I am the carer for my husband and have become very depressed. My GP put me on the antidepressant Citalopram. I have been on it for 10 days and seem to get worse. Is any one else taking it and how do they get on with it. Fritzli
Citalopram
- Thread starter fritzli
- Start date
i have been on this now for 4 years 40mg intially it helped me but certainly in the last year doesnt seem to do anything to help
I take this as well (for many, many years).
From what you say you're not getting any side-effects but you don't feel any better? Or are you getting side-effects as well? It can take some time for the drug to build up to a therapeutic level, so it may be early days yet. Did your doctor start you on a low dose? They do generally and then raise it. I would go back to your doctor in a week or so and say this doesn't seem to be working. It may be that this dosage is too low or it may be that this drug is not going to work for you.
From what you say you're not getting any side-effects but you don't feel any better? Or are you getting side-effects as well? It can take some time for the drug to build up to a therapeutic level, so it may be early days yet. Did your doctor start you on a low dose? They do generally and then raise it. I would go back to your doctor in a week or so and say this doesn't seem to be working. It may be that this dosage is too low or it may be that this drug is not going to work for you.
Hello fritzli,
I am sorry to hear about your depression and many of us here will understand how caring for one's husband can cause such stress.
I have never taken citrolapam although my husband was given it to help his anxiety - it did work well for him.
My suggestion is you consult with your GP again as soon as possible. If necessary make a list of how you feel worse and hopefully he will prescribe different medication.
On the practical side are you getting time to yourself. Ideally you should be meeting other people to give you a break from daily 'caring'. If you need to you can approach Social Services for an assessment, not just for your husband but for you too - you are important. This factsheet explains.
Have you been in touch with your local Alzheimer's Society - well worth giving the branch a telephone call to find out what support they can offer.
Keep in touch and hopefully you will find much support here.
Best wishes
I am sorry to hear about your depression and many of us here will understand how caring for one's husband can cause such stress.
I have never taken citrolapam although my husband was given it to help his anxiety - it did work well for him.
My suggestion is you consult with your GP again as soon as possible. If necessary make a list of how you feel worse and hopefully he will prescribe different medication.
On the practical side are you getting time to yourself. Ideally you should be meeting other people to give you a break from daily 'caring'. If you need to you can approach Social Services for an assessment, not just for your husband but for you too - you are important. This factsheet explains.
Have you been in touch with your local Alzheimer's Society - well worth giving the branch a telephone call to find out what support they can offer.
Keep in touch and hopefully you will find much support here.
Best wishes
Get off it as soon as you can '
It becomes terribly addictive and your life becomes terribly disrupted when you eventualy come off them
Others may disagree and have more favourable comments
I am speaking from my own experience
jimbo 111
It becomes terribly addictive and your life becomes terribly disrupted when you eventualy come off them
Others may disagree and have more favourable comments
I am speaking from my own experience
jimbo 111
Jimbo: citalopram? Really? I've come off it in the past with no problems at all. Now Effexor - that took me over a year to be weaned off of. Terrible drug in my opinion but I know some people have had extremely good results with it.
I would never advise a person to stop taking a prescribed drug.
I would never advise a person to stop taking a prescribed drug.
My mum who has Alzheimer's has been on it for 10 days now. Prescribed because she was having delusions which it seems to have taken the edge off. She now seems to sleep better through the night, hardly any wandering and loud talking. However, during the day she seems more confused about everything and she didn't know how to go about cleaning her teeth, brushing her hair etc. which she did two weeks ago.
I have been off and on this several times over the last few years. I generally find it takes about three/four weeks to kick in although I start to feel better as soon as I start taking it as having been on it before I know that "the cavalry is on the way". Never had any problem coming off it. Mostly recently I had been taking it for three years and came off gradually over three weeks with no side affects.
Everyone is different though.
Everyone is different though.
Yes Jennifer
Iv'e had my moments
and I'mglad that I took the precaution of saying other peoples experience
may be more positive than mine
Many , many years ago I was on Valium for a lot longer than was good for me
I was addicted Foo;ishly I stopped taking them , even though my doctor insisted
I continue at full strength
I would fully endorse your comment
"----I would never advise a person to stop taking a prescribed drug------"
I came off of valium what they call 'cold turkey'
an experience of several weeks that was absolute hell
I suppose that is why I am so very loathe to take any medicine that has a tendency to become addictive and my brief experience with Citalopram only confirmed my fears .
I unfortunately am experiencing difiiculties now having stopped the citalopram ( as adviced by my doctor) I am now unable to sleep more than a couple of hours at night
So what does the doctor do?? He prescribes sleeping tablets with a large printed warning 'Thes tablets can become Addictive '
Every night I look at the box and determine not to give in
With fingers crossed I think I am slowly winning the battle
jimbo 111
Hi
I've been on Citalopram for just over a year and it has helped me a lot to cope with what's going on. It started to work after, I think, six days (or was it 5? I'm not sure now!) I know it was very quick, anyway. Perhaps it was all in my mind, but I don't really care! The thing was that I started to feel better and that's what mattered.
It lifted a terrible heavy cloud that I'd been carrying around, off me, and that's never returned. I do still have down times - I've been posting about that recently - but it's never got as bad as it used to be.
I think you should maybe go back to your GP like others have said, it may be that you need something different, or a higher dose. Don't sit in silence, I'm sure there will be something else. It may even be that other approaches may be better for you such as counselling, talk therapy or hypnotherapy.
Good luck and keep posting.
I've been on Citalopram for just over a year and it has helped me a lot to cope with what's going on. It started to work after, I think, six days (or was it 5? I'm not sure now!) I know it was very quick, anyway. Perhaps it was all in my mind, but I don't really care! The thing was that I started to feel better and that's what mattered.
