Corpsewithpulse Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hi everybody I started taking Citalopram 2 days ago and took my first one today. I was wondering what people's experiences of the drugs are and if they could answer some questions as and when they pop into my head. I would have asked the doctor but I was in such a state at the time, I was essentially in the "throw anything at me, I don't really care" mode. The questions I have at the moment are Will my concentration improve? Can I put on weight healthily? I'm naturally skinny but weighing roughly 7st 7lbs at 5'10" is taking the piss. How long will it be before I can sleep properly? I didn't really sleep well before I was on them but I've been worse over the last few days. Similarly, how long will the sensation of being dazed and confused last for? What exercises (physical and mental) work best with the drug? Anything else I should know or you'd care to divulge? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 i took it for 3 weeks and it sent me manic. if you have a history of mood swings / mania / hypomania be very very careful. i stopped after 3 weeks (2 weeks at 20mg and 1 at 10mg) and am still 2 weeks on, getting withdrawal effects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saffron Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 same here, it seemed great for the first few weeks then I got the trembles, really paranoid, suicidal, screamy, moody ect. I can only say that It effects people in different ways. and you just need to watch for adverse behaviour signs. I dont see any reason why you cannot get on with a weight gain diet and body building excersice on these or any other anti Ds if that is what you need to do. as for sleep patterns, as said before actually made me worse. Im on cipralex now and feel that works better for me as it is not so strong. I hope they help, just keep an eye on your behaviour and put it down to these rather than anything else, I did not connect it at first as I thought they were supposed to help, but when I cam off I felt a real difference within a few days, so new it was the pills not being right for me. all the best Saffron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 i should point out i know a lot of people who are on this and it works wonders for them after about 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsewithpulse Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 i took it for 3 weeks and it sent me manic. if you have a history of mood swings / mania / hypomania be very very careful. i stopped after 3 weeks (2 weeks at 20mg and 1 at 10mg) and am still 2 weeks on, getting withdrawal effects Funny you mention that because before I had my breakdown in the early Autumn, I went for a relatively brief period (4/5 weeks) of Grandiostiy. I never had any previous history of such a problem but perhaps it's something I should talk to somebody about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 just be a bit careful then. if you feel that you're going "high" go back to your dr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambrosia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hi I've been on it for 12 months now,It has improved my mood swings but not my sleep patterns.Also this med is known to make you lose weight,It did with me at the beginning but now i have put weight on through fault of my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsewithpulse Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Thanks for the answers so thus far. However, EEK! I hadn't been aware of the term Grandiosity until nutella mentioned the mania. I did a little research into the symptoms and they are damn near spot on to what I experienced when I started hitchhiking around the country and feeling like I was superman. It never even occured to me that I had a manic episode because it was brand new to me. I knew I had a breakdown and ended up lower than I've ever been but I put that down to my ex taking three months, whilst saying we we're still in a relationship, to end the relationship by sleeping around Europe. Now this has swung open the possibilities of Bipolar or Narcissistic Personality Disorder or something else having been triggered. Now I'm confused and getting giddy. WTF?!?!?!!?! :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 dont read too much in to things! seriously DONT! lots of people experience mood swings like that. you have to speak to your dr though. don't read too much. it's very very easy to read in to things and think "OMG i did that / do that" when the reality is you don't or that it's normal for what you were experiencing at the time. <wishes she'd kept her mouth shut now> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsewithpulse Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 You're right. I will be keeping myself grounded and not start trying to diagnose myself. Please don't wish you'd kept you mouth shut. All you've done is given me (and my mother) food for thought which if kept in perspective and within the realms of reality, shouldn't be unhealthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 we all have times when we think we can do a lot of stuff. does NOT make us bipolar. if you seriously have concerns, i do suggest you discuss them with your gp (or pdoc if you happen to have one) it's the only way forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth24 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hiya, I take 50mg and have been on it for over a year now. Initially i got that weird feeling that nothing was real and i was a bit dazed. But after a few weeks the side effects wore off and i think the drug is GREAT!!! Best anti depressan i have ever been on. As for the weight, I have an ED and am underweight, but i am slowly putting weight on. That is because of a healthy diet rather than the drug. I hope this has answered a few questions. Citalopram is a very commonly used and popular anti depressant. If you do have anymore problems see your GP Ruthie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlightam Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 the best thing about citalopram is that i didnt die after taking 28x30mg in a suicide attempt... the rest is rubbish - im even starting to think that its just placebo as im taking it for over 2 years now and nothing has changed, its still too hard to drag myself out of bed most of the days, my house is still a