How fast does citalopram take effect

Side effects such as tiredness, dry mouth and sweating are common. They're usually mild and go away after a couple of weeks. If you and your doctor decide to take you off citalopram, your doctor may recommend reducing your dose gradually to help prevent extra side effects.

Do not take St John's wort while you're taking citalopram. It will increase your risk of side effects. Citalopram can be taken by adults and children over the age of 12 years. Check with your doctor before starting citalopram if you: have had an allergic reaction to citalopram or any other medicines in the past have a heart problem — citalopram can speed up or change your heartbeat have ever taken any other medicines for depression — some rarely used antidepressants can interact with citalopram to cause very high blood pressure , even when they have been stopped for a few weeks are trying to become pregnant, already pregnant or breastfeeding have an eye condition called glaucoma — citalopram can increase the pressure in your eye have epilepsy or are having electroconvulsive treatment — citalopram may increase your risk of having a seizure If you have diabetes , citalopram can make it more difficult to keep your blood sugar stable.

Take citalopram once a day. You can take it with or without food. If you have trouble sleeping, it's best to take it in the morning. Dosage Citalopram tablets come in different strengths ranging from 10mg to 40mg. With liquid drops of citalopram, 4 drops is equivalent to a 10mg tablet. What if I forget to take it? If you forget doses often, it may help to set an alarm to remind you.

What if I take too much? Urgent advice: Call your doctor straight away if:. You have taken too much citalopram and have symptoms such as: being sick vomiting shaking feeling sleepy fast heart rate fits or seizures. Common side effects Common side effects happen in more than 1 in people. Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects bother you or do not go away: dry mouth sweating a lot being unable to sleep feeling sleepy feeling tired or weak Serious side effects Serious side effects are rare and happen in less than 1 in 1, people.

Information: You can report any suspected side effect using the Yellow Card safety scheme. Visit Yellow Card for further information. What to do about: dry mouth — chew sugar-free gum or sugar-free sweets sweating a lot — try wearing loose clothing, use a strong anti-perspirant and keep cool using a fan if possible. If this does not help, you may need to try a different type of antidepressant.

Do not drive or use tools or machinery if you're feeling sleepy. If this does not help, talk to your doctor. Cut down the amount of alcohol you drink as it can make you feel worse. Citalopram and pregnancy It's important for you and your baby that you stay well during your pregnancy. Citalopram and breastfeeding If your doctor or health visitor says your baby is healthy, citalopram can be used during breastfeeding. Non-urgent advice: Tell your doctor if you're:. Tell your doctor if you're taking these medicines before you start citalopram : any medicines that affect your heartbeat — citalopram can speed up or change your heartbeat any other medicines for depression — some rarely used antidepressants can interact with citalopram to cause very high blood pressure even when they have been stopped for a few weeks Mixing citalopram with herbal remedies and supplements Do not take St John's wort, the herbal remedy for depression, while you're being treated with citalopram as this will increase your risk of side effects.

Important: Medicine safety Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. How does citalopram work? When will I feel better? It usually takes between 4 and 6 weeks before you feel the full benefits.

Give the medicine at least 6 weeks to work. How will it make me feel? How long will I take it for? Is it safe to take it for a long time? For most people, citalopram is safe to take for a long time. How do I come off citalopram? These include: dizziness feeling sick numbness or tingling in the hands or feet trouble sleeping feeling agitated or anxious headaches shaking Important Do not stop taking citalopram suddenly or without talking to your doctor first.

Is citalopram better than other antidepressants? Citalopram is not any better or worse than other antidepressants.

Talk to your doctor if you are not feeling any better after 6 weeks. Will I gain or lose weight? Later on, you may gain a little weight as your appetite returns. Can I drive or ride a bike? Will it affect my fertility? Will it affect my contraception? Will it affect my sex life? Some of the possible negative effects include: men getting painful erections and problems getting an erection and ejaculating women having some vaginal bleeding and might not reach orgasm the same way as before a lower sex drive Sexual side effects usually pass after the first couple of weeks.

