Discussion
I appreciate this is a hugely general question but has anyone any experience of Citalopram?
A friend lost her mum very suddenly a few months back and has been on these since, no idea what dose or any specifics.
I'm asking out of sheer nosiness I'm not about to try and second guess the professionals, but usual story you hit Google and the first few links are pretty much "WTF do these things to do you?!".
Cheers.
A friend lost her mum very suddenly a few months back and has been on these since, no idea what dose or any specifics.
I'm asking out of sheer nosiness I'm not about to try and second guess the professionals, but usual story you hit Google and the first few links are pretty much "WTF do these things to do you?!".
Cheers.
Edited by b
hstewie on Thursday 13th September 13:35
hstewie on Thursday 13th September 13:35I work for the ambulance service.
They are, as I'm sure you know, antidepressants.
Without knowing your friend, I would question why she was put on these after the death of her mother: they're antidepressants, not "grief" pills, if you know what I mean.
If everything was good in your friend's life before her mother's death, then she should deal with the grief and come off these tablets.
They are, as I'm sure you know, antidepressants.
Without knowing your friend, I would question why she was put on these after the death of her mother: they're antidepressants, not "grief" pills, if you know what I mean.
If everything was good in your friend's life before her mother's death, then she should deal with the grief and come off these tablets.
Thanks. She has a (then) 12 month old child and was struggling to cope when her mum died - I only know as it's been told to me.
There's also a bunch of marital stuff going on, suffice to say that whilst I was surprised to find out she was on them, it doesn't surprise me that she's on them IYSWIM.
It just seems there are a lot of bad stories about them. I'm assuming that as with most things if you search you're more likely to find problems that positive experiences, and I'm not entirely sure I'm asking a question, just fishing for opinions.
There's also a bunch of marital stuff going on, suffice to say that whilst I was surprised to find out she was on them, it doesn't surprise me that she's on them IYSWIM.
It just seems there are a lot of bad stories about them. I'm assuming that as with most things if you search you're more likely to find problems that positive experiences, and I'm not entirely sure I'm asking a question, just fishing for opinions.
In the past 3 months my girlfriend and my dad have both been put on these by their doctors.
Can't say I've noticed much change in either of them really. My GF was put onto them due to stress at work and my dad for the same reason.
Personally I'm not big on antidepressants, prefering to deal with things on my own, but they seem to be the pill of choice at the moment.
Can't say I've noticed much change in either of them really. My GF was put onto them due to stress at work and my dad for the same reason.
Personally I'm not big on antidepressants, prefering to deal with things on my own, but they seem to be the pill of choice at the moment.
I took Citalopram for about 2 years. Had none of the side effects you hear of and have to say they worked wonders. (I did have extremely vivid dreams, but they were normal dreams not nightmares or anything horrible)
They get you into a state of mind that allows you to see straight again. They lift the cloud. You can feel a little emotionally numb on them but that's no bad thing when you are trying to juggle all sorts of problems. You can look at things in a more detached manner and make sensible decisions.
I stopped taking Citalopram over a period of time, stopping altogether around a month ago. I had some spells where I was very dizzy (almost drunk) but this has subsided a little every day since stopping. I have restless legs at the moment which may or may not be connected to withdrawal.
I think the withdrawal symptoms are a small price to pay for the assistance they gave me when I needed it.
They get you into a state of mind that allows you to see straight again. They lift the cloud. You can feel a little emotionally numb on them but that's no bad thing when you are trying to juggle all sorts of problems. You can look at things in a more detached manner and make sensible decisions.
I stopped taking Citalopram over a period of time, stopping altogether around a month ago. I had some spells where I was very dizzy (almost drunk) but this has subsided a little every day since stopping. I have restless legs at the moment which may or may not be connected to withdrawal.
I think the withdrawal symptoms are a small price to pay for the assistance they gave me when I needed it.