It lifted a terrible heavy cloud that I'd been carrying around, off me, and that's never returned. I do still have down times - I've been posting about that recently - but it's never got as bad as it used to be.
I think you should maybe go back to your GP like others have said, it may be that you need something different, or a higher dose. Don't sit in silence, I'm sure there will be something else. It may even be that other approaches may be better for you such as counselling, talk therapy or hypnotherapy.
Good luck and keep posting.
Hi, please continue to take your meds. They can take up to three weeks to work. I used them in the past and found it to be so helpful as it completely stopped my panic attacks and anxiety problems. My friend was prescribed it recently too after the deaths of her mother and niece and she has found it very beneficial. Hope this helps you.
I agree with you Jimbo.
My son was on Citalopram for about 10 years and initially was happy with the effects.
I think he came off it too quickly with disastrous effects, of which not being able to sleep is the least of my worries. He was fine whilst taking it, but he is now facing 2 operations because side effects whilst reducing affected a pre-existing condition.
Having been on it for that time he should have weaned himself off for a minimum of 3 months. Always ask your doctor how to come off medication and stay on it for as short a time as you can, speaking from my son's experience.
Coletta x
Thank you very much for all your comments. I am very grateful. I think I will cary on for a bit longer with the drug, in the hope that it will help me. I see my GP in two weeks again. Best wishes to you all.
10 days - too early to tell, keep taking your meds
Hey Fritzli,
Gruess Dich!
Hey, sorry to hear you are feeling depressed, but caring for someone with dementia can be very depressing.
To me it sounds as if your doc is on the ball. 10 days is too early to tell how you will react to any SSRI anti-depressant. Think of neural pathways being closed, or slow to react..... it may take several weeks to get enough working so that you feel better. Talking also about the neural circuits that deal in pleasure, contentedness, related to seratonin.
No worries at all after 10 days. Your doc knows this, which is why you have an appointment in two weeks time. By then you may be feeling something.
Also it is common NOT to feel better, even worse, during first 6 weeks of this type of anti-depressants.
I have been treated for depression once (due to environmental cause), Lexapro. Brilliant. The thing is, depression is a subtle dysfunction, and one works well for some, and not for others.
I did a BSc in Psychology (2006) and always remember the tutor saying that patients should be told:
1) Give it six weeks with an open mind.
2) If there is no/little relief, consider trying same one a little longer.
3) If there is no/little relief, insist that the doctor changes the active ingredient (i.e. Citalopram, Lexapro, and so on).
I had an anxiety-related depression and Lexapro let me sleep like never before. So be sure you have a clear description of your symptoms, and the right anti-depressant will be found for you.
Also, I swear by Dr Burns: Feeling Good, the new mood therapy (cognitive behavioural therapy). Find it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...=stripbooks&field-keywords=Burns+Feeling+good
And there is a handbook to go with it. I found this wonderful, still do, it has a depression self-test which you can do again and again, to determine if the meds are helping you.
Now, Fritzli, you are here with like minded people, depression can be cured, cognitive behavioural therapy really supports any meds you take, and I, for one, am rooting for you to feel way, way better really soon.
Also you can look for those mood charts on the internet (haven't done one myself) as they help you to spot if there are times of day, or specific triggers to a drop in mood.
Go for it, my depression went about 8 years ago, and I have no intention of a relapse. I learned a lot about my environment, and won't let it happen again.
Hugs une eine feste Umarmung aus Frankreich, BE xxxx
Hey Fritzli,
Gruess Dich!
Hey, sorry to hear you are feeling depressed, but caring for someone with dementia can be very depressing.
To me it sounds as if your doc is on the ball. 10 days is too early to tell how you will react to any SSRI anti-depressant. Think of neural pathways being closed, or slow to react..... it may take several weeks to get enough working so that you feel better. Talking also about the neural circuits that deal in pleasure, contentedness, related to seratonin.
No worries at all after 10 days. Your doc knows this, which is why you have an appointment in two weeks time. By then you may be feeling something.
Also it is common NOT to feel better, even worse, during first 6 weeks of this type of anti-depressants.
I have been treated for depression once (due to environmental cause), Lexapro. Brilliant. The thing is, depression is a subtle dysfunction, and one works well for some, and not for others.
I did a BSc in Psychology (2006) and always remember the tutor saying that patients should be told:
1) Give it six weeks with an open mind.
2) If there is no/little relief, consider trying same one a little longer.
3) If there is no/little relief, insist that the doctor changes the active ingredient (i.e. Citalopram, Lexapro, and so on).
I had an anxiety-related depression and Lexapro let me sleep like never before. So be sure you have a clear description of your symptoms, and the right anti-depressant will be found for you.
Also, I swear by Dr Burns: Feeling Good, the new mood therapy (cognitive behavioural therapy). Find it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...=stripbooks&field-keywords=Burns+Feeling+good
And there is a handbook to go with it. I found this wonderful, still do, it has a depression self-test which you can do again and again, to determine if the meds are helping you.
Now, Fritzli, you are here with like minded people, depression can be cured, cognitive behavioural therapy really supports any meds you take, and I, for one, am rooting for you to feel way, way better really soon.
Also you can look for those mood charts on the internet (haven't done one myself) as they help you to spot if there are times of day, or specific triggers to a drop in mood.
Go for it, my depression went about 8 years ago, and I have no intention of a relapse. I learned a lot about my environment, and won't let it happen again.
Hugs une eine feste Umarmung aus Frankreich, BE xxxx
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