JessSbal: Took 3 pills (10 mg) of citalopram

[JessSbal]

Hello everyone, I'd like to thank in advance for reading this.

 

Last week I took 3 half-pills of Citalopram (10 mg). I have mild depression, and this was given me to help psychotherapy.

 

The first night, I only had insomnia and the next day I felt my libido at zero, so I look up better the side effects, and found about PSSD and this group. I started feeling very anxious and couldn't sleep. 5 days have passed, still have anxiety and insomnia, and know I kinda feel apathetic and can't have an orgasm.

 

I can't understand if I had an adverse reaction to the drug or if the most of it it's psychosomatic. I read in different forums that insomnia, anxiety and low libido are common site effects that ware off after two weeks, but honestly after all that I've read I don't think the risk is worth the benefit.

 

Do you have any advice?

 

Also, I'm a medical student. I knew the side effects because i did psychiatry last year. We weren't told that side effects would be so present and that the sexual ones were so frequent (or could be irriversibile). They told us of withdrawal, but that everything would be okay if you tapered off lightly (and that's not clearly true). I really feel sorry for all I've read.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Gridley

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, JessSbal.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.  In your case it would be very simple: the dates and dosages of the three days you took the Citalopram, when you stopped and the nature of your symptoms, the dates they appeared and your current symptoms as of present.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

I can't say, of course, whether your symptoms are psychosomatic, but they sound very much to me like an adverse reaction to the drug.  This means the drug is basically poison to your system.  You will heal but unfortunately we can't predict how long it will take.  The symptoms of an adverse reaction are very similar to those of withdrawal, and the symptoms you describe are typical of adverse reaction/withdrawal.

 

Immediate adverse reactions to an antidepressant or within a ...

 

Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

If you only took the drug for three days, there is no need to taper it (and continue putting something in your body that it apparently reacts very negatively to).  You can simply stop taking the drug.  It takes a month of taking an antidepressant before you are at risk of withdrawal symptoms and you are nowhere near that point.

 

We recommend non-drug coping skills to deal with symptoms like mild depression, which really are a part of the human condition.  Our experience on this site runs counter to what you will learn in medical school about psychiatric drugs.

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

Before the advent of the money-making invention of SSRI's, depression was regarded as a self-correcting condition that resolved without the dangers of pharmaceutical intervention.  I wish I'd known this when I started Lexapro many years ago to deal with situational depression.  Robert Whitaker in his book, Anatomy of an Epidemic (which we highly recommend), found that those who avoided or stopped psychiatric drugs did better long term than those who continued taking them.

 

Anatomy of an Epidemic

 

Here's a video book trailer by the author, Robert Whitaker:

 

Robert Whitaker, author Anatomy of an Epidemic video (11 minutes)

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems. Get supplements that ae single ingredient (not mixed with other types of supplements).

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can complete your drug signature, questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JessSbal]

7 minutes ago, Gridley said:

Welcome to SA, JessSbal.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.  In your case it would be very simple: the dates and dosages of the three days you took the Citalopram, when you stopped and the nature of your symptoms, the dates they appeared and your current symptoms as of present.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

I can't say, of course, whether your symptoms are psychosomatic, but they sound very much to me like an adverse reaction to the drug.  This means the drug is basically poison to your system.  You will heal but unfortunately we can't predict how long it will take.  The symptoms of an adverse reaction are very similar to those of withdrawal, and the symptoms you describe are typical of adverse reaction/withdrawal.

 

Immediate adverse reactions to an antidepressant or within a ...

 

Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

If you only took the drug for three days, there is no need to taper it (and continue putting something in your body that it apparently reacts very negatively to).  You can simply stop taking the drug.  It takes a month of taking an antidepressant before you are at risk of withdrawal symptoms and you are nowhere near that point.

 

We recommend non-drug coping skills to deal with symptoms like mild depression, which really are a part of the human condition.  Our experience on this site runs counter to what you will learn in medical school about psychiatric drugs.

