Citalopram positive stories please

[MrsP2118]

I have been suffering with anxiety and panic for 10 weeks which has led to me feeling really low and not wanting to do anything. I was prescribed citalopram 10mg last month but was too scared to take them but it has gotten so bad again (it comes and goes in waves like every 2 weeks and lasts a good week and a half to two weeks when I’m having an episode)

I bit the bullet on Thursday and took my first tablet so due to take my 4th one tonight, general side effects so far have been mild headaches some slight nausea & a dry mouth. Will the side effects increase the further along I get? If anything today I have felt more calm moments than down and anxious moments - is it possible to be having a positive effect on me this quickly and will it make me feel like my normal outgoing self again soon?

Glad its helping. It really took the edge off my anxiety.

Nearly 4 weeks in and last few days I’ve been feeling off again, low level anxiety and feeling down 😩 thought I’d turned a corner and with being almost 4 weeks in too. Doctor is reviewing on Tuesday I’m going to ask to up to 20mg

I was on citalopram about 10 years ago. Started off on 10mg and had some side effects but it wasn't really helping my depression in that dose.
Then I bit the bullet and increased to 20mg... within 2 weeks the side effects had gone and I felt like a new person. Totally back to my old self. Was on it for a couple of years and then weaned myself off over a few months but it really did help me x

I’ve taken 20mg for 10 years now for anxiety. Totally changed my life!

I take my 3rd 20mg tonight. Definitely having some side effects again like dry mouth, nausea & tiredness (I’m not sleeping well so could be down to that) hopefully within a couple of weeks it’ll kick in and I’ll feel more benefit from the 20mg.

My anxiety definitely seems to have a pattern of going away for a couple of weeks or slightly less then it comes back again for another couple or few weeks! I’ve just finished CBT and the graph she put together shows this as well.

So this has definitely happened!!! Doctor upped my dose to 20mg on Tuesday so due my 4th one this evening - hoping to see positive results again within a week or so like last time.

I take acipralex which is a more modern version. 10mg. I will take it till the day I die. I function and cope like I didn't before, the forest few weeks were hard and was anxious, now I would fight any doctor who told me to come off it.

Sorry Cipralex, this is the Escitalopram which is more expensive but refined which is given anywhere out of the UK. But same drug x

@MrsP2118

So this has definitely happened!!! Doctor upped my dose to 20mg on Tuesday so due my 4th one this evening - hoping to see positive results again within a week or so like last time.

Can I recommend you don’t take citalopram in the evening as it can disrupt your sleep cycle.

Doctor recommended to take at night to sleep through any side effects, when I wake in the night I don’t notice any side effects I still notice them through the day though so maybe changing the time will help me sleep. I fall asleep fine but wake up all the time. I’m not sure how to go about changing the time I take it though, would I miss one this evening then take it in the morning?

@duffinthemule sorry forgot to tag you

@MrsP2118 just found this thread and wondered how you were feeling? I’ve been on 10mg citalopram for 6 weeks and was feeling better but having blips so have increased to 20mg this week but all my side effects have gone back - dry mouth, woolly head, increased anxiety etc. Hoping you can share a positive experience as someone who also upped dose

I’ve been on 20mg for six weeks. Initially had horrible side effects nausea ect which went after a couple of weeks. Not feeling any benefit yet though just feel the same :( does anyone know if it can take a bit longer to kick in?

@GoRicky Hi! I’ve been on them since June last year and although they took a while to show benefits they have taken my anxiety away completely and totally changed my life!
The side really won’t last long and hopefully they’ll start working once they’re properly in your system.

@littlepetit definitely a couple of months to start noticing a difference. The relief is immense! Hope they work for you

@MrsP2118 thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I’m struggling at the moment and the return of these side effects is so tough, I am only on day 2 of the upped dose, and I had been seeing some benefits on 10mg but just felt maybe the 20mg would be better. Had horrific anxiety again today though and so it’s tempting to just stick at 10mg but I do want to persevere and at least try and stick to 20mg for a few weeks but I think it might be a rough ride

@GoRicky I think within a week or 2 or the upped dose I noticed a difference. Now I wish I’d written down like a time scale or something to help others although I know everyone reacts differently to them. What scared me most is the fact that they may not have been right for me and I’d have to change tablets and try another! Luckily they agreed with me and by the sounds of it with you noticing some benefits on the 10mg they’ll be good for you too! Just hang in there I’m sure you’ll feel better soon!

