Citalopram anyone?

[BelleDameSansMerci]

Hi. Have just reached end of long, long tether and finally realised cannot do "this" alone. Am guessing (from searching on here) that I won't be alone on the Citalopram (?spelling) but wondered what experiences others have had? Anything I really need to look out for? I'm not bf so no worries on that front. Thank you.

I took Citalopram when I suffered from extreme anxiety when my husband was at war in Afghanistan.

I found it helped a lot, reducing the tightness in my chest, sickness, panic attacks and general negative thoughts.

When the time came for me to come off the medication, I reduced the amount slowly; I still suffered from dizziness, however, it passed and was not excessive. If I missed a pill, I noticed I felt dizzy straight away.

I hope this helps.

I had it for anxiety and depression after first trying acupuncture, exercise and counselling. I was initially dead against drugs (no idea why) but it was a bloody godsend. I had no side effects at all and within 18 months I was well enough to come off it. One warning though, do not decide to go cold turkey because you are 'feeling better' , as eggontoast said there are some minor physical withdrawal symptoms!

Make sure you keep in regular contact with your GP while you are on it so he/she can monitor your progress. Good luck!

I have been on Citalopram for 2 years and it has saved my life. I went through years of trying loads of different anti-depressants and Citalopram is the only one that didn't make me feel dreadful.
Good luck

Wow - thank you all. I'm feeling much more comfortable about this now. Felt a bit useless for even needing to seek help (which I know is really stupid) and then not knowing much about the resulting medication set me off again. GP is giving me anxiety/depression scale charts (one for now, one for four weeks time) to assess and has suggested counselling. Not all that keen on the counselling tbh but suspect that's because I know I really need it. Thank you again.

Hey I took it for nearly 5 years been off it now for 4 months since the husband and i split, I must say it left me numb, not being able to show or feel emotion, left me with a "F**k it" attitude for a long time, now after 4 months off the tablets I feel me again, in my opinion it masked the symtoms of anxiety and depression instead of me dealing with the cause.

I would never ever take antidepressants again, however it does help, the tablets enabled me to work and get on with day to day stuff.My DC are so glad to have a mum back that has feelings an shows emotion.

The side effects I found were very short lived, excessive yawning, tiredness and dizziness if I didnt take a tablet.

my advice is to set yourself a target, a time limit, discuss the dose with your GP, I went from 5mg to 20mg when things got really bad, but the issues I faced didn't go away.

You are not weak, in fact you are very strong in looking for a way out, manage the treatment with your GP. Lot's of luck...

oh yeah forgot to mention, when I came off the medication, I visited my Gp every other week, to check up on feelings, reduced the amount fairly quickly, and even My Gp was surprised how well i adjusted...even though there have been more issues recently I feel totally in control now..

Thank you stephie. I took the first one last night and definitely had the yawning, tiredness thing going on. Will take it later on this evening. Will watch for emotional stuff. I'm on my own with DD (2.2) and the last thing I want is for her to be affected. I've started on 20mg which seems high compared the dosages mentioned here. I am a bit strung out though so perhaps that's why?

I like my GP (she's great) so will be able to discuss without worrying that I'll be fobbed off or anything.

citalopram anyone? citalopram everyone in my world It is so common, when I went on it for a year a while ago, everyone I mentioned it to (e.g. boss, friends etc) seemed to go 'oh I'm on that/been on that'. I think it is the 'best' a/d at the moment so don't worry - it's a tough world out here! It made me feel sick for a short time but got better after a few eeks

WEEKS

20mgs is high to start on - watch for upset tummy and speak to GP if you don't get on with it at first

Thank you - I've found today that my cleaning lady (I know but I work full time, etc) and my next door neighbour are both on it! Please don't think I've gone around broadcasting - I'm friends with them both. I had no idea it was so popular! Thanks for the tip re tummy.

I'm on it. Have been for nearly two years since a rather severe breakdown. I started on 20mg, then went up to 40mg, then 60mg. Have now cut down to 40mg again and hope to go down to 20mg in the next couple of months.

