Experiences - Celexa (Citalopram) Experience, Along With Some Questions

[RxPosterChild]

Hello, I'm new, and I'm pleased to make the acquaintance.

Anyway I thought I'd give you all a general summary of my experience with Celexa. Thus far i've been taking it for about a week and a half to treat depression. I've noticed several side effects. The first few days I took it I was having terrible anxiety which I'm used to on and off. The anxiety subsided on the third or fourth day and I was pleased to say I was content. I was perfectly happy for the first time in my entire life. It was wonderful! Sadly, this feeling, like the anxiety, soon subsided and I'm no longer feeling great. I'd say now I feel better than I did, but I wish I could feel like that again. The strangest side effect I noticed was with my eyes. When going from a lighted room to darkness (switching out lights before bed) in the darkness I can see patterns on my eyes. These patterns are very vivid and scared me at first. As soon as my eyes adjust they go away though. Anyone else experienced this? Alright to wrap it up. The last side effect I noticed is a craving for things. Particularily alcohol, nicotine. Things I've used in the past but have never had strong cravings for. What's up with this? Any suggestions?

Lastly, SWIM who is also using Celexa is wondering if there may be a negative interaction with kratom. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Lehendakari]

I have no experience with celexa, my friend has experience with paroxetine, he was on paxil for 3 months and then another 3 months.

SSRI's seem to cause a lot of weird and sometimes nasty side effects within the first 14-20 days of treatment. Also, it takes at least a month for them to start working properly, so if the side effects aren't too hard to stand I would give it more time to see if it works.

The craving things issue can be pretty dangerous, my friend felt it with alcohol and cannabis craving, so keep that under control, my friend did some pretty stupid things.

keep in mind that ssri's can make you very risky in general, cause you don't care about the conquences (sp?) of your behavior so much like you used to. SSRI's tend to lower all your fears which is good, but dangerous.

Escitalopram has few interactions with other drugs, but can't really say much about it:

Escitalopram is metabolised by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. However, ritonavir, a potent inhibitor of CYP3A4, does not affect the pharmacokinetics of escitalopram. Coadministration of escitalopram 20mg following steady-state administration of cimetidine or omeprazole led to a 72% and 51% increase, respectively, in escitalopram exposure compared with administration alone. These changes were not considered clinically relevant. In vitro studies have shown that escitalopram has negligible inhibitory effects on CYP isoenzymes and P-glycoprotein, suggesting that escitalopram is unlikely to cause clinically significant drug-drug interactions. The favourable pharmacokinetic profile of escitalopram suggests clinical utility in a broad range of patients.

[tayo]

What is the dose you are taking?

[RxPosterChild]

At the moment I'm taking a 10mg dose, and I believe it will be bumped up after my next doctor's visit. I'm actually surprised at the level of the effects at that dose, but I have always been sensitive to drugs.

[tayo]

I would consider sensitivity a good thing.
Typically, anxiety will increase when starting a new SSRI but will likely decrease after a while. People with panic disorder are sometimes directed to use SSRIs, it will increase panic attacks at first, so benzodiazepines are given as anxiolytics, and eventually they are weened off of them once the patient adapts.
The visual patterns are interesting, I've had that before as well, but while not taking any medications. But not anything to be worried about unless a monster made of light that looks like a flying slime ball with crocodile teeth flies at you at a million miles per hour and eats your head and makes you go under the covers and break out in a cold sweat. I believe that would indicate that the dose is too high, haha.
The cravings are interesting too, considering that anti-depressants have been known to decrease cravings if I remember correctly.

Keep us posted.

[RxPosterChild]

Well, today was a hard day in most respects, especially considering I'm feeling incredibly anxious and depressed. I've been taking the meds for about a week and a half. I'm wondering what the final effects will be like. The visuals seem to be going away and becoming less frequent now. Cravings for other drugs are about the same, possibly slightly less. I'll have to see what the doctor recommends come Friday when I have a follow up exam.

SWIM also tried kratom, found it to have synergistic effects. The next day however, the same dose apprently had no effects for SWIM. Possible tolerance developed quicker?

By the way, Tayo, like the Slug photo in your sig. Gotta say that atmos is one of my personal fav's. I've seen him at First Ave in MPLS a couple times.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thank you for your experiences.

[tayo]

The tolerance idea is definitely possible, keep us informed.

The biggest thing that worried me when I was prescribed it was the sexual dysfunction, and I noticed it after a few days, and immediately stopped taking it. So watch out for that one.

and...
YES, Slug inhibits a cave in the wall of my heart. That's awesome, I've only seen him once, and I'd missed the local shows for 5 years straight. In 2006 I finally saw him at Bumbershoot (seattle), it was amazing.

[RxPosterChild]

Today I got bumped up to 20mg and was also prescribed some Xanax to curb the increased anxiety. I hope I don't have to go through the terrible adaption like I did when I first started taking the medication. We'll see how it goes.

As far as SWIM, he seems to have developed a liking for a Ativan or Xanax mixed with a little kratom. He's hopinh this doesn't spiral out of control. I'll see what happens with him as well.

@Tayo
Slug is possibly one of the biggest inspirations some of the things I do. His music first made me value the actual artistic integrity that hip hop can exhibit. This acceptance of hip hop eventually led me to poetry, then spoken word, and now I'm in a band that's half rock/half hip hop.

If your interested in any other MPLS hip hop check these guys out (if you haven't already):

P.O.S.
Cecil Otter
Mike Mictlan
Sims
Dessa
Oddjobs
Kill The Vultures
The Micranots

[tayo]

Thanks for the artist suggestions. You're a good man.