Edited by Firefoot on Thursday 13th September 16:44
I was given these by my GP,I find them very effective.
For me they keep the bad thoughts at bay,and lift my mood immeasurably.
They also keep my hot flushes at bay (Prostate cancer sufferer & having mthly injections of Zoladex).
For me they work very,very well,no side effects of note,unlike the awful Zoladex!
For me they keep the bad thoughts at bay,and lift my mood immeasurably.
They also keep my hot flushes at bay (Prostate cancer sufferer & having mthly injections of Zoladex).
For me they work very,very well,no side effects of note,unlike the awful Zoladex!
Firefoot said:
They get you into a state of mind that allows you to see straight again. They lift the cloud. You can feel a little emotionally numb on them but that's no bad thing when you are trying to juggle all sorts of problems. You can look at things in a more detached manner and make sensible decisions.
My experience is about this. Plus the first 2 weeks I was asleep. I'm not a big sleeper but I love my sleep. This was a very good 2 weeks.i have to echo the positive comments of posters who have had a good experience with citalopram, all the SSRIs and the SNRIs work slightly differently for different people and often it can take a bit of changing around drug and /.or dose if you have problems , i'm lucky that the first SSRI i wnet on was citalopram and it works for me from a mood point of view and helps deal with the anxiety / OCD type symptoms i also get.
Was on it for a few years - pretty sure it's owed a decent chunk of the credit for my not having topped myself during that time.
It made me feel unspeakably sick for the first 6 days, but that was really the only straightforwardly negative side effect.
I sleep better now I'm off it, but I didn't notice until after I'd finished weaning off it. Same goes for libido but while you're depressed enough to need an SSRI it's deeply unlikely that you'll notice that one!
I weaned off very, very slowly because I was very frightened that I might still need it, and end up in an unsafe situation as a result of dropping the dose. With the support of a fantastic GP and a liquid formulation of the medication I did it 5% at at time over a period of about 4 months and didn't feel a thing until as previously mentioned I suddenly noticed I was having much better (more restful/satisfying) sleep.
It made me feel unspeakably sick for the first 6 days, but that was really the only straightforwardly negative side effect.
I sleep better now I'm off it, but I didn't notice until after I'd finished weaning off it. Same goes for libido but while you're depressed enough to need an SSRI it's deeply unlikely that you'll notice that one!
I weaned off very, very slowly because I was very frightened that I might still need it, and end up in an unsafe situation as a result of dropping the dose. With the support of a fantastic GP and a liquid formulation of the medication I did it 5% at at time over a period of about 4 months and didn't feel a thing until as previously mentioned I suddenly noticed I was having much better (more restful/satisfying) sleep.
drivin_me_nuts said:
Several people I know on them have had a very tough time coming off their dosages and in particular the last halving of the dose caused them great anxiety and stress.
potential mind over matter circular argument there ... is it pharmacological or somatic?hopefully PH is sufficiently free of 'truthers' to allow me to mention the somatic component to symptomology without reaching for the pitchforks ...
mph1977 said:
drivin_me_nuts said:
Several people I know on them have had a very tough time coming off their dosages and in particular the last halving of the dose caused them great anxiety and stress.
potential mind over matter circular argument there ... is it pharmacological or somatic?hopefully PH is sufficiently free of 'truthers' to allow me to mention the somatic component to symptomology without reaching for the pitchforks ...
Coming off these types of drugs is much much more than a chemical or mental weaning, it is sometimes a massively life changing experience in its own right.
drivin_me_nuts said:
Coming off these types of drugs is much much more than a chemical or mental weaning, it is sometimes a massively life changing experience in its own right.
