Anyone taken or take Citalopram?

[GV1]

Wondering if anyone here takes, or has taken, citalopram.

Doctor put me on 10mg the other day for reasons we shall not discuss. But I was wondering how others felt taking them. Currently I'm getting insomnia at night, but I take the medication around 1pm. Shortly after taking it I start to feel very tiered for a couple hours. But throughout the whole day I can't be bothered to do anything. I sat on the computer to start a beat and just had no drive or energy to want to do it. I'm also getting short term memory loss.

I'm on day 3. So I expect/hope these side effects wear off and are normal.

[kingldub]

Fuck this stuff, I was on 20mg then 40mg, I quit cold turkey (wouldn't recommend doing this btw) because it was fucking me up big time, the side effects for me were horrible.

[Laszlo]

Reported Side Effects With Citalopram can include:
•Suicidal thoughts or behavior
•Anxiety/Panic Attacks
•Increased aggressiveness
•Engaging in unusual or dangerous activities as opposed to your normal behaviour
•Restlessness such as inability to sit still
•Manic episdes of happines or sadness with extreme swings in both directions
•Other such abnormal changes in behavior
•Chest palpitations
•Insomnia and difficulty sleeping
•Signs of serotonin syndrome
•Signs of an allergic reaction

[Enid]

Switch to taking them in the evening if they're making you tired.
I was on these for a short while, but quit cold turkey too (again wouldn't recommend) as I was having horrible sickness and constant tremors.
Stick at them for a while, for most people the side effects wear off after two weeks or so.
If you go the medication route with any mental health problem, you are most likely going to have to try a few before you find one that suits you best.
Hope everything gets better for you!

[GV1]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets, these are tiny and I can actually swallow these. Unless they do a liquid form of anti depressants.

Are the 20mg bigger in size? I have a feeling I'll be upped in a few weeks. Tiredness seems to have wore off. Just headaches now and the memory loss lmao. I don't think I'm suffering as bad as some .... yet. I've heard some nasty reports on this drug.

[NiGHTS_24]

for me things got better but not much also it depends how you feel when your not on Citalopram and the difference when your on them the first few days are hard and it takes time for them to work . its a long process but hope things go well

[Enid]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets, these are tiny and I can actually swallow these. Unless they do a liquid form of anti depressants.

Are the 20mg bigger in size? I have a feeling I'll be upped in a few weeks. Tiredness seems to have wore off. Just headaches now and the memory loss lmao. I don't think I'm suffering as bad as some .... yet. I've heard some nasty reports on this drug.

The 20mg are still really small, so you shouldn't have a problem if they do up your dose.
You probably won't feel any worse now, but always keep an eye out for new symptoms. Anything worrying go straight to the doctor.

[GV1]

I have an appointment with my CPN tomorrow so I'll discuss the symptoms with her

[gnome]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets

But you swallow food. Tablets are smaller than food.

[GV1]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets

But you swallow food. Tablets are smaller than food.

I know. It's mad. A lot of people have the same trouble.

[AxeD]

Oh are you sick? Here's some pills that give you suicidal thoughts!

[DRTY]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets

But you swallow food. Tablets are smaller than food.

I know. It's mad. A lot of people have the same trouble.

I have that issue also, cant even nail a paracetomol

[Comfi]

I don't think I have any option but to stick with them because I can't swallow tablets

But you swallow food. Tablets are smaller than food.

I know. It's mad. A lot of people have the same trouble.

You should hide it in a bit of chicken like they do with dogs.

But yea it's a common problem, I have a lot of people who come into work looking suspensions rather than tablets, but the good news is that most meds will have a liquid form.

You may need to have it ordered in specially, which means you can't get it as soon as you hand your prescription in. to get around this is simple enough.

Just make sure your doctor writes the script for liquid, and when he does ring the pharmacy you want to use to dispense it and let them know that you want it ordered. Can take a few hours to arrive so chances are you can pick it up the same day.

[aliasa]

Am on them at the moment. Def had some side effects over the first few weeks - interesting sleep patterns, really clenched jaw, loss of appetite. After about the third week my body settled down. Watch out for the irrationality that comes in the first few weeks too. Don't make any huge decisions. Once you hit week 4/5 you'll it's all pain sailing. Def have helped me. I'm on the 20mg and yeah they're tiny too. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions will do my best to get back to you as one thing that made it easier for me was speaking to mates who'd been on them before.

[bigfootspartan]

I'm on escitalopram, same thing but just a single emanatiomer. I've had similar side effects, for two days my anxiety was worse, but since then it's slowly gotten better.

Also, the whole increased risk of suicide thing was bullshit. The study was in adolescents, the placebo group was kids without depression, the treatment group was kids with depression. For 6 weeks the treatment group reported more suicidal ideation, which isn't surprising IMO, given that SSRI's take around 6 weeks to fully work.

If herbal remedies went under as much investigation as pharmaceuticals the side effect list would certainly be just as long.

[GV1]

Am on them at the moment. Def had some side effects over the first few weeks - interesting sleep patterns, really clenched jaw, loss of appetite. After about the third week my body settled down. Watch out for the irrationality that comes in the first few weeks too. Don't make any huge decisions. Once you hit week 4/5 you'll it's all pain sailing. Def have helped me. I'm on the 20mg and yeah they're tiny too. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions will do my best to get back to you as one thing that made it easier for me was speaking to mates who'd been on them before.

