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Mental health

Anyone found Citalopram didnt work for them? what alternative?

10 replies

allgonebellyup · 14/03/2008 07:32

ive been on citalopram for 6 months now, took a while to work (8wks), then they put up my dosage to 40mg and i felt great for a few months.
Now feel awful again, suicidal really, even though i am on a quite high dose.
What else could i try if i see the doc?

has anyone else had experience of this AD not really working?

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Lulumama · 14/03/2008 07:35

me, the only thing that worked for me was Effexor/Venlflaxine at a high dose - 175 mg to start with, redcuing to 150 mg after 1 week..

i was on 60 mg of seroxat before that, having been on 20- 40 mg of citalopram.

i would ask for a referral to a psychiatrist at they will be better at tweaking the meds than a gp

glad you are keeping going, i know how hard it is

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allgonebellyup · 14/03/2008 08:17

i have always been scared to see a psychiatrist, makes me feel like i am labelled as a proper loon!

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lucyellensmum · 14/03/2008 09:31

allgonebellyup, i would much rather be seen by psychiatrist than doctor - the citalopram works for me, i have a friend who when i asked her if she took citalopram for her (very serious and long term) depression, looked at me like i was mad? It never worked for her, but she said that she has tried lots before she found what worked for her.

I have been on this for about six months myself and over recent weeks have had a couple of bad spells, have felt suicidal - or should i say, have felt scared that i would just do it type feeling, rather than wanting to. I am very much wanting to live thankyou very much. But it might be the time scale? My doctor did suggest changing the meds, i told her to feck off, in the nicest possible way - i can cope, thats enough for now. But maybe a proper shrink might be able to push things forward, for instance they can push for CBT etc.

Do bear this in mind, but also remember, your plate is full of a big pile of shit just now, it is natural that you are going to feel really bad at the moment, its different for me, my problems (mostly) are done with, (too much on my plate, illness, bereavement) you are kind of still stuck in the middle of things. Go back to the doctors, tell them what has been going on, especially this weekends events and see what they suggest. Might it be that you just need something on top of the citalopram. I am not a doctor (well not a useful one ) so i really wouldnt know what they might suggest. But citalopram i think is generally what they give us as a first stop, lets see if this keeps her quiet type thing, then if it doesnt work then try something else. HAve you been offered/had any counselling at all? It might help to be able to talk at someone for a bit.

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lucyellensmum · 14/03/2008 09:33

allgonebellyup, i would much rather be seen by psychiatrist than doctor - the citalopram works for me, i have a friend who when i asked her if she took citalopram for her (very serious and long term) depression, looked at me like i was mad? It never worked for her, but she said that she has tried lots before she found what worked for her.

I have been on this for about six months myself and over recent weeks have had a couple of bad spells, have felt suicidal - or should i say, have felt scared that i would just do it type feeling, rather than wanting to. I am very much wanting to live thankyou very much. But it might be the time scale? My doctor did suggest changing the meds, i told her to feck off, in the nicest possible way - i can cope, thats enough for now. But maybe a proper shrink might be able to push things forward, for instance they can push for CBT etc.

Do bear this in mind, but also remember, your plate is full of a big pile of shit just now, it is natural that you are going to feel really bad at the moment, its different for me, my problems (mostly) are done with, (too much on my plate, illness, bereavement) you are kind of still stuck in the middle of things. Go back to the doctors, tell them what has been going on, especially this weekends events and see what they suggest. Might it be that you just need something on top of the citalopram. I am not a doctor (well not a useful one ) so i really wouldnt know what they might suggest. But citalopram i think is generally what they give us as a first stop, lets see if this keeps her quiet type thing, then if it doesnt work then try something else. HAve you been offered/had any counselling at all? It might help to be able to talk at someone for a bit.

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Lulumama · 14/03/2008 10:13

well, i was a proper loon ! but now i am not. now i am well, settled, happy and doing really, really well

if you had any other long term health issue , you would see the right specialist to help you.this should not be any different

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allgonebellyup · 14/03/2008 21:10

Well, went to see doc this pm...she refused to let me change ADs as she said this one had previously worked for me so it does "work".
She said she actually isnt happy for me to be on ADs really as what i need to do is "sort out the problem that is causing the depression".

