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Original poster

Citalopram 10mg

151 replies

Rainbow1994 · 19/10/2023 11:19

I am 4 weeks nearly 5 into 10mg citalopram for really bad anxiety i have suffered years with it. I have 3 children one been 9month old and it seems to have got worse, i got to where i couldnt eat i was loosing weight couldnt concentrate and just panicky all the time google EVERYTHING, worst case scenario when the children are ill you name it i have done it. I hit a wall and went to the doctor. Now the doctors have tried plenty of times to put me on ADs and i have refused but this time i knew i needed. Anyway the 1st two weeks were awful i wanted to stop. The 3rd week i felt glimpses of my old self and was laughing and had energy. And this week i seem to be struggling again not like i was but its there. is this normal in the first 6 weeks? The doctor wants to up my dose but im so scared of the side effects again.
Please dont give me anything to over think or be scared of as i actually give myself symptoms!
I just want peoples POSITIVE experiences on citalopram.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 19/10/2023 21:09

@Catsback what doseage are you on if you dont mind me asking.

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Catsback · 19/10/2023 21:14

@Rainbow1994 I take 20mg. I up my dosage to 30 when struggling (usually for a few weeks in the winter). Before being diagnosed autistic, I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, and just felt anxious all of the time. I would say that the suggestion by PP above is a good halfway house - increase your dose slowly to manage your anxiety about increasing it - obviously with GP permission. All of my family take ADs - my daughters both take Sertraline, and my husband Fluoxetine. We’re all autistic and struggle with anxiety.

ISeeTrees · 19/10/2023 21:14

It sounds like you need to increase your dose OP. 10mg is very low and you've got over the worst of the side effects.
Like a pp, I started out low dose and felt the initial side effects for about a fortnight. Didn't experience any adverse effects from increasing my dose. I settled, and got well, on 30mg. So IMO, you've nothing to lose but potentially a lot to gain. Best of luck, anxiety is awful.

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 19/10/2023 21:18

@Catsback 2 people have asked me if i think i could be autistic with a few things that i do.
@ISeeTrees thankyou for your reassurance along with the others not experiencing side effects i think i will bite the bullet!

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EraOfTheGrey · 19/10/2023 21:43

Max dose per day of citalopram is 40mg which I was on for over 20 years or so. My Dr explained it like this - when you find the right dose you are back to being you. The worst thing about AD's are coming off them or changing onto another medication. Find the right dose and you'll be find but it does take an adjustment period.

DameKatyDenisesClagnuts · 19/10/2023 21:45

I started on 10, got through the side effects and felt better but still had some bad anxiety, particularly before I started my period. Went up to 20 and did have some side effects but not as bad as when starting it- and it has now totally transformed my life, no more anxiety

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 07:02

DameKatyDenisesClagnuts · 19/10/2023 21:45

I started on 10, got through the side effects and felt better but still had some bad anxiety, particularly before I started my period. Went up to 20 and did have some side effects but not as bad as when starting it- and it has now totally transformed my life, no more anxiety

What side effects was they? Im due to take this morning and dont think i dare.

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beatrix1234 · 20/10/2023 07:13

I was on citalopram for a year and a half, started with 20 a day but it made me a zombie so was put on 15. It was a life saver as totally cut my massive anxiety at the time, after 6 months I stuck with 10 a day (which was much better option), after a year it was lowered to 5 a day. Eventually I was weeded off. It didn’t take away my depression but massively reduced the anxiety which made me feel much much better. Side effects? Lethargy, a bit of weight gain and it messed up my libido (I lost it), but that was it. I’ve been 5 years citalopram free and every now and then if I had a stressful day I’ll take a pill and feel the efect right away. I would say that the biggest side effect or inconvenience was the lack of sex drive and being unable to have an orgasm. It was a great medication because it removed the crippling anxiety I had at the time so all well. Citalopram served its purpose and I would take it again if I ever had that massive anxiety.

beatrix1234 · 20/10/2023 07:19

Forgot to add, I’m in the spectrum and suffer from ADHD so always had a generalised anxiety disorder. I took citalopram because I was going through a stressful changing period in my life and the GAD got out of hand.

DameKatyDenisesClagnuts · 20/10/2023 10:41

My side effects with the dose increase were increased anxiety but it was brief and totally worth it for the relief 20mg has given me

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 11:40

beatrix1234 · 20/10/2023 07:13

I was on citalopram for a year and a half, started with 20 a day but it made me a zombie so was put on 15. It was a life saver as totally cut my massive anxiety at the time, after 6 months I stuck with 10 a day (which was much better option), after a year it was lowered to 5 a day. Eventually I was weeded off. It didn’t take away my depression but massively reduced the anxiety which made me feel much much better. Side effects? Lethargy, a bit of weight gain and it messed up my libido (I lost it), but that was it. I’ve been 5 years citalopram free and every now and then if I had a stressful day I’ll take a pill and feel the efect right away. I would say that the biggest side effect or inconvenience was the lack of sex drive and being unable to have an orgasm. It was a great medication because it removed the crippling anxiety I had at the time so all well. Citalopram served its purpose and I would take it again if I ever had that massive anxiety.

I should of taken 20 and bottled it 😫 im debating whether to take 15 like a PP told me to do.

