success of taking citalopram

[Tave111]

Have been having crippling anxiety for the last 4 weeks mixed with overburn and personal issues happening such as my stepdad and partner being admitted to hospital for various health issues. I have completely hit a wall and was proscribed citalopram which I have been taking it for the last 9 days now. I have hit a completely wall and been having anxiety, suicidal ideation and can’t eat. I have now gone from 10mg to 20mg as the doctor said that 20mg is more of a therapeutic dose. However I feel like everything is getting worse and I feel extremely helpless and don’t know what to do.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m on 20mg and have found it to be amazing for me. The beginning is hard as my anxiety actually got worse but it settled down and I am so much better on it than off it. Make sure you keep speaking with you doctor (especially about the suicidal ideation) as what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another - and there are lots of different options out there. I also found that giving up alcohol was a key for me.

How long have you been on it ? And if you don’t mind me asking how long did it take you to feel better? I know it’s different for everyone but I’ve been mindlessly scrolling trying to just look at success stories to give me that glimmer of hope that everything will be okay in the end as right now it doesn’t seem like the case.

The 10 to 20mg switch has been extremely intense I feel shaky, scared, nauseous almost dissociated with real life.

The Crisis team have got involved so I am being checked daily by them and am also staying at my mums house to make sure that I’m okay.

No personal experience but my friend has recently been prescribed it. She’s maybe a month in and says it’s really helping with her feelings of panic.

Hang in their OP. It should kick in after about 6 weeks. I know that sounds a long time but it’ll be so worth it. It’ll do its work in the background. It’s changed my life x

Hi, I’ve been on 20mg Citalopram for over 8 years straight and previously been on and off it before that. It’s by the far the most effective of all the antidepressants/anti anxiety I’ve ever been prescribed (been on loads since I was a child). It does take a few weeks to kick in as all of these types of medications do. 4-6 weeks to appreciate a change, I think is expected. Really hope you start feeling better soon, and if any medication causes suicidal thoughts you should seek medical advice asap, always.

Try to hang on in there, I have been on Citalopram for over 5 years. Took a little while to kick in and I remember falling asleep every night at around 8pm for a while but once the early days were over I started to feel SO much more like my old self. Keeps my head above water, give it a chance and hopefully you will soon start to see the benefits 🙂