Citalopram / Celexa is one of the antidepressants doctors most widely prescribe for anxiety and panic disorder. As with most antidepressants it has various marketing names:
Celexa, Cipramil, Emocal, Sepram, Seropram
Reviews by people who use Citalopram / Celexa for anxiety
The following comments come from people who tried it. They personal opinions come from a number of sources and may not be indicative.
I take Citalopram / Celexa for anxiety. Only started a month ago and it seems to be working okay, it has settled my moods a great deal, which is what I think I needed the most.
I take Citalopram (20mg) once every day and have been on them for about four months now. In the past, my body hasn’t seemed to like anti-anxiety meds and I’ve usually been sick as a dog from them. But with Citalopram I don’t really have any side effects at all!
Celexa had plenty of side effects for me. I felt dopey, I couldn’t sleep, I had sexual difficulties (ejaculation problems) and I seemed to lose my memory easily, forgetting lots of words and little things.
It did work for me! My anxiety got a lot better. I slept through the night and rarely felt any anxiety symptoms when I was out and about. But I did feel a bit sleepy in the day. I didn’t like getting out of bed, and couldn’t stop yawning.
At first I felt awful. I felt the weirdest out of body experience you can imagine. A very haunting emptiness. I wanted to ditch the Citalopram on day one, but for some reason I didn’t and on day two I felt much better. From then on it was all good news. But the very first day was hell!
Depression in a pill! I will never touch this stuff again. Felt more anxious and depressed than ever before and was really worried about myself. There must be better ways!
When I started taking Citalopram I was 80kg. Now I am 97kg! It has worked for my depression, but at the cost of my physical health? (Read about Celexa and Weight Gain here.)
Details
The standard dose of Celexa for anxiety (always follow your doctor’s advice) is 20mg the doctor can raise if necessary up to 60mg (which is unusual). It is also available in a 10mg dose which is not generally thought to be a therapeutic dose for normal adults.
No liquid form is currently available. Liquid form SSRI’s are useful when withdrawing as it’s easier to measure a liquid than try to chop up a tablet.
The half life is about 35 hours (which is good as it means one tends not to get so much of a yo-yo effect if a dose is missed or taken late).
Possible side effects are: fatigue, weight increase/decrease, drowsiness, dry mouth, increased sweating (hyperhidrosis), trembling, headache, constant yawning, dizziness, sleep disturbances, cardiac arrhythmia, blood pressure changes, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, heightened anorgasmia in females, impotence and ejaculatory problems in males.
You should be sure to speak to your doctor about any side effects and a good doctor will always want to follow up after a few weeks and see how you’re doing..
Alternatives to Citalopram / Celexa for anxiety.
Given that new research casts doubt on the efficacy of some popular SSRI drugs, some people have become interested in alternative medicine. Some people believe that Tryptophan and 5-HTP might work as alternatives to antidepressants, but this is not proven. Always speak to a doctor before changing dose or stopping any prescription medicine.
More info: the Citalopram page from the UK NHS.