I'm on citalopram due to health problems which resulted in me losing my job. Although my situation has changed I've dropped down to a low dose, 10 mg as I am pregnant. It has really helped me get through four years of pain and misery. I don't think I would've been able to stay positive without it, I suppose that is why I was given it.

It really helps but heed what other people say. Never just stop taking it. I had it taken off me by one doctor who insisted I couldn't take it whilst pregnant and dumbly I agreed to stopping it immediately. I spent about four days feeling so low and angry at the same time, crying constantly and upsetting my DH dreadfully. I went back on it and within a few days felt back to normal. I have since been told that I shouldn't have stopped it after so many years in that fashion.

I've been on it for 18months, and thought perhaps I was ok enough to stop taking it, so did, last monday, and have spent most of the last week, particularly today, wailing.

I wouldn't worry about 20mg, personally - its what most people start on tbh. I think I might go back on to it, I do feel so much better when I am on it. What I did find, and this is contrary to what you read on t'interweb, is that I have put on about TWO STONE in the 18months I was on it. Several people I've spoken to have experienced weight gain on it also. It seems to mask the 'no really, stop EATING' filter in your brain

There are some superb articles on antidepressants on Mike Adams website newstarget.com that may help.

I took it for about a year many moons ago , had a really nasty episode when my repeat prescription wasn't ready in time - tore my kitchen apart looking for any "stray" pills and then had a huge fit at the doctor's receptionist when i went back to docs and the script still wasn't ready!

At that moment I decided I would NEVER take AD's again and just went cold turkey. I don't recommend this at all but my horrible junkie like dependence scared the life out of me!

Tippytumble Good for you that is brilliant that you saw the light and became your own master!Does anyone know what the ingredients are? Why do we check the supermarket products for our kids food but pop pills without a second thought to what's inside them. My friend hung herself as did many others on youtube, have you seen the video's?

I'm on citalopram, it's helped a lot.

Teatotal > I can't bring myself to watch the videos, and would suggest that people who've just gone onto anti-d's and especially those who aren't also receiving counselling for depression etc. don't watch either. As they may be a little too vulnerable to deal with the content matter.

From what I know about anti-d's, and I've gone cold turkey on them a few years ago. Most anti-d related suicides are because of the pills lifting the physical lethargy associated with depression before lifting the mood, so rather than having someone who is feeling suicidal but doesn't have the energy to follow through, you then have someone who is feeling suicidal and does.

I also have a friend who attempted suicide while on anti-d's. It wasn't the anti-d's fault, she was not receiving counselling and wasn't on the right dosage/type of anti-d.

I think the main problem is how difficult it is to get support for depression. The pills do help, but they are more of a plaster than a solution.

Hi, I can understand however some of the video's are court cases linking school shootings and more to the AD'S Again many experts are saying depression/bipolar is linked to fungi in the home or workplace and can be found in dust etc.. It is worth a google search and geting rid of what is making the person depressed in the first place, not adding the AD'S to the problem. Hope that makes sense.

I totally agree, like I say, AD's don't fix the problem, just mask it for a bit.

At the same time, I know a lot of people who could do with the temporary break from the depression that AD's give you, and don't because of the stigma attached to taking them.

We need better mental health care put in place really.

I started to take it (20mg) about 10 days and so far feel OK, have had few dull headaches and have been quite sleepy. However I have found that I have bee able to get on with day to day life without the gripping anxiety.

Perhaps BDSM we could hold each others hands through this?

Ahh Im on 20mg, but ran out on Friday and am not going to be able to get more until tomorrow! Oooooh about to lose the plot....

I'm taking it at the moment and am heavily pregnant. It took a lot of thought to decide to take pills but I am honestly glad that I did as I really wasn't getting any better- if anything much worse.

I had some initial headaches, sickness and to be honest I feel a little "numb" emotionally. However this is infnitely better than where I was.

I would agree that the pills don't tackle the cause but they do alleviate the symptoms. This has given me the breathing space to really focus on the work that I am doing with my psych- which I see as being the longer term option....

citalopram was good but made me put on lots of weight.