Citalopram tiredness, very worried about driving

[Chestnutx3]

On day 4 on citalopram for severe depression. I'm really worried about driving I don't feel like I can judge distances when parking and feel spacey and very sleepy. I live in a rural area so the kids have to be picked up from their schools/nursery by car, so I have to do a minimum of 6 journeys a day.

Will the tiredness go and the lack of spacial awareness. Prefer to be depressed than to have an accident.

Yes it does get a lot better but is there any way you can scale back or get extra help in the meantime?

It takes a couple of weeks. What is your dose?

I take mine at night to reduce these symptoms

only 10mg and no i can't get much help in driving only at the weekends

You should adjust to the tiredness after two weeks or so. Citalopram can affect your judgement a bit, which may be the case with parking.

You mention severe depression, so not taking the ADs may not be an option.

What dose did they start you on?

Can you call on any other parents from the school/nursery to help out for a bit?

I also took mine at night in the beginning. Took about a week or so before I felt confident to drive. Is there anyone who can help out for a while?

Yes, do you take it at night?

I'm afraid to take it at night as I suffer from insomnia. Have had some car sharing this week but they expect a lift for their kids in return for another morning so it doesn't help that much as then I have the responsibility of other people's kids in the car which is worse.

Have managed without ADs and severe depression for over a year was sort of pushed to the GP surgery by DH and I am a very reluctant taker of ADs.

Day 2 I scrapped the car bumper on a post, havent had an accident in over 10 years!

I found it actually helped my sleep taking it at night and was very reluctant to start taking it in the morning! Might be worth a try, you can always swap back if it doesn't work.

Could you not tell a porkie and say your car is broken and but you will return the lifts as soon as it is fixed (if you don't want to tell the car sharers about the citalopram?)

Stick with it, I was very reluctant to start taking ADs and it sounds dramatic but now I honestly feel like my life has been turned around. It makes me wonder how long I haven't been myself. You will get there and the difficult bits at the beginning are more than outweighed by the feeling better that is just around the corner :)

Dh takes it at night. He is not a great sleeper and taking citalopram has certainly not made it worse.

You say you feel very sleepy, all the more reason to take it at night then!! it may help with the insomnia...

thank you for your responses, in many ways I've realised I haven't felt normal since my last child was born over 2.5 years ago and GP.

Will start taking it at night and see if it helps. I did sleep beyond 4am without waking last night for the first time in months.

I've just been prescribed citalopram 20mg today, never had ADs before. I'm interested in what you say as I have a big anxiety about driving and we have a new car too. Something else to worry about.

I'm going to take mine at bedtime. Have you had any other side effects? I'm really worried about taking them. I haven't felt right since I had my DD 3 years ago either.

I feel groggy, felt sick for the first 24hours, my appetitie is surpressed (no bad thing!), incredibly sleepy. I'm also forgetful and less sharp than usual.

If you don't have to use the car I really wouldn't, I just can't judge distance too well. I'm normally a good driver and great at parking in small spaces. I hope I feel right after the weekend only 2 more days of school runs to get through.

Thanks. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. Can't go without the car entirely though. I used to be a confident driver and it's just disappeared.

I'm on day 3 of Citalopram 10mg in the morning and 10mg mirtazapine in the evening. I find Citalopram makes me more wired and stuff, and the mirtazapine is supposed to bring me down (but it doesn't ) hoping it gets better cos these mood swings are horrendous.

Oh, and I have anxiety about driving (what i I have an accident and people think I did it on purpose/who would look after DS etc)

Now off citalopram after taking it for a while. I couldn't drive or do much for about the first 4 days - sick, dizzy, no spatial awareness etc. It did pass off after that for me, no problems when upping or decreasing the dose either. I know people react differently but I was ok after that. No appetite for a few days but have put on weight from tablets.

I took my Citalopram after doing the school run so it kicked in later on in the morning. My side effects did wear off after 2 weeks and it is worth it to lift the depresssion. Can you ask for some help with school runs whilst your body gets used to the medication? Good Luck