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Reactions to Celexa?
I just started taking celexa two days ago and have been feeling worse than ever. Yesterday I had some sort of sudden severe episode where my whole inside felt hot and it moved it's way up to the bottom of my mouth (can't really describe the feeling in my mouth-kind of fuzzy, slighlty tingly). I felt "not right" and was certain I was about to pass out. It was more terrifying than any panic attack I had. I also felt like I was slowly rocking and swaying. I'm wondering if I took my meds to close together(first pill friday @ 6pm and the next on saturday at 8am). It's now sunday 1pm and I haven't taken any more pills but am still getting weird sensations all over and feeling really anxious. Have decided maybe these pills aren't for me and am not taking any more. Anyone else having trouble with celexa? Thanks
Like some of you,after taking celexa for 3 days I experienced a burning and timgling sensation from my back down my arms and mostly my right side.At the same time my heart was beating fast.This really scared me.I thought I was going to die.I went to the ER and they did an EKG,CT SCAN of my head and ran blood work to rule out all the serious possibilities.I had noticed that after I started taking the medication,I could'nt hardly function at work because I was soo sleepy and I kept yawning so much and I also lost my appetite and had diarrhea.I also had excessive thirst and my mouth was really dry.I didnt want to believe the doctors when they said I may be having an allergic reaction to the meds.This just happened last Wed. and I have been out of work every since trying to get better cause I was told the effects of the meds could be in my system for at least a week.I am doing better than I was but I do not recommend celexa for anyone and now I am trying to cope with my depression without the antidepressants.After researching celexa and what it could do to your body,I don't ever want to experience anything like what I had to endure from this.Good luck to you all.
I sympathize with all of you. Unlike some who have posted here, I resisted taking medication and my depression and anxiety just kept getting worse and worse and started affecting not just my personal life but my working life. To complicate matters I had a chronic illness with symptoms that can be quite vague or general and so all health issues I had my doctor would attribute to this illness.
It was only once my chronic condition was resolved that the diagnosis of depression and anxiety came about by which time a good number of years had passed and my condition was quite severe.
I was started on Celapram (Citalopram) 10mg. For 5 weeks I experienced severe leg twitches/jerking during sleeping hours (which I think was most alarming to my partner at night because I kept kicking him unintentionally), constant crying, severe fatigue so that all I could do was sleep, lack of focus during the rare waking hours, dry mouth, and dizziness upon exertion to name a few, all of this so severe to the point that my partner would keep asking if I needed to go to hospital.
However, one day after the 5th week had passed, the symptoms subsided quite suddenly and I was finding myself much more mentally present and aware, waking up energetic and feeling like I'd slept well, not quite like my old self but as close as I'd been since before I was sick.
Then I went on holiday and in my adventures I became much more forgetful about taking my medication regularly and suddenly it felt like the medication had stopped working. So I went to see my doctor and was tried on a few other things but none of them quite as effective to my sense of well being as the Celepram had been.
Then recently when I started back at work, my depression and anxiety became intolerable again and my doctor decided to start me back on Celapram as a temporary measure until I started seeing a new psychiatrist. This time around, I experienced milder symptoms of fatigue, muscle weakness, dry mouth and being mentally absent. It's now been 4 - 5 weeks since I started, it finally kicked in yesterday and the change in my energy and mood was noticeable not just by me but by my work colleagues who attributed it to a particularly good hit of coffee. The next day I woke up with greater ease and not feeling as low as I have been so I'm looking forward to much improvement over the next few weeks :D
Through knowledge and experience I can tell you this; we mental health patients are very bad about being regular with our medication for a variety of reasons not least of which is because our illnesses cause us to be absent minded and the side effects we experience are a major deterrent to continuing medication. However what I have noticed through several attempts at various medications for depression and anxiety is that it gets worse before it gets better, you do not take it and wake up the next day like new which is what we optimistically think will happen. It took a long time to get to the state of unwell and so it takes time to get back to a state of well. You will notice as a regular theme that people posting who are reporting lack of success with it said they experienced side effects and then stopped it suddenly without consulting a doctor after a taking it for a day to a couple of weeks.
