My T has recommended celexa for my depression. I have been on this med. for 2 weeks and my side effects of really bad and constant headaches is beginning to make me very sick.

I have been told that in time the headaches will go away. Does anyone have any experience with celexa? Just looking for some feed back.

Thanks

Ken

I have been on celexa for a couple of years now. 20mg if citalopram per day (generic name). I don't recall getting headaches from it, but I'm curious if you have ever had migraine headaches before.

I used to get migraines about 4 times a year, but thankfully 800mg ibuprofen three times a day completely stopped them.

If the headaches haven't changed or shown any sign of letting up after 3 weeks, I would discuss that with my doctor. There is a chance that you are having a psychological stress reaction to the celexa, and if that is the case, it is temporary.

I tried Celexa a few years ago, got blurry vision from it. No thanks.

Ken,

I was on Celexa for years and it helped me a lot. I felt spaced out at first, but then things settled down and I had no further significant side-effects. But we all react to meds differently and if you're getting bad headaches and they don't pass, it would probably be a good idea to try something else.

Much love,
Larry

The best thing to do is let your doc. know whats going on.
Most SSRI's take 3-4 weeks for full effect. If you are experiencing migraine headaches I would definitely call the doc.
Sure you don't have a sinus infection, or blurred vision? both will cause headaches.

Just an FYI - write down any and all information of meds you are on as well as herbal remedy's, teas, vitamins, supplements, and doses. Might be something that is interacting causing the headaches.

Here a good site to see what others have experienced with the med. http://www.askapatient.com
This is the section on Celexa
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20822&name=CELEXA

Also this site RX List, has black box information " the insert you get with the boxed version which is written in size 2 font"
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/citalo_ad.htm
Good luck

Hey, Ken. Just saw this post - I have been on Celexa for 5 years - the only side affect that remains is that it takes me a long time to ejaculate - like when you have had one too many drinks - I am on 40 mg/day.

I was drinking heavily when I started on it (I did not tell my Dr... they can be so gullible ) so I may have had headaches, but since I was usually either drunk or hung over, I didn't seem to notice. I was jumpy for about 3 weeks, but that passed.

Dan

Best thing to do is be honest with your doc. There are a lot of different anti-depressants on the market, and my psychiatrist basically told me flat out that the one that tends to work best varies from individual to individual.

My side effects with Cymbalta were the kind that were kind of embarassing to talk about, so I'm very glad they passed on their own.

Best of luck to you.

Bryan

Celexa gave me severe muscle pain in my arms, back, and legs. I stuck with it for 6 weeks but finally had to get off of it after going to the emergency room twice due to the pain I was in. Never had headaches. I wasn't really sure it was the celexa but I asked by P to change me to wellbutrin xr and all these muscle aches went away so I am sure it was the celexa. The wellbutrin works great for me but everyone is different.

I tried both back in '01. Celexa gave me blurred vision. Wellbutrin worked great until my hands started itching. I eventually went off of it, but it did help.

I was on Celexa for many years, before I switched to prozac and now Cymbalta. Yes headaches is a very common side effect from starting treatment with SSRI's. Not all will experience the same sideeffects.Itis different for each person.

And yes It is my experience that the headaches does subside after a few weeks. But some are much better off tapering the treatment much more slowly 10 mg-20mg-30 mg-40mg up to whatever dose the doctor recommends. Starting with 20 mg is for some way to harsh and give bad sideeffects - if you started with 10 mg the headache may have been less severe and you could increase to 20 when you felt ready. Just know that with every increase some of the side effects may return for a while. I would talk to the doctor if you can get 10 mg Citalopram for a while undtil the headaches subsides and then go back up on 20 mg, when you feel ready and better. The headache may return for a while each time you increase yuor dossage. But It will be more milder than it is right now. Eventually the headache will subside and go away.

It is very discouraging to experience bad sideeffects - on the other hand it shows that you are responding to the treatment and that you eventually will get the effects too. For me it took 6 weeks before I began experiencing a lift in my mood.

I also saw you wrote about anger elsewhere - Irritabilty, anger spells even road rage can be a sideeffect too. Have it got worse after you started Celexa? Again talk to your doctor about what you are experiencing. And we are here for you too, to help you endure.

and Bryan: Some of the Sexual Sideeffects may be uncomfortable to talk about, but they are very common! Just know you are not alone. Mine went away too - anorgasm with Citalopram and retrograde ejaculation with Cymbalta ( i apologize if sexual side effects were not what you reffered to).

Best wishes