Welcome to our room! Here is a place to introduce yourself, and welcome other new members.

Welcome to the Celexa® (Citalopram) / Lexapro®/Cipralex® (escitalopram) forum! Please feel free to post a bit about yourself so we can get acquainted.

Read around the room as there is a wealth of information on Cymbalta even on the back pages and you may also add a reply to any topic that fits what is on your mind!
If you don't find what you are looking for, go ahead and post here in this welcome thread or feel free to start your own Topic..

Looking forward to getting to know you!

Voluntary? Redundancy? What's happened?

Oh no definitely voluntary. They wouldn't let me go part time and after the year I've had I didn't want to risk another breakdown so I've given it up. Can't wait to be relieved of the stress for a while! Thanks for asking! xx

PRT Good luck with everything.

When I first stopped working I slept for a week!!

I hope you enjoy it as much as you can.

If I may give some unsolicited advice?

Find a reason to go out once a day.

Join a hobby club or a gym or something so you don't lose the habit of socialising!!

How long until freedom day?

Zen Hugs

Jen

Yeah I'm definitely going to join the gym....if I can afford it that is! Two weeks and a day left I think!!!! Hurrah!!
Thanks Jen!

Hello. I just started taking Lexapro yesterday. This isn't my first time on it. I took it for about 6 mos. in 2002, then about a yr and a half in starting in late '03. I would take it with clonazapam .5mg prn. I was put back on it early this year but i took one pill and woke up with a buzzing feeling that i stopped it that day. Well... about 5 months ago i had to quit my job because my boss was being terrible to me. Now i'm not sure if it was my boss or the combo of my boss and myself slowly sinking into a depression. On my last month at work, i had no interest in anything, i would have to push myslef to shower, put on makeup etc., and i would sometimes just sit at my desk and cry. Right after i quit work i felt GREAT for about 2 months or so. Then in late May/early June i began feeling tired all the time, i wanted to sleep, i saw no sense in dressing up (wasn't going anywhere), started getting separation anxiety from my daughter while she was away at school (would literally count the hours till she got home - which now that i think back, that slowly started in May '08), and i was sick all the time. I would have slight panic attacks from time to time (i felt like i couldn't breathe, something stuck in my throat, similar to an asthma attack) but would take my clonazapam and it would all feel better. Three weeks ago, i got ill with terrible allergies/virus and was in and out of the doctor/ER (thought i had the swine flu but didn't - still i wasn't convinced). I began taking my clonazapam on an almost daily basis. I would take .25 mg to .75mg just about every day. However two weeks of doing that, i began to have panic attacks every single day. Then the nausea, not hungry feeling, diarrhea, weakness, tired, wanting to cry, unable to breathe feelings came on full force. I ended up going to the ER again and was given an injection of Ativan and some ibueprofen(sp?). It calmed me down a little bit (still had the chest tightness) and was told to see my doctor. I wasn't able to get in for 3 days and when i finally did she prescribed me Lexapro 10mg (at my request since that is the only thing i've ever taken) and Clonazapam .25mg (but just enough to help while the Lexapro starts working). Took my first pill yesterday and i felt awful - never felt this way before on it. I had a bad panic attack that lasted for about 4 hours and then i slept off and on from about 8pm to 3am. At around 3am i had to take some clonazapam to chill me out because i woke up with full on jitters. It didn't help much at all. I got sleepy about 30 mins later but i just kept nodding my head and dozing until i fully got up at 9am today. It is now almost 3 hours later and although i still have the chest tightness (like indigestion) the jitters are slowly subsiding. However its almost time for my next Lexapro dose and i am terrified. Anyway, sorry this is so long but i feel that i just have to share it with someone. I'm hoping all this goes away very soon. I start a new job on Monday and i am terrified i'm gonna freak out on my first day. If anyone has any suggestions on how to cope or how long it takes for Lexapro to work, i welcome any feedback. Thanks.

