Citalopram

[Rainbow Dash]

My doctor has prescribed me 20mg Citalopram for anxiety and depression. I decided to look it up online and I'm slightly worried. Loads of people have said they started feeling worse for the first few weeks before they kick in fully :/ Does this happen a lot? should I expect this to happen? He told me I should wait about 2-4 weeks before they show any real difference.

[Stephanie]

Hi there Ceilidh,

I have not personally taken Citalopram before, but I do take Fluoxetine which is another anti-depressant in the SSRI category.
I do admit that when I began taking anti-depressants, I did feel a lot worse and I did have to take extra safety measures. My psychiatrist saw me very frequently when I first started on the medication and I suggest that you plan to see your doctor frequently, too. I don't know how common it is, but I did feel a lot more suicidal when I was on the medication and things did get a lot worse, however, I'm glad to say that the anti-depressants did do the work in the end. For a month I had negative mental and physical side effects, but after about a month and a half, almost all of these symptoms have faded and I can definitely feel the positive effects. Of course, the medication is different for everyone, Ceilidh, and you may not experience any negative side effects. Even if you do, there are other medications that you could try instead.
If you have any concerns regarding your anti-depressants, don't hesitate to ask your doctor about them.

Take care.

[Pandamonium]

I also felt quite bad the first few weeks I was on my anti-depressant and frequently checked with my doctor to make sure that this was suppose to be happening. But after about 3 weeks or so, I finally started to feel a bit more with it, more motivated, etc.

Like Steph said, definitely keep in touch with your doctor. Letting them know what's going on opens the option of switching to another medication if this one doesn't sort itself out. Or even adjusting the dosage. Antidepressants are a complicated medication and give so many different results to different people.

[Rainbow Dash]

Thanks both Gah :/ I guess I'll just have to deal with it if I do feel worse for the first few weeks. He told me to see him in a week's time so I'll tell him if anything is going wrong then.

Oh yeah, it says on the leaflet inside the box that it's advisable not to drink alcohol whilst taking these tablets. I'm not really complaining as I'm not the biggest fan of alcohol anymore but if I do happen to drink whilst out with friends what could happen?

[Stephanie]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy.

Oh yeah, it says on the leaflet inside the box that it's advisable not to drink alcohol whilst taking these tablets. I'm not really complaining as I'm not the biggest fan of alcohol anymore but if I do happen to drink whilst out with friends what could happen?

I've drank whilst on my medication and I get drunk a lot more quickly than usual, so if you are going to drink then restrict it and take it very slowly. You can get drowsier a lot more quickly, too. I wouldn't recommend drinking alcohol though as it's going against the point of the medication, alcohol is a depressant.

[Rainbow Dash]

Thanks I'll keep away from drink then.

[Alexx]

Hello Ceilidh

I was put on citalopram about a week ago for my anxiety and depression - and I have to see my doctor again this wednesday to tell her how it's been going on.

Please don't be put off by my experiences, it does effect everyone differently.
However, I've seriously struggled over the past week. At first, it just gave me quite a bad headache, and disrupted my sleeping pattern. I also sort of felt empty?
However, the last few days have been quite difficult, and I've been feeling extremely anxious, depressed, tearful and suicidal.
However, I woke up today feeling pretty good.

I've just been telling myself 'it's the meds, it's the meds'. I assume it is, although it could just be me going through a phase =/
So many people have said it improves as time goes on, though, so I'm just going to trust that judgement.. what more can we do?

I hope they work for you. You sound really brave and smart about this
PM me if you ever want to talk, too! It sounds like we're going through similar things.

Take care! ♥

[Rainbow Dash]

I've been kind of shaky and can't really be bothered to do much today but Idk if it's due to the tablets or not :/ What I keep thinking is a few weeks of me feeling like crap is going to be outweighed by me feeling better in the long-run (if they work for me that is)

Thanks anyway it helped.

[Rainbow Dash]

I'm really sorry for double posting guys but I need to ask something. Is it possible that these could be working already? O____o I've only taken them for four days but today I have felt bloody fantastic. I'm just genuinely happy. For the past few weeks I haven't really been bothered to go outside a lot but today I went for a walk, just went up the pub my sister works in to help her clean and just feel great. My mood has stayed perfectly stable all day (which is rare especially since I woke up at 7am so have been awake for a while) I'm not going to "count my chickens before they're catched" sort of speak as it may just be a one day thing.

[EmisaurusRex]

Sometimes it works quicker for others. But you most likely won't feel the full effects until you've been taking it for 4-8 weeks.
Glad you had a fantastic day!

[Rainbow Dash]

My mood has been like that for three/four days I'm trying not to "count my chickens before they hatch" sort of speak but everything seems great My mood hasn't been stable for that long for years. eeeeeeeee!

[Caro]

I just started it today but I'm only on 10mg to see if I have any adverse side effects. After a month my doctor will either change medication or increase the dose.

Cross your fingers!