Hi, I have just been put on these (Monday) and getting the nausea, lack of appetite and last two days bad headaches. Also not sleeping well. I was on them when I had PND and never had any side effects so find it odd this time around that I am having them? Will these symptoms improve any? Also can people advise when is the best time to take them. I’m taking them at night around 10pm. I don’t feel mega bad and if these symptoms are likely to pass I will put up with them. Typical my rebif side effects of headaches passed and now I start on this and get headaches like that again. They particularly start at night. Thanks in advance? Xxx
Hi Lisa i was on Citalopram for quite a few years for PTSD they seemed okay but at the start man i felt ill , i have since been put on Mertazepine for the PTSD and they are great except the Drs are saying the RLS type symptoms are due to the MS but i still think its the Mertazepine but i am no Dr nor do i pretend to be or know more than them , as for the Citalopram if i recall correct it lasted about 2 weeks for me at least they never seemed to put me in the right place they fell just short of it, the Mert on the otheer hand has really lifted me and put me in a great place though i am almost emotionless but they think this is more due to the PTSD than the Mert.
Hope that helps a little and hope it passes soon and they help you
respect sheep
Hi, I had the same problems for the first couple of weeks but it passed. One unexpected bonus has been that my legs are stronger than they have been for years and my balance problems have largely disappeared. Might not be related to the Citalopram but seems too co-incidental. I would stick with it if I were you. Gary P.S Itake mine first thing in the morning and it seems to work.
Hey, I didn’t get the side effects but was on low dose. Maybe stick with it a couple of weeks and see if things settle? If you are on a higher dose it may be expected?? I took mine at tea time Hope it settles for you X
Hi Lisa
I’ve been taking them to help with menopause symptoms.
I take mine after my evening meal. I used to take it on a morning but I had problems with nausea etc…I have no problems now.
Give them chance to work.
Good luck
Thanks guys. I’m on 10mg. Not majorly low and rebif could be partly to blame but m.s nurse felt as I was not consistently a low dose anti d may be better than coming off and changing meds. I was wondering with the sleep do you think if I took it earlier than 10pm I would sleep better? Also very important question. I like a glass of wine not loads and only drink at weekend … Will this effect the anti d or vice versa? Xx
Hi Lisa,
What dosage are you taking?
I started off on 20mg and also had nausea and lack of appetite, but my main problem was bloating and flatulence…bad!! This lasted for about 2 weeks and then I was fine on them, but no matter what I ate, I didn’t put any weight on. I thought they were great…I was happy and slim for 6 months…but then my GP suggested decreasing down to 10mg and within days I felt like I’d hit rock bottom again and I cried and cried all day every day for a month.
I went back to my GP and he told me to increase them to 40mg, so reluctantly I did. The very next day I started with headaches, which got worse everyday, they were so bad that I struggled to lift my head off the pillow and I was also passing out when I stood up. I went to my GP and he checked my blood pressure and it was low, so he told me to decrease back down to 20mg and the headaches went and felt fine again…but then I started to put on weight and I hadn’t changed my diet at all. My GP said I must be comfort eating because I was depressed, but I knew that wasn’t the case. In 5 months I have put a stone on and I feel so fat and miserable, so yesterday I made the decision to stop taking them. I know you’re not just supposed to stop, but I felt so crap on 10mg, so I can’t see the point of cutting them down.
Anyway, if you’re still reading, the point of all this waffle is to say I have had 2 different experiences of them on the same dosage.
Initially, I took them in the evening and then changed to the morning, but I can’t remember why now! I also take them with food, as I found it helped with the nausea.
Hope they work for you.
Fizzy xx
Try taking them later Lisa.
Enjoy the odd glass of wine
Cheers
Earler Sorry!!
That’s why I started taking them in the morning, as they stopped me from sleeping…all coming back to me now!
I haven’t found that wine or any alcohol has made a difference. I asked my GP and he said it was fine to drink, as long as I didn’t go silly!!!
Fizzy xx
I know weight gain doesnt worry many blokes lol but i did put on 2 stone i went from 11 to 13 and was on 40’s this could be either of the ones i am on but im inclined to think it was the Mert due to timing of the weight gain also i forgot to say i iam also on Domperidone 3 times a day so this maybe why the nausea i was able to still function to a degree 
respect sheep
I am halving my ciparalex tablets from 10 mg to 5 mg at the moment becuase I definitely have put on weight with them - but I have said before - “thin and sad” or “fat and happy” that is the question but I am trying to find a middle ground - Anti-depressants can certainly give you nausea and headaches but they do work but i do hate the side effects…but if you had blood pressure, you would take a tablet, same with depression…
I started on Citalopram but after more than a week I had to come off them as they caused absolutely dreadful nausea. The doctor even gave me anti- nausea meds as it was so bad. I also could not sleep and had lost loads of weight due to lack of appetite. My GP put me on Escitalopram (Cipralex) which suited me much better. Good luck with it but don’t try to pit up with it, get it changed if you are really suffering! Teresa xx
Thanks everyone. I don’t feel terrible, although headache makes me feel crap. It isn’t there constantly. I’ve took it with my tea tonight but I am thinking of just doing it in the morning. I’m hoping it doesn’t effect my weight, it didn’t last time but then I didn’t get side effects last time either. It’s more the lack of sleep that’s annoying. Which I think the headache is also to blame for. I am having a glass of wine now so will see what of anything this might do xxx
I was on citalopram for a very short time around the time of dx and for the first couple of days I took them at night but found I had real trouble sleeping and some very disturbed dreams. I was actually in the hospital at the time and after discussing this with one of the nurses I changed to taking it in the morning.The disturbed sleep and freaky dreams stopped almost immediately. I took myself off of it a few short months later because I didn’t actually feel I needed them ( I didn’t believe I was depressed but my gp was determined I should try them while I waited for my initial Neuro appointment etc). I also felt that they had a dramatic effect on my libido. I’ve never been completely sure the citalopram was to blame but there was definitely an improvement once I stopped taking it. Can’t believe I’ve just shared that on a national forum!! Oh well. Xx A M