Citalopram and Dizziness: What Users Say (Page 3)

• can...
• August 25, 2011

Citalopram for Panic Disorder "20 mg citalopram caused me to have severe anxiety attacks, feel like I cannot relax ever, cannot sleep, I feel dizzy all the time and nauseous, and it's given me horrible digestive problems. I have taken Zoloft and Paxil with good results for years, but started having sexual dysfunction and was switched to citalopram. It stopped my crying spells, but I feel like my depression is still there. I just cannot let out my feelings due to this medicine. The only positive is that I can just barely manage to function sexually. I am really surprised to see all these good reviews on here as to how it made others less anxious and more positive and social and even drowsy, as it has had the total opposite effect on me."

• Mel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 14, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "After years of suffering from ever-worsening anxieties, I finally told my doctor, and she prescribed 20 mg of citalopram. I noticed within the first 20 minutes or so of taking it I got super drowsy and dizzy. I have vertigo, and it kind of felt like that, but with the added drowsiness. This lasted for about a week and then stopped. The drowsiness only came back after I drank alcohol, but even that side effect has since stopped. My family remarked how happy and like myself again I was after about 2 weeks, and that's when I realized it was helping. I did notice that I couldn't seem to shut up, I had an increase in energy, loss of appetite, excess sweating/sensitivity to heat, lost 25 lbs, had mood swings, and extra trouble sleeping. I still feel way better now, though!"

• Mel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 14, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "After years of suffering from ever-worsening anxieties, I finally told my doctor, and she prescribed 20 mg of citalopram. I noticed within the first 20 minutes or so of taking it I got super drowsy and dizzy. I have vertigo, and it kind of felt like that, but with the added drowsiness. This lasted for about a week and then stopped. The drowsiness only came back after I drank alcohol, but even that side effect has since stopped. My family remarked how happy and like myself again I was after about 2 weeks, and that's when I realized it was helping. I did notice that I couldn't seem to shut up, I had an increase in energy, loss of appetite, excess sweating/sensitivity to heat, lost 25 lbs, had mood swings, and extra trouble sleeping. I still feel way better now, though!"

• Mis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 30, 2019

For Depression "Citalopram changed my life! I had been dealing with depression and eating disorders for about 5 years. I used to cry every day for no reason, and it got to the point where I stopped crying and I felt nothing at all. I felt empty - this is when I knew I needed to change. Two years ago, I took my first 20 mg pill at night, and when I woke up the next morning, I felt like a weight had been lifted. I actually felt hope, and I smiled for the first time without force. The side effects for the first couple of weeks were not enjoyable. I only experienced physical side effects - I felt dizzy and could not concentrate on anything without feeling nauseous and extremely tired. Once the side effects passed, I felt amazing and honestly have for the last couple of years! Last week, I actually took my last antidepressant. Side effects again are not nice, but I'm hoping I don't need to be on medication anymore."

• Bec...
• November 17, 2016

For Anxiety and Stress "Have been on citalopram for around 3 weeks for severe GAD. Physical symptoms of stress have lessened immensely (all following symptoms were before citalopram: left shoulder no longer hurts, ribs and sternum no longer ache, no jaw ache, nausea and loose stools have lessened, heart rate is gradually stabilizing, not as aggressive, don't feel like I'm having a heart attack, palpitations lessened, able to sleep). I do feel calmer. I'm on 10 mg daily and will be slowly upping to 20 mg. I still have no appetite (have lost 3 st since July through anxiety) and I feel slightly nauseous every now and again. I'm struggling with dizziness. I've not really had any side effects on this, other than occasional waves of nausea in the beginning. Keep at it!"

• Eri...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 12, 2015

For Depression "When I first started this medicine, I was dizzy, couldn't eat, shaking, nervous, sick, and much more. But after 2 weeks, that all went away. I love this medicine, I no longer suffer from depression or anxiety attacks. The one thing I don't like about this medicine is the irregular heartbeat. I don't like that at all. But other than that, this medicine is a miracle."

