Citalipram

[Moby75]

Hi I have just been prescribed citalipram and wondered if anyone has had any experience of this medication. It is supposed to help with my anxiety.

 

[darkshine]

I've never tried it but its on my "back up" list with my doctor, because I've known 3 people who have taken it and they all got on well with it as a short term management of anxiety - they didn't have any adverse side effects either - the thing is,everyone's different, so until you've taken it for a few weeks you won't know how effective it is for you.

[Moby75]

Thank you. I have started taking it today so hope I get on ok.

[darkshine]

Good luck with it - call your gp if you have any problems, or if after 3 to 4 weeks it doesn't seem to be working for you as

[Researcher]

Hi Moby75

I know a few people of have taken citalopram too and it has worked very well for anxiety. I get the impression that it doesn't have the same side effects as some other ssri's or the drowsiness associated with Venlafaxin.

I hope it goes well for you,

Theresa

[dekra]

I had it for a short period, can't really tell if it was effective as it make me burp the vilest burps on the planet so I went to dr and changed to amitriptaline which was fantastic.

[AdamJ]

I'm one of the small minority who suffered quite extreme side-effects. If you end up spending every waking moment fighting the urge to self-harm or worse, then stop taking it and tell your doctor.

[Special_talent123]

i had it before and it didnt help me. all medication ive been on hasnt helped accept for the ones for personal reasons. i only seem to get side affects on all AD's (Anti Depressants ) and AP (anti psychotics)

[kazz43]

I've been on citalopram for a couple of years, sometimes the anxiety is bad so it doesnt touch the sides, other times i feel it works well

i have ocd which it is supposed to be effective in, it's ok, but i dont think OCD is manageable by meds alone, i did see a CBT therapist but she was rubbish and didnt really help, i try and control it myself, some days are easier than others

[ibc4]

I've been on Citalopram for 10 months. It was prescribed for depression. It's also helped with OCD.

But recently I doubled from 20mg to 40mg and its had a flattening effect. Wondered if anyone else has had this?

[trekster]

I'm one of the small minority who suffered quite extreme side-effects. If you end up spending every waking moment fighting the urge to self-harm or worse, then stop taking it and tell your doctor.

 

im with you in that minority, paradoxical reactions to meds and unfortunate side effect of autism!

[Sa Skimrande]

Citalopram needs at least four weeks for it to start to be doing anything, but immediate effects are often noticed. I was on it for four years initially at a dose of 60mg for a year then 40mg thereafter with no therapy so all it did was push the problems uphill for me to deal with at a later date. NHS guidelines state that antidepressants are to be prescribed in conjunction with talk therapy yet I got none so what it achieved was pretty much nothing as all the distressing conditions were still there but with less sharp edges. It caused lapse of memory issues which I reported to the doctor and he said to me citalopram does not cause that and went on to ask if I took recreational drugs which I don't, hasten to say the relationship between myself and my doctor broke down to the point I refused to go to see the doctor and especially as I had trained myself in the staring to watch pupil dilation and knew from that when I talked my doctor wasn't listening so paranoia became a very real issue and I got it into my head the government were out to get me because I was long term unemployed and I needed to get a job before they caught up with me. I eventually took myself off it as the taking of it had become so sporadic because of the memory issues and tried to work, but I crashed big time as all the problems pushed uphill were there to meet me off the meds and in the course of that episode the first part of this year I pushed everyone away from me, friends, family the lot and stopped answering the phone and opening mail which of course caused more problems so the big S became a daily thought.

 

But as of last thursday I am now on mirtazapene a much friendlier medication which has stopped my mind ranging in all directions at the same time to the point it is making it hard to ponder which is good, as for the first time in a few years, I have found the peace of mind to once again engage and enjoy photography and my metalworking and with that yesterday I actually managed to have the patience to hand saw with a jewellers piercing saw over a hundred aluminium coils to make 3000 rings for my chain mail project, a dance shirt based on an Ottoman Janissary mail coat consisting of an estimated 65,0000 rings.

 

But SSRI it has been said will be banned eventually as well, we are guinea pigs, it is licensed for use on humans but what it actually does is open to speculation, perhaps why the doctor spends so much time writing down reported issues with it, as what the medications are used for is only a theory anyway, the cause of anxiety and depression is not yet known.