Citalopram and Dizziness: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Ang...
• September 19, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I was put on these for depression and anxiety. I didn't like them, every time I stood up, I felt dizzy. They gave me a terribly dry mouth, especially at night. I also found that I did not have much energy with these, and it was hard to get out of bed in the morning. I now take sertraline and have noticed a big difference in my mood, but I can't stop yawning."

• nic...
• April 22, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on citalopram 20 mg for 2 months now. Overall, yes, I have felt better, my mood was happy, not easy to anger, and things that would normally stress me didn't as much. I had an incident where I missed 3 doses, I was dizzy, lightheaded, and felt very unbalanced. I took my evening dose and woke up the next morning back to no side effects. An online search stated it was withdrawals. Now, since 2 months down, I have suddenly felt depressed, and anxiety a little more again. I'm going to call the doctor to see if it's not working. I have an urge to eat more than before: carbs and sweets."

• nic...
• April 22, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on citalopram 20 mg for 2 months now. Overall, yes, I have felt better, my mood was happy, not easy to anger, and things that would normally stress me didn't as much. I had an incident where I missed 3 doses, I was dizzy, lightheaded, and felt very unbalanced. I took my evening dose and woke up the next morning back to no side effects. An online search stated it was withdrawals. Now, since 2 months down, I have suddenly felt depressed, and anxiety a little more again. I'm going to call the doctor to see if it's not working. I have an urge to eat more than before: carbs and sweets."

• sam...
• January 22, 2020

Citalopram for Postpartum Depression "Initial symptoms, premenstrual dysphoric syndrome. Extreme irritability in evenings the week before the period. While I used to be fine after the period, I started having a depressed mood. The only time of the month feeling good was around ovulation. Started on 10 mg. First week, queasiness, dizziness, no appetite, brain fog. Allowed self to eat junk or whatever sounded appealing. Protein shakes. Initial effects improved after the first week. No real notable difference. After a few weeks increased to 20 mg. Lack of appetite returned. Started having excruciating headaches, tension headaches, and clenching of jaw. Worsened depression. No motivation or desire to do anything. Headaches resolved. At 7-8 weeks. Extremely tired. Sad, blah, heavy face feeling. Anxiety may be worse. Probably less irritable, but don’t feel the other side effects are worth it. Felt better the next day after decrease to 10. Then switched to Paxil and have had no side effects and doing well one month in!!!"

• Gir...
• March 9, 2012

For Depression "I have been using this medicine for 5 weeks. I started on 20 mg at night. Physical side effects included excessive sleeping, dizziness on waking (lasting about 2 hours), substantially reduced libido, teeth grinding, and no appetite. Other side effects were a feeling of 'disconnection' from my emotions, forgetfulness, and repeating tasks. So, whilst the medicine alleviated the depression symptoms, it was impacting substantially on other aspects of my life. HOWEVER, I revisited my GP and requested a reduction. I am now on 10 mg per day. The difference is phenomenal - I feel hopeful and able to cope, still don't have an appetite or 'normal' libido but can work around those issues! I guess it's all about finding the CORRECT dosage for YOU."

• Eva...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2018

For Depression "I've been on citalopram for 3 months. From 2.5 to 20 mg a day. I finally started feeling some changes after they increased my dose to 20, but the side effects got worse. I was very tired all the time, even with the lower dose. I had to buy energy drinks all the time to stay awake. I have a 1-year-old son, and it was so hard to take care of him. I was so tired all the time. My anxiety and depression did not improve; they worsened, especially my depression. I put on about 6-7 kilograms in 3 months; I can't fit in my clothes, and my depression got worse as I put on so much weight. I am 23, and I have never been 63 kg. When I was pregnant, I was 61 in the 9th month, and now I am bigger! I am really shocked. I just couldn't stop eating. I was feeling dizzy and sick; I couldn't travel to college as I was getting too dizzy. It was definitely not the med for me. I couldn't sleep during the night, even though I was so tired all the time. I was like a zombie. I didn't like the pill at all."

• ste...
• December 2, 2015

Citalopram for Anxiety and Stress "I was prescribed 20 mg Celexa and 0.5 mg of Xanax. First day I took both as directed, slept for an hour and a half, and once I woke, I had a panic attack for the next hour or so. The next day I took just the Celexa, slept for an hour and a half again. This time the panic attack was much worse, dizzy, felt like getting sick, came close to calling 911. It finally subsided and went to bed, only to lay there wide awake, felt out of it all day. Dr. said to stop taking it, prescribed Paxil since I've had success with it before."

