Citolapram

[Hopeful99]

Hi anyone,
I need some reassurance! I've been put on citolapram for severe anxiety and am on day 9 but don't feel any better really. I started with the anxiety about 6 months ago and it finally got to me when I broke down at work, that's when I realised that I needed to get help. I was having panic attacks and couldn't breathe, it felt like I had a lump,in my chest and throat and someone was pressing down on my chest. I've been off work now for nearly two weeks and haven't left the house until today which I found very scary ! I'm not sleeping and feel so tired even though I'm doing nothing ! Please can anyone tell me if this is normal ? And when will I start to feel bit better? I actually feel anxious nearly all the time.

I'm sorry you're feeling so bad; hang in there...

Citalopram was the first medicine I was prescribed to as well, and it didn't actually seem to do much for me, so after a couple of months I switched to paroxetin, which helped much more. I think usually you can't really tell how well a certain drug or dose works until after at least a few weeks, though. But please do go and talk to your dr again if you constantly feel horrible or even start to feel worse.

Thank you BrittleStick for your reply. I've been reading lots of threads re citolapram and it does seem to take awhile to start working, I guess I'm just impatient and thought I would start to see an improvement quickly!
It's the lack of sleep that doesn't help. I will hang in and try for awhile longer and if no improvement I'll defo go back to my doc.
Thanks again, it helps to know that someone else appreciates what you are going through. My OH is great but he's not a great talker and just pats me and says you'll be alright so it's good to know that there's support out there.

I too am sorry you are having a bad time. I am on citalopram 20mg and have been for about 6 months (second time around). It does take about 2 weeks to start working properly and as im sure you have read on the other threads, there are often side effects to start. So your sleep problems will probably resolve. I find i have to take my meds in the morning otherwise i can get panic attacks in the night. Was worse in first few weeks, if you do feel more agitated your dr may be able to presecribe something to help with that, short term.

Anxiety is bollocks :( But you can get over it, did your Dr mention counselling at all? CBT is good for helping you retrain your brain into more positive thought patterns. It didnt really work for me but many people find it invaluable.

You are not alone xx

Hello Hopeful. Citalopram veteran here. It takes a couple of weeks to feel better. The GP said it's a cummulative effect and a certain level has to be reached.

What time of day are you taking it?

Hi there,
Thanks for your replies and support, knowing you're not alone helps!
I'm taking it at night at the moment as I take other meds for thyroid so dr advised to keep them apart and I've always taken the throxine on waking. I've been bringing the citolapram forward gradually so instead of taking it when I went to bed around 10.30 pm I'm now taking it at tea time. Since doing this (couple of nights) I have slept better so fingers crossed! Dr didn't mention CBT but I will ask if the anxiety doesn't improve. Many thanks again .

Hang on in there Hopeful. It really helped me, my anxiety went and I am actually much braver now. It takes the rough edges off IYKWIM.

I have been on them nearly 2 1/2 years and I think 2014 may be the year to start thinking about reducing.

You really aren't alone x

Could you take them in the am? It really messed up my sleep til I started taking them in the am. Second the two weeks. Hang in there.

If you would prefer to take them in the morning you only need to wait for about an hour after your thyroxine to prevent the citalopram reducing how effective your thyroxine is. As others have said it takes two weeks to start working but if you are still finding it ineffective at two weeks go back and see about either a dose increase (assuming you started at a low dose) or a different medication. Hope things get easier soon.

Aw thanks everyone,
I will stick with it for a few more weeks and fingers crossed it will kick in soon!
If my sleep doesn't improve i will change to taking it in the morning. I started on 20mg - is that low? I'm not sure, most threads I've read seem to say 10 or 20 so I guess that's the normal dose.
Thanks again all, I feel more positive after reading all your comments.

I started on 20mg, then it was upped to 30mg as I was still feeling anxiety especially in the mornings. Back down to 20mg now.
There are some other side effects I had-

Yawning all the time
Clenchy jaw
Feeling very hot all the time.

