Having now been on a number of antidepressant and anxiety medications it is interesting to look back at my experiences and perhaps it might be useful for others to compare their own experiences with mine. I'll start of with Citalopram as this was the one I was on for the longest.

Citalopram (Brands: Celexa, Cipramil, Citrol, Seropram, Talam, Recital, Zetalo, Celepram, Ciazil, Zentius, Ciprapine, Cilift, Cipram)
Length of treatment: 2-3 years
Side effects experienced: trembling, dry mouth, dizziness, pins and needles

The Citalopram was started in small doses and increased over time to 60mg a day. I seem to remember feeling slightly better within a month of starting to take the medication but within 2-3 months I felt that the benefits had decreased and the doctor then prescribed Lithium which certainly helped.

The trembling was awkward at times and as it was visible to others in meetings and in social situations. Nobody said anything but I could tell it was noticed, I guess people are too polite to ask and probably thought I was just nervous. When I mentioned that I was suffering from trembling, dizziness and pins and needles the doctor suggested I was hyper-ventilating and suggested I used a paper bag and that these were not known side effects - afterwards I took a look at the instructions and oddly enough they are listed as side effects. Guess you should always read the instructions first and then ask the doctor about side effects.

About six months ago I started suffering psychotic episodes, had difficulty focusing, pins and needles, problems sleeping and was really agitated and confused. These seem to appear in the side effects but after 2-3 years of being on Citalopram I'm not sure if my symptoms were side effects or not.

If you have taken or are taking Citalopram (or one of the brand names) then it would be great if you could comment on your experiences so we can see how they compare.