Citalopram Experience - Any Advice?

[h2o]

Hi everyone,
I have just started on citalopram 3 days ago and am feeling really strange. I have been shaking quite severley, had a really bad headache, had muscle pains, and noticed my pupils are dilated and my eyes glazed over to the point I look like I am on something. My anxiety has also gone through the roof (which it was bad enough anyway). I rang the doctor and he said this is not normal so he told me to go to the hospital to have my pupils seen. The only good thing is my anger and irritability seems to have subsided significantly.

I went and saw a doctor at the hospital and he told me this is normal and it can take a few weeks to get into your system. He did say my pupils were slightly dilated but it will pass. I am not 100% convinced because I feel really out of it. He told me to cut down from the 20mg to 10mg for the rest of the week then up the dose. Has anybody had any similiar experiences with this drug?

Many thanks

 

[cat]

Hi h2o

I have been taking citalopram for 18mths, starting on 20mg & experienced the same side effects as you, heavy painful limbs, severe headaches, dry mouth, dizzy & extremely tired, I just wanted to stay in bed, these lasted about 2 wks then gradually disappeared over the next 6 wks by which time I noticed a huge difference in my anxiety. I found during this time that I felt better if I drank extra water, probably a glass an hour.

I think it is sensible advice to take 10mg for a week then increase 15mg for a few days then to 20mg, it will give your body time to adjust to the medication.

Good luck with Citalopram, it really is worth putting up with the side effects for the relief it will bring you.
Annette

 

[h2o]

Hi Annette,

Thank you so much for your advice - I will stick it out. It always helps to hear somebody else has had the same side effects and it is not just me. I'll go on the 10mg tomorrow and hopefully I don't feel as spaced out/crazy.

h2o

 

[h2o]

Hi,
Had to come off the Citalopram - it was giving me severe tremors in my hands, legs and jaw. Been off them since yesterday but my jaw still has really bad tremors and feels really tight, even though it has been over 36 hours since the last 10 mg. Obviously my body cannot tolerate it -my parents thought I had been using drugs I have been acting so weird. I hope these symptoms disappear soon.

 

[Deleted member 541]

Are you on any other anti depressants???? I found some info regarding Citalopram(Celexa), so you may want to read up on it yourself...

DRUG INTERACTIONS: All SSRIs, including citalopram, should not be taken with any of the mono-amine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor-class of antidepressants, for example, isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate), selegiline (Eldepryl), and procarbazine (Matulane). Such combinations may lead to confusion, high blood pressure, tremor, and hyperactivity. If treatment is to be changed from citalopram to an MAOI or vice-versa, there should be a 14 day period without either drug before the alternative drug is started. Tryptophan, a common dietary supplement, can cause headaches, nausea, sweating, and dizziness when taken with any SSRI.

 

[LeoTheLion]

h20 I do not have any bad experience with Celexa myself but for some other meds I did experience tremor and shaking etc like you describe. It means your body may not agree with that medication I would suggest you call doctor ask to change meds also explain to them your experience. I did before with other meds they immediately changed my anti-depressant medication. If your off it now, it will take a while to get back normal.

 

[disconnect]

I didn't have a positive experience with Citalopram - I felt it made me extremely ill and the panic attacks were unbearable. I've been on many, many different medications over the years and I know it takes time to find the right one that works. I hope the side effects go away for you. If you feel it's becoming unbearable, go back to your doctor straight away.
D/x

 

[Aine]

I also had an awful time with Citalopram. I felt very sick and it just made me feel more depressed than ever, two weeks later, I tried to kill myself, so I stopped taking it.
The list of side effects should be included in the box. My favourite was always "false sense of wellbeing" :D
Check your side effects against the leaflet and there are some where they tell you to see your doctor again right away. For the others, if they don't go away, just go back to your doctor and see if you can try something else.

Love and Light,

Aine

 

[h2o]

Hi Shecat,

No I am not on any of those other medications - I think it was just a really bad reaction I had.

h2o

 

[Sasha]

I'm glad you spoke to the doctors about this and received some good feed back here.

I've never taken Citralpram, but take Lexapro. I started off at 5 mg (1/2 pill) and worked up to 10 mg after a few weeks, which is what I currently take. They are similar medications (I think) and I had a small reaction at 5 mg and again after switching to 10 (anxiety for a few days). I can only imagine the reaction if I had started off at 20 mg. I think every person's body is different, I'm very sensitive to meds and would probably never be able to tolerate 20 mg, especially starting off. Hopefully they will find a good one for you or adjust this is correctly. I've tried other AD's in the past and the side effects were bad, but Lexapro has been great so far.

 

[gdf]

I used the citilopram successfully at a very small dose--10 mg and went to 5mg a day. The depression lifted within a few weeks and I felt much better but I did not sleep well on it and became very tired in the afternoons. My biggest problem was the nausea it caused. It was very effective for the depression and I think it literally saved me at that point in my life. I used it for about 5 months.

 

[changed]

Hi h2o. I guess drugs effect everyone differentely. When I was on this I felt a little better but a bit spaced out. It wasnt until I came off it that everyone commented on me being like a zombie and looking really withdrawn when I was on them. But that was just not the one for me. I hope your symptoms get better and you start to feel better with them.

Changed x