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citalopram

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Health & Wellbeing
Hoping some people with experience of it might be able to give me some advice about citalopram.

I have struggled with cycles of depression and anxiety my whole life, the anxiety has been really bad lately so I went to the doctor and was prescribed 20mg of citalopram. I've never taken any medication like this before. The doctor told me it might make my anxiety worse for the first week or two before it got better. I took a tablet at 8am in the morning. Was fine all day, went to sleep fine, then pinged awake at 4am overwhelmed with the worst anxiety I've ever had. It was sheer terror and dread, taking over my entire body, causing my pulse to race and my skin to crawl, I felt hot and breathless and absolutely overwhlemed by the physical symptoms of panic even though I knew there was nothing wrong.

Understandably this freaked me out and I haven't taken any more, I figure the side effects of that are much worse than the anxiety I had before. But now I'm wondering whether I should have persevered?

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    it's usually best to persevere with SSRI type medications, the side-effects tend to go away. If they don't after a week or 2, then you go back to your GP for a chat.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    it's usually best to persevere with SSRI type medications, the side-effects tend to go away. If they don't after a week or 2, then you go back to your GP for a chat.

    :yes:

    If you've come off them this early they won't have had a time to work on the symptoms, either, you should definitely go back to your GP.

    If the side effects were unbearable there are always other options.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Basically what Captain said about persevering with them. It may take around 6 weeks before things settle down and you start to feel the benefits but if you are worried speak to your GP.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks for your replies everyone.

    I went back to the GP and told her that I hadn't been able to persevere because of the side effects. She has prescribed me a beta blocker to take to cope with that. Has anyone else taken this combination - citalopram and a beta blocker?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've heard of combinations. Do you have a particular concern relating to your GP's ability to prescribe your medication properly?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    I've heard of combinations. Do you have a particular concern relating to your GP's ability to prescribe your medication properly?

    Yes. She barely listened to me and hurried me out of the room without giving me a chance to ask any questions. I don't feel I had a chance to adequately explain my symptoms or my concerns. I certainly didn't get a proper chance to explain the side effects the citalopram had given me.
    I would be interested to hear other people's experiences of this medication anyway, even if I did have complete confidence and faith in my GP.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's a big deal imo, going from taking no meidcation at all to now being prescribed combinations of things, some of which are only to make the side effects of other things more tolerable. It's likely to be a scary step especially for people with anxiety disoders and I'm surprised my GP wasn't more helpful. She just seemed to want me out of there.
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    Danny!Danny! Deactivated Posts: 560 Incredible Poster
    I'm a bit concerned after reading this that your GP isn't giving you enough time. It is a big deal taking regular medication, and while it can be really helpful, it's worth making sure you're on the right thing.

    There are various drugs in the SSRI group, so if Citalopram has had such a strong side effect, it seems like your GP should at least consider other things.

    You're not obliged to keep seeing the same GP, maybe you could ring up and try and book an appointment with someone else? You can also try moving to a different surgery, although they may want you to register there first.

    There's this article on "talking to your GP" on Stepfinder if you've not seen it.
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