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Discussion Topic: Celexa side effects
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 llewella |
02-24-2004 @ 1:07 AM |
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Member
Joined: Feb. 2004
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I just started taking Celexa yesterday. I have to take half a 20mg pill for 14 days and than start taking a full pill. I'm not looking forward to that since I got some side effects about 30 minutes after taking it....I'm very sensitive to meds. So far I've gotten chills, a little fever/hot, drowsiness, upset stomach, dizziness and nausea. This all comes and goes. I'd like to sleep but I get dizzy when I close my eyes....kinda like when you're really drunk. I'm going to take it with food today to see if it makes any difference.
Has anyone else had the same side effects?
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| Susanne, Support Specialist |
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02-24-2004 @ 9:08 AM |
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Moderator
Joined: Nov. 2003
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Dear Ilewella,
It is important to inform your doctor anytime you experience side effects from the meds you are taking.
Susanne
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| Ryan |
04-03-2004 @ 8:58 AM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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For me, trusting my then internist and taking 10mg Celexa has been the worst decision of my entire life. It has ruined my life totally. I've considered suing the quack that prescribed it, even though that won't help now. Essentially, DRUGS DON'T WORK.
While taking it (10mg at bedtime), I slept no more than 4 hours a night. For 26.5 years before then, I slept a solid 8-9 hours each night and felt great when waking up. It also caused me to have a panic attack (the last one was 2 years ago and lasted for 30 mins) that was far more intense than when my dad died and lasted all night. Additionally, It TOTALLY killed my appetite -- I could shove down no more than a orange and a sandwich even while exercising strenuously. After that worst week of my life, I stopped taking it, and over the next three weeks got my appetite back slowly.
I then tried BuSpar, with a lighter version of the same effects. Then 5mg dose didn;t do too much additional damage, but the 10mg dose 2x a day caused constant diarrhea.
Since November 7 when I took that poison called Celexa, I have slept soundly for 8 hours. Since I need 7+ hours of quality sleep to function best, I now have chronic pain, find it harder to concentrate, sometimes have blurred vision, have high blood pressure and temperature and generally increased metabolism that I can't keep up with. I also wake up frequenly with nasal congestion, get sick more often, and get sore from mild exercise now. I don't have the stamina I once had to work the long hours sometimes needed for my job as a software engineer, and am constantly thirsty. My glucose level was 97 before Celexa destroyed my metabolism.
Since I've already poisoned my brain with one SSRI, I agreed to try taking drops of zoloft concentrate -- 2 drops (2mg total dose) to start.
I laugh at (because there's nothing else to do about it) the "well-tolerated" side-effect promise of SSRIs. Doctors say it takes 3 weeks for Celexa to work, but I barely survived one week on it.
From my experience, the FDA is correct -- SSRIs ARE NOT CANDY, and only people who are considering suicide should consider drugssince thet cause MANY, MANY more problems than they solve.
I'm going to ask a doctor this week for some Ativan or Xanax to help me sleep since it worked before, and if they refuse to supply it I will buy it over the internet.
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| squelch |
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04-13-2004 @ 5:41 PM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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Ryan,
I hear your frustration. I've been on a shopping list of meds (mostly 1 at a time), and have found the Psych/MD community pretty unprofessional in "setting expectations". I'm hoping that by being part of this group, maybe we'll find a way to make meds less of a roulette experience.
For example, on this site they have a depression test. I've done them before, and will ask the moderator what outcomes the test produces - I'm expecting it will be like "duh", you're depressed. What would be more helpful is if it generated some kind of matrix that might guide me and others to choose my next (and hopefully last med) with some kind of "science".
Today, despite all the hooey about HMO's wanting "outcomes" to be objective, the Psych community still does the "hmm, very intersting - let's try Prozac". If I did my job that way I'd get busted hard. (I'm in technology, so it would be like my saying "hmm, very interesting, let's implement SAP's Software")
My "patient" would want to know WHY I picked "Product X", vs. "Y", and exactly what the cost/benefit risk/reward and timeline was.
If I failed to answer that I'd be ejected out of there...
.. at lightspeed.
Shouldn't we, the medical consumer with a deadly disease have the same "rights"?
Hang in there,
D
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| Ryan |
04-14-2004 @ 7:48 PM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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I'm a software engineer as well - and when a prodcut I was maintaining was seriously deficient (it crashed routinely and uptime % was terrible), I then had to justify why the new approach was better.
Physicians to some degree (and to a large degree Psychiatrists) don't understand this model. The quack (she obviously didn't know SSRIs are very dangerous, and thus obviously is not qualified to prescribe such things) who told me to take it gave me the prescription and walked out of the room without the informed consent we both agree about.
