currently dealing with a bad neck and back so I'm waiting for that to calm down first.

What I really want to do is lock myself away from everyone until I feel human again but not an option sadly!

@DobbyTheHouseElk

I’m not on these anymore. But I wanted to add my experience. I was a mess, the GP had made me try CBT first. But it made things worse.

I woke up in a good mood everyday, felt excited for the day ahead. People noticed the difference. I was full of energy. I don’t remember any side effects.

They helped me overcome my panic attacks so much that when I came off them I didn’t get panic attacks again. I loved being on them, I was so positive every day.

I hope you have a good result with them. They do work.

This gives me so much hope, thank you! I'm so glad you're feeling better now 😀

It didn't really suit me and I just wanted to sleep all the time while I was on it. I now take sertraline and I'm fine.

Citalopram makes you feel really weird for a while when you first start taking it. My lovely local pharmacist took me aside and warned me when I picked up my first prescription. You might feel strange for a week, maybe two, but then it passes.

My experience with Citalopram has been that it is a life-saver and a very good anti depressant.

I started on 10 and gradually increased to 30. The first week was grim, I would be in the office but felt like I was watching everyone else in a film. Very unnerving.

Once settled down they have changed my life x

One thing I taught myself for 'busy thoughts':

Imagine you are on a central reservation of a very busy motorway.

The cars & lorries speeding past on either side are your thoughts, worries & feelings that are making you worry / panic / stress. This is what's making your mind busy.

Now imagine a pelican crossing on each side of the carriageways, the controls on the central reservation with you.

See yourself walking to the controls and pressing the button to cross. The traffic has to stop, because that's the law (your will).

Imagine the traffic gradually slowing and coming to a full stop.

Now the traffic is calmer, you can begin to cross the road to your safe place. Take as long as you need. Nobody can rush you. The traffic can't start again until you are safe. When it does start, it will be on a 20mph road now and you can cross safely any time you wish.

Each time the traffic starts to build up speed - push the stop button.

It takes some practice & deep breathing but it really helps me, even now.

I'm on 40mg
It took about a month to feel any benefit but I definitely do feel the benefit now.

I still have down days but I no longer want to commit suicide and the down days aren't as often as they were.
I've been on it nearly 4 years now.

They saved my life. I'd be dead without them.
The only major side effect I get is excessive flarulence which I am prepared to tolerate - better than jumping off a high cliff.
I've had acute anxiety for 50 years since childhood due to complex trauma which has been no fun working full time and now I feel normal for the first time ever.
You won't feel better immediately it takes a few weeks and you can expect some fleeting side effects.

@iklboo

One thing I taught myself for 'busy thoughts':

Imagine you are on a central reservation of a very busy motorway.

The cars & lorries speeding past on either side are your thoughts, worries & feelings that are making you worry / panic / stress. This is what's making your mind busy.

Now imagine a pelican crossing on each side of the carriageways, the controls on the central reservation with you.

See yourself walking to the controls and pressing the button to cross. The traffic has to stop, because that's the law (your will).

Imagine the traffic gradually slowing and coming to a full stop.

Now the traffic is calmer, you can begin to cross the road to your safe place. Take as long as you need. Nobody can rush you. The traffic can't start again until you are safe. When it does start, it will be on a 20mph road now and you can cross safely any time you wish.

Each time the traffic starts to build up speed - push the stop button.

It takes some practice & deep breathing but it really helps me, even now.

That sounds like a really good exercise, I'm still at the point where my brain is panicking at the thought of holding up the traffic and wanting to run but I'll think about this when I'm feeling a bit calmer. Thank you.

I was very ill on Citalopram and also Venlaflaxine especially when I first started taking them - I had grey skin, dilated pupils, feeling clammy, hallucinating and seizures. Tight chested, feeling like I couldn't breathe. I slowly weaned myself off of them and would never take them or any other AD's again.