• Sta...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 4, 2018

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I was on 20 mg a day for 2 years. I didn’t suffer any side effects starting the medication. In the two years on the drug, I was completely cured of my depression and anxiety. It really worked for me. The major side effect, however, was that I had massive difficulty in ejaculating during sexual intercourse. I stopped taking citalopram because I hated having to rely on a drug. Coming off the drug, I experienced side effects for around two weeks. That was mainly dizziness and disturbed sleep."

• Anonymous
• August 18, 2012

For Anxiety and Stress "I started having anxiety in April 2012, and after trying Lexapro, which started giving me panic attacks (side effect), I stopped taking that and started Celexa (generic brand) 33 days ago. The first 2 weeks, I had horrible nausea. I was very, very sleepy and dizzy occasionally, with my anxiety worse than ever. After more than 3 weeks, I have had none of those symptoms besides being more tired than I should be. My anxiety is also GONE! Haven't had any panic attacks. The only downfall now is horrible headaches. I'm going to stick with this because it seems to be working and headed in the right direction."

• Anonymous
• June 6, 2011

Citalopram for Depression "At first, Celexa really helped. I had more energy, was happy, and was like my old self. That lasted only about 3 weeks before I started feeling bad again and wanting to sleep all the time. I also had a claustrophobic feeling like I couldn't breathe. I told my doctor, and he also prescribed trazodone to take with it because he thought this would level me out. The combination of the 2 made me dizzy, sick, and very tired all the time. I couldn't even wake up when my baby was crying in the room next to me. Needless to say, I had to quit taking the medicine. I wished it would have continued to work like it did those first 3 weeks. Also, I started to eat more after the euphoric 3 weeks were gone."

• Anonymous
• October 12, 2011

For Anxiety and Stress "I was on citalopram 40 mg for 3 months. It was great, made me love myself (which I had never done in the past). Only problem I had was, I was always tired and I had no sex drive whatsoever, and it was impossible to get an orgasm. Today will be my 5th day off the medication because it is causing problems in my relationship, and I feel terrible withdrawals from this medication. It is like death warming over, very dizzy, vomiting, diarrhea, can't sleep, major mood swings, unexplained crying. I feel like I'm a zombie. I can't think, can barely walk, body aches. I've been out of work for 2 days now, and tomorrow will make day 3. According to the doctor, there is nothing to make this any better but start the medicine back and slowly come off of it. Hope this helps."

• Anonymous
• October 2, 2009

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on citalopram for a week now. The side effects flared up around 2-3 days and then subsided after about the 4th day to a manageable level. I constantly feel tired like I've pulled an all-nighter, but mentally clear and alert. Slight nausea and dizziness/feeling like fainting faded after about the 3rd/4th day. Still waiting for the anxiety to disappear, but I'm told it will take at least 2 weeks."

• HJP...
• September 10, 2016

For Depression "Had been taking citalopram for over a year for depression. I found I did have sleepless nights and hot sweats and dizzy spells. But my mood was so much better that I felt it was worth taking them. I suffer constantly with pulsatile tinnitus and suffer with labyrinthitis, which caused the depression, but I have gotten used to this now and it does not affect my life like it did at first. So I stopped taking it, have not had any for over a week so far and no side effects from stopping so far. I would recommend this medicine for anyone with depression and would not think twice about taking it again if ever I got as low as I was before taking it."

• Cic...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 23, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "I was on this medicine for about six years for depression and anxiety. It helped me regulate my emotions. I had dry mouth, light sensitivity, and dizziness at first. During the last year of taking this medicine, I started having intense episodes of hot flashes. It felt like my entire body was burning from the inside out, during these episodes, my blood pressure would go up sky-high and my heart would pound. After the burning went away, my body would shake like I had cold chills. They came once in a while and then more often as time went on. I thought I was gonna die with these episodes, but after I stopped the medicine, I have not had one since."

• op5...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 2, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "[24M] I was prescribed 10 mg/day of citalopram, increasing to 20 mg after that for anxiety. I only made it 4 days before I couldn't stand the side effects and had to quit taking it. Drowsiness, erratic sleep, weird dreams, nausea, headache, extreme thirst, and dry mouth/lips, lack of coordination, and dizziness. The worst side effect was that it completely killed my sex drive. I don't think I was on the drug long enough to see much benefit. It did seem to calm me down, but some of the side effects made my anxiety worse."

