Anyone else really sensitive to medication?

[Bellini12]

I've been on citalipram for about 8 weeks now for high anxiety. I had to build up very slowly taking 0.25 increments every week as I suffered from every kind of side effect (mainly nausea & panic). Got to 10mg and felt ok for 2 weeks, I really thought I was getting back to normal. Dr thinks this will be my level as I'm petite, clearly sensitive to meds & have lost lots of weight.

I'd also been on 0.5mg lorezepam for sleep (for 3.5 weeks evert night) so i cut this down to a third then a quarter pill & have had all manner of side effects again (panic, anxiety, tremors in hands). I did this withdrawal over 10 days under guidance of the Dr. I had no idea how strong or habit forming it could be (though luckily I wasn't on it a long time or upped my dose).

So now I'm stabilising I'm wondering why I still feel so blooming anxious all the time (when I started to feel good previously). Its only been 6 days since I stopped the lorezepam, could this be rebound anxiety?

Yes I am. I have to have the lowest dose of everything or 1/2 a dose. I have tried so many AD's but Sertraline has been the best for me. My psychiatrist says I have a paediatric dose of Olanzapine that I take. I can only take 75 mg of Sertraline as any higher then I can't tolerate the side effects. I have osteoporosis & recently tried 2 meds but had to stop due to bad side effects. Iron injections gave me a systemic reaction. I had the flu vaccine on Fri & I'm currently suffering flu symptoms. My psychiatrist gave me a low dose of a med to help my migraines. It made my eyeballs feel like they were sucking up & down in the sockets. I am due to have an injection called Prolia on Fri but I am terrified of the side effects. Once the injection is in there is nothing they can do to over ride it. I will probably be laid up again next weekend. I do have a high pain threshold so not sure if that's related.

I seem to be and escitalopram has been the best for me.

Hello - I have just started a thread about weight loss (unwanted) on citalopram. I have been on them for 3 months and had lots of side effects - at one stage even considered stopping.

Have had: terrible night sweating / shakiness / hives - briefly all over but now an intermittent patch on hand / nausea / hideous reflux - never had before / seem to have acne at the moment / the most incredibly detailed dreams - I like them! / also losing about a pound a month.

My mood is so much better and I find myself singing spontaneously; my children comment on how happy and jolly I am, so it has been worth it, but also very very hard. Medication has also enabled me to bring up deeply traumatic life events in therapy, and I feel relief to have unburdened myself.

But, yeah, it's tough.

I've lost a stone Rosalie. I hate it. I didn't have any weight to lose in the first place. I suspect it's not just from lack of appetite but from nervous tension too.

I truly believe the 4 weeks of panic, anxiety & nausea the pills induced were detrimental to my mental health, I'd never experienced anxiety like it (why I went on AD's in the first place).

But I'm here now on 10mg & hopefully stabilising (but still have a knot in my stomach). Dr says I need to give it more time.

Let me know if you find as way to keep the weight on, I'm eating 3 meals a day without much success.

Hi Bellini,

Thanks for replying to my other thread; I'm not happy about having smaller boobs, either!!

I have a really good appetite generally and don't find that the tablets have reduced it; I think for me it's about nervous tension and anxiety. I mean, I feel less anxious - certainly mentally those "dog with a bone" thoughts have gone, and I worry a lot less - but maybe physically the nervous tension is still coming through - ?? I don't really understand how it works.

I know several people who have been on citalopram and they complain about piling on the weight, but they were diagnosed it for depression rather than anxiety, so ironically my initial concern was unwanted weight gain...I started losing weight around the time my anxiety kicked in with a vengeance, last autumn; going on citalopram hasn't halted it.

Don't really know what the answer as I am reluctant to stuff my face with chocolate etc as I know for me that that sets off terrible sugar cravings, and when I eventually come off these things I don't want to be a total sugar addict. I am just trying to eat a bit more of what I usually eat.

Bye for now...