Celexa side effects

I've been trying to cut down on my celexa ( although i take the generic citalopram 40 mg) I found that if i came off it too quickly without decreasing the dose in stages (i had tried cutting down to 20mg) my head would become extremely fuzzy, whenever i turned my head or moved it it would feel all tingly and disoriented. I also found it was very hard to concentrate. now that I'm gradually getting off of it i notice that my dreams are very real and vivid and i can no longer tell my dreams from reality. I wake up confused not knowing where or who i am until reality sets in. I was hoping to get off citalopram completely due to the fact that it is not recommended to use when you are considering becoming pregnant due to the impact on the fetus. however, i found that without it i'm very spacey and find it hard to concentrate. I don't know if thats another side effector if thats my anxiety coming back from not taking it...

I am only taking 5mg of celexa and I have had a hard time having an orgasm. I am a 41 year old woman who didn't have any trouble with this before I started on the drug.

Anyone coming off of Celexa feel free to email me. I have been off for 4 or 5 days now and I don't have enough time to write down what I am going thru.
Bad dizziness/wavy when I turn my head.. clenching teeth..my right arm is aching.. no idea why or if it has anything to do with this...
moody...feeling I can cry and have.. at almost anytime.. headaches behinf the eyes..
This is hard..not to mention no libido whatsoever...
help?

I have been on celexa for 3 months now and I love it. i feel so much better and think so clearly. My family is happier and my bouts of depression are very rare. I have not gained any weight or have any sexual side effects. I am on 40 mg. I do however have to take a sleep aid to help me at night.

Has anyone gotten pregnant while taking Celexa? Will it affect the baby and will I have to stop using Celexa?

Does anyone know how long does the sexual side effects of Celexa wear off after I stop taking it.

I have been on Celexa about 2 yrs now I am having a hard time dealing with the sexual side effects...I have no problem wanting sex...I am having a problem reaching orgasm...If I had known that this would be a real issue and how serious it is I would have never taken the drug...Please warn all friends and family about the serious sexual side effects of Celexa...I have little to no feeling in my clitoral area...It is so frustrating to me and my partner

anxious thoughts and panic from side effects

After 8 months, had to switch from Lexapro to Celexa because of the cost. Hoping it will work just as well.

However, terrible and constant headache, even though switching from almost same drug. Some tooth grinding, too.

Had this headache when beginning Lexapro, and it went away after about 3 weeks. Don't know why it would begin again with the Celexa...and the tooth grinding, geez.

I've only taken (1) celexa that my doc prescribed to me for panic disorder and I already feel exhausted. I had the worst panic attack I have ever had after 30 minutes of taking it. I started yawning like crazy, I became very spaced out and had to go to the bathroom. I had way more energy when I woke up this morning. I'm not taking another one. I called my local nutrition store. They had good suggestions. I'll go see what my alternatives are...something more natural.

I have been on celexa for 4 days I know its not a long enough time for the meds to "kick In" but i am terrified and waiting for something bad to happen. I have struggled with terrible panic attacks since my pregnancy in o6-07 and they have lingered on and gotten worse. I was ok and happy to finally take the initiative to get better, I don't like even taking Tylenol so tis is a big deal for me. I was prescribed 10mg and have been only taking 5 of the 10 to wean myself into this drug.. I wish i could know what to expect and all i feel is nauseous, weird and shaky and last night i couldn't fall back to sleep i felt a lil dizzy is this normal?? I hope i don't have any vision loss also!

I have been on Celexa (citalopram) for about 13 months. I took it at night, starting with 10mg and over time worked up to 60mg which is the max. dose. My doctor switched me to Lexapro and then Cymbalta to see if they worked better, but eventually I ended up back on Celexa, that seemed to be best. I did gain about 35 pounds on it, though and was still going, along with absolutely NO sex drive whatsoever. When my husband could finally coax me into it, I couldn't orgasm at all. I finally begged him to even stop trying, the attempts seemed to annoy me. This wasn't me, so I slowly tried weaning off of it. First down to 40, then 20, then 10.

so here's my question: I've been completely off of it for 3 days now and I'm still feeling dizzy, lightheaded, have indigestion, headaches, etc. The other times I was off of it, I went right on another med, so I didn't seem to notice the side effects. Anyone who has been taken off of Celexa, PLEASE respond and let me know how long these awful effects last? I have a 2 year old I have to care for and she doesn't understand why mommy feels "woozy" all the time.

