u/Killer_Klown_Bob

I’m 37 M, been on Citalopram for 5 weeks for anxiety and panic attacks. I started on 10 mg, now on 20 mg for the past 6 days. I had mild insomnia prior to the SSRI, but now it’s much worse. I will only sleep about 4 hours total, and it’s broken sleep at that.

My Oura ring shows I get about 30 minutes of deep sleep, an hour total of REM (on a great night), and the rest is light sleep, awake, light sleep, awake, etc.

I take 2 mg of Lorazepam (1 mg morning and 1 mg evening) a day. I take 7.5 mg of Mirtazapine for sleep.

I feel everyday like my body is failing more and more due to the lack of sleep. I have internal tremors, I am extremely exhausted and fatigued all the time. The lack of sleep, plus already being in a constant anxious state, is just making my anxiety worse. I just need help. Any advice from others. Anything that others have tried that works?

I just returned to work after being on FMLA for a month, due to my panic attacks. Everything was initially fine when I got here tonight, but then I started having panic symptoms (fast HR and high BP). I took 1 mg of Lorazepam at 5:15 pm, but it’s not doing much as of 7:15. My Bp feels high, and my HR is maintaining 120. I’m on day 29 of 10 mg of Citalopram. The Citalopram is not helping much at all. I’m at a loss. I’m ready to just give up. I can’t not work, but I can’t keep feeling this way. I just don’t know what to do anymore.

I see my doctor on Monday and I’m ready for an increased dosage for Citalopram I think. I’ve been on 10 mg for a little over 3 weeks now, most of the side effects are manageable, still have some insomnia.

Should I ask for a slight increase of 5 mg for a total of 15 mg, or just go for the 20 mg?

I had some rough side effects on the 10 mg. Wondering if anyone has had rough side effects on the 10 mg, but successfully went to the 20 without much issue? Any advice is genuinely appreciated.

I have been on 10 mg of Citalopram for 23 days now. I have also been on 1 mg or Lorazepam 2x daily for the same time frame. Most of the horrible side effects from the Citalopram seem gone, or it’s the lorazepam covering them up. I still have insomnia, but I’m managing that with Mirtazapine, and finally getting 5 hours of sleep a night, vs a random 2-4.

I take the citalopram every morning at 6:30 am. I take my first lorazepam at 8 am and the second at 5 pm. I honestly feel like I could go longer on taking the morning one here lately, maybe even a half dose. The doctor wants me to continue taking two until I see him again.

So the morning anxiety has dramatically decreased, but I still have a lot of anxiety from noon to 5 pm (until my next lorazepam).

Does that mean that it’s time for an upgrade of the citalopram? Bonus: I don’t want to take the lorazepam, I dread it, but I need to take it to keep my anxiety under control. Should I ask him if I can start to taper off of it, but keep a scrip for really bad panic attacks? Thanks for any advice!

I am a 37 year old male, was relatively healthy until recently. In April, I was stung by a bee and went into anaphylactic shock. I had been stung many times before with no issues. I was given epinephrine and other medications to mitigate the effects.

Since April, I’ve had to go to the emergency department on four different occasions because of a panic attack (thought I was having a heart attack every time). The panic attacks all have one thing in common: after I eat a larger meal, my body starts trembling, heart rate and BP rise, then I start panicking. I also lost 13 lbs in one month (7% of my body weight) due to having a fear of eating now. I’m having issues gaining weight now.

Please tell me why this happens now, and never before I was stung? Will I be like this forever? Is this an adrenaline issue? I just want someone to tell me why this happens.

I am on day 21 of 10 mg Citalopram and 1 mg or lorazepam 3x daily. The Citalopram has also been a side effect nightmare thus far. I start therapy in September (earliest available date).

I’ve posted in a couple of other places, but my anxiety is super bad, and I really just wanted to hear from medical professionals that I’m not insane, and any advice related to the side effects of Citalopram.

I am a 37 white Male, who was just put on 10 mg of Citalopram on June 1st. I was having extreme uncontrolled panic attacks stemming from going into anaphylactic shock (bee sting) a month prior. I have also had military related depression and anxiety that I guess has now decided to join in. Whenever I eat larger meals, I start to shake uncontrollably, my heart rate and BP rises, then I go into panic mode. I’m guessing it’s from blood sugar spikes and the release of adrenaline in my body.

