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Mental health

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Original poster

Citalopram 10mg. Be brutally honest.

73 replies

Tea1Sugar · 15/01/2015 09:48

I've been putting it off for months but anxiety is controlling my life. The thought of the drugs itself petrify me and the list of side effects make me feel ill. Be honest, how is it?

OP posts:

Cocolepew · 15/01/2015 09:51

It changed my life. I put on weight but that was a small price to pay. I took it in the evening and it made me dream more vivid but I was used to very vivid dreams anyway .

MajesticWhine · 15/01/2015 09:53

I took citalopram quite a long time ago. 10mg is a very low dose. I found the first couple of weeks a bit odd, I felt a bit spaced out, and then I found it difficult for a couple of weeks when I stopped taking it. But apart from that it was fine. What else have you tried for your anxiety, have you been offered any CBT?

YouveCatToBeKittenMe · 15/01/2015 09:56

I'm on it to. It has taken a while to have an effect. i still felt miserable and anxious for about 3 weeks after but now I feel much better. however I also have a vit D deficiency and my GP said that this could be contributing to my depression, so my Vit D tablets are also helping.
I haven't had many side effects. I used to take them in the morning but they did make me feel slightly nauseous and tired, so now I take them before bed, I'm still tired but I think that is just because I'm so busy.
I am much less anxious, I've been on them since end of Nov.

Smokedsalmonbagel · 15/01/2015 09:57

Just take it! I started on 10. Felt strange for couple weeks but it really helped. I went up to 20 after a month.
Good luck.

Rinkydinkypink · 15/01/2015 09:59

It's really helping me. First 4 weeks were hard but I'd not go back to where I was!

Take it, give it time.

CaulkheadUpNorth · 15/01/2015 10:02

I'm on 40, among other things. It's fine. Could things to worse whilst on it? 10mg is a very low dose, so I imagine you might not feel too many side effects (dry mouth is the only one I can remember).

makingdoo · 15/01/2015 10:04

10 is a low dose. I started with 10 and then went up to 20 after a few weeks.
It takes a few weeks to work but it made a really positive change in my life. I did put on a little weight but it's worth it for the relief of anxiety. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone suffering anxiety.

I'm struggling a bit at the moment as I've had to come off it while going through my IVF cycle. I really notice the difference and my anxiety levels are creeping up without it. I'm just praying its all worth it.

needastrongone · 15/01/2015 10:12

Can I just say, as the DW of someone with bi-polar, him taking 10mg of Citralopram has changed our family life so radically, and so much for the positive after 7 years of struggling that please just take it

Depression and anxiety doesn't just affect the sufferer, it ripples out. I am glad DH took it, but understand your reluctance, we had all the same feelings and thoughts to deal with, he put it off for years, which wasn't really fair on his family and I ended up with quite a lot of anger and resentment of my own to deal with.

Good luck.

needastrongone · 15/01/2015 10:15

Gosh - didn't want to guilt you, I hope my post didn't sound like it!

TheOnlyWayisGerard · 15/01/2015 10:17

It gave me insomnia. It was alright to start with, but after a couple of months I just couldn't sleep after taking it. I take mirtazipine (sp?) now, which also has a bit of a sleeping pill effect.

willowisp · 15/01/2015 10:22

I hated it & the person it made me become.

Took me a couple of weeks to get into my system, I lost my appetite, weight & quite frankly my marbles. I look back at that time & could weep at the pitiful creature I was.

Took me a good couple of months to get off it - electric currents would ping my head out of nowhere. I insisted DH move the wifi box because I was convinced that was the cause !

I suffer from anxiety too & am agoraphobic. I frequently have to sit myself down & challenge the thoughts & look at close friends & wonder if they are thibk the same, which helps me workout what is rational & what isn't.

I've been to my dr & have CBT thing (but haven't done it yet). I also carry rescue remedy (helps me even if just by placebo) & somewhere I have betablockers in case I do have a panic attack.

The 'drug' that made a massive difference to me was 5HTP. You can buy on Amazon & it's basically a serotonin booster. May stimulate you have vivid dreams, but no nightmares. For me (& other people who have tried it), I would say it saved my sanity.

Also true ref the vitamin d deficiency but I understand you need to look into supplements. Magnesium is a good nerve calmer as are B Complex vitamins.
Hope that's helpful.

orangepudding · 15/01/2015 10:29

In June I started taking 20 mg for depression. I felt sick and dizzy for about 6 weeks. It did really help with my depression. After 4 months my dose was upped to 40mg as I was starting g to feel depressed again, felt unwell for a couple of weeks.