Horrible headaches. Started with 10 mg went up to 30 after six weeks. Had a headache every day. Went to a neurologist MRI shows multiple white spots of the brain. Am cutting down the celexa am now down to 5 mg every other day. I will have to repeat MRI. Headaches are diminishing.

I was prescribed Celexa for stress/anxiety. I have 3 kids, a husband, and a job as you can imagine life for me is hectic. Before being prescribed Celexa I was not sleeping, having panic attacks, crying on a daily basis, and suffered from mood swings. Since being on the medication, I finally slept for 7 hrs. straight., I haven't not cried, or felt worried. I am no longer irritable and I feel that Celexa was a good choice so far, for me. I must say I do feel a lot more sluggish/drowsy than usual, but I assume that will go away over time, however it is one of the side effects. I believe you have to research any medication that you are prescribed and speak to your physician to choose your best option.

i started on xanax .25mg for anxiety and stress for 1-week then i was given xanax xr 5mg and celexa 20mg 1/2 for 6 days, thereafter 20mg and let me tell you going to the 20mg i felt like a zombie, the next morning jittering, very sleepy and cranky, since this is the first time on this med maybe thats my body reacting, so i took again the next night, very nausea, jittery, and sweaty, between my husband and i i went back to 10mg. of celexa at nite, i continue to take xanax xr 5mg in the morning, along with god, the angels and family friends doctors and myself i know i'll get through this and became the person i once was. oh yeah forgot to mention along with this i have an impacted wisdom tooth (left). so everyone out there who is started or who has been through this have faith and take it one step at a time and life will get better. please post any comments!!!!

its the second day and i feel sick, but coping well, ive got valium to help which seems to help, ive been getting a dry mouth and headaches and feel really run down. body feels weird but i seem not to be worrying at all already, before i started taking it i had very high anxiety but no depression, i hope the side effects go away soon doc said with in a week or two, im only taking a half a tablet then when the side effects wear off ill go to full

I was prescribed this in addition to my wellbutrin to combat some insomnia and it worked. It was a great sleep aid. The only problem was that I completely lost the ability to orgasm. Im in my early twenties and I'm very sexually active, so this was VERY frustrating to me. It didn't matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't orgasm, not even by masturbating. I was also only taking half a pill at bedtime, so I was shocked that it could be this powerful. My doctor tried giving me some samples of cialis (he said it works in about 40% of women) but that didn't help at all. After just 3 weeks or so, I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't worth the extra half hour of sleep, because I was so on edge from not being able to have an orgasm. I also had some heartburn in the last week or so I was taking it, which I haven't had since I had a pre-ulcerous stomach lining almost a year ago.

Can celexa be a contributor to premature ovarian failure in a 35 year old woman who has been on it for several years?

I've been on Celexa for a few years now. I have very mixed feelings about the drug. I experience bouts of dizziness, brief periods of blurred vision, a tendency to fog out, I'm tired more often than I should be. I have a feeling of being numbed. However before celexa I had terrible insomnia, to the point where couldn't work. Tears were pretty much a daily experience. I've had a lot of therapy in the last couple of years or so and I think it's time to start weaning myself of the drug and see if I can face life without it. Stay tuned...