Since being on Citalopram, I have had terrible insomnia (2-4) hours of sleep a night, which I have to supplement with a nap throughout the day when I can get one (maybe an hour at most). It’s like a zap or something suddenly wakes my body up, and I’m hit with anxiety (I guess), and no matter how tired I am, I can’t go back to sleep.

I have had burning skin sensations (like a sunburn) for about 2 weeks now. They come and go, but stay mostly all day.

I still have anxiety, especially in the mornings, to the point that I have to take a lorazepam to calm down, otherwise it will spiral into a panic attack. Every morning (around 6-8 am), after already being up for a few hours, my body starts shaking like I’m cold. Then my mind starts racing, and I can’t relax, no matter how hard I try.

I have had diarrhea for the past 4 days now, only in the mornings, and usually during the 6-8 am morning jitters that I have.

I have brain fog/slow thinking for weeks now, hopefully it’s from the insomnia and not the medication.

I am exhausted and extremely lethargic since being on this medication. Again, hopefully it’s from the insomnia and not a permanent medication issue.

Lastly, my appetite is almost non existent (which is not a good thing). I lost 13 lbs in 1.5 months (7% of my body weight), when I had the anaphylactic episode, due to only eating 1000-1500 calories a day. Since being on Citalopram, I have struggled to eat 2600 calories (maintenance).

My doctor has been super supportive (just not much of a talker - VA mental health provider) and has prescribed me lorazepam for the anxiety episodes, to be taken daily. We tried 12.5 mg Ambien for the sleep for the past 2 weeks (DID NOT help at all). Yesterday he prescribed me with 7.5 mg of Mirtazapine to see if that would help (I got sleep, but was barely more than the Ambien, and I’ve felt like garbage all day today). I think a lot of my issues are from the insomnia, but I just wondered if it gets better? I just need some realistic perspectives please!

I’m on day 17 of 10 mg Citalopram. I have not slept more than 4 hours in 17 days. I take 12.5 mg Ambien, and it still doesn’t help. I get “snapped” or “zapped” awake within a few hours and can’t go back to sleep, no matter what I try. It also shoots my anxiety through the roof. Other than the insomnia, I’ve had little to no appetite, so eating my maintenance of 2600 calories a day is a struggle. My skin burns like a sunburn, or I get pins and needles, or both randomly. My head is always foggy now. I have diarrhea every single morning, and lastly, water tastes sweet to me now.

I just want to get back to normal without anxiety and panic attacks, but I’m losing faith in Citalopram. I figured 2.5 weeks I should be seeing some improvement by now. Has anyone else went through this? Does it get better? I hyper fixate on everything my body does now, and it always makes me want to go to the ER to be checked. I know this is not normal, I just don’t feel like myself right now, and it’s effecting my family and my sanity. Will this pass and how long do I need to continue to suffer? Thank you for the help.

Back in April 2026, I was stung by a bee and went into anaphylactic shock. In 37 years, I had never went anaphylactic after a sting. Since April, my anxiety had been increasing after eating, I’m guessing my body releases adrenaline, I get jittery, and it brings me back to that day. I started having uncontrollable panic attacks where I thought I was dying, so I would end up in the ER with a 125+ heart rate, and often a BP of 140/110 (I’m normally 115/75 or so). I was finally put on 10 mg of Citalopram on June 1st. Every single day has sucked thus far (17 days in now). I have the feeling of burning skin (like a sunburn), every day I wake up after taking a 12.5 mg CR Ambien with between 2-4 hours of sleep. It’s like a jolt that wakes me up, and I absolutely cannot get back to sleep. Along with the Citalopram, I was prescribed 1 mg of lorazepam twice daily as needed to manage my panic attacks. Today, I was told by my doctor that it’s okay for me to go ahead and take the Ambien and lorazepam together to get comfortable and more sleep (for a short time obviously), I see him again in two weeks.

Has anyone else tried this, does it work, and is it safe? I’ve been on 5 mg Ambien, then 10 mg Ambien for years. The 12.5 mg is new to me as of June 3rd. All these AI sites say absolutely do not take them together, but I have my doctor who says I need to, to break these panic attacks. I just want to be safe and preferably not die in my sleep.

As a bonus, does anyone have any advice for the Citalopram, and when I will start feeling better/sleeping better/have energy again/not be depressed? I thought I would be past the initial phase by now, but I often think I’d choose the panic attacks over feeling how I feel on citalopram right now. Thank you for any advice.