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Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 11:41

@DameKatyDenisesClagnuts thats what im worried over the increased anxiety i only just managed to get through it on 10 so will probably be worse on a higher dose.

OP posts:
dottypotter · 20/10/2023 16:45

Hi . I've taken Citalopram. All OK.
Maybe your body needs time to get used to it.

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 19:14

dottypotter · 20/10/2023 16:45

Hi . I've taken Citalopram. All OK.
Maybe your body needs time to get used to it.

Hiya. What mg? When did you see improvement? I saw improvement last week and seem to dipped again this week. I still havnt upped my dose.

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Rainallnight · 20/10/2023 20:14

YesItsMeIDontCare · 19/10/2023 11:34

My side effects when I first started taking them were bad but I have never experienced side effects from increasing my dose of Citalopram. I went from 20 to 30.

Good luck 😊

I concur with this. I didn’t get side effects but saw major benefit going up from 10 to 20.

good luck - I really hope you start to feel better soon. X

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 20:28

@Rainallnight how long before you saw the benefit? Thanks.

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easylikeasundaymorn · 20/10/2023 20:33

LuluBlakey1 · 19/10/2023 11:35

10mg is a very low dose- probably not even capable of having any significant effect. I had to reach 50 before it really had any impact and 100 to feel like myself. I took it for 2 years and reduced back to 50 and now am not on any at all and doing well

My view is always, you'd take an antibiotic for a chest infection, or thyroxine if your thyroid wasn't functioning, or blood pressure medication if you had high blood pressure so take the medication if it relieves your depression/anxiety- which can be crippling and make life a misery- and take the dose suggested by your GP. You will feel better, function better and know when you can start reducing your use of it.

I speak as someone who has suffered depression on and off since I was 18.

was this definitely citalopram? Because 100mg would be an insanely high dose. The usual dose is 20mg, with 40 being the maximum usually prescribed outside of residential settings.
Sertraline is different with a starting dose of 50mg increasable to 200mg prescribed. Were you on that instead?

Not being pedantic but it's fairly important - someone could read your post and completely overdose themselves.

OP if you don't feel better within the six weeks and are still struggling with the side effects please ask your GP to try something else rather than giving up completely.
I had horrendous side effects on several types of anti ds, but (other than a little bit of feeling sick for the first day or two) none at all on citalopram.

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 21:03

@easylikeasundaymorn my side effects have gone. I have just had abit of increased anxiety this week and feel like i have gone back to the beginning. I had chest pains and ended up in A&E turns out i have pulled it all so i automatically panicked anyway. Then my son had abit if thrush in his mouth and that was it i was thinking he got cold sores in his mouth instead of rationalising stuff. My dr told me to up my dose today but i havnt done it. She told me i should have felt better within 3 weeks? Its just set me back abit plus the children break up next friday and if i am going to suffer side effects again from upping i really dont want increased anxiety while the children are off school! X

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LeakyPipes · 20/10/2023 22:24

I've taken Citalopram off and on for prolly 10 years now. I've never suffered from any side-effects, including the occasions upon which I've stopped taking it.

I started on 10mg, and for the last few years I've been on 40mg.

Rainallnight · 20/10/2023 22:45

Rainbow1994 · 20/10/2023 20:28

@Rainallnight how long before you saw the benefit? Thanks.

I’d say a couple of weeks.

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 21/10/2023 11:13

Also i came off the depo injection 2 weeks ago.. dont know if this could be increasing my anxiety has my hormone levels will be allover.. and also on a period this week so thats another dive in hormones..: any advice on depo injection and periods and hormones and anxiety related?

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Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 23/10/2023 00:24

Bump

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beatrix1234 · 23/10/2023 00:35

OP, I think the anxiety is getting the best of you. Take a deep breath, have a warm candle bath and accept there’s many things (most) we have no control over. You’ll be fine. Citalopram is a good medication. Catastrophizing is a common symptom of anxiety.

ISeeTrees · 23/10/2023 08:02

I agree with pp that your anxiety is getting the better of you, which is normal but fixable. Please do try the increased dose- you felt better for taking the citalopram initially, and probably dipped as you got used to it. It's unlikely that you'll experience any side effects from increasing the dose, but even if you do, you've got through this before remember? When you first started taking them.
The options are: stop taking it altogether and live with the anxiety. Stay at the current dose, so you're taking something but still have the anxiety.. Or increase the dose, power through a couple of days feeling nauseas maybe, but get on top of the anxiety. Maybe even in time for half term? I'm not saying it will disappear overnight, but it gradually just started feeling less intense and overwhelming for me.
Have you referred yourself for some therapy too @Rainbow1994? I think anxiety disorders need a multi pronged approach to fix!
Coming off the depo might have unsettled your hormones but at least you know that will settle in a few days.

Original poster
Rainbow1994 · 23/10/2023 09:59

@ISeeTrees yes awaiting cbt therapy yes i think i may have to. I had a good day yesterday and then all of a sudden my heart just started racing very fast for about 10-15 minutes i had to lay down is this normal with anxiety? I know heart palpatations are but not sure about the racing heart it was awful although i hadnt had anything sugary all day dont know if that plays a part. I was going to tru get half term out of the way as i realise they break up this friday and didnt want to have side effects off upping my dose through the holidays 😫

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