7pm & 7am = wtf

[Klondike]

Hi there,

Firstly thanks I've read things on here a lot in the past and found it a really helpful place to look.

I just recently decided to start taking Citalopram at 10mg per day. This being my 5th day in I took one this morning at 7am, but yesterday forgot until around 7pm. After taking this mornings I set off for university where I was jittery, my head was racing, I felt like if I opened my mouth to speak then it would just be gobbledegook, my fingers were shaking, I felt like I was on speed. I'll be sure to do it 24hrs apart from now on :yesyes:

However I know that 10mg is considered a half dose, and imagine that someone on normal dose wouldn't be expected to have those symptoms right? So was it psychosomatic? Am I sensitive to Citalopram or SSRIs? Or is it just the expected side effect one might get in the first few weeks of taking this med? I understand it takes a while to build up in your system though :wacko:

I mean, maybe relatedly, my second question would be does past drug use have any impact on how SSRIs operate? I've used mdma on multiple occaisions in the past, smoked more than my fair share of the herb and I had a pretty bad period on mephedrone.. I understand only crudely how these substances actually work from a neuro perspective.

Hope to hear back. Heard some people have a great experience with this med but for others it just doesn't get along with them. I'm working in a clinical setting next week and don't want to be freaking out like I was this morning that's for sure..

:)

[Suziewuzie]

20mgs in one 24 hour period might just have been too big of a jump for you so early on, your body is still trying to get used to the 10mg so it's most likely just a bit much. Also with it only being day 5, the side effects might be starting to kick in.
I've taken my fair share of recreational drugs in the past but don't know anything about how that affects SSRI tolerance sorry x

[Klondike]

Thanks, that's a good way of explaining it.

It was pretty scary, and not fun in any way..... novel but not fun.

[danithegirl]

I can't say I've done any recreational drugs, but I can tell you that I jumped right in to 20mg just over three weeks ago and it's been insane in my head. I agree with Suzie, it probably was just a bit much since it's so early on for you.

[Klondike]

When did things start to go insane for you Dani?

Hope things level out soon for you. :hugs:

[danithegirl]

I think by the second week I was at my worst. To be honest, I'm still discouraged that I'm not yet back to my normal self, but you asking me that question just made me realize that I would rather be where I am today than where I was last week.

Hope you start feeling better soon as well. I really love this forum and having people in the same boat, it helps a lot.

[Klondike]

I'm glad things have gotten better for you vs last week.

For the reference of readers with similar queries, I only felt like that for a few hours then I felt pretty fine, and now 'normal' - whatever this may be.

[MyNameIsTerry]

However I know that 10mg is considered a half dose, and imagine that someone on normal dose wouldn't be expected to have those symptoms right? So was it psychosomatic? Am I sensitive to Citalopram or SSRIs? Or is it just the expected side effect one might get in the first few weeks of taking this med? I understand it takes a while to build up in your system though :wacko:

Yes, you can get any side effect in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) when you commence treatment or adjust dosage. It's an individual thing and obviously the higher you start, the more dramatic the side effects can be as opposed to tapering up by starting at the sensible 10mg some GP's have started to do.

Something to consider is that Cit reaches it's peak (80%) in your blood plasma at 4 hours. By the end of one half life, which for Cit is 35 hours, it has reduced down to 50%.

So, unless you take them very close together, you won't a 20mg dose from 2 10mg tabs in the same 24 hours. However, it will cause some overlap at an earlier point than expected and so you will likely end up with above 10mg.

Cit takes just over 7 days to reach it's steady-state (as much going in as coming out). Missing a dose is less of an issue on longer half life drugs like this one.

I doubt you will get an answer on here about MDMA receptors. You may need one of the drugs forums for that, they know the impacts of illegal drugs more than people on here will.

[Klondike]

Thanks so much that's a great informative reply and promotion of the advantages of always reading the PIL. Think I would've just felt worse had I read all the side effects though!!

