Any Celexa users?

[Rex_Goodheart]

or is it "Selexa"?

Anyway, I'm going through a life situation right now that is indescribably painful. I don't have a counselor, so I went to my cardiologist for a referral. My cardiologist, upon my bursting out in tears, prescribed Celexa for me.

This seems like a happy board, and I don't mean to bring it down... but right now I'm feeling lower than low, but still sane enough to consider long term consequences of anything I do to address my problem.

What should I expect on the first night if I take one of these? Will I be able to leave the stuff behind 4 months from now? 3 months?

[skygazer]

1. Those sound like questions for the prescribing doctor

But I would suggest posting it in the Mental Health forum - lots of helpful, compassionate people there who might have some answers or advice.

In the meantime, :hug: I hope things get better for you.

[Rex_Goodheart]

9. Thank you very much.

[Mike03]

2. I've been on Celexa for a year and a half

It's my third antidepressant. It helped me a great deal, and it helped me very quickly. It restores the neurotransmitters in the brain to normal levels, making me functional without making me different. There are a lot scare stories out there about how anti-depressants make people irrational and violent, but do some research on your own and you will find out that these stories are perpetrated (in most cases) by organizations with an axe to grind or a book to sell. I was very nervous when I first was prescribed antidepressants, but incredibly grateful when I experienced the results.

One thing to keep in mind that different people respond to the different anti-depressants in different ways. Should Celexa fail to work for you after a period of time, try another one. My sister had no results from Celexa, but when Welbutrin was added, she experienced remission from her depression. My ex-wife had no results from Prozac but great results from Welbutrin. At one point, Zoloft stopped working for me and I had to switch. I tried Paxil, and although it helped, the side effects were awful and I eventually quit altogether. Depression comes and goes, so I was off of antidepressants for like three years before I went back onto them, and at that point tried Celexa on the recommendation of some friends who had had success with it.

Good luck. Depression can be a nightmare and is incredibly serious, and it seems to me that people don't take it all that seriously unless they have it or understand it.

[Writer]

3. I was on citalopram (Celexa) briefly...

and had the nasty side effects of weight gain. It helped, however. After I moved, I was prescribed bupropion (Wellbutrin) and I swear by it. Low side effects (weight loss, in fact) and works quite well for my mild to moderate depression. I don't think it would be as effective for severe depression, however.

I agree with Mike03 - every drug works differently for different individuals.

But I wish you the best of luck... please take care of yourself. :hug:

[Rex_Goodheart]

7. Thank you very much.

[Mike03]

11. Thanks, too, that is interesting

It's interesting to get this different feedback on the different antidepressants. I haven't noticed weight gain or loss on any of my antidepressants, but I have DEFINITELY noticed sleep issues. Paxil made me a nervous wreck, and Celexa works really well, but over time I have noticed that I require less sleep on it. I wish someone would really research these issues and write a book about the cause/effect aspects of the different drugs and why they occur.

[Rex_Goodheart]

5. Thank you very much.

[Mike03]

10. P.S.

One other thought: There is a "sister" drug for Celexa called Lexapro that helps some people who do not respond to Celexa.

I'm serious when I wish you good luck. It's not an easy subject to discuss, and my heart goes out to you. There are some wonderful books on depression as well that sort of helped me over the hump, but to be brutally honest, I did need medication and did respond to it very quickly, much faster than my doctor said I would. He told me it might take a month, and it took about two or three DAYS.

Good luck my friend.

[Rex_Goodheart]

8. Thank you very much.

[Bossy Monkey]

4. Tried it once and had no effect, positive or negative

Antidepressants that worked for me were Paxil and Luvox; the latter worked best, though in the long run it caused some slight (if temporary) liver damage. That freaked me out a bit so I haven't gone back on, but if I were suffering severe anxiety or depression I would have no reservations about going back on.

I had no difficulty stopping Celexa.

This is the stuff from the package insert (also the Physician's Desk Reference) but machine searchable and in print large enough to read: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/citalo_wcp.htm

[Rex_Goodheart]

6. Thank you very much.