Can I drink alcohol with it? Is there any food or drink I need to avoid? Taking citalopram may affect your concentration when doing things like driving a car, riding a bike, or anything else that needs a lot of focus. It might be best to stop doing these things for the first few days, until you know how it affects you. If you become pregnant while you are on citalopram, you should carry on taking it and go back to your doctor as soon as possible to see if you should change or stop your medicine.

If you and your doctor agree that carrying on with citalopram has more benefits than risks, you should tell your midwife that you are taking it before you give birth. If citalopram is taken in the last five months of a pregnancy, it can cause a serious condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the new-born PPHN. This can make the baby breathe faster and look a bit blue in colour.

This compares with a rate of two in 1, among babies born to mums who do not take SSRIs. PPHN appears in the first 24 hours after birth. You will need help from the midwife and doctors, so it is better if they are looking out for symptoms.

There are some other symptoms that can occur in newborn babies if citalopram is taken in the last three months of pregnancy, so do look out for these and get help if they happen:.

Please talk to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist if you want to breastfeed while taking citalopram. These effects should pass after the first couple of weeks. If they do not, and this is a problem for you, go back to the doctor and see what else you could try. The good effects of citalopram may, after a while, have a positive effect on your sex life as your mood lifts and you become interested in life and relationships again.

Risks with citalopram in pregnancy are low but, if you are trying to get pregnant, you should talk about it with your doctor. Taking citalopram may affect your concentration when doing things like riding a bike, competitive gymnastics, or anything else that needs a lot of focus.

Taking citalopram may affect your concentration when doing things that need a lot of focus, like exams. You should talk to your doctor about any future exams if you are starting citalopram. You might decide together to delay starting it until you have done them. If they are more than a month away, however, you might find that it is better to start citalopram to lift your mood and improve your motivation to study.

You need to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting treatment with citalopram if you have or have ever had any of the following:. You and your doctor should talk about how long you need to take citalopram before you begin treatment with the medication. People who have had low mood or depression more than once may need to take citalopram for a couple of years or more.

This is to stop themselves experiencing depression or low mood again. You will get the best effect from citalopram if you take it regularly at the dose prescribed by your doctor. Make sure that you know your dose. If it's not written on the label, check with your pharmacist or doctor. You should start by taking it in the morning. This will lower the chance of it affecting your sleep. If you forget to take it for a few days, you may start getting withdrawal symptoms , which feel a bit like the flu.

If you get these symptoms, see your doctor as soon as possible. If you want to stop your tablets, please speak to your doctor first as it is better if they are stopped slowly over a few weeks rather than suddenly.

When you start taking an SSRI, the brain adjusts to having a higher level of serotonin around. If you stop taking the SSRI suddenly, the levels of serotonin start to drop, and your brain can take a while to adapt to this change.

You could get some symptoms from the change, which are called withdrawal symptoms. This does not mean you are addicted to the medicine - just that your brain has become used to citalopram to control the serotonin levels. Withdrawal symptoms usually start a few days after stopping the medicine and might include:. You can stop taking citalopram safely with your doctor's help, who will show you how to reduce your dosage gradually.

If you have taken more citalopram than the dosage recommended by the doctor who prescribed it to you, you must get medical help immediately — even if you do not feel any different.

As part of depression some people think about hurting themselves or taking their own lives. Taking an antidepressant may not stop this. You must get some urgent help if you are having these sorts of thoughts.

Speak to someone who is looking after you or go straight to hospital with your tablets. Citalopram can sometimes also cause other serious side effects, including: allergic reactions difficulty breathing, swelling of your face or throat, itching skin lumps , and other serious symptoms that you can find here. Go to a hospital if you get any of these symptoms, taking your medicine with you.

Stopping citalopram suddenly can cause unpleasant withdrawal effects. Go to your doctor if you are thinking of stopping. Use good contraception while you are taking citalopram. It can also cause symptoms in newborn babies if you take it at the end of pregnancy. Talk to your doctor or midwife about this. Get a friend or family member to go with you in case you feel ill on the way. If you take too much citalopram, you may be at risk of developing serotonin syndrome. Symptoms include a high fever, agitation, confusion, trembling, or weird movements of your muscles.

