# I started with citalopram and already feel weird



## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

Hi,
I started today with 5mg. I am supposed to increase the dosage every 2 days until I reach 20 mg. 
I took the 5mg 3 hours ago and I feel strange. I feel tired and disoriented, almost drunk. And what really concerns me right now is that I feel like I can't focus. I was watching a soccer match earlier and suddenly I felt like I can't focus on the game anymore as if I was watching through a blurred window or as if I was drunk. This is really scary.
The absolutely last thing I need in my situation is experiencing totally unexpected scary stuff like that where I feel like something huge is happening and I'm losing control. That's not good.


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## Xande (Jul 18, 2011)

Call your doc and let them know what you're experiencing. If I were in your position though, I would stay on the 5mg and not increase until I notice those side effects decrease or go away.


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## rik (Jan 4, 2010)

That's normal. I had that feeling to. last's for 6 hours or something after I took the medication. After 2 days I felt normal again. Maybe take them before bedtime and the next day you feel just as normal.


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## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

I feel better now. Maybe it was just a coincidence. I will have to keep watching this. But now where I am taking this stuff I am also watching myself much more and if I notice anything which seems weird then I directly worry that it's because of the citalopram this makes it hard to tell if something is from the drug or not. 

But I also wonder if this stuff really works then what can I expect? Does it prevent depressive thoughts completely or only a bit?
And what about anxiety? Does it prevent anxiety? Does it make it impossible to get really anxious?


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## Xande (Jul 18, 2011)

Different for everyone. I can still get really anxious due to obsessive thoughts, but it Lexapro (very similar to celexa) helps prevent most obsessive/depressive thoughts. 

Does take approx 4-6 weeks though to reach full effectiveness.


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## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

That is not good. I thought that SSRI also help against anxiety.

Simply being less depressed but still able to become totally scared wouldn't help me very much.


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## JPR2011 (Sep 5, 2011)

I had issues with this med as well. I would see your gp as soon as possible.


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## mountain5 (May 22, 2008)

I never had that kind of symptom with citalopram. What happened to me is that I would get a temporary increase in anxiety and jitters, like I'd just drank a ton of coffee, and it would last for 4 hours or so.

6 weeks is kind of on the low side for me, I think. I'd say it took 6-8 weeks to really have beneficial effects.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

sorry for my post
BUT i i think part of the problem with doctors prescribing the medz we really need is because we have hypochondriacs complaining about the medication they take
I am very annoyed right now because i cant find a doctor who isn't scared enough to prescribe me Nardil or even a benzo
I have a anxiety disorder but am unable to be treated for it

" My medication makes me depressed and anxious "
Can i ask why you take it ?
In this med forum when i first came here i was hoping to do some research into what works and i have found some good info but i have to sift through people complaining after the first dose of prozac they are shacking and fainting 
not only that but the med is making them depressed and anxious


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## DitsyBoi (Nov 6, 2011)

norad said:


> Hi,
> I started today with 5mg. I am supposed to increase the dosage every 2 days until I reach 20 mg.
> I took the 5mg 3 hours ago and I feel strange. I feel tired and disoriented, almost drunk. And what really concerns me right now is that I feel like I can't focus. I was watching a soccer match earlier and suddenly I felt like I can't focus on the game anymore as if I was watching through a blurred window or as if I was drunk. This is really scary.
> The absolutely last thing I need in my situation is experiencing totally unexpected scary stuff like that where I feel like something huge is happening and I'm losing control. That's not good.


5mg is a very small dose. The thing with SSRI's is that you should not get noticeable effects for a few weeks. If you are really experiencing a reaction this strong then maybe SSRI's are not for you.

However its very easy to your mind to make you feel weird via the placebo effect. If you are sat there waiting for some sort of instant miracle effect your expectations of this effect happening can actually cause a change more than the drug itself. My advice is to keep it up but keep your doctor informed about any major changes.


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## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

I did not experience this feeling again which I had on the first day,
but I read that citalopram can cause "depersonalization" experiences and I think what I experienced could have been this depersonalization stuff.

Has anyone of you ever had this?


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## Xande (Jul 18, 2011)

^Meds can cause all kinds of effects. I mean read the side effects on something like Motrin, some scary stuff but doesn't mean that everyone experiences it or that it's common.

I've never experienced depersonalization on 5 years Lexapro (similar to celexa). Only time I ever experienced this symptom was during panic attacks.


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## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

5 years is a long time. Do you not worry about long time side effects?
From what I know those drugs are only tested for a few weeks and not for longer time.


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## Xande (Jul 18, 2011)

norad said:


> 5 years is a long time. Do you not worry about long time side effects?
> From what I know those drugs are only tested for a few weeks and not for longer time.


Haha before I started taking anti-depressants, I was suicidal and probably would've ended my life so no at that point I didn't care about side effects. And I know that when I stop taking my meds and they end up leaving my system, my depression increases.

I figure I'm still alive and no longer suicidal, so no don't really care about the long term side-effects and I know I'll be on meds for the rest of my life (took me a good while to accept this). And yes if you read other people's experience in forums, as well as talk to doctors, you'll see that many people are on meds for life, while some just need them to get by a hard period in life.


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## norad (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm glad that at least you feel better.


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## juulie (Mar 11, 2014)

Did you discontinue the citalopram?


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## Icestorm (Mar 17, 2012)

Akord said:


> I started on 20mg of last week and it's kind of knocking me side ways as well. I have been drinking alcohol on 4 nights as well though and not just a couple of drinks, so maybe that has something of an effect too.


Yeah, I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't drink alcohol whilst on citalopram. Side effects have been pretty mild for me. Just general tiredness and constant yawning really.


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