Absolutely. For some people the experience of coming off anti depressants is terrifying. That is one of the reasons I would always tell people to look into NLP. It teaches you a number of coping techniques that can help break the fear of "going solo" or help deal with increased anxiety, new emotions etc. It also teaches you how to refocus, so instead of constantly worrying about coming off the medication and what things will be like, you would be looking forward to a new stage in your lifeFirefoot said:
Absolutely. For some people the experience of coming off anti depressants is terrifying. That is one of the reasons I would always tell people to look into NLP. It teaches you a number of coping techniques that can help break the fear of "going solo" or help deal with increased anxiety, new emotions etc. It also teaches you how to refocus, so instead of constantly worrying about coming off the medication and what things will be like, you would be looking forward to a new stage in your life
Very interesting and insightful comment. It's very easy to get caught up both in the process and with the 'fear' of living that the journey itself becomes absolute hell and 'living' goal becomes fraught and traumatic. It can, for want of an expression be a very difficult 'rebirthing' back into a more sensory ladened reality.There is a reason that these things are known in some circles as a wonder drug! I have several close family on this and as immediately above, I prefer teh family members concerned on the drug than off it!
Not easy to get through teh initial side effects but so worth it.
PM me if yo want to have an 'off the record' chat or email about the pros and cons. The Mrs went on them after I had lunch with my Neurologist one day (I've had spinal surgery and migraines)
He said pretty much ignore teh GP and try them; if they work, you are simply fixing something that others just dont need fixing; he likened it to some cars need more oil than others - ironic really eh? If you dont give a thirsty car enough oil, it breaks. If a frugal car doesnt need much oil; nothing needs doing!
Situations that even warrant this discussion are hell on Earth - for both sides of teh problem. Knowing that there are fixes out there and you are not the only one dealing (from either side) with this and your problems are not insurmountable also helps!
The Mrs refuses to even countenance coming off them and she is on a very small dose
Me, MTFU - but that didnt work for her
Not easy to get through teh initial side effects but so worth it.
PM me if yo want to have an 'off the record' chat or email about the pros and cons. The Mrs went on them after I had lunch with my Neurologist one day (I've had spinal surgery and migraines)
He said pretty much ignore teh GP and try them; if they work, you are simply fixing something that others just dont need fixing; he likened it to some cars need more oil than others - ironic really eh? If you dont give a thirsty car enough oil, it breaks. If a frugal car doesnt need much oil; nothing needs doing!
Situations that even warrant this discussion are hell on Earth - for both sides of teh problem. Knowing that there are fixes out there and you are not the only one dealing (from either side) with this and your problems are not insurmountable also helps!
The Mrs refuses to even countenance coming off them and she is on a very small dose
Me, MTFU - but that didnt work for her
I was on them for 7 years, from 10mg all the way to 40mg, They helped me through a difficult patch, but also masked some other issues that I should have been dealing with (money) which in turn caused more depression.
I had some health side effects (libido, sinus issues mainly) but also found they gave me brain fug, I lost the ability to enjoy things and I felt I was walking around in a gold fish bowl, my work was also affected.
Coming off them for me was a purely physical issue, took me best part of 12 months to get from 20mg to 5mg, then 5mg every other day, every other other day. in the end I just had to cold turkey them through the shakes/vivid dream/brain jolts/panic attacks etc.
Life for me is a much better place without them, but I dont mean to say I should never have taken them.
I did a 'dealing with low mood' course of CBT through our local Pyschological therapies team which was excellent, and if I had had that to start with I would have probably come off the tablets a lot sooner...
I had some health side effects (libido, sinus issues mainly) but also found they gave me brain fug, I lost the ability to enjoy things and I felt I was walking around in a gold fish bowl, my work was also affected.
Coming off them for me was a purely physical issue, took me best part of 12 months to get from 20mg to 5mg, then 5mg every other day, every other other day. in the end I just had to cold turkey them through the shakes/vivid dream/brain jolts/panic attacks etc.
Life for me is a much better place without them, but I dont mean to say I should never have taken them.
I did a 'dealing with low mood' course of CBT through our local Pyschological therapies team which was excellent, and if I had had that to start with I would have probably come off the tablets a lot sooner...
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