They didn't kick in for a couple of weeks but within hours of my first tablet I had ajaw tremor. Really random. It was a small enough tremor no one would notice but I could feel it with my teeth together. Didn't go away until I stopped taking them. They do work though just need time

Oh @Amicompletelyinsane, that was the side-effect I'd forgotten - I knew there was one! Yes, my jaw had that weird tension as well, and it was definitely worse at first. Mine didn't go away either, but did get better. I think I'd blocked that out! But I was still definitely better on the tablets.

It saved my life!

Took a few weeks to properly kick in (before that I felt more anxious and had issues with feeling disconnected) but then I had very few side effects - mainly teeth grinding, which is a real pain. If you spot yourself waking up with an achy jaw, get a mouthguard ASAP and save yourself the dentistry, haha.

It's also worth remembering everyone's body responds slightly differently, and what works for someone else might not work for you. Sertraline made me suicidal with no sex drive; DH says it's the best thing that ever happened to him, but citalopram made him more anxious. So definitely, definitely give it a few weeks to see how it's settling in but don't be afraid to go to your GP and say it's not doing the trick after that.

Also: DON'T FORGET TO TAKE IT. The worst part of citalopram was forgetting for a day (or two) and developing brain zaps and feeling like I was on a rollercoaster because of withdrawal. Not only is it less effective if you don't take it (obviously), sudden withdrawal isn't much fun.

Been on them since 2005. 40mg at the moment. Vary the dosage as I feel I need it, GP is fine with that. She trusts me to know what I need. {She's looked after me since 2004.) If I need them the rest of my life, no problem. (I'm mid 70s) They balance the chemicals in my brain. No different from a diabetic topping up with insulin.
Good luck, OP.

I took it a few years ago and was only on it for a few months so maybe not long enough to see therapeutic effects. I had side effects that my gp dismissed at first. Increased appetite, I could eat plenty and never feel full, like my stomach was a bottomless pit. Excessive sleeping and strange dreams. Lack of motivation. I also had strange racing thoughts, like mental images of my environment flashing in my brain, focusing on dangerous objects around me. That was very scary. I was at university at the time. I went back to my doctor much heavier and told her about my symptoms. We agreed I should stop taking it.

I had hardly any side effects and those I did have were gone within two days, but I was only on 10mg. However before that I'd tried sertraline which is supposed to be very similar to citalopram in terms of minimal side effects and it was absolutely horrific - I thought I had covid because of how severe my reaction was -I had to stop after a few doses because I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, was literally shaking all day,my temperature went down to 32 degrees which is hypothermia level despite sitting right against a radiator.....yet citalopram was painless.

So basically if the symptoms don't ease its fine to go back to your doctor and ask to try a different anti depressant. I tried a few before citalopram and it's the best for me.

I felt sick as a dog. Stopped taking it in the morning and moved it to the evening and then felt sick all night. Stuck it out for two weeks and then changed to Fluoxitine, which was life changing within about three days.

Sertraline gave me ridiculous headaches and made me more depressed. If it's not working after a few weeks, ask GP to change it as there are many options out there, and there will almost certainly be one that works for you :(

Thanks everyone for your advice and stories, it's really helpful.

I'm still feeling like a train has hit me today but I'll carry on and hopefully see some improvement in the next week.

Very strangely I was up with my youngest at 4am and my eyes didn't hurt and I didn't feel as achy as I did. When I got back up again this morning at 7 I felt horrific again. Maybe I need to work out the timings of taking it better?

I took sertraline years and years ago and remembered the side effects being terrible at first, I was hopeful that it would be different on this but it seems not. At least my brain doesn't feel like it's vibrating on this I suppose!

I've been on the max of 40mg for several years now, worked up from 10mg after trying multiple other ADs which didn't work for me. It quite literally saved my life. About two years ago they took me off it and switched to something else, I spent 18 months housebound and off work before I could persuade them to switch back, I'm now working again and feeling good, expecting our first baby. I'll be on them for life, I'm not great at remembering to collect my prescription and if I stop taking them for a few days I can literally feel myself going downhill. It did take a while to adjust each time I upped the dose but it's completely worth it for me.