• San...
• January 31, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "I took citalopram when I was 17-20 years old and am now back on it a few years later. I got off the medication because I “didn’t like having to take medication.” This was silly. I was fine for about 18 months, and then I experienced my anxiety in a new way: panic attacks. I had intrusive suicidal thoughts even though I love life and find joy and happiness all the time. I managed the strength to ask to be back on the medication. I felt basically no effects until week 3-4, so don’t give up. I’m now on week 4 of being on the medication for a second time, and the benefits are here. I’m so glad I’ve stuck it out because I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some side effects I’ve noticed: slightly increased anxiety, headaches, dizziness, feeling a little spacey, decreased libido, diarrhea, vivid dreams, yawning. All of these side effects have improved drastically or are gone completely. I expect them all to fade by the time everything evens out. I take 20 mg."

• Jad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "I started citalopram 20 mg 9 days ago, and I'm not feeling myself at all. I take mine in the morning, as I did try nights, but it caused insomnia. Every morning, I wake up, take the 20 mg, but then I feel really spaced out, dizzy, sick, my heart racing, no energy at all, feel detached from my own body, I get prickling in my arms and legs. I'm also taking lorazepam to try to keep me calm throughout the day. My GP told me the first 2 weeks are the worst, so I'm really hoping by Monday things start changing. Anyone else just started and feeling like this? I'm so scared these feelings won't go away."

• Cai...
• February 20, 2014

For Anxiety and Stress "My first time using citalopram I was on 10 mg a day. My first couple of days was difficult. Nausea, dizziness, terrible migraines. I had to excuse myself from work for a couple of days 'til I adjusted. My moods did improve, and I took the meds for 6 months. I stopped taking them because I hated relying on meds for my emotional control, and the sexual dysfunction that accompanied it made me more anxious and put rifts in my relationship. I was off meds for about 7 months, and since that time I've gone through some traumatic experiences that have made it hard to stay in control. So I'm now 4 days into my second try on the meds. I've started at 20 mg this time around. 2 days of side effects. We will see how this one goes."

• Anonymous
• September 25, 2011

Citalopram for Depression "I mainly wanted to talk about withdrawal from this medication. It does work very well for depression. I honestly felt a lot better after being depressed for 4 or 5 years before I sought treatment. Just a warning to those who are considering stopping the medication... please consult your doctor and do it gradually. I stopped taking it, and at the end of a 7-day period, I felt like I was having a heart attack. My chest wouldn't stop hurting, and I felt nauseous and dizzy."

• Ami...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 10, 2015

For Depression "After having mild but persistent depression for 18 years, it got much worse after having my first baby. I'd never taken any depression medication, but my GP recommended taking Cipramil. It took around 4-6 weeks before I really felt the benefit of the medicine, with mild side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and not being able to concentrate. But now I've been taking it for 9 months, and I'm so happy and coping with life much better, and most importantly, having fun and enjoying my baby. I put on 5 kg since I started to take Cipramil, but I think I eat more now that I can enjoy my food. I'm not sure about other long-term side effects, but I'm so thankful that I can feel joy in life again after being miserable for so long."

• Sad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2016

For Depression "I was severely depressed with huge mood swings, anxiety, and really stressed. When I first started taking these, the initial side effects were overwhelming, so bad that I had to stay off work. They made me more anxious, sick, and really dizzy. I also really struggled to sleep if I took them at around teatime. This made me take them every other day or twice a week because they made everything seem worse (even though I knew deep down they would help). After about 3.5 weeks of beating around the bush with them, I felt no side effects and then took them every day. After about a week, I felt uplifted, that shadow and helplessness gone, and it gave me the courage to leave my house and go to the gym. I take them every day now and I feel better every day."

