Advice from people who have taken Citalopram

[Sara1235]

Hi everyone

I am now on day 3 of taking citalopram and I've started to think I've made a big mistake these side effects are horrible nausea, no appetite, stomach ache, burning sensation, intense anxiety, faster pulse, dizziness, just want to cry all the time.

Does anyone have any advice on how they got through the first week / 2 weeks? How long is it this intense for does each day get better?

Thank you

@Sara1235 thank you xx

do you think this means I won’t get the benefit of the drug, or when I go back up to 10 I’ll get these side effects again?

@littleme21 👋 hey. I have had a better day today. I struggled a lot to sleep last night but my body was beyond exhausted having been awake for 24 hours and just gave in I think. I ended up getting some sleep for 4 hours then another 2 hours later. Felt totally wiped out but the anxiety was a bit better. Then this afternoon I managed a walk outside. Just had another weird episode of feeling like I’m far away from everyone and like my brain has slowed to treacle alongside dizziness and nausea which triggered a panic attack. But it wasn’t as bad as yesterday. I’ve dropped down to 5mg for now just to try and give myself a chance to recover. I’m worrying that when I go back up I won’t cope, but my anxiety is through the roof.

on the first day I just felt like I’d had 20 coffees. The tired feelings hit me after.

but the first time I took citalopram 6 years ago was totally different and back then I really didn’t have a lot of symptoms other than some mild nausea and fatigue.

honestly it’s really confused me how I’ve reacted so badly this time. I really want to stick it out because I need the medicine to work, but at times I do convince myself that my body is rejecting it and it’s bad for me ! I am my own worst enemy!

hopefully your day two will be ok too, it’s good that you have felt ok today. Keep going! Lots of healing and positive energy to you x

@Sunshinebea

I’m really glad today was a bit easier overall, even with the ups and downs. It’s good that you managed some sleep and got outside for a walk, especially with how drained you’ve been feeling.
I totally get the worry about going back up to 10mg, but just to reassure you the jump from 5 to 10 isn’t usually anywhere near as intense as starting from scratch. When I first took citalopram, I started at 10mg and later went up to 20, and I didn’t have any side effects with those increases just noticed the anxiety easing off. Everyone’s different, of course, but it’s not uncommon for the initial startup to be the hardest part.
It makes sense that your body’s reacting more strongly this time — lots of people find their second experience with meds feels different, and it doesn’t mean it won’t work. You’re doing the right thing by listening to your body and adjusting things gently.
Sending lots of calm and strength your way — hope tomorrow brings a bit more steadiness.

Hello. I was just woken from my sleep with the sensation of my stomach flipping upside down. It was super intense. It triggered a lot of panic and I was shaking, sweating and nauseas. Then I felt like the inside of my body was tingling and burning.

I know this is a panic attack - super intense - and I just wondered did you get these and if so how did you cope? I can’t manage without having a full meltdown and shaking and crying and then worrying that I’m allergic to the medicine or something. I need a way to cope with this.

I think you need to speak to your doctor about something to take alongside citalopram. Have you ever taken propranolol before? It’s brilliant for the physical symptoms of anxiety, it blocks adrenaline so it stops the shaking, sweating and heart racing feeling. I would contact your doctor and ask for that. Failing that, there is diazepam but honestly I find propranolol better as it doesn’t make me feel out of it like diazepam can.

The burning through my chest and arms is intense. Is this normal?

@Sunshinebea

Everything your experiencing is part of the Citalopram side affects i know it's hard to believe and triggers your health anxiety but it is the tablets working 💪

Hey everyone. Thank you for your continued updates and support. The symptoms I experienced became very intense especially the burning sensations. So I checked with my GP and he sent me directly to hospital where I have been diagnosed with seretonin syndrome. I am being treated on the ward.

I obviously had a very unusual and extreme reaction.

I hope you are all ok x

So glad it has worked for you too OP

@littleme21 thank you for asking, it’s been tough. I had to spend a night in hospital and once the benzo wore off I was unable to sleep again. I’m still waking every night multiple times with burning sensations and sickness. It’s really awful. I can’t really get my head around it all. The Gp had prescribed me zopliclone to sleep but I’m too scared to take it. I feel so broken.

@littleme21 thanks so much for asking. I’ve been stuck in high anxiety state and can’t eat or sleep so the doctor has asked me to try mirtazapine. I’m terrified of taking it. But she said it will help especially with sleep and calming me.

how are you?

@Sara1235 just wanted to thank you for replying to my messages a while back. It’s been a long and continues to be a long road to recovery but I am inspired by you. I stopped the citalopram but was put onto mirtazepine. I’ve been on it 6 weeks and just increased my dose but I am still feeling very anxious and a bit out of it. I am hoping that things will level out soon. I do worry about having to go into the higher doses as then where do you go, but I am trying not to think about it.

are you still finding citalopram to help? And have you had any success with CBT for health anxiety at all?

wishing you well x