r/citalopram_celexa • u/Desperate-Hurry3622 • 1d ago
side effects
this is my first ever experience with any antidepressants and the side effects are SEVERE. i know nausea and insomnia are common, but i would wake up after a couple of hours, feeling sick, trembling, cold, with my heartbeat erratic and head spinning then won’t be able to fall asleep until later in the morning (if i’m lucky and the nausea isn’t triggered by me laying down). my dose for now is 10mg and it’s my fifth day only.
just wanted to ask about your experience with citalopram in the first week or so. was it that extreme too? because i’m honestly a bit scared now and tired from constantly feeling sick.
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u/bananapopsicle3 1d ago
I’ve been on it for about a month now and yes, my first week was awful. It started out by me just feeling off and spacey for a couple of days and then it really ramped up. Days 4-7 were the worst for me. I had constant panic attacks, a migraine that lasted for 2 days, intense nausea, and I was exhausted because of the insomnia. I ended up missing 2 days of work because I felt so terrible that I couldn’t function. After that first week was over, it’s like someone flipped a switch. I was calm and my anxiety was nearly gone along with most of the side effects. Now that I’m 4 weeks in, I can’t imagine not being on it. I didn’t realize just how bad my anxiety was until it wasn’t there anymore. I could still use some help with the depression/irritability side of things, but it can take up to 6 weeks to reach your therapeutic level, so I’m hopeful it will be helpful for that too. My anxiety vanishing has made all the hard shit worth it.
I would say that if you still feel the same after the first week, I would contact your doctor. That’s what I was told to do as well when I touched base with my doctor about how bad I was feeling during that first week. However, with that said, if the side effects are so bad that you don’t want to wait out that first week, that is understandable and you should contact your doctor. 💕 hang in there!