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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 14:43:56
I've been taking Celexa for about 5 weeks. First 5 days @ 5 mg, next 2 weeks @ 10 mg, and last 2 weeks @ 20 mg. Sides during this time were not too bad: daytime tiredness, dizziness, some sleep disturbance, thirsty, pounding heart, night sweats--fairly tolerable.
2 days ago, I felt like I was getting the flu: bad headache, nausea, very dizzy, heat flushes w/sweating. Generally felt ill. So I skipped yesterday's dose--felt better but still a little under the weather all day yesterday. Woke up this morning feeling okay (not perfect however) and decided to take 10 mg. I'm feeling somewhat worse now (late afternoon), but not as bad as I was the other night.
I can't figure out if it's the Celexa, the flu, or a touch of a bug that is worsened by the Celexa. I don't want to play around with my dosing, but maybe I'm taking too much? If it is Celexa's fault, it's odd that it took so long to hit me, I was fine at 20 mg for 2 weeks--weird.
Anyone out there have similar experiences?
Posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 18:44:01
In reply to I Feel Sick: Is It The Celexa?, posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 14:43:56
Posted by sleepy lizard on October 14, 2002, at 23:08:37
In reply to I Feel Sick: Is It The Celexa?, posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 14:43:56
I took Celexa for a month and it did not do much for my depression/anxiety. That may have been due to the withdrawal effects from the Paxil. (The worst withdrawals are from Paxil and Effexor, in my opinion.) The Celexa should take about two weeks to a month to start working, and you certainly could have those side effects since Seretonin effects many metabolic systems such as temperature and libido to mention only two. Good luck getting through this period. Hope you feel better soon. I think you should usually just keep the dose at 20 mg and wait it out. What does the Doctor think?
Posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 23:48:19
In reply to Re: I Feel Sick: Is It The Celexa? » Roman, posted by sleepy lizard on October 14, 2002, at 23:08:37
Unfortunately, I'm working with my GP regarding this treatment; I'm quite sure he would tell me to stop taking it if I said I felt ill. So I'll have to go it on my own with these kinds of problems.
As you suggest, I'm going to tough-it-out and plan to take 20 mg tomorrow, assuming I feel okay when I wake-up--I do have an appointment with someone I would rather not vomit on in the afternoon though--I'll down some Dramamine before the meeting.
Thanks for the advice and good wishes. I'm sure you're right about the way these drugs get into every nook and cranny of our bodies--lovely thought. I too tried Paxil--didn't get along with it too well. So far, Celexa doesn't seem to be quite as harsh.
I do feel the bottoms of my depression have gone, but still no profound improvement of mood--need more time I guess.
Cheers,
-R
Posted by Ellen S. on October 15, 2002, at 16:53:19
In reply to Re: I Feel Sick: Is It The Celexa? » sleepy lizard, posted by Roman on October 14, 2002, at 23:48:19
My teenage son takes Celexa, Eskalith, Geodon, and Lamictal, plus Adderall to combat tiredness. His pdoc wants him to go off Celexa and increase his daily Geodon from 20 to 80. However, whenever he has tried to start to increase the Geodon, he gets nausea. The pdoc says this is due to the combination of Celexa and Geodon, and says he won't feel sick if he drops the Celexa completely when he increases Geodon. My son hasn't tried that -- he has anxiety about the idea of going off the SSRI, and about his feeling that the doc is messing up his life by continued experimentation with meds...
I wonder about why Geodon and Celexa are supposed to interact to cause nausea. They are different types of drugs -- do they both affect the same neurotransmitters?
Posted by Roman on October 17, 2002, at 22:58:24
In reply to Re: Feeling Sick on Celexa, posted by Ellen S. on October 15, 2002, at 16:53:19
> I wonder about why Geodon and Celexa are supposed to interact to cause nausea. They are different types of drugs -- do they both affect the same neurotransmitters?
They both have an effect on serotonin. Geodon also effects dopamine, where Celexa doesn't. Hope your son feels better.
My nausea has passed. It was either a brief flu-like bug or I was passing through the flu-like start-up reaction many get with SSRIs.
Feeling pretty good now--even less depressed--s/e are almost all gone (except tiredness).
Fortunately, I have absolutely no sexual s/e whatsoever, and have not gained any weight--so far so good.
Posted by sleepy lizard on October 18, 2002, at 0:52:00
In reply to Feeling Better on Celexa, posted by Roman on October 17, 2002, at 22:58:24
That's really good to hear. I like to here encouraging news.
This is the end of the thread.
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