Experiences with citalopram

[21Neberg]

Hi everyone,

I've recently started using citalopram. I don't want to, but my psychiatrist thinks it could help. So here I am. I was wondering if anyone had experience with citalopram and would be helpful enough to share them with me.

 

[k75]

That's Celexa, right? That was the very first antidepressant I was put on. My depression wasn't nearly as severe then as it is now, and I wasn't suicidal at the time. I think it worked alright, but I don't remember much. I do know I didn't have any side effects. I wasn't on it too long because I felt better and stopped taking it. Later, I tried it again, after things started to get bad, but it didn't seem to work. I think it's kind of mild, as far as antidepressants go.

 

[mathieu]

I took it for a short time when I was 15. It was the first psychiatric drug I tried. I think it might have helped somewhat but not enough. I don't recall what side-effects I had.

 

[cryptic_cynic]

I tried it last year. It did absolutely nothing for me.

 

[Partial-Elf]

I actually tried it as my first psychiatric drug over the past week. I was prescribed 20s and told to take half a pill for the first six days.

I was pretty positive and open minded going into it. I had read some about SSRI's but was optimistic that I'd have small side effects that this would just work for me–doc said it'd take a month or more for mood effects to kick in so I planned to stick it out. However, I only ended up taking it for three days before discontinuing with the permission of my doctor.

To start, I had some side effects which—while unpleasant—I'd consider tolerable if it meant I felt less emotional pain: nausea around food, lack of appetite, nausea in response to sudden motion or just randomly throughout the day, diarrhea, and jaw clenching. I'd also forget words or concepts once in a while, seemed like notably more than average but I'm still trying to figure that one out.

The one that was a deal breaker for me was that it made me impotent within three days. I had worried about this effect after reading about SSRIs online, so I decided I wanted to watch it closely. I'm a male, and each day it became more difficult to get and maintain a full erection and then orgasm. By the third day I could barely achieve an erection (it was less full than usual and went away quickly and was harder to accomplish) and orgasm was literally impossible. My attraction to and desire for women in a sexual sense also went away almost entirely, despite having good stimulation (someone who's very attractive from my past randomly reaching out and flirting/sending photos).

I'm generally someone who has a higher libido even when suicidal and depressed so this was very concerning to me. I had the thought that it'd be nice not to have to worry about sex anymore. This freaked me out as I'm really not comfortable having little to no sexual function in my mid twenties, so I woke up the next day, skipped my dose, and called my doctor. He said to discontinue it and said that that was an atypical response and that I should never take citalopram or any of its analogues again, even put it in my allergies section to make sure. He said he thought I'd react in a similar way to most SSRIs out there and that we'd want to stay away.

I believe it was Tuesday of this past week that I opted out of taking the med (Friday now). I'm still having lingering diarrhea and low libido but those things are markedly closer to normal now. My doctor recommended I try Wellbutrin/its analogue form next since it doesn't normally present sexually problematic side effects. I'm going to give it a shot.

I hope you have better luck with it than I did (individual chemistry and all that, it might be very helpful for you)!

 

[21Neberg]

I actually tried it as my first psychiatric drug over the past week. I was prescribed 20s and told to take half a pill for the first six days.

I was pretty positive and open minded going into it. I had read some about SSRI's but was optimistic that I'd have small side effects that this would just work for me–doc said it'd take a month or more for mood effects to kick in so I planned to stick it out. However, I only ended up taking it for three days before discontinuing with the permission of my doctor.

To start, I had some side effects which—while unpleasant—I'd consider tolerable if it meant I felt less emotional pain: nausea around food, lack of appetite, nausea in response to sudden motion or just randomly throughout the day, diarrhea, and jaw clenching. I'd also forget words or concepts once in a while, seemed like notably more than average but I'm still trying to figure that one out.

The one that was a deal breaker for me was that it made me impotent within three days. I had worried about this effect after reading about SSRIs online, so I decided I wanted to watch it closely. I'm a male, and each day it became more difficult to get and maintain a full erection and then orgasm. By the third day I could barely achieve an erection (it was less full than usual and went away quickly and was harder to accomplish) and orgasm was literally impossible. My attraction to and desire for women in a sexual sense also went away almost entirely, despite having good stimulation (someone who's very attractive from my past randomly reaching out and flirting/sending photos).

I'm generally someone who has a higher libido even when suicidal and depressed so this was very concerning to me. I had the thought that it'd be nice not to have to worry about sex anymore. This freaked me out as I'm really not comfortable having little to no sexual function in my mid twenties, so I woke up the next day, skipped my dose, and called my doctor. He said to discontinue it and said that that was an atypical response and that I should never take citalopram or any of its analogues again, even put it in my allergies section to make sure. He said he thought I'd react in a similar way to most SSRIs out there and that we'd want to stay away.

I believe it was Tuesday of this past week that I opted out of taking the med (Friday now). I'm still having lingering diarrhea and low libido but those things are markedly closer to normal now. My doctor recommended I try Wellbutrin/its analogue form next since it doesn't normally present sexually problematic side effects. I'm going to give it a shot.

I hope you have better luck with it than I did (individual chemistry and all that, it might be very helpful for you)!

Thanks for the detailed response. I hope welbutrin works better for you.

 

[Shamana]

It's very good at making you numb and giving you sexual dysfucntion. Most SSRI's are.

I actually tried it as my first psychiatric drug over the past week. I was prescribed 20s and told to take half a pill for the first six days.

I was pretty positive and open minded going into it. I had read some about SSRI's but was optimistic that I'd have small side effects that this would just work for me–doc said it'd take a month or more for mood effects to kick in so I planned to stick it out. However, I only ended up taking it for three days before discontinuing with the permission of my doctor.