You are exactly correct -- the medical industry must change their paradigm from "patient" to "health care consumer". As in any market, sometimes the consumer needs more or less advice about their "purchase".
A good article is "The emporeror's new drugs" - shows the cognitive dissonance exhibited by psychiatrists. What the industry deperately needs, but won't get since its not profitable (same as in the computer industry: companies hate buying IDEs because they aren't immediately profitable) is a drug or test that can measure the level of serotonin and/or show which drugs will work with one's individual brain.
until then, it's kust a very painful ****shoot. I had mostly moderate anxiety rather than depression before drugs, now my anxiety is severe and I have some depression symptoms. I also feel depressed and betrayed by someone I trusted; my doctor. I did as I was raised to do: tell the whole truth to my doctor, and unfortunately she mis-used that knowledge leaving me what now seems like permanently damaged: I hurt after slight to moderate exercise 2 or 3 times a week, where as before the poison started I could work 10 or 12 hours if necessary or workout strenuously and sleep soundly. Now I take ativan to sleep (which is going to be a fight to get more of) and since the damage has already been done, I am now slowly stepping up my dose of zoloft. In many ways, life is harder now after so-called "anti-depressants".
To anyone who is reading this to investigate drugs, DON'T take them. It's not worth ruining your life.
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| Susanne, Support Specialist |
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04-14-2004 @ 8:08 PM |
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Moderator
Joined: Nov. 2003
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Hello Ryan,
It is true that medication does not work for everyone. To tell people that all medication is bad and should not be taken is generalizing. There are many different treatment options available for depression. People should be treated on an individual basis through discussion with their Doctor.
Susanne
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| Ryan |
04-15-2004 @ 9:54 PM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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I think the message is one of medication as a LAST RESORT. The drug companies are interested in as much profit as possible, and they give doctors enough incentive to give these drugs out like candy. The problem is that these are SERIOUS DRUGS with serious , and possibly (like in my case) chronic side effects. If doctors told people who HAD (which I did before taking this poison) mild to moderate symptoms that do not interfere physically, then therapy is the ONLY answer. The problem is that the doctors and rug companies push their poison on people that don't really need it.
Being a medical doctor, they are trained to think that drugs are the answer. WRONG. My message is not that all drugs are wrong -- but that if FULL DISCLOSURE about the awful side effects was given to patients before being dispensed, most would do as I do and say no.
In schools, there are two ad campaigns -- "Just say no" and the one that uses a frying pan and egg ("This is your brain on drugs"). Well, just say no to drugs until you've tried therapy, and I could also say "This is my brain on anti-depressants: fried"
Therefore, it's powerful stuff -- it might do some good, and since I've already been poisoned, I will continue to try to get that good, even though I'll probably never retain the level of functioning I once had -- but you have to go thru hell to get there.
I'm currently trying zoloft, but will probably live a painful life (both physically and emtionally) since being damaged. The sad truth is that the researchers don't really know enough to mess around yet -- the whole "chemical imbalance" thing is someone's best guess. Well, they guessed wrong with me, and now I am justifiably angry at what my former internist and Forest Labs have taken from me, probably forever.
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| glass half full |
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04-18-2004 @ 2:45 AM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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I agree with susanne, one cannot make a blanket generalization about such highly individualistic matters. and doctors aren't miracle workers, you have to explore a few avenues to see what works for you.
I'm a week and a half into a 20mg celexa program, and have been experiencing what seems to be common side effects. dizziness, some nausea, slight loss of appetite - I'm told most of these should subside by week two-three - correct, anyone?
the most er, "interesting" side effect that I've experienced is difficulty in reaching orgasm during sex. it's as if a ceiling or limit has been established wherein it's difficult to break through. anyone else?
of course, my girlfriend doesn't complain much, as it's led to some marathon sessions lately... always a sunny side, isn't there? 
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| glass half full |
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04-25-2004 @ 2:13 AM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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does anyone know of any alcohol-related side effects? aside from diminishing the effectiveness of the drug, that is. I mean side effects that are heightened or accelerated when consuming alcohol.
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| llewella |
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04-29-2004 @ 4:58 AM |
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Joined: Feb. 2004
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Well, it's been a bit since I've been on and for the most part the side effects have gone. I still have insmonia and trouble concentrating, but I had those before I went on the meds.
I'm sorry if Celexa didn't work for you. It saved my life...I was very suicidal before I started taking it.
