Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 79665

Shown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:07:36

I've been taking 20mg of Celexa for 3 months and I am still miserable.

I don't cry as much, but I am still unhappy and depressed. And I think crying all the time (like I used to three months ago) might be better than dealing with side effects.

I'm looking for some advice from someone other than my doctor. I want to know if I should tell the doctor that the Celexa doesn't work. I'm guessing three months isn't a long time but how long should I stick with it?

Reading the other threads - how so many others experiment with many medications for many years is very discouraging.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:14:18

In reply to How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:07:36

> I've been taking 20mg of Celexa for 3 months and I am still miserable.

James....

If you are still miserable, it is not working.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:19:45

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:14:18

> If you are still miserable, it is not working.

Thank you for stating the obvious. Seriously. I've been reading these posts for three months now - to try and learn as much as I can about how I might feel better one day.

I'm just so frustrated right now. I really want to feel better and stop crying all the time and I just don't know what to do next. Give up on the medication? Or try medications for years and years without success?

I just don't know what to do.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:27:05

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:19:45

This med is not working, so try another. Tell your doc how you feel. It sometimes does take several trials of meds to find the correct one.
Otherwise, you could just do nothing, and continue feeling the way you feel. Seems like you have little to lose and much to gain by thying other meds.

James

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working? » Heather66

Posted by SalArmy4me on September 26, 2001, at 18:27:07

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:19:45

Try Effexor.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:59:10

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:19:45

> > If you are still miserable, it is not working.
>
> Thank you for stating the obvious.

I was responding to your question in the subject.
It seems, despite your question, you knew that.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 19:11:09

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:59:10

> I was responding to your question in the subject.
> It seems, despite your question, you knew that.

Yes, you are correct. I guess I just needed affirmation that three months was long enough to try it - this past three months I just kept hoping the medicine would "kick in." I didn't know how long to wait.

I appreciate your comments and feedback. I didn't even start the medication until I read all the postings on this site.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by KB on September 27, 2001, at 7:10:14

In reply to How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:07:36

You might consider increasing the dose - 20 mg is the lowest therapeutic dose - some people do better at 40.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by Janelle on September 27, 2001, at 11:25:11

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by KB on September 27, 2001, at 7:10:14

I see a couple of options for you at this point, but first let me say that based on everything I've read and heard about SSRI's, they *should* kick in and start to work after 4-6 weeks; some people begin to feel a bit better after 2-3 weeks.

In your case, being on Celexa (which did not work for me, btw) for 3 MONTHS, you have given it plenty of (more than *enough*) time to kick in. The fact that it hasn't been working for you and you still feel miserable indicates that Celexa, at least at the dose you're on, is not the right med for you.

However, DO NOT give up ... there are some options for you:

1) tell your doc how you're feeling and ask about simply increasing the dosage of the Celexa. The *average* therapeutic dose of this med is 40 mg/day and you are only at half of that. It could be as *easy* as upping the dose to get relief.

2) another option would be ask to switch to another med. There are many SSRI's out there (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, to name just a few) and other types of a-d's to try (e.g. Wellbutrin). This is not an exact science, so unfortunately sometimes we have to try several different meds before we get to the right one (been there done that; it is frustrating and requires patience but is soooo worth it when you do find the right one).

If you get *frightened* off by this experience and stop the Celexa and do nothing further, you'll probably continue feeling lousy, crying a lot, etc. *Nothing ventured, nothing gained*; therefore my advice would be to discuss the above options with your pdoc. Hang in there!
-Janelle

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?

Posted by fluffykitty on September 27, 2001, at 11:35:37

In reply to How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:07:36

All good advice youve been given. I would only add that if things dont improve on other meds then get a 2nd and 3rd opinion about what the problem is and what courses of treatments to try.


 

Finding the right med » Heather66

Posted by Krazy Kat on September 27, 2001, at 13:15:29

In reply to How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by Heather66 on September 26, 2001, at 18:07:36

Heather:

--- how so many others experiment with many medications for many years is very discouraging.


It IS discouraging! Almost got me in the hospital a few weeks ago. It's taken about two years for me to find something that seems to be working (dare I say IS working?) and I don't know if it will last.

I am a thirty year old female, diagnosed BPII - I take Depakote and Prozac, am titrating off of Topamax.

Anyway, I took Celexa and it helped a little bit at first but just really didn't do a whole lot for me (this was taken with Neurontin).

Prozac worked much better for me, but has more side effects.

Here's my two cents:

1. My understanding is that 20 mg isn't even therapeutic, so I don't know why you'd have been continued at this low a dose.

2. There's a new way of thinking re: trying different meds more quickly. JohnL on the board knows about it and there's a book on the site about it. I don't think we have to wait that long anymore.

3. Since you'd be switching from Celexa to something, it shouldn't take as long to take affect, at least it didn't with Prozac. But beware - the side effects were terrible for me for a few weeks.

You must call your physician at once and be forthright and demand a change. It was very difficult for me at first. But you deserve to feel better. You should be seeing him/her about once a month in the beginning and they should be monitoring you closely to observe if the meds are helping.

Good luck! Don't give up - I feel better now, and many people do who have stuck with it.

- K.

 

Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?-St. James

Posted by Cecilia on October 5, 2001, at 3:54:32

In reply to Re: How do I know if Celexa is working?, posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 18:14:18

> > I've been taking 20mg of Celexa for 3 months and I am still miserable.
>
> James....
>
> If you are still miserable, it is not working.

Unfortunately, for some of us it`s not as simple as this. Everyday as I swallow my pills I wonder whether they`re doing anything at all. I`ve been miserable most of my life, it isn`t a question of miserable or not miserable but a question of mild, moderate or extreme misery, and there are so many other factors besides pills that can affect that. Having tried virtually everything, I stay on the meds I`m on now (Celexa, Trazodone, and Clonazepam)
because they have virtually no side effects and maybe keep me from spending as much time in the extreme misery.


This is the end of the thread.


Show another thread

URL of post in thread:


Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ


[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org

Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.