Starting citalopram 10mg

[Redlanterndaisy]

Heyyyyy
For those who’ve started citalopram and found it can cause insomnia at first.. how long did this last for?

I already have really rubbish sleep so I’m worried about this.

I take it in the morning which helps. I hd a couple of weeks of slightly odd sleep, but it settled. It's a very low dose.

It's also somewhat useful not to anticipate side-effects - we naturally worry about the ones we most fear/relate to, but better to just observe changes (if any) and check if unmanageable rather than waiting to spot the listed ones.

also don't let anyone say 10mg is too low if it works. It was life changing for me.

Thank you.. I’ll be taking it for long term stress and anxiety/ocd which comes and goes but I’ve been debating it for about a year. I realised I’ve had ocd since a kid but it was never picked up on.

im glad it helped you.

Have you found you’ve had any side effects and can I ask how it’s helped you in particular if that’s ok?

How fast did you feel better? Was it immediate or over several weeks?

I think it's very different for everyone, so my experience might not be yours. I am very responsive to drugs and very susceptible/suggestible - so placebos work on me too! I felt a difference in my anxiety levels within a couple of days, also a bit weird/floaty at first then, easier and less noticiable as the weeks went on. The general experience is that it takes a few weeks, but also most people are prescibed 20mg I think.

As I said I wouldn't focus on side effects they are possibilities not definite things that will happen. I was/am a bit sweatier and I think my tummy is a bit more sensitive especially if I have alcohol. Hard to tell though, as I am also perimenopausal. There may have been other things but they no longer affect my life or I have adjusted without realising. What I do know is that if I forget to take it I am usually a bit weepy by the evening.

You know your normal, but if it helps with the anxiety and for me the contanstly spiraling thoughts, on balance that's a win.

I am not an expert on anything but me, and I have found other people's experience online not that helpful - their personal circumstances behaviours and bodies are not mine. I did google a lot at one point and people reporting in forums seemed to be taking it while drinking a lot, taking other drugs and with other mental health issues - so not always relatable or even accurate. People tend not to post when its all fine/manageable.

If you are anxious taking these things with a "suck it and see" approach is hard when you worry about everything and want to fix it. It may be the right dosage and treatment for you, but it might not. I wish you luck.

10mg also makes a MASSIVE difference to me

I started on 20 mg and then dropped to 10mg, which seems to be enough for me.

I actually take it in the evening and it doesn’t seem to affect my sleep. I take it then as I felt slightly nauseous when I took it in the morning-but if I go to bed straight afterwards, I feel fine.

It took about three weeks for me to feel significantly better after I started so hang in there, it’s worth it long term. 💐

Hi @BruFord@EekArghEurgh@redshoesredlaces@WhyamIanexhaustedEllie

ive still got the box in the cupboard and haven’t taken it. I’m so nervous.
keep going around in circles..

I started on 10 and went up to 15, have stayed on this for a few years. As a pp said, mild floaty feeling at first which subsided. Otherwise no side effects. It had changed my life, been hugely positive. No insomnia.

About 2 weeks for me - stick with it. Also take it in the morning helps (it makes me a bit nauseous, but this is much preferable to the insomnia)

It might help with the going round in circles? Try it, if you hate it you stop.

@PersonalBestthank you… are you still taking? So pleased it has been so helpful.

@TallulahBetty were you able to work and go on as normal for the first few weeks?

@EekArghEurgh true that’s exactly how my anxiety goes it’s very much the rumination type of ocd.
I keep going down rabbit holes about how terrible it will be the first few weeks. Will I be able to work, look after the kids etc?
gp has said start very low 10mg.. if in two weeks I don’t get on with it I can stop.

Yes I have found it so positive that I have no inclination to stop

I worried about the effect on my work but it has made me more productive as anxiety often paralysed me

Yes x

Please don’t be nervous. I felt exactly the same. But all was fine, and I’m a much much much much better person and parent on the tablets!!

Same here, @WhyamIanexhaustedEllie, Being constantly anxious and having panic attacks is so debilitating. Once those feelings lifted, I started becoming myself again. I'd actually say a better version of myself tbh.

In your shoes, @EekArghEurgh , I'd get a glass of water and say to yourself that you're giving it a go, and take one. Refuse to overthink it. If you feel slightly nauseous afterwards, as often happens when we take a new medication, have a light snack. I usually find a couple of crackers or a banana settle my stomach if I feel abit sick. Remember, as your GP says, you can always come off, it's not a permanent commitment. I'd give it four weeks though as you might not see the full effects after two (that's just my experience; they took three weeks to make a big difference to me). You can do this.

If you are woman who has periods at pretty much any level of discomfort or mood change then this will likely not be as bad! You will cope and if you don't feel like you are, you just stop taking it and things will resolve. On the other hand if you just put it into your cycle of cycling worries you will never know if it might have helped. As I said I am really sensitive and it helped immediately, but was a little wierd at first but side effects are mild. As many have said on here that was their experience too.

I feel like a drug pusher here! But try not rabbit-hole - you are you and your experience won't be exactly replicated by someone else, no one can tell you. I know the unknown can feel frightening, but this is really low risk - low dose and under your control entirely. If you can give up a tiny bit of your anxious control about possible might never happen consequences to just taking the tablet, you may find out that you can control the anxiety better ifyswim!

It changed my life. I didn't realise I'd lost my sense of humour and patience until it came back. It silenced the intrusive thoughts and reduced my anxiety. I got very vivid dreams and was quite tired for a week or two, but I'd basically had a breakdown so unclear what was the meds and what was my body recovering from all of that.