My doctor recommends Citalopram but I can't help thinking I just need to do more running...

[RunningUphill]

I am depressed. My glorious career went to sh*t last year, my eldest child has been diagnosed with autism, my husband works long hours and I find it hard with work and childcare to get out of the house to breathe/meet people/get some perspective. I'm either furious or in floods of tears or grimly stomping on the treadmill in our front room to try and tire myself out so I can stop thinking.
My doctor says I'm depressed and need counselling and Citalopram. I'm wary of the chemicals and side effects of the latter my knee-jerk reaction is to that I just need more fresh air! but at this point I can't figure out how the hell else to get better. Am very bored of being only able to think about how pointless and crap I am.
Has anyone else been here or got suggestions? I'd be very grateful.

How are you running? I hope it's a bit better? I went to my gp today and she's agreed that I can go it alone ie without meds. I'm going to a counsellor and she's directed me to some self help sites. I hope it works. Z

Running I posted on this thread earlier on and am interested in your experience with depressions, meds and exercise.

I'm also on ADs, dosulepin and have recently increased my dose to the normal starting dose of 75mg as I was getting too many low days on 50mg. It seems for the moment I can't reduce. I need to feel happier. I've been on 75mg for about four weeks now and I think things are improving. I just feel disappointed that I'm back where I started after managing to reduce to 25mg at the end of last year.

I also love running and find it really clears my mind and calms me down. However at the moment I seem to be getting one injury after another, which is getting me down as I start getting into a nice routine with it and then have to stop, despite getting new trainers. I also find that I have a lovely day the day I go running but the day after my mood is down again. I know there are always going to be up and down days but would like to be on more of an even keel.

I think I could do with talking to someone as I feel I've been left on ADs and don't really want to be stuck on them forever. I was seeing my doctor every couple of months for a chat, but I think she's presuming things are better for me now. Unfortunately it seems there is no time to do check ups on patients. If I want extra help I will probably have to pay for it. Meanwhile I'm hoping I can get back to running soon:)

Im just checking in here as really interested in all the things you are talking about.

Orangeflutie - Im also on a tricyclic. have just reduced from 50mg to 35mg because of a problem with side effects. But struggling and going through quite a long 'blip' . If i cant stabilise on this I will need to look at changing ad's which is always a big deal for me (In the past i have got much worse before i get better - so if at all possible want to avoid that).

Dont think I'll ever be a 'runner' (!) but keen to look at other exercise options. Did anyone see the articles in papers yesterday re. Tai Chi helping older people with depression.

Im also interested in maybe trying mindfulness.

Hope you are all doing ok.

Hi kizzie:)

Sorry to hear you're struggling. I remember you saying you were also on a tricyclic. It seems to me that they work for a while and then I need more again. I don't seem to have any side effects at the mo but I do think I'm going to need some other options if I'm ever going to get off them. I managed to get down to 25mg at the end of last year but that might be as low as I can go.

I'm interested in mindfulness too as it helps if I can stay in the moment. I hate it when my mind goes round and round. This is one of the reasons I enjoy running as I seem to be able to switch off then. I would really like something else that helps when I can't run.

running and everybody else - how are you doing now?

I agree that exercise does help so keep that up. But I really benefitted from ADs, I eventually was on prozac/fluoxetine which is a SSRI like citalopram and it really helped and I had no side effects. I will say that I was started on Citalopram but it made me feel awful - really jittery like I'd had WAY to much coffee. They tend to start you on citalopram (probably cos it's cheap!) and you may be fine with it, but don't be afraid to keep going back if you do decide to try an AD and it isn't quite right.

And FWIW, I came off them easily when I found out I was pg with no adverse effects - the problems behind the depression had resolved by then so I was fine, but the ADs helped take the edge off while I sorted things out.