My advice is as follows;
- Only take medication if your condition is long term, if it's caused by things happening in your life and will be resolved once these things finish up then it may not be worthwhile.
- If you are going to use it, take some time away from work and commitments to deal with the side effects that will probably happen
- STICK WITH IT for long enough to really see if it works for you (I'm talking probably about 8 weeks), I can not stress this one enough, it will mean gritting your teeth through the side effects for a while but it's worth it if/when it works. I am not saying it will or won't work, we are all different, it will be compatible with some people and incompatible with others. What I am saying though is that even though you are possibly experiencing side effects initially, it does not mean that this medication will not be compatible with you given a bit of time and taking it regularly (that is, the right dose, at the right time of day for an appropriate length of time to allow it to take effect)
- For those who are having issues with being tired during the day, I've noticed it helps to try taking it regularly at another time of day because it seems to have a cycle of awake and sleep periods and that is to help promote proper sleep to counter the insomnia that many people suffering depression and anxiety experience. I found my optimal time was about 3-5pm, but we are all individual and you need to find what works for you.
I'm sorry if that was a bit long winded, especially for those of you reporting lack of concentration as a side effect but I thought it best to share the whole story so that people could understand the pattern between my behavior in relation to my medication and it's relation to my condition. I hope my story helps others understand what they're going through and possibly how to overcome some of the issues they are experiencing with their medication, comforted to know that others are going through the same sorts of experiences and to have hope for a light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel.
I wish you all luck in your journey towards good mental health, don't give up because not only are there plenty of different options to try, there are new ones being discovered all the time.
Sincerely,
Jen
It was only once my chronic condition was resolved that the diagnosis of depression and anxiety came about by which time a good number of years had passed and my condition was quite severe.
I was started on Celapram (Citalopram) 10mg. For 5 weeks I experienced severe leg twitches/jerking during sleeping hours (which I think was most alarming to my partner at night because I kept kicking him unintentionally), constant crying, severe fatigue so that all I could do was sleep, lack of focus during the rare waking hours, dry mouth, and dizziness upon exertion to name a few, all of this so severe to the point that my partner would keep asking if I needed to go to hospital.
However, one day after the 5th week had passed, the symptoms subsided quite suddenly and I was finding myself much more mentally present and aware, waking up energetic and feeling like I'd slept well, not quite like my old self but as close as I'd been since before I was sick.
Then I went on holiday and in my adventures I became much more forgetful about taking my medication regularly and suddenly it felt like the medication had stopped working. So I went to see my doctor and was tried on a few other things but none of them quite as effective to my sense of well being as the Celepram had been.
Then recently when I started back at work, my depression and anxiety became intolerable again and my doctor decided to start me back on Celapram as a temporary measure until I started seeing a new psychiatrist. This time around, I experienced milder symptoms of fatigue, muscle weakness, dry mouth and being mentally absent. It's now been 4 - 5 weeks since I started, it finally kicked in yesterday and the change in my energy and mood was noticeable not just by me but by my work colleagues who attributed it to a particularly good hit of coffee. The next day I woke up with greater ease and not feeling as low as I have been so I'm looking forward to much improvement over the next few weeks :D
Through knowledge and experience I can tell you this; we mental health patients are very bad about being regular with our medication for a variety of reasons not least of which is because our illnesses cause us to be absent minded and the side effects we experience are a major deterrent to continuing medication. However what I have noticed through several attempts at various medications for depression and anxiety is that it gets worse before it gets better, you do not take it and wake up the next day like new which is what we optimistically think will happen. It took a long time to get to the state of unwell and so it takes time to get back to a state of well. You will notice as a regular theme that people posting who are reporting lack of success with it said they experienced side effects and then stopped it suddenly without consulting a doctor after a taking it for a day to a couple of weeks.
My advice is as follows;
- Only take medication if your condition is long term, if it's caused by things happening in your life and will be resolved once these things finish up then it may not be worthwhile.