Celexa is the best sleeping pill ever! However, it causes me to have very vivid dreams, I wake up very anxious and fearful of my surroundings. Once awake, it takes me 15-30 minutes to realize that it was just a dream and not reality,

Mike

HI I AM 37 YEARS OLD AND 1 WEEK AGO I WENT TO THE DR FOR HEADACHES EVERY DAY, AND MY DR TOLD ME IT HAD TO BE DUE TO STRESS, BECAUSE MY BLOOD TEST AND PAP SMERE CAME BACK NORMAL AND I WAS PERFECTLY HEALTHY. SHE PRESCRIBED CELEXA AND SAID THIS SHOULD HELP. ALL OF A SUDDEN I HAVE NO SEX DRIVE, HEADACHES, NAUSEA, DIZZY, LOSS OF APPETITE, SHORT OF BREATH, MOUTH IS DRY, VERY EMOTIONAL, MY WHOLE BODY ACHES. IM GOING TO THE DR. AND HAVING HER TAKE ME OFF I WOULD RATHER JUST HAVE THE HEADACHES. DOES ANY ONE ELS HAVE THESE SYMPTOMS?????

Just discontinued usage of Celexa for anti-anxiety treatment. Dr. is putting me on different meds due to the side effects I experienced. I was on 20mg, and it put my brain in a fog about 5 hours after taking it (not a good place to be for an engineer...). I mean I was just STONED for the next hour, staring into space! I tried to take 10mg, but it couldn't calm me down enough. Taking it at night didn't help either, still felt like I was on the ceiling the next day. Tried to take it every other day, but wound up really paranoid the days I didn't take it. It was like living in a Monty Python sketch where I felt like some giant foot was going to come stomp me into the ground at any minute.

I really need a med that will work quickly and effectively in the morning, and diminishes as the day goes on. Maybe I'll have better luck with something else, this one was too weak in the morning, too strong in the afternoon, withdrawal too terrifying. I didn't experience any other side effects.

I HAVE THESE WEIRDS FEELINGS I CANT EXPLAIN IM ON CITAPROLAM BUT I HAD THEM EVEN WHEN I WAS ON OTHER MEDICINE I THINK IT WAS LEXAPRO.BUT EVERY SO OFTEN I GET THESE FEELINGS THOUGHT THE DAY AND I CANT EXPLAIN IT ITS LIKE I WISH THE DR COULD RECORD HOW IM FEELING WHEN I GET IT.I GET HOT THROUGHOUT MY BODY KINDA LIGHT HEADED AND NERVOUS AND FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO TAKE A CRAP SOMETIMES THEN IT'LL GO AWAY IT LASTS A COUPLE MINS..THEN ILL GET IT AGAIN AFTER A WHILE..AND IT JUST COMES ALLA SUDDEN..LIKE I DON'T GET IT EVERYDAY IT COMES OUT OF THE BLUE..IM SCARED AND I HATE THIS IT MAKES ME NERVOUS AND I HATE HAVING THESE FEELINGS I WISH I COULD BE NORMAL.IF SOME ONE CAN HELP OR RELATE EMAIL ME BACK AT ******
THANK YOU '-/

i have been on celexa 60 mg . i don't believe that it helps. well my doctor put me on it for depression and anxiety because i have chronic urticaria which is a unknown allergy which causes me to have chronic hives and severe swelling of the hands, feet,fingers etc.my doctor believes that it is caused by stress and if she treat the stress i shouldn't brake out. but she's wrong. Well to get to the point i have been on celexa for about 4 months now. i still brake out with the hives that caused me to get back on the worst drug ever prednisone. but since i've been on celexa i suffer with nervousness, night sweats, shaking,blurriness, and it makes me tired and makes me feel like I'm going crazy. i just stopped taking celexa because i think it is a waste of time and it just gives my doctor something to believe that she has cured my problems with the hives well shes wrong. i have seen over a dozen different doctors and they all told me that they will never find out what is causing me to brake out. but this doctor i have now is determined to prescribe me celexa that does solve any of my problems. celexa sucks

I have been on it for a lil over a week now for anxiety

The 1st day I had a headache I usually never ever get headaches!!
I still have dry mouth
very tired & also YAWNING attacks sounds funny but I'm dead serious It lasts for maybe an hr once in the morn & also once in the late afternoon I'll yawn like 20-30x my jaw even gets tired but I still feel like I have to yawn more :o

don't know if I'll stay on it I'm hoping the longer I'm on the better the S/E's will get?? I'm on 10mg right now it does seem to be helping somewhat for the anxiety though so we'll see?