Thanks bud.

I'm on escitalopram, same thing but just a single emanatiomer. I've had similar side effects, for two days my anxiety was worse, but since then it's slowly gotten better.

Also, the whole increased risk of suicide thing was bullshit. The study was in adolescents, the placebo group was kids without depression, the treatment group was kids with depression. For 6 weeks the treatment group reported more suicidal ideation, which isn't surprising IMO, given that SSRI's take around 6 weeks to fully work.

If herbal remedies went under as much investigation as pharmaceuticals the side effect list would certainly be just as long.

Well part of the reason I'm on them is for anxiety, and the other part is depression. I'd hope, or much rather, they didn't increase the risk you talk about. It's the main reason I'm on them.

It's 3am. I went to bed at 12 shattered, without any sleep I am now wide awake finding it impossible to sleep. I have early appointment with CPN so looks like it's an all night job tonight. Good excuse to make some music I'd say. I hope my sleep pattern returns to normal some time soon!

[bigfootspartan]

Well part of the reason I'm on them is for anxiety, and the other part is depression. I'd hope, or much rather, they didn't increase the risk you talk about. It's the main reason I'm on them.

It's 3am. I went to bed at 12 shattered, without any sleep I am now wide awake finding it impossible to sleep. I have early appointment with CPN so looks like it's an all night job tonight. Good excuse to make some music I'd say. I hope my sleep pattern returns to normal some time soon!

Hope it all works out! I'm not sure if you mentioned when you're taking them, but it's recommended to take them in the morning so they affect sleep a little bit less. Their peak effect is typically 5 hours after you take them, so if you take them at 8 am it'd be around 1 pm when the side effects are the worst. From what I've been taught the side effects usually just happen for the first week or two, after that they typically go away and the medication starts working properly.

Also, I wouldn't worry a ton about the above list of side effects that guy posted. It's good to be aware of them incase you start noticing them, but most of them only really occur if you have an underlying condition. For example the "manic episodes" one is for people who have bipolar disorder, typically SSRI's will induce mania in them, I'm sure your GP screened for mania before he put you on citalopram. The serotonin syndrome hasn't really been seen with SSRI's alone, it's more when people accidentally mix SSRI's with MAO inhibitors and TCA's.

[GV1]

Well part of the reason I'm on them is for anxiety, and the other part is depression. I'd hope, or much rather, they didn't increase the risk you talk about. It's the main reason I'm on them.

It's 3am. I went to bed at 12 shattered, without any sleep I am now wide awake finding it impossible to sleep. I have early appointment with CPN so looks like it's an all night job tonight. Good excuse to make some music I'd say. I hope my sleep pattern returns to normal some time soon!

Hope it all works out! I'm not sure if you mentioned when you're taking them, but it's recommended to take them in the morning so they affect sleep a little bit less. Their peak effect is typically 5 hours after you take them, so if you take them at 8 am it'd be around 1 pm when the side effects are the worst. From what I've been taught the side effects usually just happen for the first week or two, after that they typically go away and the medication starts working properly.

Also, I wouldn't worry a ton about the above list of side effects that guy posted. It's good to be aware of them incase you start noticing them, but most of them only really occur if you have an underlying condition. For example the "manic episodes" one is for people who have bipolar disorder, typically SSRI's will induce mania in them, I'm sure your GP screened for mania before he put you on citalopram. The serotonin syndrome hasn't really been seen with SSRI's alone, it's more when people accidentally mix SSRI's with MAO inhibitors and TCA's.

Well, I've yet to be screened. I was placed on them over the phone. That's how bad I was, probably with the referral of the mental health assessment team. I wasn't even allowed to collect them and they told my fiance to keep them out of my reach. Yeah daft I know, I guess they are being careful. They know I can't swallow tablets so taking a bunch of pills is impossible. I don't even know what I have apart from I've had anxiety the past 10 years, but more recently ended up in hospital and being arrested under mental health act. I refused to be voluntary sectioned because I don't want to be cooped up like a chicken.

And the worst part is I didn't even ask for the help. I appreciate it, and know I have problems right now that need to be sorted. But it's all sudden and fast and feels very strange.

Enough negative talk. No point in sleeping as I'm STILL awake and find it impossible to sleep. Ended up reading through the PDFs on the waves plugins.

[kentnz]

I have been on them for about 8 months.

Side effects over the first month included:

- Tiredness
- Insomnia
- Stomach cramps
- Constipation

These passed. The more long term effects for me include:

- Short term memory loss
- Loss of libido
- Mood swings
- Relationship affects

I have just learned to live with these and again feel normal again. Much better than I did before medication.

You should not just rely on medicine alone. Other important things can include therapy, physical exercise, planning your days, interaction with peers (especially when you don't feel like it) and support etc.

[GV1]

I have been on them for about 8 months.

Side effects over the first month included:

- Tiredness
- Insomnia
- Stomach cramps
- Constipation

These passed. The more long term effects for me include:

- Short term memory loss
- Loss of libido
- Mood swings
- Relationship affects

I have just learned to live with these and again feel normal again. Much better than I did before medication.

You should not just rely on medicine alone. Other important things can include therapy, physical exercise, planning your days, interaction with peers (especially when you don't feel like it) and support etc.

Thanks for the heads up mate