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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Pamela Lynn on February 15, 2002, at 0:22:07
Hi everyone. Thank you for reading my post.
My Father was just started today on Celexa (equivalent to 20 mgs of Citalopram, as a starting point, to be raised in the future if needed). He is 60+ yrs. old. In the past month or so he as been waking up in the early AM hours with horrible anxiety and worry-over what exactly he does not know-This causes him to NOT sleep all night and to feel like hell all the next day; sometimes the anxiety even runs into the next day!! Poor guy. FINALLY my Mother convinced him to change his Doctor (as the one he had just wasn't cutting it). My Mother emailed me tonight to tell me what he had been prescribed.
Now, I too suffer from anxiety attacks, but I take Klonipin and Xanax to combat my attacks, so I am very unsure of what exactly Celexa does for anxiety/panic attacks. I take other meds. for my depression, and have tried in the past alot of other ones, never Celexa though.
This is the FIRST time my Father has been on ANY type of med. for anxiety, and he has only 'seen' the side effects of anxiety drugs through what he has heard/seen of me while on them.
If anyone (please) would shed some light on Celexa (please no fancy 'Doctor terminology', laymens terms would be great! lol) taken for anxiety; and/or their personal experience being on Celexa for anxiety that would help immensely. Side effects of the med. would also be very welcome.
He's my Father, you know? I love him very much and just want to help him and be as best educated as I can when it comes to what he is taking for the anxiety.
Sorry this is so long. P.L.
Posted by Frankie on February 15, 2002, at 0:40:15
In reply to Celexa for anxiety-Comments PLEASE, posted by Pamela Lynn on February 15, 2002, at 0:22:07
> Hi everyone. Thank you for reading my post.
>
> My Father was just started today on Celexa (equivalent to 20 mgs of Citalopram, as a starting point, to be raised in the future if needed). He is 60+ yrs. old. In the past month or so he as been waking up in the early AM hours with horrible anxiety and worry-over what exactly he does not know-This causes him to NOT sleep all night and to feel like hell all the next day; sometimes the anxiety even runs into the next day!! Poor guy. FINALLY my Mother convinced him to change his Doctor (as the one he had just wasn't cutting it). My Mother emailed me tonight to tell me what he had been prescribed.
> Now, I too suffer from anxiety attacks, but I take Klonipin and Xanax to combat my attacks, so I am very unsure of what exactly Celexa does for anxiety/panic attacks. I take other meds. for my depression, and have tried in the past alot of other ones, never Celexa though.
> This is the FIRST time my Father has been on ANY type of med. for anxiety, and he has only 'seen' the side effects of anxiety drugs through what he has heard/seen of me while on them.
> If anyone (please) would shed some light on Celexa (please no fancy 'Doctor terminology', laymens terms would be great! lol) taken for anxiety; and/or their personal experience being on Celexa for anxiety that would help immensely. Side effects of the med. would also be very welcome.
> He's my Father, you know? I love him very much and just want to help him and be as best educated as I can when it comes to what he is taking for the anxiety.
> Sorry this is so long. P.L.Hello Pamela,
I am currently taking Celexa for OCD, and partial panic disorder. I would like to say that it is very effective for both. It will, however, initially increase the anxiety levels. Each one of the SSRI's do this. So, it is normal. I would advise you to try to get some Xanax or Klonopin for your dad just for a short time, until he adjusts to this Celexa. It decreases the initial anxiety from the SSRI's, and as you know, causes very few side effects. I too take Xanax at nite to sleep well and unwind. Just .25 mg., but have taken it for years with no addiction problems and no signs of me needing a dose increase. Celexa is the best I have tried for anxiety because Paxil and Zoloft are way too strong. They make you feel like you are on acid or something. Celexa is mild and therefore he will be able to reach a good dose. And very few side effects. But, everyone is different. If it does not work over a few months, at least, I would advise Prozac or Paxil. Not Zoloft! Very spacey medicine. Trust me! Does your dad have anxiety attacks? Or does he just worry about everything all day. If he has a racing mind, he has the GAD. (Generalized Anxiety Disorder.) The SSRI's will worsen this initially too. Buspar would be good then too with Celexa. I take that too. Good results combining the 2. Hope this helped you out.
Frankie.
Posted by Ritch on February 15, 2002, at 10:34:36
In reply to Celexa for anxiety-Comments PLEASE, posted by Pamela Lynn on February 15, 2002, at 0:22:07
> Hi everyone. Thank you for reading my post.
