Anxiety Medication

I finally got tired of always having to manage my anxiety myself and went to see a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder. Nothing revelatory there; I've known I have anxiety for a long time. He prescribed me Celexa, so I filled the prescription and got the generic, which is Citalopram. It's an anti-depressant - an SSRI. He said it would take away that fluttery, anxious feeling without making me feel like a foggy zombie. He also said it would take about two weeks for me to notice a difference. I took it for three days and couldn't stand it anymore. I stopped taking it on Friday. I didn't feel anxious, but I think that's only because I felt dead. I felt like I was in my own little bubble, floating through life. It made me extremely spacey. I have an amazing memory, but it absolutely killed that. It gave me an all-over dull headache. I completely lost my appetite, and I couldn't tell when I was full when I did decide to eat. I ate a meal around 1pm, didn't eat or drink anything after that, and woke up the next day completely not hungry. Maybe I just happened to be in a bad mood coinciding with taking the medication, but it seemed to make me grumpy and almost depressed. And TIRED! All I wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep.

I don't go back to see my psychiatrist for another couple of weeks, and I know there are quite a few people here who have experience with anxiety. Should I take the medication again? Will it get any better if I can make it to the two week mark? Does this medication just suck for anxiety issues? Is there anything I can ask for that would be better? I'm tempted to just ask for something I can take sporadically on days my anxiety is really bad rather than take a daily medication. My boyfriend suggested taking a lower dose, but I'm already only taking 10mg a day. Maybe I can cut the pills in half and see what happens.

There are a lot of days I think managing my anxiety myself sucks, but now I'm pretty sure medication sucks, too.

When I first started meds I felt awful for about a week and then just like it came on it went away, just like that, then I didn't feel like I was taking anything. No more side effects and it actually started to help.

Maybe you can try sticking it out for a week or so?

I'm on Buspar morning and noon, and take Atarax at night.

I used to take the Buspar at night as well, but I started having some wicked hallucinations...often violent (I had recurring dreams of someone breaking in and shooting me with a semi-automatic weapon, and I could feel the pain. It was horrid!).

For now, I'm on 450 mg of Wellbutrin that I take in the morning along with 15 mg of Buspar. I take another 15 mg of Buspar at noon, and then I take 25 mg (or 50mg depending on how I'm doing) of Atarax at night before bedtime. (If I didn't take that at night, I wouldn't go to bed before 3 or 4 am, and I would have even less fingernails than I do now!)

I don't regret the medication. I wish I didn't have to take it, but as much as I engage in positive behavioral therapy and visualization methods, my depressive mood swings and my anxiety don't ever go away. But I do combine the meds with the thearpy measures, as IMO it should be done.

As for my anxiety, it got so bad after Cooper was born, that I wouldn't go anywhere in the car without my boys because I was so worked up/afraid about being killed in a car wreck, that I began having panic attacks. Yes, I know some are thinking I was a bit irrational, but that's the thing about anxiety: often times it has roots in the irrational, but it doesn't mean the person can do anything to change the anxious feeling(s).

I still have my moments. Yesterday evening and last night were bad. My resting heartrate was over 100 BPM, my blood pressure was up, and my anxiety was raging. I don't know why, but I couldn't get "calm". Thankfully the Atarax kicked in and I was able to go to sleep.

Sometimes I do wish my doc would prescribe me something that I could take in those instances that would work faster to stop the anxiety/panic attacks.

Oh, it gets much, much better. I felt like HELL for 2 weeks and once that lifted it was way better.

I stopped taking them after being on them for over a year. That was 2 years ago. My anxiety is still way easier to handle now then it was before the meds.

I have been on Citalopram for some time. I remember when I first started it I had some difficulties. I experienced dizzy spells and sleepiness. I called my doc and we decided that I should try and take the meds before bed for the first month or so. With many of these medications you can experience side effects during the adjustment period as your brain tries to figure out how to respond to the chemicals you are getting.

Usually these bad effects resolve themselves after a couple of weeks.

Call your doctor and tell them you are having trouble with the medications...they will try to help you figure out what the best next step is. So people need to fiddle with dosages and others need to just find the best medication for them.

I would go talk to the pharmacist you got it from and see what they know.

All I can tell you is we do fill a fair share of it at the pharmacy I work at. I refill at least one prescription of it every time I work I would say.

I hope you get it worked out though!

You guys are making me feel a lot better about it. Thank you for your stories!

katielou, I'm going to try dealing with it for at least a week or two and see if I feel any better. Thank you.