We laugh about it now, but it was horrible at the time!! My husband was prescribed Celexa for mild depression he was having a few years ago. When they say "may cause sexual side effects' they werent kidding!! Forgive me for being graphic, but there is hardly a better way to describe this... He had no problems becoming aroused and performing. But it was absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for him to orgasm! We could have intercourse for 2 hours straight and nothing would happen! He said he'd feel like he was going to climax at any moment... right on the edge... and right at that moment, he'd lose it! Like someone popped a balloon. So he'd have to start over again and build himself back up, only for it to happen again! It got so bad that he told his doctor he had to stop it! he put him on Wellbutrin instead which was MUCH better!!!

I just started Celexa 2 weeks ago, and so far it is making me very tired. I am taking it for pms symptoms like irritability and anxiety. The first night I took celexa, it made me very sick. I had terrible diarrhea, I was sweating, extremely dizzy, and finally spent about 2 hours vomitting. My doctor then said to take only 1/2 of a pill (10mg) for 3 days with food, and then take the whole pill (20mg) after several days if I can tolerate the 10mg. So now I have been taking the 20mg at night for about 2 weeks, and I haven't felt anything different except that I'm extremely tired all the time. I could literally sleep for 16 hours a day if I could. I usually run in the mornings, but I am too tired for any exercise. I just have no energy, Will this get any better? If I don't get my energy back in the next couple weeks, I am going to stop taking it.

I had nausea at first, but after that subsided, the depression got better. It was the first drug that actually worked for my depression.

I still feel down now and then, but the Celexa really helped me a lot.

I have Bipolar Type II, since I was 12. I'm 52 now. Unmedicated I'm a Rapid Cycler with psychotic depression. I was diagnosed at age 40, after worse and worse symptoms. So I have been on meds since - many different "cocktails" some effective and some not so effective.
My doc added Celexa to the mix a few years ago. It seemed to work well for the depression part of the bipolar, but I had bad ringing in my ears and incredible cravings for carbs. I got used to the ringing, but was very frustrated with the appetite out of control - so guilty!
Then I went on Wellbutrin and it was fantastic. Weaned myself (slow decrease in dosage over a month or so) and my appetite returned to normal so I was very happy.
Those of you who are starting it - don't judge the immediate symptoms - it takes a few weeks for it to settle into your system and be effective.
Those of you who are quitting - do it slowly or you'll have bad symptoms. It's OK to break the pills in half.

I was prescribed this drug and have been taking it for 3 days now. I am taking 20mg and the first time I took it I had the worse panic attack in my life. Second time I took the med I had a a lot of anxiety but then that went away. A while later I felt happy. I was in a really good mod a work but I had some chest pain the lasted all day. then when I got home the pain left for a while. Shortly after eating, the anxiety came back bad. I took some Ativan and the didn't do a thing at all. Which I thought was scary because it usually helps in a few minutes. So it really seemed like I was having a heart attack but I just ended up falling asleep. Nothing happened. The next morning I felt good and decided to take it a third time and I had all the same symptoms I had last night and the Ativan made me fall asleep this time.

I just started Celexa yesterday 20 mg.. i experienced nausea, i felt like i was "Tripping out". but the worst side effect is shortness of breath!! has anyone else experienced this?? I'm not sure if i should take it again?