• Sun...
• January 11, 2021

For Panic Disorder "After suffering such severe anxiety that I couldn't even leave my room and stopped showering, eating, speaking to anyone, etc., Citalopram saved me. I'm only on 10 mg, as I'm quite underweight and only 20 years old, but it reduced my anxiety so much that I'm now able to make myself leave the house for short periods of time with minimal anxiety. I used to have such severe panic attacks that lasted hours, I'd burn up, I couldn't breathe, I was so dizzy and nauseous, and couldn't even bring myself to do anything but lie in bed and cry. This went on for 6 months until I started Citalopram. The side effects were absolutely horrible, it somehow made my anxiety even worse at first, and I was so nauseous and dizzy, blurred vision, dry mouth, constantly spacey. After two weeks, the side effects reduced, and after three weeks, they were gone completely. My only issue with it now is that I'm still feeling a little spacey after being on them for around 6 months."

• JJN...
• October 7, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "In 2011, started on 20 mg for being easily agitated and had side effects like insomnia, waking up drenched in sweat, yawning, and being dizzy. Took it at night. It took months for the side effects to go away. It worked great, and after 2 years, I dropped to 10 mg for just over a year and stopped with my doc's help. No real issues with withdrawal. Just a little dizzy. 4 months later, my wife mentioned me being agitated again. I started 20 mg again, LOTS of issues. Bad insomnia, drenched in sweat, shaking really bad, yawning, racing thoughts (wanting to hurt others or myself), paranoia, going crazy, racing heart, rashes, burning arms. The thoughts scared the hell out of me. At 13 days, doc said stop NOW. Mostly back to normal after 2-3 weeks."

• KCT...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 28, 2022

For Hot Flashes "I’m 48, peri-menopausal, and was waking up every half hour at night with hot flashes and having a number of intense ones throughout the day. My OB-GYN recommended Celexa. I started with 10 mg for about a week and then went to 20 mg. The nighttime hot flashes stopped almost immediately, and I started having great quality sleep, and then after about 4 weeks, the daytime hot flashes stopped completely! I had some headaches and a little bit of dizziness when I started, but nothing bad, and it didn’t last long at all. Great option for me, particularly since I can’t use hormone-based treatments because of family history."

• The...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 24, 2019

For Anxiety and Stress "I was originally prescribed Escitalopram, and I had a horrible reaction to it. I was hallucinating, burning up, couldn’t sleep, diarrhea, extreme nausea. I was switched to Citalopram 10 mg. After what had happened with the Escitalopram, I was terrified of even trying another medication. I finally got the courage to take it. My first dose was yesterday, and I took it with food to help reduce any possible nausea. It made me drowsy the first few hours, and I took a nap. When I woke up, I was a little lightheaded, but not bad, I was a little dizzy throughout the day. By the afternoon, I want to say I was feeling something good from it, as I was more positive, and I looked around at my little family and felt at peace a little. It did cause a little insomnia. May try to avoid napping. I took my second dose today with food also, and just some slight nausea, more like a heartburn feeling. And clammy hands/feet. It does make you sweat a little more than normal. But so far, so good!"

• Gem...
• August 5, 2019

For Anxiety and Stress "Been on these meds for over a week and wanted to share the side effects. I do find I haven’t been having panic attacks this last week, they usually happen every day. I take half a pill of 20 mg (so I take 10 mg) right before I go to bed, so I’m not as tired, but I do find it harder to wake up, and sometimes if I wake up during the night, I feel really dizzy and disassociated. I felt really sedated and just weird, I had never felt like that before. Sometimes if I take it too late, like 1 am (before I sleep), I'll feel awful, especially if I have to get up and go to work early. But later in the day, I feel great. I’m too scared to take the pill earlier, because I don’t wanna have a panic attack over the side effects, I’d rather just sleep through them."