>
> My Father was just started today on Celexa (equivalent to 20 mgs of Citalopram, as a starting point, to be raised in the future if needed). He is 60+ yrs. old. In the past month or so he as been waking up in the early AM hours with horrible anxiety and worry-over what exactly he does not know-This causes him to NOT sleep all night and to feel like hell all the next day; sometimes the anxiety even runs into the next day!! Poor guy. FINALLY my Mother convinced him to change his Doctor (as the one he had just wasn't cutting it). My Mother emailed me tonight to tell me what he had been prescribed.
> Now, I too suffer from anxiety attacks, but I take Klonipin and Xanax to combat my attacks, so I am very unsure of what exactly Celexa does for anxiety/panic attacks. I take other meds. for my depression, and have tried in the past alot of other ones, never Celexa though.
> This is the FIRST time my Father has been on ANY type of med. for anxiety, and he has only 'seen' the side effects of anxiety drugs through what he has heard/seen of me while on them.
> If anyone (please) would shed some light on Celexa (please no fancy 'Doctor terminology', laymens terms would be great! lol) taken for anxiety; and/or their personal experience being on Celexa for anxiety that would help immensely. Side effects of the med. would also be very welcome.
> He's my Father, you know? I love him very much and just want to help him and be as best educated as I can when it comes to what he is taking for the anxiety.
> Sorry this is so long. P.L.
P.L.,
Make sure to ask him every so often how the medicine seems to be treating him. It might work really well, but then he might not be able to tolerate it very well. I take a tiny dose of Celexa (with other meds), and even though it is an antidepressant I really am using it for GAD-type symptoms. You mentioned that he had pretty bad insomnia related to his anxiety. Celexa and similar meds can aggravate that in some people. My brother tried some Paxil and it made his insomnia much worse. I wouldn't quiz him *too* much about specific side effects because it might worry him more. You might ask your *Mom* about his sleeping, etc., instead.Mitch
Posted by Frankie on February 15, 2002, at 12:02:03
In reply to Celexa for anxiety-Comments PLEASE, posted by Pamela Lynn on February 15, 2002, at 0:22:07
> Hi everyone. Thank you for reading my post.
>
> My Father was just started today on Celexa (equivalent to 20 mgs of Citalopram, as a starting point, to be raised in the future if needed). He is 60+ yrs. old. In the past month or so he as been waking up in the early AM hours with horrible anxiety and worry-over what exactly he does not know-This causes him to NOT sleep all night and to feel like hell all the next day; sometimes the anxiety even runs into the next day!! Poor guy. FINALLY my Mother convinced him to change his Doctor (as the one he had just wasn't cutting it). My Mother emailed me tonight to tell me what he had been prescribed.
> Now, I too suffer from anxiety attacks, but I take Klonipin and Xanax to combat my attacks, so I am very unsure of what exactly Celexa does for anxiety/panic attacks. I take other meds. for my depression, and have tried in the past alot of other ones, never Celexa though.
> This is the FIRST time my Father has been on ANY type of med. for anxiety, and he has only 'seen' the side effects of anxiety drugs through what he has heard/seen of me while on them.
> If anyone (please) would shed some light on Celexa (please no fancy 'Doctor terminology', laymens terms would be great! lol) taken for anxiety; and/or their personal experience being on Celexa for anxiety that would help immensely. Side effects of the med. would also be very welcome.
> He's my Father, you know? I love him very much and just want to help him and be as best educated as I can when it comes to what he is taking for the anxiety.
> Sorry this is so long. P.L.
Pamela,Mitch is correct in the fact that many SSRI's will cause insomnia. But, that is why I would strongly recommend the small dose of Klonopin or Xanax with it initially. Or even Buspar. These meds will likely block most of the anxiety based side effects. Buspar, however will not activate until about a month, or maybe even more. The short term one's would be much better. Hope this helps out.
Frankie.
Posted by Nala on March 24, 2002, at 18:44:21
In reply to Re: Celexa for anxiety-Comments PLEASE, posted by Frankie on February 15, 2002, at 0:40:15
I've been taking Celexa for 16 weeks & upon increase of my dosage to 30mg after week 6, I began to experience panic attacks. I felt so high from the drug I became a little paranoid. Luckily, I already had Klonpin handy for nighttime anxiety & lack of sleep. It helped me through the panic attacks. My dr decreased my dose back to 20mg and I'm back to normal. Still feel a light "spacey" after initially popping the pill though, but it's tolerable; unlike panic attacks.
This is the end of the thread.
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