• op5...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 2, 2015

For Anxiety and Stress "[24M] I was prescribed 10 mg/day of citalopram, increasing to 20 mg after that for anxiety. I only made it 4 days before I couldn't stand the side effects and had to quit taking it. Drowsiness, erratic sleep, weird dreams, nausea, headache, extreme thirst, and dry mouth/lips, lack of coordination, and dizziness. The worst side effect was that it completely killed my sex drive. I don't think I was on the drug long enough to see much benefit. It did seem to calm me down, but some of the side effects made my anxiety worse."

• Anonymous
• December 13, 2011

Citalopram for Depression "I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for a few years. Got prescribed Xanax and Celexa. I was doing really well taking the Xanax, but as soon as I would take the Celexa, I started getting really sick. Real bad migraines, dizziness, fever with sweating. I am now being switched to Paxil, hopefully, it will work for me."

• Anonymous
• June 24, 2011

Citalopram for Depression "I've only been taking this medicine for about a week, and I feel like a zombie. I have no emotion, lack of coordination, sometimes confusion, slurred speech, and a constant headache. Hopefully, this gets better."

• Sup...
• April 30, 2017

For Hot Flashes "Prescribed 20 mg for hot flushes. Took for 5 days as side effects were terrible-nausea, dry mouth, and by the third day, feeling low in mood and apathetic. My vertigo has also returned with a vengeance!"

• Bet...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 5, 2018

For Depression "I had really bad side effects from the medicine. My heart started beating really fast, and I started shaking really badly. And my body, my neck, and especially my genitals and legs started burning. I had dizziness and exhaustion. I started having difficulty breathing, sort of. I already called my doctor and went back in, so I don't know what caused the burning or anything, but I may be allergic to it. It also happened right after I took a thyroid medicine two hours after I took the depression medicine, although the symptoms started before I took it. Right after I took it, it got a lot worse. Just please be careful, I didn't read carefully enough where it warns not to take it with any type of drug that would affect your metabolism."

• Har...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 12, 2019

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I began feeling dizzy and had heart palpitations, etc., which led me to multiple doctors that all believe I have anxiety and panic. So they prescribed me citalopram. It has been terrible ever since I started. Like many of you, I was online looking at reviews for hours on end, trying to convince myself that the side effects would go away. I waited and waited, and today marks six full weeks taking it every night religiously. I wake up every morning and puke at least once or start gagging. And the worst symptoms are my muscle twitching, headaches, teeth grinding, blurred vision and eye floaters, and lastly, I wake up feeling like I'm burning! My hands and feet burn and my heart goes crazy. I've been to the ER many times since starting this, and I am done. It has put me in such a dark hole."

• Kvg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 20, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "So I started 20 mg. I’m on day 3. I’m feeling so sick, dizzy, and like I’m not in my own body. I’ve been having the feeling of not being able to take a deep breath. My anxiety is extremely high. When am I going to feel normal again? I swear I can’t take any more."

• Mrs...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 17, 2017

For Depression "Never taken antidepressants before my therapist encouraged me to try them. Her and the doc both suggested Celexa and 20 mg to start. Doc said I would probably experience headaches and nausea. Within 20 minutes of taking my first dose, I had an extreme skull-crushing headache and suddenly felt so tired (I had just woken up, so I wasn’t). I laid down and felt stiff and unable to move. I felt so dizzy laying down and drugged. Two hours later, I was hit with trembling, hot flashes, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, confusion, seeing dark spots, slurred speech, pounding heart, and trouble taking deep breaths. I felt like I was dying and almost called 911 because I couldn’t do anything to lessen the symptoms. It gave me serotonin syndrome. Never again."

• The...
• September 12, 2011

For Anxiety and Stress "I've had anxiety for several years now and decided to try medication (although I'm very anti-medication) to see if it would help at all. Most of my anxiety was stress/relationship related, and I just felt as if it was consuming me and I couldn't handle it anymore. I've been on citalopram about 3 months now, and I noticed a slight change at first, and a little bit still, but now I feel so lifeless. I don't feel myself, my sex drive has diminished to almost nothing. I feel tired all the time, I just feel out of it. Some issues remembering things, I had some other side effects as well that are on and off (dizziness, etc.). I think I want to stop taking it, but I need to consult my physician first to see if I need to wean off of it or not."

• Anonymous
• March 23, 2012

For Anxiety and Stress "Like so many other reviewers, citalopram worked well for several months (actually a year and a half, in my case), but eventually, the honeymoon ended, and my debilitating anxiety and depression came back with a vengeance. The doctor put me on Lamictal, but I think it's more or less useless, and it makes me feel dizzy."