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

Before the advent of the money-making invention of SSRI's, depression was regarded as a self-correcting condition that resolved without the dangers of pharmaceutical intervention.  I wish I'd known this when I started Lexapro many years ago to deal with situational depression.  Robert Whitaker in his book, Anatomy of an Epidemic (which we highly recommend), found that those who avoided or stopped psychiatric drugs did better long term than those who continued taking them.

 

Anatomy of an Epidemic

 

Here's a video book trailer by the author, Robert Whitaker:

 

Robert Whitaker, author Anatomy of an Epidemic video (11 minutes)

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems. Get supplements that ae single ingredient (not mixed with other types of supplements).

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can complete your drug signature, questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

Thank you for your advice and links. Hope it'll feel better soon.

 

You're all doing such a great job at helping people!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JesusSavemefromWD]

10 hours ago, JessSbal said:

Hello everyone, I'd like to thank in advance for reading this.

 

Last week I took 3 half-pills of Citalopram (10 mg). I have mild depression, and this was given me to help psychotherapy.

 

The first night, I only had insomnia and the next day I felt my libido at zero, so I look up better the side effects, and found about PSSD and this group. I started feeling very anxious and couldn't sleep. 5 days have passed, still have anxiety and insomnia, and know I kinda feel apathetic and can't have an orgasm.

 

I can't understand if I had an adverse reaction to the drug or if the most of it it's psychosomatic. I read in different forums that insomnia, anxiety and low libido are common site effects that ware off after two weeks, but honestly after all that I've read I don't think the risk is worth the benefit.

 

Do you have any advice?

 

Also, I'm a medical student. I knew the side effects because i did psychiatry last year. We weren't told that side effects would be so present and that the sexual ones were so frequent (or could be irriversibile). They told us of withdrawal, but that everything would be okay if you tapered off lightly (and that's not clearly true). I really feel sorry for all I've read.

Clever u stopped them fast. Don’t put another one in ur mouth ever again. When u become a doctor make sure to inform patients about the detrimental effects of these drugs. I am a neuroscientist and I never remember during my school years learning how wrong things can go with ADs... the textbooks talked about couple of weeks of withdrawal...... lies lies lies . I am sure u will recover since u only took for three days, just take no more. Don’t fall into the trap that doctors say “be brave , push through the first weeks and side effects will go away” not true for many of us.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @JessSbal

 

Since you took only 3 10mg doses and stopped, you probably will very gradually recover over some months. 

 

It sounds like maybe you had an immediate adverse reaction to this SSRI. It's probably not a good idea for you to take antidepressants. Sexual dysfunction is a very, very common adverse effect of these drugs.

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you.

[JessSbal]

5 hours ago, JesusSavemefromWD said:

Clever u stopped them fast. Don’t put another one in ur mouth ever again. When u become a doctor make sure to inform patients about the detrimental effects of these drugs. I am a neuroscientist and I never remember during my school years learning how wrong things can go with ADs... the textbooks talked about couple of weeks of withdrawal...... lies lies lies . I am sure u will recover since u only took for three days, just take no more. Don’t fall into the trap that doctors say “be brave , push through the first weeks and side effects will go away” not true for many of us.

 

I hope the effects will stop soon. I slept only 3 hours tonight (I feel I'm physically tired but then I got to bed and my mind is awake). 

 

Yeah I just felt like they weren't for me and that they were too risky, so I stopped. Honestly kinda disappointed in medicine rn.

[JessSbal]

42 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Welcome, @JessSbal

 

Since you took only 3 10mg doses and stopped, you probably will very gradually recover over some months. 

 

It sounds like maybe you had an immediate adverse reaction to this SSRI. It's probably not a good idea for you to take antidepressants. Sexual dysfunction is a very, very common adverse effect of these drugs.

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you.

 

Thank you so much for the info!

[JessSbal]

Hello, just checking in. Sleeping okay, no anxiety, but still have sexual problems (I think I also got less genital sensitivity) and the apathy (or anhedonia? Not sure of the difference.)

 

I cry a lot (but don't feel sad???) because I'm scared I'm not gonna get better. Also it's hard to find recovery stories of adr of only a few doses.

 

I'm thinking of a lot of people I've read here and you're all so strong💞

 

 

 

[Paxil3days]

@JessSbal how are you now ?