It did help with the symptoms and I did stop feeling depressed but I also felt really apathetic. In January I ran out of tablets and three days without (due to bank holidays), I decided that as I managed those three days without I would carry on without. I now realise how numb I felt but do still think it was the right thing to do at the time.

Feeling unwell at the start was not pleasent but I do feel like it was worth it.

BigBirthdayGloom · 15/01/2015 10:31

Life changing. I took it in the evening and the next morning I was no longer feeling irrationally angry and trying not to bit people's heads off. I did feel a bit hot and had strange muscle cramps occasionally for the first few days. But honestly, I am so glad I did. And because I was calmer and more rational, I was able to get onto seeking a diagnosis for adhd, which I had suspected I had. Turns out I did, the anxiety was very likely due to struggling with that for 40 years. I am now on adhd meds and they have been life altering too. Meds aren't for everyone, but if the chemicals in your brain respond well, I see no reason to struggle. The diabetes analogy might be a bit overused and not perfect, but you wouldn't expect a diabetic to go without insulin injections. For me, my meds are the same. Well with, I'll without.

EamesIsMyHomeboy · 15/01/2015 10:32

I am so so so much happier. I'm on the maximum dose and I can function and talk to people and feel normal. The first few months are tough. I was tired and felt ill alot but its well worth it.

GraysAnalogy · 16/01/2015 00:41

Absolutely changed my life, and possibly saved it.

Original poster

Tea1Sugar · 16/01/2015 08:50

How long did it take to have any positive effect?

OP posts:

CarmelasFridge · 16/01/2015 08:57

Give it three weeks to see an improvement. I've been on 20mg for years, no side effects.

willowisp · 16/01/2015 16:43

How can this stuff be working if you need to take it for years ?!

Getting to the root of the cause - there is always at least one - is the only real answer.

Deux · 16/01/2015 17:07

I went to my GP feeling awful a few years ago and burst into tears. I must say I wouldn't have said I was suffering from depression. Low mood, lethargy, brain fog, tiredness and lack of motivation, yes. Plus I had just finished 2 years of bfing DD.

GP prescribed citalopram 10 whilst also ordering blood tests for everything inc Vitamin D. I really dithered about taking them the citalopram.

I did take them but only for 3 days. It was one of the worst experiences of my life and I suffered from extreme side effects. So much so that my GP marked it up as an adverse reaction. I just spent a big chunk of time staring into space, I had this strange constant yawning, teeth clenching and grinding so that my face hurt. On the third day about 40 minutes after taking it, I thought I'd close my eyes for 10 minutes, I woke up 3 hours later. I was out of it. I also reversed my car into a lamppost even though I knew it was there and the parking sensors were going nuts. I also felt utterly, utterly depressed and all the reasons I went to my GP were magnified.

I got my blood results back. All fine apart from Vit d which was barely registering. One week after taking v high dose Vit d I felt fabulous.

It did make me wonder how many others get prescribed anti-ds when v low levels of Vit d are the problem.

GraysAnalogy · 16/01/2015 21:23

willowisp that is such a misinformed post I'm afraid.

Depression doesn't always have a route cause. Yes it can be caused by stress, grief, abuse, things in childhood etc, but that isn't always the case. Some people can have brilliant lives and still have depression, so there is no cause to treat for them.

Anti-depressants are not a cure. They counter the symptoms, that's all. The fact that some of us can go from not being able to get out of bed, or leave the house with crying, stopping from wanting to kill ourselves is proof alone that they do work.

Perhaps if you want to debate this you could start your own thread, rather than derailing someone's who wants advice on their medication.

headinhands · 16/01/2015 21:31

On the bad side it's difficult to reach orgasm on citaloprwn, on the

GraysAnalogy · 16/01/2015 21:32

That's a good point headinhands.

GraysAnalogy · 16/01/2015 21:32

*root cause

headinhands · 16/01/2015 21:33

...on the plus side you can enjoy life and stop taking every tiny thing so horrendously seriously to the point that you are frozen in indecision by everything. You can laugh with your family, laugh at yourself and just relax.

sweetkitty · 16/01/2015 21:37

Been on 40mg for about 3 years, no side effects.

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