Good luck, I hope things improve for you soon.x

kizzie - perhaps start a gentle jog/walk program? That's how I started and have now run 2 half marathons. Now I have had dd I am back on jog/walk as I had CS and I find walking is just as effective as running in clearing the mind/raising endorphin levels .x

I'm on 40mg citalopram, and while it may make you initially feel drowsy you won't feel woozy/sweaty etc for ever. It works by giving your mind a well deserved rest - helps to calm the worries/anxieties/stresses down. The Cognitive Belaviour therapy works in tandem with the medication and will give you the coping strategies for now and the future. And exercise helps us all - but it needs to be part of a balanced lifestyle.
I'm able to drink occassionally on citalopram -

Hi - everyone - just wondered how everyone was getting on on this thread. Im still in 'blipsville' unfortunately.

Some better days which are such a huge relief but then probs kick in again after a few days so no real stability.

Im v scared of going right back down again but hoping that i can give myself another 3 months of 'really' trying all relaxation/ exercise etc to see if can improve things.

This would be much better for me if possible because I always have very very bad side effects either reducing, increasing or changing ad's. But I know if necessary i may need to do that. i have been ok on this dose (35mg of a tricyclic) and lower in the past so hopefull hopefully hopefully.

Anyway would be really good to hear how you are all doing x

I take Citalopram and am sorry I didn't take it years ago. The only side effects I've had is a mild tummy upset in the first few days. I have found that instead of being in a mess, swimming in treacle, drowning in emotions - angry one minute, hysterical the next, paranoid the next, blah blah. The effect has been to make me less emotional (not numb or in a bad way), able to be more rational and able to cope as a normal person, plus I feel like I'm being me again and not the nutter I felt I have been in the past. As others have stated, it doesn't change your circumstances, but it does have a positive effect on your ability to deal with them.
Most people who are clinically depressed have no libido or at least very reduced libido. I wonder if you are just overwhelmed by your situation and going through a natural emotional process and are actually in better shape than you realise. Are you able to afford some extra help to get you through this difficult time?

Exercise will certainly help, but will not be enough on its own to re-balance the chemicals in your brain if you are depressed (which is merely an imbalance of the body's natural chemicals).
There are different types of depression, and we sometimes seem to think there's something wrong with having negative feelings, such as grief, sadness, being overwhelmed or frustrated.
Hope this helps. If you feel it's worth a try, go for the Citalopram, you can stop if you don't notice a change in a few weeks. Most important to have whole process supervised by your GP - make sure you find a sympathetic one.
Good luck.

Thanks for adding that Penneekins. I am on a v low dose of a different ad at the moment - and trying all the self help things to try and get better without changing - as I tend to have v horrible side effects if i do. Having good days but lots of blips still so keeping fingers crossed.
But if things dont properly stabilise then I may be trying citalopram.

Hello everyone -- i can't speak highly enough of citalopram, along with cbt.
I'm coming to the end of my course now got one last month to go and honestly feel like a new person. Actually no that's not true I feel like a happy and grounded version of me! I'm a bit nervous about coming off the drugs, but now I know it's possible to get help and get better I feel positive about my future. My counsellor was great to be honest I didn't like him much, but he really pushed me to challenge the pattern of negative thinking I'd go into, and didn't let me get away with the 'poor me's'. All the time I was slogging away on the running machine I failed to realise I had to put my brain through some tough new training too.
Of course, longer, brighter days has helped too, as has a promise from my husband to come home earlier and facilitate me getting out with friends from time to time.
Good luck to everyone who is going through this. It's not easy, and you never know when you might need help again. But there are lots of us going through it and I'm here to say it is possible to get happy again.
and ps re the running -- i've applied for a place in the london marathon! reckon it will keep me occupied and physically too tired to fret :-)

So good to read your positive update :-) Glad things going so well

Another citalopram fan here. I take it for panic disorder though. I've been on and off it for years but it isn't addictive. You can get some side effects the first few weeks but stick with it they pass.

How is your diet? Are you getting plenty omega oils?

There's a good article in latest Prima (June issue) about depression. People who have survived it and how.

Oh see you've been on them Glad you sound brighter.

Curiousmama thnks for tip re. magazine. Good to see that cit has helped your panic/anxiety - its been suggested as a possible future option for me

I have other friends who have been on it a long time. If there's an imbalance then why not fix it? We would if it were a blood disorder, diabetes etc.. yet there's so much stigma on ADs.