# Question about Citalopram side-effects



## citizen_erased (Dec 18, 2007)

After seeing my GP yesterday about my SA and depression, i have been put on Citalopram (20mg). I took the first one last night. As soon as i got up this morning i felt quite unwell and i realised some side-effects had starting kicking in - slight nausea and light-headedness, shaky hands and a pretty bad heachache. The headache didn't start to lift for a few hours (after taking 2 Paracetamol before i left the house) and the other stuff didn't really go until-mid afternoon. 

I have never taken anti-depressants before, so am i likely to stop getting these side-effects once my body has gotten used to them? If so, how long does it usually take?


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## Flinx (Jan 8, 2008)

If your just starting out your treatment, you should be starting at a lower dose and slowly taper up. When I started Celexa, my pdoc started me at 5mg for one week, then she upped it to 10mg for a week , then to 20mg for a week and finally up to 40mg. You need to talk to your pdoc to see if he/she will lower your dose to try to minimize the side effects.

I was on Celexa for two years and it was about 80% effective in treating my anxiety and depression. I had to stop taking it because it made me manic.

I didn't have any side effects at all while on Celexa, but I couldn't tolerate the side effects from Celexa's cousin, Lexapro. I had loose stools, insomnia and clenching jaw/grinding teeth for the whole seven weeks I was on Lexapro. Lexapro had little effect on my anxiety and no effect on my depression, so my pdoc switched me to Zoloft. So far, the only side effect I've had from Zoloft is insomnia.

With SSRI's, what may work for one person, might not work for another. 

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.


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## katelyn (Jul 11, 2006)

A couple of months ago I started citalopram at 10mg. I had the side-effects you describe for around a week. Since then they disappeared and I feel significantly better. So it seems to be working for me. Good luck with it.


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## raymac_6262 (Dec 31, 2007)

Yeah, I also just started taking Citalopram. My DOC started me on 10 mg for a week, then he upped my dose to 20mg. All it does is make me yawn, and inability to orgasm. Sometimes I feel a slight headache. But one night I remember taking it and it seemed to work effectively at reducing anxiety. My mood seemed almost normal for about 2 hours. I am remaining hopeful. I hope it does help...
All the best with you on Citalopram.
Cheers,
Ray


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

The side effects you mentioned are normal and usually dissappear within a few weeks. When i took it all i felt were side effects for the two weeks. A lot of these dissapeared and I felt the anti-anxiety effects start during the third week and the full benifits probablly at week 6. So you need to be patient. Also after a few months keep an eye on your side effects because they may be more persistant.


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## Shaundion (Nov 12, 2003)

I'm taking Citalopram currently at 10mg a day, and for the first couple weeks I would get really bad headaches constantly, and also I would have weird dreams, but that's gone away after the first couple weeks. I'm loving it! I have a slight sexual side effect, but nothing like when I was on Paxil years ago, I can't still...ahem...seal the deal...but it takes only slightly more effort this time around, and I can easily live with it. It's helped me tremendously!


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## citizen_erased (Dec 18, 2007)

Thanks to all who replied, reading your responses did help a bit  Apart from feeling really tired and yawning a lot of the time (which i'm sure is partly due to my messed up sleeping patterns atm) i think the rest of my side effects have now disappeared. Not seeing any improvement with my anxiety yet though.


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## taxgirl (Aug 28, 2007)

I've been taking 10 mg of Citalopram for a month. My doctor actually gave me 40 mg tablets to start on. Eeek! I quartered them because I was really nervous about starting on a dosage that high. On 10 mg, I had loose stools for about a week or two, and basically no sex drive still. Which is fine because my husband is on Amitriptyline for a chronic headache/migraine, so we are a perfect pair.


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## SeaShell (Dec 20, 2007)

I've been on 25mg Citalopram for 4 months now and honestly I only saw an improvement in my Anxiety in the 3rd month.

The side effects mostly disappeared (insomnia, broken sleep, nausea, yawning, dizziness) when I started taking them in the evening. And they all went away after about 2 weeks except the broken sleep. I'm on Zopiclone for that which seems to be helping.


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## SeaShell (Dec 20, 2007)

Interestingly, I had no sex drive before I went on Citalopram because I was always anxious. Now my sex drive has returned because the meds are helping me to stop fretting all the time.


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## Audri Bear (Jan 1, 2013)

Sorry to bump an old thread. But I've been on 20mg of Citalopram for 4days now. And I keep shaking the exact same way. It's so weird. My hands are the worst but if I stop my hands it feels like my back/spine is shaking instead. Sticking it out somethings got to work.


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## joyce7 (Apr 17, 2013)

I would like to know if anyone who's been taking citalopram for a while has experienced what I am experiencing: several weeks of horrendous side effects, which eventually all went away, months of no or just minimal side effects, and now the bad side effects again - headaches, blurred vision, fuzzy thinking, mild chills. I've had these symptoms on and off for a good number of weeks. Some days I feel absolutely fine; other days, I am lacking in energy and need to just sleep a lot. Really bothers me because I am trying to keep up with a daily exercise program for my health, and there are too many days that I miss.


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## tony 76 (Sep 3, 2013)

I am on 20mg a day. I was never tapered up and the side effects for the first week were dreadful, yawning, drowsy, numbed feelings and low sex drive with difficulty reaching completion. 
Most subsided after 2 weeks except the drowsiness and low drive. I switched to taking the tablet an hour before bed and that helped a lot with the drowsiness. Also if I was having any 'action' I waited until afterwards before taking my tablet and that also helped with those side affects.

Also I now take dopa-mucuna (got mine from amazon) which contains 15% l-dopa. This increases your dopamine and helps give you your natural motivation back. The down side though is it can make your anxiety worse so I only take half the dose recommended on the box and not after 5pm as it can affect your sleep.


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