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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Bub on October 17, 2000, at 11:05:13
Hey guys i need help......2weeks today on meds(celexa)..i have been on the biggggest roller coaster ride for two days now,is it the med or me???feel 99%better then BAM!!!!!!I WANT TO SCREAM,CRY,GO OFF THE DEEP END.....does this sound familar to any of you???is the med close to working?more time???get off it??
thanks
Bub
Posted by cole on October 17, 2000, at 12:10:09
In reply to 2 weeks....HELP , posted by Bub on October 17, 2000, at 11:05:13
it really depends on how you were before the celexa. if you were doing fine, with no depression, then this could be a sign the depression is returning. however if you were pretty depressed before and now you are feeling better on the whole with only a few "gaps" (that's what i call them) daily it may mean you are close to recovery, but your brain hasn't completely switched over yet. i'd give it another week and monitor the moods swings carefully. call your doc and see if they have any explanations. i've found that it usually takes a few weeks for meds to completely erase the depression.
Posted by stjames on October 17, 2000, at 13:22:57
In reply to 2 weeks....HELP , posted by Bub on October 17, 2000, at 11:05:13
It takes al least 4 weeks for AD's to kick in. Sounds like you are having a good early responce,
it will smooth out.james
Posted by GLYN on October 17, 2000, at 19:36:02
In reply to Re: 2 weeks....HELP , posted by stjames on October 17, 2000, at 13:22:57
I too had a bad couple of weeks when I started this med - I became so anxious that I thought I would die from it - seriously. It gets better at week 4 and by weeks 5 I was feeling great. Celexa is better admistered as 5mg for the first week and then upped to 10mg - if its primarily for anxiety. I found things were better if I broke the tablet in 2 and took it in the morning and evening. Other things you may get are periods of staring into space and a stiff neck/jaw - both usually resolve with time.
I also heared on this site once that an anxiety response to SSRI's may indicate a possible bipolar twist to depression - I have no evidence for this and would like to know what the theory is here that backs the idea - anybody??????
I's stick it out on the med - its great when it settles and the roller coaster ride does slow and end as quickly as it comes. Just grin and bear it and accept its the med causing the anxiety and not anything else. As hard as it seems to understand this pill really does solve not only the problems it creates but a whole host of other stuff when it finaly works. 4 to 6 weeks is the usual kick in and if you still feel the same way then its probablyu not for you.
Glyn
Posted by Racer on October 18, 2000, at 0:40:24
In reply to 2 weeks....HELP , posted by Bub on October 17, 2000, at 11:05:13
Hey, Bub,
When I start ADs, I always go through a short period of "now I'm on meds, now it'll get better, now I must be feeling better, I'll..." and then CRASH!!! I attribute it to the placebo effect, and then wait and see. Usually, for me at least, just knowing that I'm doing something helps for a short time. After that, it's a struggle, and I feel worse than before, since I must be really 'bad' not to respond to drugs the 'right' way. Then, eventually, after I've exhausted all other options and been taking the drugs for a month or six weeks, I'll suddenly realize that there was no 'magic moment', just a gradual improvement.
It happens. Sometimes it takes a while, and it may take trying a different dose, or a different drug. Four to six weeks is usually a minimum for the drugs to work.
Good luck.
Posted by laural on October 18, 2000, at 8:31:44
In reply to Re: 2 weeks....HELP » Bub, posted by Racer on October 18, 2000, at 0:40:24
if you do have a bipolar diagnosis you may want to be careful as adding celexa may mean that you have to up your mood stabilizer so that it doesn't throw you into an episode or as it sounds like with you, Bub, (if you're not just getting better and are in fact bipolar) a rapid cycle. laural
p.s. when i first started ADs (zoloft) it threw me into a manic fit but the nurse practitioner i was seeing at the time didn't know i was bipolar and she formed a hypothesis that i might need antipsychotics as well (which i did as i'm also schizo-affective) however i have no idea how she came to this conclusion as i never mentioned any of my delusions hallucinations or paranoia. . .
This is the end of the thread.
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