• Any...
• February 12, 2016

For Anxiety and Stress "I have taken this med for 5 yrs. The problem is getting off this medicine. It's been 2 weeks since my last pill. My side effect is I feel like I am floating on a cloud. I cannot cover my head fast enough because I get disoriented and dizzy. Anyone have this kind of reaction after stopping this medicine, and if so, how long did it last?"

• Sco...
• July 5, 2017

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I know this is early days. Only day five. The first four days were horrendous, spaced out, dizzy, and felt sick. So, changed to take citalopram at night. Seemed to be better for me that way. Today is the first day the haze has slightly lifted. But like I said, early days. I'm hoping that after the two weeks period that people say is the worst, I lose this dizzying feeling and headache. But I'm going to persevere, as this med, judging by the reviews, does seem to do the trick."

• Kay...
• December 22, 2020

For Anxiety and Stress "8th day on this drug and it’s horrible. I feel no change whatsoever. I haven’t been able to get out of bed, I have no motivation, suppressed appetite, dizzy.... I’m not taking this rubbish anymore!!"

• Lin...
• February 7, 2016

Citalopram for Anxiety and Stress "I woke up from the absolute craziest dream I've ever had... FREAKING OUT... COULD NOT BREATHE, AND THOUGHT I WAS DYING... I immediately called people in my family that have been on antidepressants, and they said just give it time, the side effects will go away... so I continued to take it... today is day 14, I am more nervous and depressed still... I have NO emotion, my head hurts constantly, STILL have no balance... I think my doctor WRONGLY prescribed me something I DIDN'T need, that COMPLETELY ruins you (when you don't really need it). I'm severely annoyed... stopping my med tomorrow and flushing the rest of my pills... I'm so disgusted."

• Bre...
• October 22, 2013

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on the medication for the last 3 months for depression. The first time I took the pill at 20 mg, it made me very thirsty, gave me restless sleep, very dizzy when standing from sitting, I felt 'high' and was spaced out for the whole day. I felt weird, especially while driving. I started to half the pills for the next month and gradually started taking the full dose. At this point, I feel like the meds are working, and my crying spells have decreased dramatically. I am no longer super snappy at my kid and have more patience in general. I still continue to have dry mouth from time to time about 2 hours after I take the meds."

• Aic...
• January 1, 2020

For Anxiety and Stress "Citalopram helped me with depression, but it has a bad side effect, which is tinnitus. It is really a nightmare, hissing all over my head. I cannot sleep, feel dizzy most of the time. Please stay away from it if you can."

• han...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2023

For Anxiety and Stress "I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and have been taking citalopram for 9 weeks. I am still experiencing all the side effects, such as dizziness, nausea, headaches, and even head twitching when I lay down to sleep or relax. I have not seen much progress, but I have been more worried about the side effects to notice any mental progress at this point. I want the medication to work, but 9 weeks of side effects is getting annoying. Some days are not too bad, but other days are so bad that I am genuinely lost at what to do. I am currently taking 20 mg, and I have never taken medication for anything before. Unfortunately, the doctors do not have available appointments, and I never got a review appointment. I am not sure why I have not had a good experience with the medication, while everyone else seems to have positive experiences."

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 13, 2022

For Anxiety and Stress "I’ve suffered from anxiety for quite a long time, but it was manageable for me to deal with it until my last episode, where anxiety kicked in with such power out of the blue that I got scared. My GP prescribed me Citalopram 10mg. I took 5mg in the evening and 5mg the next morning to avoid side effects that I was afraid of. On the next day, I started taking 10mg in the morning and carried on till now-3 weeks. Had barely any side effects, little nauseous in the morning the first few days, 1 day a bit dizzy and shaky, other tired and drowsy, but it was all gone after a few days. Yet I suffered with a bit of heartburn at night and sleeping issues for a few days. Nothing major anyway. All my physical issues were gone within 3 days, and in week 2, I started to be my normal self. I will carry on with treatment. Please be aware that everyone is different and will react to medication in different ways. I was lucky. Have some faith and give it some time!"