To start, I had some side effects which—while unpleasant—I'd consider tolerable if it meant I felt less emotional pain: nausea around food, lack of appetite, nausea in response to sudden motion or just randomly throughout the day, diarrhea, and jaw clenching. I'd also forget words or concepts once in a while, seemed like notably more than average but I'm still trying to figure that one out.

The one that was a deal breaker for me was that it made me impotent within three days. I had worried about this effect after reading about SSRIs online, so I decided I wanted to watch it closely. I'm a male, and each day it became more difficult to get and maintain a full erection and then orgasm. By the third day I could barely achieve an erection (it was less full than usual and went away quickly and was harder to accomplish) and orgasm was literally impossible. My attraction to and desire for women in a sexual sense also went away almost entirely, despite having good stimulation (someone who's very attractive from my past randomly reaching out and flirting/sending photos).

I'm generally someone who has a higher libido even when suicidal and depressed so this was very concerning to me. I had the thought that it'd be nice not to have to worry about sex anymore. This freaked me out as I'm really not comfortable having little to no sexual function in my mid twenties, so I woke up the next day, skipped my dose, and called my doctor. He said to discontinue it and said that that was an atypical response and that I should never take citalopram or any of its analogues again, even put it in my allergies section to make sure. He said he thought I'd react in a similar way to most SSRIs out there and that we'd want to stay away.

I believe it was Tuesday of this past week that I opted out of taking the med (Friday now). I'm still having lingering diarrhea and low libido but those things are markedly closer to normal now. My doctor recommended I try Wellbutrin/its analogue form next since it doesn't normally present sexually problematic side effects. I'm going to give it a shot.

I hope you have better luck with it than I did (individual chemistry and all that, it might be very helpful for you)!

It's funny how he says it's an atypical reaction. Approc 70% of patients get it.

 

[Jon86]

Like all ssri's you get a softer erection and difficulty having an orgasm. The mild anxiety relief is negated by having a dick that doesn't work. Ridiculous, that ssri's are the first thing docs prescribe considering they make most people borderline impotent...when there on them.

 

[Partial-Elf]

It's very good at making you numb and giving you sexual dysfucntion. Most SSRI's are.


It's funny how he says it's an atypical reaction. Approc 70% of patients get it.

He said anorgasmia is typical but erection difficulties are not. Looking it up he appears to be wrong... I've not been impressed by him as a doctor but healthcare in my area is basically shit.

Like all ssri's you get a softer erection and difficulty having an orgasm. The mild anxiety relief is negated by having a dick that doesn't work. Ridiculous, that ssri's are the first thing docs prescribe considering they make most people borderline impotent...when there on them.

I agree, it is ridiculous. I also don't understand why they don't have a conversation about side effects and potential long term damage before describing meds. All he told me was that I'd get some nausea, nothing about sexual side effects. I did research it ahead of time so I knew there was that chance but... how are people supposed to choose if they want to take a medication without being fully informed of the potential side effects and damage?

 

[Shamana]

He said anorgasmia is typical but erection difficulties are not. Looking it up he appears to be wrong... I've not been impressed by him as a doctor but healthcare in my area is basically shit.

I agree, it is ridiculous. I also don't understand why they don't have a conversation about side effects and potential long term damage before describing meds. All he told me was that I'd get some nausea, nothing about sexual side effects. I did research it ahead of time so I knew there was that chance but... how are people supposed to choose if they want to take a medication without being fully informed of the potential side effects and damage?

GP's and psychiatrists have been brainwashed into believing that SSRI's are safe and effective.

Does your doctor know that SSRI's are used to chemically castrate sex offenders and paedophiles? Would be an odd choiceif the sexual dysfunction was rare.

 

[Wayfaerer]

Hi everyone,

I've recently started using citalopram. I don't want to, but my psychiatrist thinks it could help. So here I am. I was wondering if anyone had experience with citalopram and would be helpful enough to share them with me.

It's better in the sense that it is the mildest SSRI but in my experience at least, the effect didn't last long. Expect tolerance to build up no matter what drug you are put on.

 

[Partial-Elf]

GP's and psychiatrists have been brainwashed into believing that SSRI's are safe and effective.

Does your doctor know that SSRI's are used to chemically castrate sex offenders and paedophiles? Would be an odd choiceif the sexual dysfunction was rare.

Looking into this now, can you provide sources?

 

[Shamana]

Looking into this now, can you provide sources?

The soft option

More than 100 British sex offenders have volunteered for 'chemical castration'. But do the drugs really make them harmless? Decca Aitkenhead goes behind bars to find out

www.theguardian.com

 

[Partial-Elf]

The soft option

More than 100 British sex offenders have volunteered for 'chemical castration'. But do the drugs really make them harmless? Decca Aitkenhead goes behind bars to find out

www.theguardian.com

Wtf... why is this the go to option for people if it destroys their sexuality? How many doctors warn patients of potential side effects? How does it seem reasonable to just roll the dice repeatedly hoping for a good fit medication? Shouldn't they ask questions to try to determine which neurotransmitter is most likely out of line?

 

[Shamana]

Wtf... why is this the go to option for people if it destroys their sexuality? How many doctors warn patients of potential side effects? How does it seem reasonable to just roll the dice repeatedly hoping for a good fit medication? Shouldn't they ask questions to try to determine which neurotransmitter is most likely out of line?

Most doctors who prescribe them are brainwashed by the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA into believing that such side effects are rare or passing. When studies are made by scientists without conflict of interest they show that 70% experience sexual dysfunction instead of 10% or whatever is in the leaflet. And for some people like myself the effects have been permanent(Castrated by SSRI's since i was 20) which is one of the reaons why i'm here, but not the only one.