Just start on Celexa 5mg 10 days ago. I was wondering if anyone has success on just 5mg or did they have to go up? And if they went how long did you stay on the 5mg?
New to Celexa. Just started 5mg? Many questions?
Question posted by Heather5635 on 18 Jan 2021
Last updated on 18 January 2021
Answers
Jackbarks007
18 Jan 2021
I also started out on 5 mgs about a month ago. I take mine at bedtime. I had one side effect and about 3 days in I actually felt happy! I heard they call this the honey moon phase. I stayed there for two weeks then felt comfortable to move to 10 mgs where I am now and have been for about two weeks again. On ten mgs I feel good! I take it at bedtime and sleep the same as before. I wake up feeling good and wanting to do things and looking around I see things that I have not done in months like wash windows. Kind of like my eyes are opened now. I feel good and only had a slight increase in anxiety which I read is common but nothing overwhelming that I couldn’t deal with and lasted only a few days each time. You can even go 2.5 mgs to go to slow so I was told by my doctor. Good luck and so far I’m loving celexa. I did kind of feel a need to up after the two weeks but so date so ten mgs and two weeks I do not feel the need to go up yet.
Heather5635
18 Jan 2021
I feel like it’s made me worse. My anxiety is out of control. I’m anxious over things I’ve never been anxious over. I’ve never really had anxiety issues or anything until I started getting headaches constantly two months ago. Which started me having anxiety that something was horribly wrong. So she started me on it. I’ve since had ct scan and it was normal. And I still have the headache. So I don’t know if I should be even taking it or really trying to figure out the headaches first.
WildcatVet
18 Jan 2021
Increased anxiety is a very common side effect of Celexa and other antidepressant/anxiolytics when initially starting the medication. It generally resolves within a couple of weeks. If it's intolerable let your doctor know as you should always stay in touch during the first weeks and report any side effects.
WildcatVet
18 Jan 2021
"Headaches can be a common symptom — and sometimes a good indicator — of an anxiety disorder, particularly generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD. And chronic co-occurring headaches can make functioning even more difficult for someone with an anxiety disorder."
Could anxiety be the underlying cause of your headaches?
Heather5635
18 Jan 2021
It could be but I never really had headaches before having my teeth pulled. Then it started. Which caused me to be anxious about something being wrong. It’s just on the right side of my head and temple.
WildcatVet
18 Jan 2021
Hi, Heather!
This is a very low initial dose that your doctor probably prescribed to help avoid side effects as your metabolism adjusts to the drug.
"Celexa (citalopram) should be administered at an initial dose of 20 mg once daily, with an increase to a maximum dose of 40 mg/day at an interval of no less than one week."
Everyone responds differently to medications and 5mg may be enough to be therapeutic for you but if needed it could be increased after a few weeks if you're not seeing any improvements.
If you have any more questions or concerns feel free to post again, okay?
Heather5635
18 Jan 2021
Thank you so much. She started it after developing anxiety from having constant headaches after having wisdom teeth removed with no answers why. Still have the headaches and no answers. Blood test, ct scan everything normal. Don’t really know where to go from here. Keep taking the meds or look more into the headaches before I get to far into the meds. The meds have made me worse I feel than I was even before.
Related topics
Further information
- Celexa uses and safety info
- Celexa prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Celexa (detailed)
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