Question:
I used this group quite a bit a couple of years ago when I was taking Paxil for PPD. I quit taking it when I became pregnant last spring. My baby is now 8 weeks old and I feel the depression coming back. I have a different dr. this time and because I didn’t care for the side effects of Paxil he has recommended Celexa. I start taking 10 mg. today and then go to 20 mg. next week. He squeezed me in so I didn’t take the time to really ask questions about side effects, ets. He said it was very similar to Paxil and was less likely to cause weight gain. Are there any side effects I should know about? I plan to ask the pharmacist when I pick up the prescription today, but, as I found out when I began taking the Paxil, they do not have real experience to relay, they just read off the sheet. Which isn’t always complete. Thanks, Tammy
Response:
> I used this group quite a bit a couple of years ago when I was taking > Paxil for PPD. I quit taking it when I became pregnant last spring. My > baby is now 8 weeks old and I feel the depression coming back. I have a > different dr. this time and because I didn’t care for the side effects > of Paxil he has recommended Celexa. I start taking 10 mg. today and > then go to 20 mg. next week. He squeezed me in so I didn’t take the > time to really ask questions about side effects, ets. He said it was > very similar to Paxil and was less likely to cause weight gain. Are > there any side effects I should know about?
I started with 40mg right from the beginning and therefore had almost all the documented side effects: Sleeplessness (almost no sleep for 3 nights), nausea (very bad, for a week or so), constipation, dry mouth, reduced appetite, maybe I forgot one or two. I felt absolutely *sick* for the first week. I did not experience any sexual side effects and my appetite is now (after the nausea disappeared) about the same as before taking Citalopram. If you start slowly with 10mg (my 40mg were by mistake) your experience should be *a lot* better. Nevertheless after 1 week everything got better, the only thing remaining was (and is) the dry mouth, even after over a month now. If you have problems for the first one or two weeks, simply wait — you will feel a lot better soon. HTH /ralph
Response:
> I used this group quite a bit a couple of years ago when I was taking > Paxil for PPD. I quit taking it when I became pregnant last spring. My > baby is now 8 weeks old and I feel the depression coming back. I have a > different dr. this time and because I didn’t care for the side effects > of Paxil he has recommended Celexa. I start taking 10 mg. today and > then go to 20 mg. next week. He squeezed me in so I didn’t take the > time to really ask questions about side effects, ets. He said it was > very similar to Paxil and was less likely to cause weight gain. Are > there any side effects I should know about? I plan to ask the > pharmacist when I pick up the prescription today, but, as I found out > when I began taking the Paxil, they do not have real experience to > relay, they just read off the sheet. Which isn’t always complete. > Thanks, > Tammy
Seems to be a very common question these days… I guess Celexa is getting prescribed a lot, but not many drs seem to prepare people for the side effects. The answer is yes, it is common to experience side effects in the first few weeks of taking Celexa. The side effects you might experience are quite varied, and include disruptions to appetite, sleep and libido. A feeling of spaciness/drowsiness is common. Headaches and visual disruption also happen a lot. It can increase anxiety levels for a while. I got all of these and more, though others seem to escape with none. Whatever you experience should pass within 2 weeks, though more vivid dreams and a loss of libido can be more long lasting. You can probably get more info and support from the celexa group at www.egroups.com (which has now been taken over by Yahoo! I think). HTH… Celexa can be difficult for the first week or two, but it does get better and most people seem to find it very helpful. Simon — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Response:
Tammy, I take Celexa, 30 mg, no obvious side effects; it *may* be slightly helping me with depression [been on it 3 weeks now, so maybe need a little more time]. Good luck. John age 63 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I used this group quite a bit a couple of years ago when I was taking > Paxil for PPD. I quit taking it when I became pregnant last spring. My > baby is now 8 weeks old and I feel the depression coming back. I have a > different dr. this time and because I didn’t care for the side effects > of Paxil he has recommended Celexa. I start taking 10 mg. today and > then go to 20 mg. next week. He squeezed me in so I didn’t take the > time to really ask questions about side effects, ets. He said it was > very similar to Paxil and was less likely to cause weight gain. Are > there any side effects I should know about? I plan to ask the > pharmacist when I pick up the prescription today, but, as I found out > when I began taking the Paxil, they do not have real experience to > relay, they just read off the sheet. Which isn’t always complete. > Thanks, > Tammy