So how do i make ex-dh come back and his unborn baby vanish then????
Or how do i make myself be happy that i am on my own and he is having a whale of a time?

i asked for CBT but was told the waiting list is 2.5yrs long!
So instead of changing the drugs, or even letting me raise the dose a little, she is putting me on a computer course that is supposed to help..

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lucyellensmum · 14/03/2008 21:55

at your doctor!! Did you tell her what you did at the weekend?? SHE was the one who put you on the ADs in the first place. And no, they are not a miracle cure, so why the fuck did she put you on them and then just leave you to it?? Stupid cow! What does a person have to do to get help??? This sort of thing makes me so angry, i honestly think you should go back and make her bloody well listen. Do you still have a HV? Speak to her, practice nurse, anyone who will listen.

Of course you can't make all the bad stuff go away, but you can alter the way you approach it. You cannot change what has been done, and when you really think about it, do you really want to? He got another woman pregnant and she is having his baby, that will never go away, even if he were to come back - this is something i could never come to terms with im afraid, so could never have him back in my life. Of course he has to see his children, but it IS possible to move on from this. A very similar thing happened to my BIL, he was a bit of shit really and a bit different to your situation, but he went on to have two children with his "mistress" and it was awful for his first GF who he had a son with. To be totally fair to him, his relationsip with his son has never suffered due to this, in fact i think it is stronger for it, he is very close to his dad. As for his mum, i think it took her a while to get over things, but she has settled down now with a new man and i think they are very happy. What i am trying to say is, this is a terrible situation but not impossible to move on from. You WILL move on from it, you just can't see it. As for him having a whale of a time?? I can't see it myself, but you can't think about it you just can't . Stop torturing yourself and take that first step into moving on. For your childrens sake, you must start to be strong now.

I am being a little harsh, but i know you would kick me up the arse when i need it too.

You have two children don't you? You go to work and you are at college? sorry, i have a terrible memory for things. With your positive head on, ask yourself where you want to be in five years time, and if you way back with your DH i will personally come looking for you and slap you up the side of the head with a wet salmon. Where do you want to be in terms of YOU, work, how will you look, what will your children be doing? How are you going to start to make those things happen. You cannot control many of the things, like a new partner stuff like that, but you can control what YOU do, so when you think, i would like to do xyz but... stop just before you get to the but.

Was the computor course moodgym.com?? my doctor recommended it to me, it is meant to be an online cbt course, it is apparently very good, i would have looked further into it myself but for some reason my browser wont allow me to have that, and mumsnet on at the same time and one has to get ones priorities straight

Don't be fobbed off by the doctor, if you thought the builder was not doing his job properly, or the greengrocer, whoever, then you would bloody well tell them, don't think the doctor is anything more than someone who is supposed to be working for YOU, after all your taxes pay her wages.

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allgonebellyup · 15/03/2008 07:45

the pc course was called "beating the blues", i spoke to a friend yesterday who said she did it (she tried to kill herself once)and she walked out after 6 weeks cos it was so useless! even the doc said "dont give up cos it seems rubbish at first"

i do get doc's point about trying to deal with the root cause, but when the ADs were working, i felt so fab! i just need that again, so i can address everything else in my life.

Yes i do work part time (only as a nanny at the mo) but i love it and it gives me a reason to get up in the morning, plus the money helps me be independent.
Am also doing the last year of my OU degree so i can hopefully do Teacher Training next year and have a good career.

Some days i feel really positive about my future but most days, well, recently, i dont.
Its just the heartbroken feeling that wont shift.
And yes i know he is not really having a whale of a time, he is stuck in his tiny mums house with a girl he never meant to get pregnant, and a ds who he only sees at weekends and its killing him.
(dd is his step daughter - they used to be so close, but now he is having sod-all to do with her, the complete bastard)

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allgonebellyup · 15/03/2008 08:41

oh yes, and when i did reluctantly agree to go downstairs at the surgery to book myself in for the computer course, the receptionist said "oh you cant do it anytime soon as our printer is broken plus there is a waiting list".

fucking waste of my time, nobody will listen at that place. i have already changed surgery once in 12months.

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lucyellensmum · 15/03/2008 18:24

beating the blues??? Fuck me, i would laugh if it wasn't so tragic!! Are these people on the same planet as us??? Take a look at the moodgym thing, if anything it kills some time, its set up like those computor quizzes that you do to waste time at work or uni. Im sure if you google it you'll find it, i just dont know how to link it. It does have some good links and is apparently very good, also used as a teaching aid for psych students.

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