HI HollyBee,

Sorry about your boss and your job, that's horrible when something like that happens.
It can unfortunately take between 6-8 weeks for the lexapro to fully work and for all the side effects to settle down, but the major ones should go away after a few days. It may be tricky for you starting a new job in the midst of all this so take care of yourself.

PRT xx

Hi everyone

my first day on Cipralex (as we call Lexapro in the UK) very sleepy and a bit of nausea.

Hoping to get this first week out of the way and then see some reduction in side effect and increase in beneficial effects.

Just checking-in and saying hello and glad to have found this place. Seems like a lot of good stuff here.

Any encouraging words / advice / experiences etc. gratefully received.

Thanks & God bless

Ollie

I just stopped taking Cymbalta, and am switching to Lexapro, do I need to wait a bit for the Cmbalta to get out of my system or you think I'll be fine taking it a day after not taking any Cymbalta? I only took Cymbalta for 4 days so.. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'm very optimistic with this.

I have been told that I will need an anti-depressant for the rest of my life. I'm tired of having to juggle around with pills and side effects. I am hopign this will be the one for me.

Hi everyone,

I've been taking Citalopram for 5 weeks now. I started out at 10mg for 4 weeks. I noticed a little bit of a difference but it wasn't quite there yet so I increased to 20mg last Saturday. After the dose increase I've been feeling kinda down and I don't feel what I did before on the 10mg, but from what I hear this is normal. I got side effects with the increase but not nearly as bad as when I first started, mostly just drowsiness, insomnia, and LOTS of yawning halfway through the day. I've been taking Wellbutrin as well for over a year but just added the Citalopram since I was started to feel the depression again and some anxiety. So for now, I'm just waiting to see how this turns out. Wish me well!

Hi Kilo.

Yeah, the constant yawning is annoying, huh? I had a similar increase, but ultimately decided to go against what the doctor said and go back to 10mg for a little while. I talked to my counsellor about the increase yesterday, and why I felt worse and she said the bump up was likely to be a factor in the dropped mood. I would imagine you will settle soon. I guess your body needs a chance to adjust to the increased dose. Let us now how it goes.

Hello; longtime listener, first time caller, etc.

Ending my first week on 10mg Lexapro; will probably ask to be titrated up to 20mg starting tomorrow. Falling asleep much easier, but not feeling any more rested in the morning. Feeling hungry again, which makes eating food much less of a chore. It has reawakened by leg-shaking. Mood-wise, it is improved on some days, no better on others, so I suspect any improvements are transient start-up effects or unrelated to the Lexapro.

I've been on Effexor, Strattera, Wellbutrin, Celexa, & Prozac—although the latter two at doses I would now say were too low to give them a real chance. Have had MDD almost 18 years; been on & off ADs for about 10 years. I also take Ritalin as needed to help with concentration—if an AD works I suspect this won't be necessary.

In my late 20s, married, and teach.

Just an update for you all... It's been almost 2 weeks now since my dose increase, and I'm starting to feel better :) It could be situational since I just quit my job today, or it could be from the meds working. Either way, I can't complain!

Hi William

You seem to be taking all this in your stride. Really hope it works out for you and that the side-effects aren't too bad.

PRT xx

On the first day, Celexa gave me a little nausea and the runs.

On the second day, not only did I have horrible nausea, but I was dizzy, disoriented, vomiting, and had uncontrollable panic and diarrhea. At one point, I told my family that if I didn't improve within fifteen minutes, they should haul me to E.R.

So, that's one medication I won't be taking.

Wish me luck on my next med!

I am new here but I started lexapro 3 days ago. First I took half a tablet which did nothing, day 2 I took a whole one and I made me a bit nauseous in the morning. Now day 4 I woke up with a weird feeling in my head, like icewater running trough your brains and then slowly spreading through your veins. I am also nauseous, have a weak feeling in my limbs and am dead tired. I feel kind of sedated and I can't decide if that is a good thing...