- If you are going to use it, take some time away from work and commitments to deal with the side effects that will probably happen
- STICK WITH IT for long enough to really see if it works for you (I'm talking probably about 8 weeks), I can not stress this one enough, it will mean gritting your teeth through the side effects for a while but it's worth it if/when it works. I am not saying it will or won't work, we are all different, it will be compatible with some people and incompatible with others. What I am saying though is that even though you are possibly experiencing side effects initially, it does not mean that this medication will not be compatible with you given a bit of time and taking it regularly (that is, the right dose, at the right time of day for an appropriate length of time to allow it to take effect)
- For those who are having issues with being tired during the day, I've noticed it helps to try taking it regularly at another time of day because it seems to have a cycle of awake and sleep periods and that is to help promote proper sleep to counter the insomnia that many people suffering depression and anxiety experience. I found my optimal time was about 3-5pm, but we are all individual and you need to find what works for you.
I'm sorry if that was a bit long winded, especially for those of you reporting lack of concentration as a side effect but I thought it best to share the whole story so that people could understand the pattern between my behavior in relation to my medication and it's relation to my condition. I hope my story helps others understand what they're going through and possibly how to overcome some of the issues they are experiencing with their medication, comforted to know that others are going through the same sorts of experiences and to have hope for a light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel.
I wish you all luck in your journey towards good mental health, don't give up because not only are there plenty of different options to try, there are new ones being discovered all the time.
Sincerely,
Jen
I have been on it for two weeks. The only side effect I am experiencing is nausea but my anxiety is basically gone. Now if I could get ri of this nausea.
Omg I am totally, relating to every body that experienced anxiety after taking celexa
I thought celexa was supposed to makeit go away otonly made it worse. How long will this ladt I feel helpless cuz instead of feeling better I feel worse
I thought celexa was supposed to makeit go away otonly made it worse. How long will this ladt I feel helpless cuz instead of feeling better I feel worse
This is my first time posting but my situation has been replicated in so many of these posts that I have to chime in. 6 weeks ago I was a fully functioning, regularly exercising, regularly meditating, working professional. While at work I experience extreme "electric " type burning in my legs. I went immediately to my doctors, who started with blood tests and found all was normal except for for some anemia. I have been treating that with nutrition and iron supplements. BUT - since then I have had :
3 EKG's, a treadmill test, an echo-cardiogram, vascular imaging and the entire GI tract test (upper and lower). All of this because of my ongoing and undiagnosed symptoms. So I am left with a diagnosis of anxiety. Yesterday I was prescribed Celexa and have just had an excruciating 24 hours including tremors, burning in my limbs, crying and clenching teeth. This morning I have finally taken an Adivan and don't feel great but at least I can walk across the room. I will stop this drug immediately and just wanted to leave a record for anyone else who might have this experience.
3 EKG's, a treadmill test, an echo-cardiogram, vascular imaging and the entire GI tract test (upper and lower). All of this because of my ongoing and undiagnosed symptoms. So I am left with a diagnosis of anxiety. Yesterday I was prescribed Celexa and have just had an excruciating 24 hours including tremors, burning in my limbs, crying and clenching teeth. This morning I have finally taken an Adivan and don't feel great but at least I can walk across the room. I will stop this drug immediately and just wanted to leave a record for anyone else who might have this experience.
I had just taken one 20 mg.dose of Celexa and my panic attack was so severe that my heart was beating so fast I could not breathe. My arms got hot and numb and I felt a bit dizzy. I had to call 911 because I was terrified. The paramedics said that I did the right thing but they were sure it was not a heart attack but maybe just anxiety because of the holidays. I knew that it was not the case because up until I took the Celexa I was happy and content and even thinking about making cookies and then my heart started pounding ... and, of course THAT caused anxiety and it just ramped up from there. They recommended that I take Xanax and try to get calm. It helped but it has 6 days and, while I am better, I still don't feel back to "norma" yet. I will never take these pills again. I guess I am just one of those that can't take it.
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