Citalopram -how long to work and side effects

[Whelk]

I have been diagnosed with post viral fatigue and have suffered from 8 weeks. I am housebound and for the first 5 weeks was bedbound.
the GP has given me Citalopram for the anxiety - 10mg.
She allowed me to start by cutting them in half - I have therefore taken 5mg on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. I have the stiffest neck, jaw and am suffering from terrible nausea and sleeplessness.
I am struggling with many many symptoms of PVF so felt this was intolerable on top of that so didn't take a dose last night (out of hours said would be OK to just drop to nothing rather than tail off, at such a low dose).

I had actually felt better on Monday - wednesday and had just assumed as doctor said it took 2 weeks to feel the effects that it was nothing to do with the Citalorpram.

However today now I have stopped I am concerned about feeling worse. And of course I feel really anxious.
So, would the effects of the Citalopram have already kicked in?
and should I have stopped taking them?

I am in such a state of anxiety i don't know what to do. Going to speak to GP (not mine unfortunately) but any thoughts would be great

Take a few weeks to start working I was on 10 mg for 8 weeks to ease me in and still anxious and weepy but better now on 20 mg and much better not perfect still have really bad days depends on what stress faactors are involved x

Citalopram (and other SSRI anti depressants) work on both depression and anxiety, and funnily enough on both in different ways. It can kick in really quickly for anxiety and take weeks to work for depression. So it is possible that you felt the difference already. (I'm married to a scientist who read himself to death before taking citalopram, hence that kind of info!!)

Whether you should have stopped taking them I cannot answer. it was certainly safe to stop taking them as you had taken them for such a short time. Whether they are the right drug for you to take as you are already exhausted I can't tell, only you can. I guess it depends on how bad the anxiety is.

That is very interesting madmouse. Would you be able to point me in the direction of that advice (kicking in immediately for anxiety).

the doctor agreed i should stay off them for a week and see and then maybe go back on. She didn't think my jaw and shoulders/neck were side effects but i am pretty sure they are.

The anxiety is almost certainly adversely affecting my recovery I think - well I don't know PVF is so complex and frustrating, I feel anxiuos because I feel so very very ill.

No sorry, that's just what dh told me of the research he did before he started citalopram.

And yes stiff jaw is a side effect, documented and all. Not sure about shoulder. I had the jaw problem massively badly but then I had a bad reaction to the stuff and had to stop. I couldn't even talk normally.

two weeks before you feel any benefit from them. you start out on a lower dose because they can initially make you worse.
when you eventually come off them, it has to be staggered slowly. going cold turkey is very bad for side effects.

I was on 20mg, and it took a good 4 weeks to work completely, although interestingly as madmouse says, the anxiety went almost immediately. (I'm now right down to 5mg, and hoping to come off completely over spring.)

Side effects for me are ringing in ears, very deep sleep and a bit groggy in am, and unable to drink more than half a glass of wine without dreadful headache in the morning (altho that may just be cheap wine ... ).

Oh yes, I also had the stiff jaw for the first few weeks - I think I was gritting my teeth really hard while asleep and then waking up with aching jaw.

Also I had a few swimmy, light-headed moments.

Just to complicate this slightly . ssris can actually make anxiety significantly worse for some people in the first few weeks of taking them. This eventually settles down. (also the same with sleep difficulties etc.)

Its really difficult to say how any individual will be affected because is so different in different people.