Day 23, Antidepressant prescribed
 

Hi all.

I have taken a half dose (10mg) of Citalipram today as I have assessed as suffering from depression.
I up my dose to 20 mg in 5 days.

I think this is a positive step as I have been really down since stopping alcohol, which seems to be common.

I just wanted to ask if anyone had been on SSRIs (Citalipram in particular) in early recovery and their experience in the first few days; My thoughts have been muddled and I can feel something, slight, a change. Is this possible or is it a placebo effect?

I take bupropion, and there is an adjustment period with any of them, I think. Adjustment is the word. I felt weird the first couple of weeks. You're literally withdrawing from one drug and taking up another. Give it time. Clarity comes back. I still get the occasional dizzy moment, even when sitting still. Just tells me the drug's working.

I've never taken that SSRI specifically, but I've taken many others. They take quite a while to act, and once they do in my experience you can feel all sorts of out of it for awhile on them.

In my experience ( again not a doctor) the SSRI class of drugs can help immensily buts its about dosage and side effects. All of them have the same action in theory, but for me I found some of them to have more side effects then others. I also had others that helped more, but came with more side effects and ones that helped less and had both a ton of side effects and ones that had no effect but no side effects.

I hope I am not confusing you, the point I am making is the medications are going to effect your brain chemistry. In the past I have been on medications that make me feel exactly how you descibed and that you need to find one that makes you less depressed, feel better, less anxious whatever, but that the side effects aren't too much.

Scientist still don't know exactly why SSRI, SNRI, work with depression anxiety, they can only prove with trials that they do in fact work, with that in mind dosage, type of medication and side effects are key. If you aren't comfortable with a medication ask to have it changed or have the dosage upped lowered what ever, the ultimate result should be a reduction in the symptoms you are experiencing in my life that takes a lot of trying different medications and dosages. Good day and good luck.

No experience with that particular drug but I think they all take a little time to settle in.

Hope this can help you get to where you want to be lifereturning :)

D

I take Wellbutrin, and the name brand... The generic one made me feel sick. The name brand one works really well for me although I am only on 75 mg twice a day. Normal dosage ranges up to 300 mg a day... I am glad I feel how I do on the lower dose.

Hope it all goes well!! Keep pushing through!! :)

I take 20 mg Citrolopram per day. I noticed the effects within the first couple days, although my doctor said this wasn't common.

The most noticeable effect was that I was calmer and far less aggravated by people and things around me. I did not fly off on frustrated rages. Also, my desire to drink lessened because I felt good, not depressed and anxious.

I've been taking it for nearly three years, and it definitely changed my life for the better. Hope you experience the same.

I was put on in after a year sober for mood swings during my cycle. I am 46 and have never tried anything like that before. I loved it. My sleep went back to normal and I felt calmer and more focused. It seemed to me it worked quickly too. I just went into the doc and I put on 20 lbs when I already needed to lose 30. It does that to some people. Taking it at night might help that. They switched me to something else but if it wasn't for the weight gain I'd still be on it.

Day 24, 2nd day citalipram SSRI
 

day 24;
I feel like my face is relaxing...my cheek bones feel a bit numb. I don't think this is a bad thing - the pills must be working.
I also feel quite relax and fuzzy, unfocused. Luckily, no one is demanding anything from me today, so I am just relaxing.
Feeling good that I don't have a desire to drink.

I've taken Lexapro and I thank my doctor for suggesting it.

Really no side effects and it helps with the depression.

I take an antidepressant and my depressions stems from my teenage years, but it's not an SSRI. I have no side-effects and it works well for me, levelling the playing field.

I'm on 30mg citalopram (have been on 40 in the past) and I've found it really helps. I've been on various other meds over the years but found citalopram to be the best of a bad bunch lol. They all have side effects. Most of the nasty ones pass within the first week (I found days 4-6 the worst) but there are other longer term side effects, for some people it can affect sleep and sexual function, but you have to weigh up the pros and cons. For me the pros outweigh the cons. You just have to give it a go and see if it helps. Hope you feel better soon.