It worked for me. Gave me a real helping hand out if a deep dark hole. 20mg, dropping to 10 after a year, then petering out.
I'd take it again

Name changed for this reply as don't want to be outed if friends are on here.

Just want to add to this thread. Citalopram has changed my life!

Hang in there... I was told you can often feel worse before you get better and I think this was the case for me. I was on 20mg for about 6 weeks and still very depressed (although I had noticed some difference). I upped the dose to 40mg and now about 10/11 weeks later from upping the dose I am a different person.

My initial side effects were numb hands at night time, going to the toilet more often (no2) and having a foggy memory ... however these have gone now. The only side effect that has stayed with me is I am a bit more shakey than normal.

I think doctors say that it takes 6 weeks to feel the full benefit but when I looked at reviews online it seems I'm not the only person who didn't feel the full benefits until a bit longer.

Sorry just to add- OP I did read your updates and know you're feeling better. Just had to reply for any other people feeling really down

@MrsP2118 yes, I feel exactly that, the fear that these won’t help me and I’ll have to try other ones and be stuck in a vicious circle. I did try 20mg but my increased anxiety made me stick to 10mg yesterday but I do really want to try 20mg. I think I might take 10mg in the morning and 10mg at night so that it hopefully makes the side effects more spaced out (which probably makes no sense but taking 20mg in one go is really hard for me).

I’m just about functioning but have some big financial stressors and a young family (one still a baby) so I’m just wishing and hoping for better days. Posts like yours really help.

Likewise @cpran11 and @interferingma - thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this medication, I’m really struggling right now and it gives me a little hope

@GoRicky know just how you feel I have a young family too and was actually pregnant with my 3rd when I started taking the meds. My anxiety started randomly at week 15 of the pregnancy and I didn’t start taking meds until 2 months later as I was scared of side effects and also taking meds whilst pregnant but every healthcare professional I spoke to about it said there is very little evidence around anti depressants and pregnancy. I just had to stay in 48 hours after he was born so they could do observations on him for withdrawal.

I was waking every morning in a panic and anxious state I just felt so worried (about what I really do not know even now) and like I just couldn’t breathe. I managed to get my other 2 children to school everyday somehow then would come home and crawl back into bed and just be in and out of sleep hoping that feeling would go. At some point during the afternoons it would’ve worn off but it was utterly exhausting; I didn’t want to go anywhere or see anyone. I tried cbt and listening books but the meds are the thing that’s made me feel normal again!

Hi, I found your post while googling success stories with citalopram. I have just picked up a prescription and like you was worried about taking it. I found your posts with daily updates so useful!

i wondered how you are doing now and if you are still taking it?
I’ve been dealing with anxiety for a few years, but a house move to a new country and starting a new life, with all the isual family stresses, and now my 9yo daughter is having major anxiety too- which is mainly displayed as very difficult behaviour only at home as really made the anxiety worse.

I started a new job (4th in 2 years!) and ended up having 2 panic attacks- so I feel I need to do something to get back on track.

Hi! @Monkey130 I have actually off them since November 2022 because I’d had my 3rd baby a year previously (that’s what triggered my anxiety I’ve put it down to a hormone imbalance and also unexplained anxiety)
I got terrible at taking them so had unintentionally weaned myself off them, I didn’t get any side effects from coming off them (I think from going days without remembering to take one)

having come off them I can honestly say I’ve not had any unexplained anxiety (only when something has actually gone wrong or happened to cause it)

Hand on heart they made me feel normal again and took my anxiety away completely.

Thanks for the update. I’m pleased to hear you’re doing well without them. Long may that continue.

Have moments where I feel like I don’t need them but other moments where I do. Overall I guess it will make our family life better so will give them a try.