Hey Guys,

I've been on Citalopram for 9 weeks in total now, 20mg for the past 5 weeks. I can definitely feel the effects, however, it seems really inconsistent. I'd say that maybe once every 4 or 5 days I'll feel great, but then the rest seem like nothings changed. Is this normal for how long I've been taking it? I talked to my doc today but he doesn't want to increase it, or try switching to Lexapro/Cipralex. The only thing he said is to increase the Seroquel I take on the bad days. The Seroquel doesn't help my mood or anxiety, I just take it as a sleeping aid.
So basically my question is, has anybody else had the same kind of effects starting out before it became more consistent? Or should I start looking for a new doctor?

I'm new! To the forums, and to Celexa. I don't take it so much for depression as for panic disorder. I've always been a kind of in the middle, mood-wise, no terrific highs or devastating lows. But its been a tough couple months and I was starting to have only lows and no highs, with ridiculous panic attacks littered through my days of bleh to keep things exciting. I finally got tired of thinking I was about to die every day and went to the doctor. I've been on it for only about 8 hours now, and have been researching it like crazy so I'll know what to expect. I was super nauseated earlier, and my hands were shaking pretty badly (one of my worst symptoms of PD is hand tremors.) Now I feel better, a little bit of an upset stomach but no nausea and my hands are as steady as they get. I'm happy because (at least today) my side effects are on the Awake end of the spectrum, kind of jittery like I just had a bunch of caffeine, toe-tapping, etc. I was worried about being drowsy and zombed out, but now I hope I don't get insomnia...anyway I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks as my body adjusts to it, I'm worried about a few things like having worsened anxiety or sadness, I'm also reeeeally worried about gaining weight, as that would only make things worse. But I'm a sad eater, not a happy eater, and I've taken SSRIs before (Paxil) and I actually had to go off it to be able to stomach food again. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Also, I've also always had kind of a low libido, but its been in overdrive lately and I really don't want it to go away again, but it won't be anything new to me if it does. Anyhoo, just saying hello! :]

Hi Popi and Lucey,
Wait it out is all we can do! I feel a lot better that I can talk to other people going through this with me though. I had all the same symptoms Popi described at first, plus many more, and it was crazy. At least I can reassure you that most of them went away pretty quickly. The only lingering problem I've had has been serious insomnia, not falling asleep until about midnight and then waking bolt upright at 3 every night. My doc had me switch to taking the citalopram in the morning plus a clonazepam at night to help me sleep. I slept 3 full nights in a row, but also feel drowsy and out if it all day. I am planning to stop the clonazepam tonight because I'd rather be alert and have insomnia.

I get those waves of anxiety over me too and think they are more severe with the citalopram. I've discovered that it helps not to fight it, just to feel it, acknowledge that my body is doing it and that it isn't a threat to me, knowing that my body is trying to tell me something, and just letting it pass. I think I was in denial of my anxiety problem for a long time, insisting that I was fine and forcing myself to behave normally no matter what, and it made it worse. I am working on trying to reconnect my mind and body, even if it means experiencing and acknowledging some of the less pleasant feelings.

Hi Everybody!
I'm brand new to Citalopram, and to this forum as well. I'm in the second week and just bumped up to 20mg. I'm taking it for anxiety, not for depression. Now that it's starting to work, I'm realizing how bad off I was- imagine having waves of adrenaline washing over your body almost hourly for months, for no apparent reason! No wonder I was so tired and sad all the time! For a long time I was denying that anything was wrong, good thing I have good friends willing to step in and say something!
Anyway, I really appreciate this forum, because all the weird side effects I've been getting are mentioned here. I'm glad I'm not alone! So far I have had days when I woke up at 3am, times when I was pretty much manic (in a happy way), times when I feel electrified or shaky, times when the anxiety came back as bad as ever, and times when I just felt better. Plus, my legs have been restless and woken me up, and I lost my appetite for three days in a row last week. I don't feel like a zombie now, quite the opposite. I think I was zombified over the last few months due to the anxiety. This medication seems quite unpredictable, and I've stopped guessing what will happen next. I'm just going to wait and see what happens in a few weeks.
Glad you're here. My doctor talked about side-effects but hearing people's first-hand accounts make so much more sense. The "ice-water running through my brain" someone mentioned below is spot-on! :)