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769503 tn?1238496321

citalopram

Hi there, my 28 year old son has been given the drug citaloporam for anxiety disorder.
Has anyone else been taking this. He is very wary because of the side effects. But cannot function without some help.
It is sad at this age that people have to rely on drugs.
Can anyone help us.
Kind regards.
10 Responses
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968908 tn?1274871115
If he says it's worse than 20 panic attacks put together he may be suffering from a condtion called Akathesia, this will cause an intense inner restlessness that will cause intense panic symptoms and cause the shaking etc.....  if the doc does indeed make this diagnosis then he will need to be taken off and put on another med, but the thing is some doc's are not 100% sure if it is this or something called Activation Syndrome which can cause similar symptoms and purly means that the body is getting use to the drug and building up in the system it can cause side effects.  As soon as the body gets use to the drug the side effects stop, in some people it can be a week or two, others a couple of days, some months....cause everyone if different.

Please let us know what the doc said and how your son is now, take care and please let him know he anit alone in feeling like this, i think a majority of us on here have been through similar feelings while trying to get on these drugs.... Plus he is extremely lucky to have such a supportive network behind him.  God bless!
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Avatar universal
Ditto.
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
I would advise you to call your sons doctor IMMEDIATELY and tell him what your son is experiencing!
And don't let them put you on hold or tell you the doctor will call you later when he can...........tell them you have an URGENT problem and must speak with him NOW!
Please let us know how your son is doing.
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
769503 tn?1238496321
Hi,
my son has been taking it for 4 days now.
He is in bed at the moment and is shaking all over. He says it is worse than 20 panic attacks
He feels ashamed to feel this way. He cannot look after his wife who expects a baby in 3 weeks. He just wants to go to sleep and wake up when he is better.
I am scared of the way he feels He thinks he is having a nervous breakdown and wants to end it all.
Is there anything we can do? Can we change the drug to another fast acting one.
Thank you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm on it now, but tapering off as it hasn't worked.  The main side effect for me has been tiredness.  But as everyone has said, we don't get the same side effects even when taking the same medication.  You just never know.  My own experience is that the better a medication works the more side effects there are, but because it's working they don't matter as much.  I think this has to do with how well a particular medication is metabolized by a particular individual -- the better it's metabolized, the more side effects but the more good effects, and most side effects aren't that big a deal compared with the suffering that leads us to be on medication.  The main thing is, I hope his main focus will be therapy, as mediation doesn't cure, it just helps temper the symptoms so hopefully therapy will work better.  That doesn't mean it will, it just means it might.  And my kudos to you for caring -- that's very important.  Those of us who get these problems often become very isolated by our friends and family.
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968908 tn?1274871115
Hiya yeah several months ago the doctor prescribed me Citalopram, i found that it did indeed start to make me feel alot better within a matter of days, but i experienced panic type attacks in my sleep because of it.  This really doesn't mean that your son will experience this as everyone reacts differently to it, i do wish i'd given it more of a chance as this was one of the better SSRI's i have taken and had less severe side-effects.  I think your son should give this a chance and be positive.  Good-luck
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505916 tn?1248792942
I'm currently on it. What dosage does the doctor have him at?

I've been on and off medications like this since my teens (I'm currently 32) and with every new drug they always tell me the potential side effects. It always threw me into the mode of "why am I taking these??" and started to worry about side effects. I don't know why it took me so long to understand this but the key word is "potential" side effects. For some reason I always believed if 20 side effects were listed, I was going to get all of them. Doctors HAVE to tell us all the potential side effects but most of them will relay us information on the most common ones.

Citalopram (in my opinion) is one of the best SSRI's out there for the least amount of side effects. After the "hurdle" that people above described (I only got some nausea and a sore throat) I've mellowed out to a phase of being tired most of the time. I fully acknowledge this is not 100% the work of the medication--it's mostly my doing with a poor diet (or lack of eating) and little exercise. There is no wonderdrug that will fix everything. Consider Citalopram a bandaid that can be removed over time but with the proper treatment.

Hope this helps somewhat. I tend to babble. Hehe
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769503 tn?1238496321
Hi there,
did you take the citalopram?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have to agree with greenlydia here.  We are all definitely affected differently by certain medications.  I have taken this type of SSRI in the past with good results.  Just as she said, these are conditions not to be ashamed of and should be treated and confronted just like any ailment..be it physical or mental.

In my experience with these types of medications, most side effects waned in a couple of weeks or so, but again we are all different.  The most important step your son can take in my opinion is confronting the anxiety through talk therapy.  For me the most effective treatment was the combination of the medication and counseling...please keep us posted!
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370181 tn?1595629445
I have never, persoanlly, taken citalopram, but there are plenty of folks here who have and hopefully they will respond with their experiences with this med.
Most of us with an anxiety/panic disorder are "wary" of side effects. But bear in mind that we are all different and your son may not experience any, or if he does, he may find that they are bearable. Most side effects will stop once our bodies have adjusted to the medication, which is why we often encourage people to "stick it out" during the initial phase of starting a new med. Citaloporam takes 2-3 weeks, give or take, to reach therapeutic levels and side effects may be present during this time. Any concerns about side effects should be brought to the attention of his doctor. There ARE some cases where the side effects are just too difficult for someone to manage and that's when a dffferent med should be tried..............but your son should be told by his doctor what to expect so there are no "surprises" and advised that most side effects will disappear in time. Your son needs to begin taking this med with an open mind and expecting the best, not the worst. I would suggest that your son also get into some therapy to help him deal with the underlying cause of his anxiety and not just mask the symptoms with drugs.
It is sad that anyone must rely on drugs to lead a normal life, but we should be grateful there are medications available that can help us do that. Your son has a mental disorder just as the diabetic has a physical disorder and needs insulin to help them live normal lives. There is no shame in either condition.
I wish your son the very best.
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
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