anti depressants

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1

hi
has anyone been prescribed citalopram?
ive just been put on a low dose and wondered what side effects to expect

2

I was on citalopram and made me feel really dizzy and nauseous and had to some off but not everyone had side effects so good luck.

3

I believe one of the side-effects is a reduction in hot flushes at night! Don’t know about the less desirable ones, as I’ve only ever had amitriptylene (hated that!) and Prozac (loved that, but you can’t take that with Tamoxifen) and at the moment I don’t need any.

4

Hi there
I posted last week asking if anyone recommended anti depressants to help deal with a secondary diagnosis and I had lots of helpful and positive replies. The type you have been prescribed was recommended by several members and I have since been prescribed them myself. I havent started taking them as yet as I started chemo yesterday and so thought i’d give it a few days for my body to deal with that, the steroids etc before hitting it with more drugs and potential side effects!

Heres the link anyway - hope it helps

breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/anti-depressants-do-they-make-a-real-difference–t29612.html

All the best anyway
Tina x

5

I’ve just started on Citalopram, took 10mg/day for the first week and now I’m on 20mg/day, at the same time reducing the 20mg/day of amitriptyline that I was taking, both intended to reduce night sweats, but the Ami wasn’t good enough hence the changeover. So far I’m fine on the Citalopram and the night sweats are improving, so fingers crossed.

6

thanks for the link tina, ive had a read.
thanks for all your thoughts
the side effects makes frightening reading. i havnt taken one yet lol
does it matter when you take it?
dr warned me i will feel worse before i feel better, like sick,dizzy,palpatations!

7

Hi
I was on citalopram and had no side effects at all
xx

8

Hello. I’m on citalopram at the moment having switched from prozac (because you can’t take that with tamoxifen). So far so good, but I suppose because I was already on an SSRI it’s just switching from one to another so not starting from scratch. Main side effect has been excessive yawning! Also a bit of nausea. Nothing major. You might feel worse before you feel better but persevere…it usually gets better after about 2 weeks. Good luck!
xxx

9

i have 10 mg of citalopram every day, in low doses its used for a mussel relaxation tablet. ive been on it for about 4 years and all ok. however it ws increased to 20mg once and i didnt like it.

kate price was on it once and she swears blind it made her worse.

im also on propranolol as and when i need it, and i find for anxiety and panic attacks its brilliant

10

I was prescribed Citalopram to help with the night sweats that I get with Tamoxifen. I didn’t get any side effects apart from a dry mouth but it didn’t work either. Have since been switched to Venlafaxin which has been much more beneficial.

11

I’m taking these for the anti depressant benefits as opposed to using them for hot flushes (I’m triple neg so no tamoxifen etc). I started them last night, I’m on 20mg + felt totally spaced. Hardly slept a wink. Took trays late morning + feeling quite spacey now + tum is a bit off. Nothing major but can defo feel a difference since starting them. I’m gona persevere + hopefully I’ll see the benefits in a few wks x

12

thanks everyone
hes started me on 10mg a day and i go back to see him before they run out
tum is a bit odd but nothing major and im struggling to get out of bed in the morning
havnt noticed a great difference in flushes but iv only been taking them a week

13

You might find he increases the dosage gradually to help minimise unpleasant side-effects, so don’t be alarmed if you’re put on to a higher dose next time.

The general intention with any drug is to give as low a dose as possible while still having the desired effect (whether that’s at a very low dose to help with flushes or a higher dose to help with depression) in order to keep the undesired effects as few as possible.