Miakoda, that's the biggest thing I noticed - I slept great! I wasn't laying in bed all night thinking about EVERYTHING. And of course, worrying about everything little thing that popped into my head.

puppydog, that's what my doctor was aiming for, I think. He told me I needed to take them for at least a year, then hopefully I'd feel normal enough off of them that I could function without them.

I'll try to stick it out the two weeks and see what happens. Thank you, ladies.

Like you and your doctor, we already decided I should be taking them before bed. If I keep having terrible side effects beyond the two weeks, I'll ask what I should do. He told me to give it two weeks, I guess I just wasn't quite prepared for how different they'd make me feel.

Thank you! Good idea. I have to go back to the pharmacy this week anyway, so I'll ask.

I had an allergic reaction to Celexa. I was stupid and took it before bedtime, and before I knew it, my face was swelling, my throat was swelling, I was sooo jittery, and when I realized I was beginning to not be able to swallow, I called my mom and she rushed me to the urgent care center at the opening of our neighborhood. Needless to say, I tossed that stuff out!

You do have to take the meds for a while to allow your body time to get adjusted. Wellbutrin works ok for the depression part, but when I first started taking it, I was a jittery mess. That does not work for my anxiety issues. And on top of it, I was throwing up about once an hour for about 1 1/2 weeks. (thank you for zofran and phenergan!) I stuck it out, and I'm glad I did. I just don't ever want to look forward to withdrawing from these meds though.

Yeah, it is hard having to wade through feeling even more off until you feel better since you already have to struggle with the anxiety symptoms.

I hope that in a couple of weeks you will be past this and that the medication helps make the sick fluttery feelings go away.

The thing I really noticed when my meds started working is that the whole thought carousel finally seemed to have an off switch for me.

Good on you! It changed my life. I still have anxiety but it is so much more manageable now. I CAN talk myself down now as opposed to just breaking down.

I had bad reactions on Celexa and Lexapro, few others too. Made me constantly tired, definitely wasn't anxious or depressed, but I just didn't care about anything. I wasn't happy, still did not know how to be happy. I just didn't care one way or the other, and wanted to sleep.

Low dose Xanax did the trick, though. I felt legit happy and peaceful, instead of drugged and zombiefied. It was still me, just a more relaxed and peaceful me. First dose was a little wacky though. I went to fairyland. :rofl1: Second dose was lower, and more on target.

I agree! A friend of mine years ago told me she tried two or three different SSRIs before she found one that worked right for her. She was on one for a while that made her feel empty and blank, no highs or lows, just NOTHING. She hated it. They put her on something else and it was much better. I don't know which drugs they were though, I don't think she told me and even if she had I doubt I'd remember anymore.
I'd call the doc and see if they want to switch your dosage or have you just try to stick it out for now.

Like others have said, it does get a lot better. I don't have experience with celexa, but I know when starting on seroquel I am just totally beaten down and tired. I experienced irritability because of the drowsiness the drug caused, but you build up a tolerance to that effect, and it gets much better.

I would still inform your dr. about the effects it's having on you, though. Doses do need to be tweaked sometimes.

I'm on Xanax for anxiety. I take it when I start having a panic attack and it takes everything down to a manageable level for me. Like someone else said the first dose and you are in fairyland. Everything is great life is beautiful, and I wasn't a zombie. It shuts my brain UP not OFF which is what I wanted. Its helped me start creating again, and while I still need to have my SD with me for other reasons it helps me not flip out. My side affects are that I end up getting caught in a stim loop more often, but I'm less worried about it, less paranoid and more able to function close to "normal"

I take it as needed though, not everyday. I will warn you, it can be extremely addictive. Extremely. Depending on your personality type you may want to avoid it.

I am currently on Celexa, and it's totally been working. But everyone's different.
When I first started it, I noticed the difference in a little less than two weeks. Honestly if it doesn't help for the next weeks to come, try something else, but for now I'd stick it out.

Your brain is being rewired, so for the first week or 2 it sucks, bu like others had said, it does get better once that transition period is over.

Once yOu get started though, you really can't just stop taking it cold turkey on your own, or it'll be just as bad going off

nobody's brain is being rewired.

you feel like crap because it messes up your internal body chemistry. It feels better later because you don't notice the crap feeling so much. it's still messing up your chemistry. Kind of like being an alcoholic. You feel it less because your body adapts, it's still causing damage

....and Tom Cruise has entered the building.

You are my new hero. Marry me!