This is rare, but you should watch out for it. While taking citalopram some people may think about hurting themselves or taking their own lives. This can happen to anyone, including people who are under These thoughts may happen or get worse in the first few weeks of taking the tablets until the level of serotonin in the brain becomes stable.

You must go straight to hospital if you have these thoughts, taking your tablets with you. Ask a friend or family member to go with you to keep you safe on the way.

Stop taking citalopram and go to a doctor or hospital straight away if you get any of the following symptoms:. Go to your doctor or the hospital straight away, but don't stop taking citalopram, if you get any of the following symptoms:. People under 18 who take citalopram can get serious side effects and have an increased risk of thinking about taking their own lives, trying to take their own lives, and hostility mostly aggression, oppositional behaviour and anger. Therefore, it is not licensed for people under 18 years old.

If you are under 18, you and your doctor may decide that the benefits of taking citalopram outweigh the risks for you. You should decide with your doctor what to do if you experience any side effects while taking citalopram. If you are taking citalopram and have not talked about this with your doctor, go back to them and talk it through. You might also want to talk to your parents or carers about it. SSRIs can, but not very often, increase your risk of bleeding, including intestinal stomach or gut bleeding.

Let your doctor know if you vomit blood or develop black or blood-stained poo. Do not stop taking the tablets until you talk to your doctor, or you may get withdrawal symptoms as well. If you do get a side effect, please think about reporting it via the 'Yellow Card' scheme.

Consider using a calendar, pillbox, alarm clock, or cell phone alert to help you remember to take your medication. You may also ask a family member or friend to remind you or check in with you to be sure you are taking your medication. If you miss a dose of citalopram, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is closer to the time of your next dose. Discuss this with your health care provider.

Do not double your next dose or take more than what is prescribed. Avoid drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs while you are taking antidepressant medications.

They may decrease the benefits e. If an overdose occurs, call your doctor or You may need urgent medical care. You may also contact the poison control center at Headache, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, increased sweating, feeling nervous, restless, fatigue, or having trouble sleeping insomnia. These will often improve over the first week or two as you continue to take the medication. Sexual side effects, such as problems with orgasm or ejaculatory delay often do not diminish over time.

Low sodium blood levels symptoms of low sodium levels may include headache, weakness, difficulty concentrating and remembering , teeth grinding, angle closure glaucoma symptoms of angle closure glaucoma may include eye pain, changes in vision, swelling or redness in or around eye , serotonin syndrome symptoms may include shivering, diarrhea, confusion, severe muscle tightness, fever, seizures, and death , seizure.

SSRI antidepressants including citalopram may increase the risk of bleeding events. Combined use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs e. This may include symptoms such as gums that bleed more easily, nose bleed, or gastrointestinal bleeding.

Some cases have been life threatening. August Citalopram at doses greater than 40 mg per day could potentially cause a dangerous abnormality in the electrical activity of the heart. Citalopram use is discouraged in patients with congenital long QT syndrome.

Patients with low levels of potassium and magnesium in the blood are also at increased risk. If you are currently taking citalopram at a dose greater than 40 mg per days, talk to your health care professional. Seek immediate care if you experience an irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting while taking citalopram.

If you are taking citalopram, your health care professional may occasionally order an electrocardiogram ECG, EKG to monitor your heart rate and rhythm.

Your health care provider may also order tests to check levels of potassium and magnesium in your blood. To date, there are no known problems associated with long term use of citalopram.

It is a safe and effective medication when used as directed. Citalopram should not be taken with or within 2 weeks of taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors MAOIs. Citalopram may increase the effects of other medications that can cause bleeding e. Sleep, energy, or appetite may show some improvement within the first weeks.

Improvement in these physical symptoms can be an important early signal that the medication is working. Depressed mood and lack of interest in activities may need up to weeks to fully improve. Depression and certain other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with increases in the risk of suicide.

This risk may persist until significant remission occurs. In short-term studies, antidepressants increased the risk of suicidality in children, adolescents, and young adults when compared to placebo.

Short-term studies did not show an increase in the risk of suicidality with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults beyond age