Saying to stay off meds is plain wrong. Just because it didn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for someone else...and save them. Why scare people off meds that could have the potential of saving lives? Should they have to suffer because of someone's opinion?
If you want to take meds take them. If not don't. Everyone is an individual and has the right to make up their own minds.
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| llewella |
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04-29-2004 @ 5:00 AM |
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Joined: Feb. 2004
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I was told not to drink any alcohol while taking Celexa. I kinda miss it. It's been 2 months since I had any. I got non-alcoholic beer and it tastes pretty good.
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| chuggie |
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04-29-2004 @ 11:28 PM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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I don't know about any of you, but I check out the RX online at WebMD and PDR BEFORE I take it. If I am seriously concerned about the side effects, I will call my doctor and ask about them.
As for Celexa, I took only one pill, don't know the dose, and became deathly ill. I could not get out of bed for 2 days except to throw up or have diahrea. I have never experienced anything like it in my life.
The reason I didn't know about the side effects of Celexa was because I was hospitalized at the time. I was sucidal and in no shape to question the doctor. I refused to take any more of Celexa and the doctor suggested that what happened to me was the "flu" and not the drug. I don't know if that is true or not, but I'm not going to even try to find out. 
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| chuggie |
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04-29-2004 @ 11:55 PM |
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Joined: Apr. 2004
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P.S. I completly agree with you llewella. Whether or not to take a drug is an individuals own decision. In my case, they have saved my life. Looking back, I now recognize that, as a child, I was depressed and also suffered from SAD's. I attempted suicide at 17, spent 2 months in a mental hospital, had "shock" treatments, etc. They were brutal in their treatment back in those days, the early 60's.
Until that point I had not been treated or diagnoised as being "depressed" even though the signs were always there. I have learned by my own experiences of going "drug free" that they are a necessity in my life. I know I have a chemical imbalance just as a diabetic has an imbalance. The are many who become depressed and get over it. But there are also many more for whom drugs are the answer.
Also, I've never seen a drug that doesn't have a "No alcohol" warning on it. The drugs you are taking alters your chemistry as does alcohol. It is never a good idea to mix the two.
I'll shut up now, honest. 
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| Ryan |
04-29-2004 @ 11:59 PM |
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Member
Joined: Apr. 2004
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llewella,
I'm glad it worked for you. It must be one of those things where it reverses your depressive state -- if you have depression, it cures it, and and if you don't, you get it. :-(
I'm glad that chuggie posted his story, which is very similar to mine. Celexa, BuSpar, and Zoloft have given me more pain and suffering than I ever had before, and that has made me question how much I have left other than my job. Before, I had a good job and good physical health, and now it's mostly just the job.
I re-iterate my thesis objectively: since each person's brain is different, the psychiatrists can't predict how such drugs will react almost at all. Therefore, it's a gamble, assuming you're not suicidal so it's doesn't matter if the drugs disable you. A good rule in gambling is to know how much you can afford to lose, and it has been proven on this message board as well as by the FDA in their recent overdue warning that for SOME people they lose big.
Rules of thumb:
1) Be a health care consumer -- do the risk benefit analysis yourself, since you are the one it affects.
2) Doctors have a strong cognitive dissonance about their precious psychotropic drugs, when they are the ones with the delusions...if you have strong adverse symptoms like chuggie and I did, STOP TAKING IT. Psychiatrists are notoriously difficult to contact, and when the drug is really messing you up, you really have to keep after them to reduce/eliminate the dosage.
3) If a drugs theoretically "works", but has such a high mountain of side effects to overcome that they overshadow the benefits of the drug, then the drug really isn't effective.
I work in the computer software (Information Technology) business. If any part of the system fails (web server, application server, database, computer network equipment [router(s)]), then the user complains that the application has failed.
The same goes for drugs -- it doesn't matter if the drugs primary effects are not potent enough or if it causes too many side effects to overshadow any benefits the drugs might actually have -- these both mean that from a holistic view the drug doesn't work.
BTW, I have stopped (what are for me poisonous) SSRIs and now am weaning off Ativan. I asked my very compassionate primary care doctor for more Ativan after discussing the risk/benefit analysis. For me, it provides the greatest relief from my treatable symptoms with the smallest side effects (although they are there). The psychiatrists might think this is wrong, but I've tried all of their stuff -- Celexa, Zoloft, Trazodone, Ambien, BuSpar and so now I'm going to do it my way. I gave them a fair shot, and they more than missed. It's my turn now.
Good luck to anyone trying medication -- I sincerely hope the gamble pays off for as it apparently did for llewella.
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Discussion Topic: Celexa side effects
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