That was to start with. Now the only side effect is vivid dreams. Like films, not scary or nightmares, just very real.

Hi again
I felt better yesterday, less anxious and much more positive! I thought brilliant it's working but today I feel anxious again, not as bad but the anxiety is there and I'm so tired. Do you get ups and downs with this medication? Sorry I've never been on them before so am not sure what to expect my dr just said I might feel nauseous for a week or so (touch wood I haven't!) when do you take yours Sparklingbrook?
Thanks again

I take mine with breakfast Hopeful. At first I found that I felt like a totally different person in the morning to the evening IYKWIM. Still quite anxious a.m. then by the evening I was feeling quite good.

Tired is normal. Your body is adjusting. You will come to a point where 'how do I feel' isn't a continuous worry. You will start to forget yourself IYKWIM and concentrate on stuff.

Thank you Sparklingbrook, I think I will bring them forward gradually so that I'm taking them in a morning. I tend to be anxious in a morning at the moment then it gets better but I'm off work at the moment as I just couldn't cope but am due back next week, (dreading it -I work in a school!) I don't know how I will cope with the tiredness! I can't wait for when I won't be thinking "how do I feel"? I just want to be me again!
Thank you again for all your support, it reall helps.

How are you feeling today Hopeful?

Hello Hopeful

Sorry to hear you've been feeling so rubbish.
I'm another one who has taken citalopram. I was on 20mg too. For me it probably took about a month to work and then gradually from there I started consistently feeling much better. Now after 13 months I am phasing off them.

They made me really sleepy so I took mine just before bed. I was very shaky and jittery while adjusting to them but after a couple of weeks that went away.

Feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything! And also CBT is definitely worth looking into.

It can be so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's fantastic that you have sought out and started treatment as I know how scary that step can be. x

Hi Sparklingbrook,
I've had a very anxious day today. I woke up at 3am and couldn't get to sleep again. My heart was racing and I felt as anxious as I did 2 weeks ago. This made me feel a bit down as you automatically think they're not working and because i felt better a couple of days ago! But I've read that these ups and downs can happen so that's what I keep telling myself, it's normal and will get better!
Thank you too amateurcynic for taking time to post. It really helps to hear other peoples experiences with citolapram and that they do eventually work.
Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day! I guess I just have to take each day as it comes too!
Thanks again everyone for your support.

YY just keep going, you are getting on for 2 weeks and doing well. x

Hi just thought I would update everyone who has been so kind and replied on here to me. I'm now 3 weeks and 2 days into taking my citolapram and fingers crossed I think they are starting to work! I had a good day last week and thought it was working but then dropped into despair again and felt just as bad but I've now had 3 good days and I even slept better last night! I've started to go out a little bit and see some friends which I found hard to do. I can't tell you how glad I'm feeling. I spoke to my GP who reassured me that I would get there and it just ties time. Thanks everyone for your support. X

That's fab. You should now start to feel better and better. Christmas in 2 weeks-should be great. x

Thank you Sparkinggbrook! I feel so much better, the sleep helps lol! X

now you are sleeping are you having any vivid dreams?

Not yet!! I do wake and think what's happening, there's something on my mind so maybe I am in my sub councious ! I haven't remembered anything yet though. I haven't really slept for weeks properly so maybe I'm just too zonked out to dream! I'll let you know if the dreams start!

You are doing really well.

I quite enjoy my vivid dreams now. Like films.

Well today is the day I start reducing. Been on them since July 2011. So I am doing 20mg/10mg every other day. So it's 10mg today. GP reckons two months of that before the next reduce.

Another l

Another long term Citalopram user here. It really helped my anxiety and I found any sleep problems vanished when I took it, so I hope it works for you OP.

The tablets just made things better, and I took them for about three years. I'm off them now, but I would really recommend them to try for anyone suffering with anxiety. Good luck.