I've been taking 20 mgs of Celexa for a month now, and have been having trouble sleeping and have leg cramps and muscle twitches, and headaches. i find it hard to get to sleep and stay asleep. i have constant cramps in my calves. food has been tasting really good. i feel like my sense of taste has been heightened. anyone else have these effects? do they go away?

so I had been taking Citalopram (Celexa) for about 4 and half weeks before my anxiety completely subsided; it obviously worked! hooray right? no. like clockwork, after the drug had made itself obvious in my bloodstream, I began getting migraines with aura. I've gotten these migraines since I was about 14, but they have slowly gotten less intense and now I barely get 2 a year. which
I can more than live with. once I got THREE migraines in a week and a half (within my 5-6th week of Celexa,) I started tapering off. I went from 20mg to 10mg. then after a week of 10mg, I cut it to 5mg. about 3 days into my 5mg intake, I got another migraine. that was FOUR. four in like 4 weeks. that never happened even at my worst point in adolescence. I stopped cold turkey from Celexa at that point. I considered it safe because I had only taken the damned drug for 6 weeks and still tapered off for a week and a half. anyway, the very next day I got my FIFTH aura migraine. either that or the fourth one never quite went away. anyway, the point is, I can think of nothing else in my life that had changed drastically to bring my migraines back but going on Celexa. has anyone else had this problem? I'm totally at a loss. I have found one article about migraines being triggered by Citalopram, but it's part of a journal of neurology and I'd have to pay 35 bucks to read it... I just need some reassurance. this is definitely the worst month of my entire life. I'd avoid saris. try natural/alternative solutions to anxiety/depression. that's what I'm tackling now.

Its my 4th day on Celexa, and not feeling very good, I tried to take it at night but still feeling nauseous and feel very spaced out during the day. I also noticed that I have lower energy that usual when it comes to expressing emotions or taking interest in things. The only things I can really do is read, at times hard to concentrate, or i go to bed right away because i feel like i have no energy or interest to do anything else. Also have been having stomach cramps.

I was prescribed this drug earlier this week as I suffer with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) I told my new doctor that I've tried other antidepressants for my disorder and found them to either make myn anxiety worse or I get nauseous. He told me to take 10 mgs. to start and take that for a week and then increase the dose to 20 mgs. The first day night I took this drug I awoke at 4 am wanting to climb the walls. My anxiety was so bad I couldn't take it. I took 15 mgs. Valium but it did nothing for me. I took every herbal thing I had in my cabinet in hopes of getting rid of the horrible anxiety.....it was unbearable and I was on the verge of panic. I will NEVER take another one of these pills. I am so tired of doctors who write prescriptions without a care as to how it is going to affect their patient. It's not them that has to deal with the side effects. And I was told to continue taking the drug as the side effect will go away. He's nuts. I can't function with anxiety that was that bad. I give up!

nightmares
no sex drive
can't climax
weight gain
crave sweets and junk food
extremely tired
sleep all the time
sweat especially at night
in a fog/spacey
can't focus

been on Celexa for 3 months now. started at 20 mg now at 40
no more morning axaity, feel happy more often, but with all the side effects I don't think it's worth it. my doctor is now weaning me off it. going to try Wellbutrin next.

I have been on Celexa for a little over a week for panic attacks/anxiety. The first 2 days I took it I felt like I was in a dream, light headed, tingly, pretty much just intensifying my problems in the first place so I stopped taking Celexa for a few days.. then I spoke with my doctor and she said to try taking it at night instead of the morning. So I began taking Celexa at bedtime. I didn't have much side effects except for a little trouble sleeping, but I actually was starting to feel "better", for about 4 days I was feeling really well and resuming normal activities. Then out of nowhere on that 4th day in the evening I got a really bad panic attack, and for the past 3 days since I've been feeling high anxiety and panic again. I don't understand, because I really felt like I was getting better. I told my doctor what has been happening and all she said was that its normal to have set backs and to continue the Celexa. I'm also taking Ativan to help control the anxiety until the Celexa "kicks in", but in the past few days nothing has been seeming to help. Has anyone experienced this? Is it because I've only been on Celexa for a week? I feel like I am going crazy being back in this lightheaded fog.

I have experienced burning sensations from Celexa.

I have been on Celexa for 4 months now. At first, I lost about 6-8lbs. But just a few weeks ago I began to put on weight fast. I noticed that my appetite was out of control. I was informed by my doctor that such a low dosage (20mg) wouldn't cause such a reaction. But unfortunately I have gained about 15lbs in a matter of 3-4 weeks. I exercise regularly, but find that I barely have the energy to get thought the workouts, and when I get home, all I want to do is eat. Does anybody know how to lose weight while being on Celexa?

