What else can I do to help me fight my anxiety?

9 Dec 2010

Welcome to Drugs.com. U have come to the right place. I too take citalopram. My dr. started me at 20mg also. It took 4-6 wks to get in my system. It felt like it was starting to help, but not enough, so I called my dr after 2 months of taking it and he raised me to 40mg and for the most part it seemed to make that little difference I needed. I definitely recommend it. Now if u r having anxiety and/or panic attacks, u may want to.talk to your dr about putting u in a benzo like atovan, kolnopin, or xanax. They can be very addictive and r narcotics so be very careful, but if you r not having actual attacks I would just move up mgs on your citalopram and if within 2 months of that if u r no better maybe ask your doc to switch u to a different anti depressant. Good luck. I am gonna friend u and u can friend me and that way if u ever need to talk to me privately u can only if we friend each other. We r like one big fam and u will make many friends on here that will support u. We r all here for each other. ANNA.

9 Dec 2010

Hi i had the same experience, and am now on 40mg citalopram which i know have made a difference. I also have insomnia and a back injury, so this integrated with my depression gave my doctor the idea of putting me on amitriptyline before sleeping each night. I take 20mg and between the 2 meds i think this helps my mood quite well. Good luck : )

9 Dec 2010

I used to take citalopram, but discontinued use because of adverse side effects. Citalopram made me feel dizzy, made me have abnormal thoughts, and generally made me feel not like myself. Consider that citalopram may be causing you to not feel like yourself, although you say you are getting better, so perhaps it is the right medication for you. I have severe anxiety from PTSD, OCD, and panic disorder, and my psychiatrist has treated it with xanax and prozac, which make me feel like a normal person. However, xanax should be used with caution, as it is addictive. You did not specify the level of your anxiety but there are also other medications which help anxiety such as ativan, klonopin, and valium. Ask your doctor about maybe increasing your dosage, or trying another option. I also see a therapist which helps immensely. I believe the source of your anxiety should effect the way you decide to treat it as well.

24 Dec 2010

Maybe a low dose benzo such as klonopin for use as needed if you have anxiety or panic attacks and even helps with sleep. Most importantly, however, would be to sync your drug treatment to counseling sessions with a psychologist. Sometimes talking to a counselor helps as much or more than meds and is preferred over ingesting so many chemicals. Try it out and good luck to you.

31 Dec 2010

im on the same dose, and been taking it for about 6 weeks, and then my anxiety came back. not panic attacks but just a constant nervousness and anxiety, the same symptoms i've got citalopram for... I did go to a different pharmacy and they gave me pills that look different than the ones i gotten at my normal pharmacy, and been taking them for about a week. does anybody know if there is a difference in generics? My normal pharmacy gave me an oblong pink pill, and the new one gave me a lighter pink, oval one?? Bad part is i tried to see my doctor but shes on vacation until after new years :( Im just really searching for answers because it sucks being this anxious all the time again

7 Jun 2011

Im back after few months. doctor up'ed my citalopram upto 40 mgs, and now i also got ativan, 1 mg, which REALLY helps. i take it at night and i sleep like a baby. normally its out of your system in 4hrs but when i take it at night , im good all the next day. i felt not myself on 20mgs, but after the increase plus ativan, it has been the magic combonation for me. it took a few months to find it out, but now im back to feeling the way i felt before any of this anxiety started a year ago, so it was worth the trial and error. what also helps me is going to a therapist for a few weeks. it took awhile for us to find the cause of the anxiety, and also, it gave me some really good advice when the anxiety attacks hit. i recomend on a personal bias the therapy in conjunction with the medication.