Citalopram

[Senga]

Hi all,

I discovered to my horror that my sister's (aged 77) Care Home had put her on the above anti-depressant in May as she was very 'down', (no consultation with me). At this point in time my husband, to whom she was very close, had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer and, as she has bladder problems and cannot leave a toilet for more than 10 minutes and could not come to support me, she was of course very depressed.

This was discovered as she was continually falling and had various other issues going on and I demanded to see her medical records some two weks ago. To my further horror I found out the Doctor had decided to double the dose (20mg), some 4 weeks ago, (my husband died on the 7th october and she was unable to attend the funeral which upset her greatly) I am extremely concerned as, in the past 3/4 weeks she has been sick, fallen 6 times, her blood pressure has fallen, she can hardly lift her feet to walk in her zimmer and, the most worrying is that she has totally lost her appetite and is wasting away. She appears to have 'crashed' in the past 3/4 weeks. All of this can be contributed to to the Citalopram, although I am being told this is not the case.

I had a full meeting with her doctor and the Care Home and, as I have full P.O.A. including Medical, I insisted the dosage start to be reduced. Now, 5 days later I discover this has not been done as her doctor phoned the Mental Health Consultant who stated the dose was to be left until she has spoken to me. Three days later I have received no call and in the meantime my sisters weight continues to fall off her and I received a call this morning to say she has fallen once again!.

Has anyone had any dealings with this medication and what on earth do you do when your P.O.A. is being totally ignored?

Any advice would be welcomed please.

 

[seasong]

I have direct experience with Citalopram as my mother has been on it for the past year. The recommended daily dose for adults is 20 mg (not 10), and it can go up to 40 mg for severe cases of depression. People start on 10 mg for 4-6 weeks to assess tolerability as is the case with all medication. If the drug is tolerated at 10 mg (i.e. no side effects) then the dose in increased to 20 mg.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[Lisajk]

Hello there.
My MIL is also on Citalopram for low moods and started on the lower dose which was increased to 20mg after 8 weeks. She has no side effects at all.
Her moods were very low before, often getting angry and crying an awful lot. These low periods have not reoccurred since she started the meds. I can appreciate your concerns about not being informed however I wonder if your sisters worsening health is due to other things? Sorry I can be of more help to you, and I hope you can manage to get to the bottom of the symptoms. Could your Sister perhaps have a UTI?

 

[Sue J]

I took this drug once, and once only, I reacted terribly within an hour of taking, I know I had terrible diarrhoea amongst other symptoms but so rapid was my reaction I have not wanted to take any other such medications since.

I hope if you do manage to get it stopped that there will be an improvement in your sister.
Best wishes
Sue

 

[cragmaid]

It became necessary for my Mother to take this drug about 15 months ago. She took the standard 4-6 weeks to start responding to the mood enhancing chemical, once she did however, it became a valuable tool in her medical arsenal. She had no major side effects at all.