Antidepressants - side effects?

[Hypnoash6]

I started taking citalopram (Celexa) this past week. I take it after dinner usually around 8pm. Ive been waking up around 3am for about two hours because I can not sleep and along with the I had bad anixety. It also has been causing me to have a stomach ache and nausea in the morning.  I know there are side effects, but are these normal? I dont feel like the medication is making me feel any better or lessening my depression symptoms. I heard it takes about 3 weeks for it to actually work? Should I keep taking the medication , is this normal?

[erikadominica]

:) Just focus on the good moments in the day and keep to the meds. As long as you explained all this to your boyfriend, he should understand and will cope better with things being taken out on him and will be able to help you better too. The best 'side-along' plan with citalopram is a good, close-knit support network throughout your friends and family. My fiancé is currently helping me through what I'm worrying is a mild relapse (due to too many sudden changes in my lifestyle) and it's keeping me from slipping down enough to having to go back on the medication. Just make sure people closest to you understand (or at least know) what you're going through and they'll do all they can to be supportive. :) x

[Hypnoash6]

Im going to keep taking it because it should definitely help me then. Ive had been having a stressful time and have a hard time coping which leads me to get depressed.

I moved to Florida away from my family in New Jersey for grad school 2 years ago and the program is coming to a end in November. I fell in love in FL with my boyfriend when I moved and we are still together, currently talking about marriage. Now that school is coming to a end I have to decide whether to stay in FL or come back home to NJ to where all my family is. Its very stressful. I still have 6 months of fieldwork left and I just want to feel better so I can function day to day without becoming anxious depressed and upset. I keep taking out my stress on my boyfriend and letting everything he does bother me, which has been making me very emotional. I am visiting my family and friends now in NJ which has helped the anxiety go away but Im still in a funk.

[erikadominica]

At first, you'll just feel a lot less lethargic and you'll start sleeping better once the initial side effects disappear. The as time passes, things just get a lot easier to cope with (small things first naturally - for me, I started finding it easier to cope with the little 'tiffs' I had with family and friends and I wouldn't fly off the handle as quickly and it grew from there really). Life in general just begins to gradually feel easier to deal with and a lot less 'doom and gloom'. Once you start feeling better in yourself, you'll start feeling better about everything around you too. You'll notice the changes quicker by having you doctor go over the things you suffered with before the medication at each appointment (mine were every 4 weeks) because you'll be ticking things off as 'not suffering any more' before you realise it. 8 months and I'd worked my list of bad things down to zero and it felt amazing to realise what I'd achieved. Trust me, the meds are definitely worth the first few 'rough' weeks. x

[Hypnoash6]

Thank you for responding. When it starts working and the positive effects start to kick in. Does life in general feel happier ? How exactly does it help and make you feel? Im just wondering because I have never taken a antidepressant and I want to make sure the side effects are worth it for right now.

[erikadominica]

I was on citalopram at the beginning of last year for 8 months and it's quite normal, mine took about 3 1/2 weeks to start working and the noticeable effects where quite slow to begin with (took a further 2 weeks before I started to notice the difference) and for the first few weeks I was restless at night, had a stupidly low appetite, felt ill every morning or whenever I smelt food and it made my already existing back pain worse. Don't get me wrong, it works wonders and the side effects disappear almost as soon as the positive effects start happening. Just keep to them and keep a positive attitude that they'll work and everything will be fine. Best wishes x