Citalopram - how soon does it take to kick in?

[fruitbeard]

I've been prescribed 20mg a day, to be taken at night. Yesterday was my 2nd dose and I found I woke up at 3am this morning wide awake and then dozed fitfully til 6 when I got up as it felt my head was constantly buzzing with thoughts - I usually get that if I've got a big day at work/big event coming up, but this was just random thoughts iyswim... anyway, it's now 11.30 and I'm absolutely wiped out...

I know that one of the side effects can be insomnia/difficulty in getting to sleep, but the GP said that the pills don't really take effect for 3 weeks, so surely the side effects shouldn't take immediate effect either?

Does that make any sense whatsoever?

I think (hope) it might just be psychosomatic, but I'd be grateful to hear from anyone else's experience (it seems there's a lot of MNers on the stuff!).

Thanks

For me the side effect started straight away but the good effects didn't start until 3 weeks.
The problem with this is that not only are you depressed, but now you have lots of lovely headaches, nausea etc too.
Marvellous huh?
Anyway, hang in there, the side effects tend to subside as the good effects kick in.

I've been on 20mg a day for 7 months now and feel really good and now have the issue of when to come off them.

It's been worth it though.

I never had any side effects but then I had a 10mg dosage

they helped me immensly and if you think you can manage with this keep going with them

Side effects tend to start really quickly. NOT FAIR is it?

I take fluoxetine, which is similar, and I get awful trembling, bad dreams, shakiness and dry mouth -and painful urination - but it wears off after about a week and I started feeling so much better.

You know you're feeling better when you get to the end of the day and you realise you forgot to take it!

MUST you take it at night? I take mine in the morning, because I can cope better with needing to piddle all the time in the day.

Hi, I didn't get many side effects.
But the benefits started to kick in at about 2 weeks the Dr upped my dose by 10mg.

It took about 6 weeks in all for me to feel much better but I had come from really quite a bad place.

I would definately stick with it.

how are you feeling today?

Thanks for all the responses

Well, I took it earlier yesterday (I was going out to the cinema and knew I wouldn't be getting home til midnight) and my sleep was still disturbed. Took it today at around 1pm (I'm trying to move it back to morning (having read some other threads in the meantime), but didn't want to do it in one fell swoop, if that makes sense?) Also had 3 dizzy spells, no appetite and restless legs as of today - nice!

I definitely am going to stick with it, I can't carry on the way I was (crying for no apparent reason, lethargic, feeling I couldn't cope and was letting everyone around me down) so I'll see how it goes at the 4 week GP appt. He said if I was no better then, they could up the dose or explore counselling (which I felt was a bit but as I was snivelling in his office at the time I didn't really think about til later!).

Thanks again for the replies, it's nice to know I'm not alone

yes,i read a few threads when i started on them too. i think you can play around with the time of day you take them to suit you.
the main side effects for me were extreme tiredness and nausea, something i felt much better at coping with while being asleep.

i now take mine early evening so i'm sleepy at bedtime, but can manage to get out of bed in the morning, something i find difficult if i take the AD's later at night.

soon you'll walk into the gp's room without snivelling and will be able to talk sensibly without feeling like your not coping...
because you are coping, you are dealing with the problem very sensibly.

From my personal experiences with Anti depressants which includes citalopram. Side effects can kick in after the 1st dose but should clear up in about 2 weeks, it can take anywhere upto 8 weeks for you to notice any difference in how you are feeling.

It is important to take them about the same time each day and missing one can set you back a few days. I also found it better to take them in the morning

counselling is a very good thing to do once you have the AD's at a level where you can cope better with things happening around you. A good session will leave you feeling drained and a bit emotional in the short term, however, long term it is very beneficial.