Question: I took celexa 3 times (10 mg) every other day the middle of August. The first night I noticed my legs and feet tingling really bad. Now my legs & feet still tingle and my muscle flutter often. Could this be from taking celexa & birth ctrl pills at the same time? I have had several blood test and all were normal.

I have been taking Celexa for 6 years now & have went from 140 lbs when I started to over 250 lbs. I fell tired all the time & ...sleep ...what is that..? So as of this week I spoke to a new Doctor who is weaning me off of Celexa to switch to Wellbutrin...Celexa worked as far as keeping me from being so depressed most of the time but , as the years have went by it just dosent seem to be working for me any longer..I started out on 10 mg a day then to 20 mg finally to where I have been for several years now 40 mg. I have suffered huge migrains ,stomach pains , loss of sex drive , & upper respatory infection , mood swings....The up side to Celexa for me was that it helped me get through my day.
Now that I am slowly stopping Celexa I feel plain aweful ,aggravation is a huge side effect for me I'm dizzy & feel like im in a fog . I sure hope the wellbutrin is worth changing for ..because I feel aweful...I have several concerns about wellbutrin ...mostly the seizers...I hope that this new med will work for me because the weight gain from Celexa over the years has cause all new problems for me now.

am certainly feeling much better. have been taking it for 6 months - 10mg per day at night but get terrible itchy twitchys - spasms in leges when go to bed - have been off work for 6 months - streess anxiety and exhaustion - mich better now but going back next week - want the itchy twitctchies tostop as have to get to sleep erlier - any comments baz xx

headaches, frequesnt upper resoiratory infections, aggravate allergies, delayed ejaculations with less power, legs feeling tight and jumpy, hit or kick while dreaming. greater than normal libido, especially for minority women.

My biggest problem with this drug is diarreah, every day all day, it's totally ludicrous. I do like this drug, it is better than zoloft, paxil and lexapro. (also cheaper cuz I get the generic). The only thing I don't like is that I'm still tired all the time and I have blurry vision too.

Anyone else have side effects that stayed with them several months after they quit???

I was on Celexa..and immediately after I took the meds..my vision would go blurry for a while..then it would go away until I took the next dose. B4 I knew it...my vision became blurry all the time. My dose was upped a bit..and the blurry'ness got worse......and it stayed with me all the time. .I've been off of Celexa for about 4 months and my vision is still blurry..not as bad..but not back to what it was b4.

Anyone else have side effects that stayed with them several months after they quit???

I was on Celexa for about a year, maybe a little less. I was unable to distinguish between dreams and reality. The only way I could tell if a memory was a dream or not was that the dreams usually could not possibly have happened; the people and places were wrong or the event just could not have occurred.

IVE WAS ON CELEXA FOR 3 YEARS WENT TO LEXAPRO FOR THREE YEARS AND NOW BACK ON CELEXA 40MG. STILL TIRED BUT NOT AS BAD AS WHEN I FIRST STARTED. LEGS, CALVES HAVE A HEAVY FEELING AND WEAK FEELING AT TIMES AND BLURRY VISION. NO MORE PANIC ATTACTS. FEEL ALOT BETTER AND WOULD FEEL EVEN BETTER IF I WASN'T TIRED ALL THE TIME.

Celexa made me extremely suicidal.

I was on Celexa for a year and a half and gained 40lbs!!! Has anyone else experienced this? It was a great anti-depressant but did make one somewhat lethargic. I also kept having small fits of depression here and there despite the meds. I just switched to Wellbuterin and its making me alternately spacey and moody, but i've only been on it four days. Does it get better?

Ive been given citalopram for depression and Bulimia.
The side effects I experienced were:
Nausea
Thoughts of suicide
Tiredness
Loss of concentration
blurred vision
diarrhoea

although most of these symptoms stopped after taking the citalopram for 2-3 weeks.

I generally feel less depressed than i used to be, although my eating problems are still here