Hi Anongirl
I started on Citalopram 20mg last Thursday.
The first pill made me very slightly queasy about an hour after taking it but I had a lie down and a cup of tea and a biscuit and felt fine after.
Since then I haven't burst into tears once despite some rather challenging issues regarding mum. I used to cry in the shower, cry in the morning before hubby got up whilst making his morning tea and at various random times of the day go into floods of tears over nothing in particular.
I take the tablet around 10am and have noticed on a couple of days I have got really sleepy in the afternoon but have fought it instead of going for a lie-down and going for a little stroll and fresh air around the block has helped. Sometimes I feel rather "foggy", even more than normal
o) but know that this is my brain adjusting to the Citalopram.
Feeling more able to cope than before. I had a real problem with making phone calls, sick to the stomach with fear and used to get very jumpy when people rang me in case it was mum all upset about something.....I just feel "better" than before and the doctor has said that it will get better still over the coming weeks and I will be more like my old self. It certainly won't make the problems go away but just help me to
cope better.
The doctor has also suggested Talk Therapy as some find it helpful to let it all out to a skilled, non-judgemental 3rd party. My first appointment is in a couple of weeks, I'll see what it's like first as I think a lot of people "of a certain age" have rather a Keep Calm and Carry On attitude, so I'll be interested to see what it's like. Can't do any harm!
I've also been given Zopiclone sleeping tablets but only to take these on 3-4 nights out of 7 because I haven't slept properly for months and months and the doctor said it would be good to have a night or two where I don't lie awake worrying. These are only tempory due to their addictive nature, hence on only 3 or 4 nights and I've been given a months worth.
I think anybody who is depressed or think they may be going down that route (let's face it there are some truly challenging things out there that we are all trying to cope with), please see your GP because anxiety and depression has such a snowball effect on your health and they do take it seriously.
If one type of antidepressant doesn't suit you there are loads of others and they are not like the benzodiazepines of old (remember the term Mother's Little Helpers?). Modern SSRI's are not a chemical cosh but act to improve your seratonin levels.
I can let this thread know how I feel several weeks down the line.