---------- Post added at 10:23 ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 ----------

Read so much c**p about this drug. This is the first time I've really been on meds but wow, must be around 50% of what I'm reading is people saying they just get side effects which make it not worthwhile or they feel emotionless and thus less motivated than ever when before negative thoughts might have at least spurred them on to do things.. It's very hard to know whether or not it's even worth taking this med. Are people finding it best to take in the evening to avoid nausea and jitteriness and stuff during the day?

[Suziewuzie]

You'll read loads of crap about any meds, because nobody takes the time to write good things about it because they're feeling better and posting on anxiety forums is the last thing on their mind.
I take it at night because it made me really sleepy so it worked better for me x

[Klondike]

Hmm thanks I suppose you're right. That's why I didn't read the PIL though I guess, I just get carried away thinking it's gonna go bad. I wonder if there is a poll asking when people take Cit.

[Suziewuzie]

Almost everyone takes it in the morning. I'm a nurse and I have literally hundreds of patients on it and never had one who takes it at night. I was just in a really bad place when I started it and was scared of feeling anything so took it at night to help me sleep x

[Klondike]

Thanks Suzie.

I've felt pretty jittery and rapid thoughts from one thing to another this morning over the past hour since taking my dose 2 hours ago. Gladly it hasn't been anything like yesterday at least not thus far.

I have read on someone else's post it may take a few days for serotonin to level out following a closely overlapped dose.

[Suziewuzie]

It's still super early days for you mate, I'm 12 weeks in now and the best advice I can give is just TRY not to over analyse everything you're feeling and thinking. You are going to feel all sorts of things at times; sleepy, shaky, over anxious etc. It's all normal and it all passes. I love citalopram, it's totally sorted me out x

[MyNameIsTerry]

I always took mine at night. There was no real reason I did, I'm just off those people who starts a drug cycle in the evening as it's always been the habit.

It caused me bad insomnia at first so I needed a hypnotic to sleep but I started straight off on 20mg so it was harsher. I didn't know taking it in the morning could prevent the insomnia as I wasn't on here then and naively trusted my GP who made mention of trying. I have seen others on here vary the time for this with no success too so it's an individual matter as usual.

If Cit causes nausea for you, take it with food. Research has shown it interacts with a specific gut receptor in causing nausea which is eased when taken with food.

It will take a little bit of time to adjust back to 10mg because of the half life but each half life sees a 50% reduction e.g. 1 half life = 50%, 2 = 25%, 3 = 12.5%, etc so it will quite quickly disappear back to the original dosage.

Remember also about how it peaks at 4 hours. From that point you would expect any side effects to be more apparent for a while. If they come quicker and don't last into that peak period, perhaps it's anxiety? Obviously if the side effects are due to the stomach e.g. nausea, those will come much quicker as the gut receptors will be the issue hence not needing the peak in the blood to cause them as blood uptake isn't as quick and involves the liver enzymes metabolising the active drug.

[Klondike]

My friend suggested it may have been a panic attack rather than the effects of an overlapped dose so early into the programme. I would rather hope it was the drug...

I opened up to my tutor about how it made me feel in class, and she started calling into question my fitness to be at school or to go on the hospital placement I'm going on next week.

I feel really quite contested now as my low mood and anxiety weren't so bad prior to using citalopram, I certainly wasn't having panic attacks. I began treatment as I sometimes felt quite uncomfortable in social situations and had a low mood persistently, but I was managing it relatively well I think. I had a particularly traumatic day and so I began taking the meds.

What I mean to say is, if I stop taking the meds, I will at least be familiar with the low mood and slight anxiety, whilst I am being assessed on placement. If I continue I may well experience unpredictable side effects that affect my ability to concentrate, emphathise, engage, all things I am being assessed on 8 hours a day for 4 weeks...

I have not taken the dose this morning, I think I will leave it until I am back into university and off of placement.. My GP recommended I could do that, or simply take one 10mg pill every two days to halve the doseage. To me that doesn't sound quite right but I'm sure it is. She is the qualified professional.