Published on 12, July, 2020
I just started taking Citalopram 10mg, and it's the 6th day, but I'm reluctant to take it due to the side effects, mainly of a sexual nature. But I'm feeling a dry throat, dry mouth, drowsiness, confusion, and agitation.
Should I stop taking these or not? The only reason I ask is because the sexual side effects at least are removing my ability to get dopamine reliably. As there are fewer sources outside of it that can help. And especially ones that give me such joy and pleasure.
6 days is not long enough for it to have started taking effect in a positive way, you should stick with it if you can for at least 4 to 6 weeks as the others say. Side effects are worse for all antidepressants at first (have tried at last count 6 different kinds over the last 20 years), it does get better after the initial period.
Will I get at least my sexual function back because that's the biggest worry. Last anti-depressants I tried ended up killing it completely for a few weeks, it was agonizing. I was feeling more suicidal because of it. And I think it permanently effected me in the long run to only having gotten it back in the last few years.
It's been a while since I was on Citalopram but yes, after the first few weeks everything calmed down in terms of side effects.
It's up to you whether you think a few weeks of side effects is better or worse than continuing as you had been before, that's something only you can decide. Pretty much any antidepressant you try will have an adjustment period, so if you do decide you want to take them, even if it's not these exact ones, you will have to accept that it's going to feel bad before it gets better.
Personally, I'd take a loss of sexual function for a few weeks over the initial period on mirtazapine and venlafaxine, I lost all executive function with that and was effectively a zombie that my husband had to look after for a couple of weeks.