tip and i still dont care... im losing my job and i care even less... no chance of dragging me out of the house, not just because i dont have anyone to go anywhere with - I still have zero motivation to move at all... most of the time im buried in the virtual space, the only thing that gets me through the day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anastasia Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 moonlightam - i hope you've spoken to your gp about this. for most people, citralopam works wonderfully well nd they have few side effects after the first few weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnam Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 hi i was on it for about 6 months, did nothing for me, didnt help me sleep, or help with my moods, i may as well not bothered. though so far havent felt much diff with any meds, wondering if i am immune, as i dont appear to get withdrawl either (not that i am complaining). mirtazipine helped me sleep, and made me put on weight (weight gain not appreciated in my case). they can also give u seperate sleeping meds if it is a big prob. i took temazepam for about 6 month (aimed at 4 weeks only- think gp 2 scared to stop it) til didnt work anymore. now take amitriptyline, varies with the amount of sleep i get, think it is also anti d but not certain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postures Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 I was on Citalopam for a year and while I did lose wonderful amounts of weight with it, it also completely killed my libido. Still recovering from that Apart from that it did get me out of the dark lands for a while and got me to function properly. Although I did start to feel too numb after a while. I felt as if all my emotions and personality were eradicated. Also bear in mind that Citalopram is usally for short-term use, or so I've been told. The positive effects tend to wear off with time. Good luck :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodieDAme Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Hey . This topic interests me too because I've just been put on Citalopram, 20mg per day. I've only been on it 3 days though so not expecting any results for another week or so (but did get drowsy the first day for a few hours). So far still got crying, emptiness and problems sleeping (has changed from difficulty getting to sleep AND difficulty waking up TO now: difficulty getting to sleep and difficutly getting BACK to sleep once I wake up at some odd hour of morning). I am a little curious/worried about the weight gain thing. Recently I have lost 1.5 stones dieting (probably not in the healthiest ways, but ok) and noticed this morning had put a few pounds back on. Probably just paranoia though. I don't know. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedup! Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I found it improved my mood once it had kicked in - thank goodness as I was a mess, very very low. I just felt I could cope better. I agree that they seemed to make me 'feel' less - great for depressive feelings but not good for happy, positive emotions obviously. I found biggest prob was with my GP giving me NO INFO AT ALL on any side effects, issues with reducing dosage etc. Had to find it all out myself and freaked out by reading too much on internet! Basically they got me out of a hole I was in. Truthfully i felt shaky when comimg off them...dizzy, anxious etc, but I phoned anxiety and NHS helplines and they were very informative and comforting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just.me Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I took it for four years, I never had any side effects and never put on any weight. It stopped working after four years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanctuary Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 citalopram has saved my life in the past and I've been on and off it for twelve years i think, but like everyone says takes weeks to work and after a while it seems theres no point taking them anymore as they don't seem to stop me having crises and such however.... key to a good medication is the results it has FOR YOU.... so stick with it and see how it goes. I know alot of people who are thankful for this little pill however each of us is different. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepsimeg Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 imon 60mg doesnt seem to be doing a dam thing for me but thats antids they are all different, i been on it for 2yrs pdoc still wont change it dont know whaaht i have to do to get it changed. but when i 1st went on it my symptoms were worse....anxiety, thought of s.h etc....takes a few wks to settle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanctuary Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 OMG things get really confusing sometimes when posts are bumped!!! Sorry corpse... thought this was current - ignore me! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiggyy Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 i've been on it for a week and it is so fun!! makes my eyes go blurry and my body feel funny!! but apparently you get use to it I was on Citalopam for a year and while I did lose wonderful amounts of weight with it ooooh hopefully this works for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodieDAme Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 OMG things get really confusing sometimes when posts are bumped!!! Sorry corpse... thought this was current - ignore me! lol (Sorry! It just is relevant.) Uh I've only been taking it 3 days but last night I started feeling sui. Well had thoughts, which I had earlier in the week, but a bit stronger and became a total mess. It seemed like I could have done sth but stopped self. Went from v giggly/hyper to crushingly depressed in an hour. I can't go to GP today, it's closed (and going home from uni today) but do you think I shouldn't take it today? x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich23 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I was on citaplopram for about 4 years and it worked very well for me. Although it did make me feel a lot worse during the first 2 or 3 weeks. Also don't drink alcohol on them until you are feeling better. Even then, not too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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