Citalopram (Celexa): Looking For Information/Experience

[missjae]

Hey, just wondering if anyone has any experience with Citalopram (Celexa) and or Trazodone.

 

[Pandora II]

I took it for a while and thought it was pretty good - especially regarding no side-effects. Not as good as Prozac though. This was for treating depression before they worked out I was bipolar and banned all SSRIs.

It''s not one of the latest ones though.

 

[TooPatient]

I took trazodone for about a year. Didn''t really have any problems with it.

 

[TooPatient]

If I am remembering my medications correctly, trazadone is an anxiety medication. Sometimes used for depression also. I do not believe it is an SSRI (although I could be forgetting, it has been a few years).

When I took it, I had .5 ml pills. The doctor started me off with 1/2 pill twice a day or one whole pill twice a day if I felt it was needed.

I did not have any problem with side affects. I do know that there can be problems so they like to watch closely as you adjust. Also, I believe it can cause dependency if used too long.

Doses can be much larger than what I took but need to be gradually increased and decreased to avoid problems.

 

[littlelysser]

I''ve taken Celexa for the past 4 years for anxiety - although I''ve also had some issues with depression in the past.

It was worked really well for me. I didn''t notice any side effects when I took it, and I weaned myself off of it when DH and I were TTC. I didn''t notice any problems coming off of it either. I was off for about 8 months, but when I got pregnant my anxiety came back FULL THROTTLE. I waited until I was 14 weeks pregnant and started taking it again, upon the advice of a maternal/fetal medicine doc, my OB and my GP. Once again, it made a huge difference.

My soon will be 6 weeks on Friday and I have not had any post partum issues at all. No depression, no anxiety - I feel really great. And more importantly, the baby is doing great.

If you have any specific questions, I''d be more than happy to answer them.

 

[absolut_blonde]

Celexa didn''t really help me. And, it made me tired ALL the time. I could sleep for 12 hrs and still be utterly exhausted.

But it''s YMMV. I seem to be a difficult patient as Prozac, Lexapro and Zoloft didn''t help me either (maybe serotonin just isn''t my issue).

 

[missjae]

Date: 10/15/2009 2:07:34 PM
Author: absolut_blonde
Celexa didn''t really help me. And, it made me tired ALL the time. I could sleep for 12 hrs and still be utterly exhausted.


But it''s YMMV. I seem to be a difficult patient as Prozac, Lexapro and Zoloft didn''t help me either (maybe serotonin just isn''t my issue).

Paxil, among other side effects, made me exhausted ALL the time, that''s why I''m interested in everyone''s experience with Celexa, because it''s become clear that for the time being at least, until I start working with a psychiatrist (recieved the letter to make an appointment in the mail today) that I cannot cope with my anxiety/panic on my own and Zoloft, Effexor, Wellbutrin and Cymbalta (There might have been other''s I''ve tried, I can''t remember as I always went back to Paxil) didn''t work for me.

 

[Pandora II]

Sorry, should have qualified - it was Citalopram I was talking about.

I wouldn''t touch Paxil in a million years - nasty, nasty stuff. They rarely prescribe it in the UK anymore, but it seems popular in the USA???

 

[lyra]

I''m on Cipralex, and it works well enough for me. It is the updated version of celexa, which I was on before Cipralex (lexapro) came out. I also have anxiety disorder. I think you''ll probably do better once you start seeing the psychiatrist and explore more coping resources. Cognitive behaviour therapy worked best for me, and once you learn it, it''s always there. I''ve never had any side effects on these meds, but if I stop taking it, or forget to take it for a few days, I do start to notice a downward trend in mood, which does lead to more anxiety for me. YMMV of course.

 

[missjae]

For those of you who have taken or are taking Citalopram (Celexa). If you haven''t already mentioned, I''m interested to know about any experience with side effects when starting and or stopping the drug. Which ones were experienced and how bad.

 

[Maisie]

I am taking Citalopram. My doctor prescribed it for anxiety attacks. After about 2 weeks of taking 10mg a day I started feeling depressed. I didn't want to get up in the morning and couldn't be bothered to do anything. I persevered because I wanted the panic attacks to go away.

After about 4 months my dose was increased to 20mg a day. I started sleeping all the time. I just felt exhausted. The anxiety went away completely but in its place came depression. I didn't want to change the medication as I hated the side effects when I first went on them. Starting a new type of medicine scared me.

I decided that I wanted to reduce the dose again. I didn't like being so tired. I was told to alternate the doses, 20mg one day - 10mg the next for a month. I am now on 10mg a day.

The side effects when I started the medication were very weird. I would wake up in the morning and feel really fearful. I would feel like something terrible was going to happen. Or I might do something terrible. Like I was about to just lose my mind. It was scary but would only last a couple of hours and then subside. I also gained a ton of weight. I now weigh 268 lbs. (I was 196 lbs).
I also became very paranoid. I thought my husband was having an affair. We ended up arguing one night and I actually smashed up my kitchen and tried to cut my wrists. Its weird reading this back... I can't believe I stayed on the medication.

When I reduced the dose I would wake up through the night a lot. I hallucinated a couple of times. I still don't sleep right through. My mind would be racing and everything seemed to be going too fast. If I got up it would seem that I was moving superfast. I hope that makes sense!

I also feel odd in terms of normal feelings. I don't have any type of extreme of emotion. I sort of just coast along in the middle. I don't get angry or upset although I realise when things are bad or good - I just don't feel it.

While these side effects seem really scary they didn't last long enough or scare me enough to stop taking the tablets. I am fine now and while I still feel low sometimes its worth it not to keep fainting or having massive panic attacks.

I hope this helps. I must say that I have swine flu at the minute so some of this might not make sense

ETA - Not everyone will experience the same things I have on this medication. I don't want to terrify anyone into not taking something prescribed for them!