Response:
Thanks to everyone who replied. I picked it up today and the pharmacist did as predicted and told me only what is on the fact sheet they hand out. Wish me luck because I don’t have the energy to switch from drug to drug. Does anyone know what the average dose is? Tammy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I used this group quite a bit a couple of years ago when I was taking > Paxil for PPD. I quit taking it when I became pregnant last spring. My > baby is now 8 weeks old and I feel the depression coming back. I have a > different dr. this time and because I didn’t care for the side effects > of Paxil he has recommended Celexa. I start taking 10 mg. today and > then go to 20 mg. next week. He squeezed me in so I didn’t take the > time to really ask questions about side effects, ets. He said it was > very similar to Paxil and was less likely to cause weight gain. Are > there any side effects I should know about? I plan to ask the > pharmacist when I pick up the prescription today, but, as I found out > when I began taking the Paxil, they do not have real experience to > relay, they just read off the sheet. Which isn’t always complete. > Thanks, > Tammy
Response:
I took celexa for two months. I had no side effects which was great. My biggest problem with all of the AD’s I’ve tried is they put me to sleep. Celexa actually gave me the boost I needed to get the daily things in life done. I decided to quit taking all my meds in Dec. I felt my mood swings were gettting worse and my thinking cloudy. I told my pdoc I only wanted something for my mood disorder. I’ve given up trying to treat my depression. I now take lithium, and it took me a month to even get the script filled. Just tired of the drugs. I hope the celexa Connie
Response:
> Thanks to everyone who replied. I picked it up today and the pharmacist did > as predicted and told me only what is on the fact sheet they hand out. Wish > me luck because I don’t have the energy to switch from drug to drug. Does > anyone know what the average dose is?
My doctor said she normally lets patients try 20mg. If that does not work after 14 days she increases dose to 30mg (one and a half tablets) for 2 weeks, if that still is not enough 40mg. For many people 20mg seems to be right. Lower doses do have less side effects. /ralph — . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Response:
> 40mg starting out? Wow, I bet that was a ride. Glad you’re feeling > better. Celexa does work well though.
I took the prescription to the chemist — and they put a sticker on the package saying "2 per day". My doctor checked in her computer and is sure that she did not make any mistake. I just hope that they don’t do that with really dangerous meds (like heart meds for old people). Might have been a problem of the small font of the printer or lack of concentration. Anyway, I like the stuff a lot and even had a very strong euphoric "high" during the second week. I have never taken Ecstasy, but I can imagine it is somewhat similar ; ) /ralph — . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Response:
> 40mg starting out? Wow, I bet that was a ride. Glad you’re feeling > better. Celexa does work well though. WOW! I take as little as 10mg daily (20mg cut in half) That’s enough to get rid of all depression… Then it throws me into mania — So I take 300mg of Lithium to stabilize this.. Take Care!
Response:
Tammy: I have been taking Celexa for about one year now. Actually, started out on 5 mg. and VERY gradually worked up to 40 mg. At first, there were some side effects (upset stomach, diarrhea, yawning, feelings of being speeded up). Also, I joined Weight Watchers in July and have lost almost 30 lbs. This was due in no small part to feeling so much better on the Celexa. For the first time in many years, I have very little depression (almost none), no anxiety, and can enjoy life like never before. It took about 4 months to really feel good. Hope this helps. I love this medication. Carole – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Thanks to everyone who replied. I picked it up today and the pharmacist did > as predicted and told me only what is on the fact sheet they hand out. Wish > me luck because I don’t have the energy to switch from drug to drug. Does > anyone know what the average dose is? > My doctor said she normally lets patients try 20mg. If that does not > work after 14 days she increases dose to 30mg (one and a half tablets) > for 2 weeks, if that still is not enough 40mg. For many people 20mg > seems to be right. Lower doses do have less side effects. > /ralph > — > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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