Ryan, I hear your frustration. I've been on a shopping list of meds (mostly 1 at a time), and have found the Psych/MD community pretty unprofessional in "setting expectations". I'm hoping that by being part of this group, maybe we'll find a way to make meds less of a roulette experience. For example, on this site they have a depression test. I've done them before, and will ask the moderator what outcomes the test produces - I'm expecting it will be like "duh", you're depressed. What would be more helpful is if it generated some kind of matrix that might guide me and others to choose my next (and hopefully last med) with some kind of "science". Today, despite all the hooey about HMO's wanting "outcomes" to be objective, the Psych community still does the "hmm, very intersting - let's try Prozac". If I did my job that way I'd get busted hard. (I'm in technology, so it would be like my saying "hmm, very interesting, let's implement SAP's Software") My "patient" would want to know WHY I picked "Product X", vs. "Y", and exactly what the cost/benefit risk/reward and timeline was. If I failed to answer that I'd be ejected out of there... .. at lightspeed. Shouldn't we, the medical consumer with a deadly disease have the same "rights"? Hang in there, D

For me, trusting my then internist and taking 10mg Celexa has been the worst decision of my entire life. It has ruined my life totally. I've considered suing the quack that prescribed it, even though that won't help now. Essentially, DRUGS DON'T WORK. While taking it (10mg at bedtime), I slept no more than 4 hours a night. For 26.5 years before then, I slept a solid 8-9 hours each night and felt great when waking up. It also caused me to have a panic attack (the last one was 2 years ago and lasted for 30 mins) that was far more intense than when my dad died and lasted all night. Additionally, It [b]TOTALLY[/b] killed my appetite -- I could shove down no more than a orange and a sandwich even while exercising strenuously. After that worst week of my life, I stopped taking it, and over the next three weeks got my appetite back slowly. I then tried BuSpar, with a lighter version of the same effects. Then 5mg dose didn;t do too much additional damage, but the 10mg dose 2x a day caused constant diarrhea. Since November 7 when I took that poison called Celexa, I have slept soundly for 8 hours. Since I need 7+ hours of quality sleep to function best, I now have chronic pain, find it harder to concentrate, sometimes have blurred vision, have high blood pressure and temperature and generally increased metabolism that I can't keep up with. I also wake up frequenly with nasal congestion, get sick more often, and get sore from mild exercise now. I don't have the stamina I once had to work the long hours sometimes needed for my job as a software engineer, and am constantly thirsty. My glucose level was 97 before Celexa destroyed my metabolism. Since I've already poisoned my brain with one SSRI, I agreed to try taking drops of zoloft concentrate -- 2 drops (2mg total dose) to start. I laugh at (because there's nothing else to do about it) the "well-tolerated" side-effect promise of SSRIs. Doctors say it takes 3 weeks for Celexa to work, but I barely survived one week on it. From my experience, the FDA is correct -- SSRIs ARE NOT CANDY, and only people who are considering suicide should consider drugssince thet cause MANY, MANY more problems than they solve. I'm going to ask a doctor this week for some Ativan or Xanax to help me sleep since

Dear Ilewella, It is important to inform your doctor anytime you experience side effects from the meds you are taking. Susanne

I just started taking Celexa yesterday. I have to take half a 20mg pill for 14 days and than start taking a full pill. I'm not looking forward to that since I got some side effects about 30 minutes after taking it....I'm very sensitive to meds. So far I've gotten chills, a little fever/hot, drowsiness, upset stomach, dizziness and nausea. This all comes and goes. I'd like to sleep but I get dizzy when I close my eyes....kinda like when you're really drunk. I'm going to take it with food today to see if it makes any difference. Has anyone else had the same side effects?