Celexa

13 Comments & Reviews: Celexa

1. Celexa helped with my focus and ADD, however, I gained 20 pounds in 6 months! This was my first time to reach a weight categorized by overweight according to the BMI chart. Also, from my understanding, it is not recommended as a long term treatment plan for ADHD. During the six months, I must say it really improved my school performance and outlook on life. I made a 3.88 GPA while at grad school for social work! I eventually had to get off of it because I didn’t want to gain more weight. After the medication, it took me 5 months to lose 15 pounds by counting calories alone. I eat about 1,500 calories a day and I have five more pounds to lose to reach my goal by January 2020.

2. I was diagnosed in my early 30s now in late 30s with Inattentive ADHD. Years of unsuccessful management have brought me here looking for helpful tips to manage in my daily life and medication advice. I have steered clear of medication because I was misdiagnosed in my late teens with bi-polar disorder and was prescribed Depakote, which made me rapidly gain 40lbs and become a zombie. I was on this for two years before a caring psychiatrist realized I had been misdiagnosed and removed me from the medication. I was misdiagnosed again in my mid 20s with depression and prescribed Celexa for a year, which curbed my anxiety but did little to diminish my ADHD symptoms. I removed myself from the Celexa and felt more motivated but lacked focus

3. My son is 4 (about to turn 5) and has ADHD/Anxiety, SPD and possibly ODD. We started meds last Nov. First Ritalin I think. Two days later I took him off. His anxiety was so bad he wouldn’t leave the house and was scared of everything. Then Adderall. It took the edge off the aggressiveness but he is still impulsive and super hyperactive. He has been on it since Nov. Then we tried Celexa a few months ago and the hyperactivity was through the roof. Again I stopped after 2 days. However, my son wasn’t talking before the Celexa. He would only talk about what he wanted talk about for a few sentences. During and still after the 2 days of Celexa he is talking non stop. It is nice. When I ask him how his day was I get more than “I don’t know” or “stop asking me”. He does stutter a little and repeat certain phrases a couple of times before he can get the sentence out but it is so much better than what it was. He is talking nonstop about everything now. Sometimes, we even have conversations. The anger explosions are less too, I think because he can communicate better. We added Intuniv after the Celexa. It helped a little with the hyperactivity. We increased to 2mg of Intuniv a day and he seems to be doing well with that. Last week we increased Adderall from 10mg to 15 and again, hyperactivity went through the roof. I am so glad to hear that other people have said that their children are very sensitive to medicine. The doctors keep saying things like “oh that small of an increase shouldn’t have had that effect” Ugh. I now just have him on Intuniv. He too is getting sleepy in the afternoon. After years of not sleeping, I don’t mind him getting tired. However, the noncompliance is still pretty bad. The physical aggressiveness with his younger sister is also pretty bad. I can NEVER take my eyes off of him. It is so exhausting. However, the hyperactivity seems to be calmed down. Anyway, have been on Intuniv only for less than a week. We will see how it goes.

4. My doctor tried me on Celexa twice but it did nothing to help me either time. I was also on Adderall at the time.

5. I’ve been taking Celexa for over a year for anxiety. I have found that I need a stimulant and Celexa to help with my anxiety. Adderall XR 30 mg. daily with Celexa 20 mg. daily has worked for me, along with Adderall 5 mg. at 12:00 noon, to carry me through the afternoon.

6. I tried it for 45 days. Initially, I was in a good mood and had some drive, but once I started to metabolize, my depression came back with a vengeance, sweating was another problem. I sweated a lot the entire trial. I really didn’t like it; it was also very expensive.

7. I took Celexa a long time ago. It worked fine for me but I had to be increased after being on it for a long time.

8. My 10 year son has ADD/Anxiety. He is on celexa for anxiety and intuniv only for ADHD. We had terrible problems with almost all stimulants causing him to talk about hurting himself. He would also get very volatile. The Intuniv isn’t doing much of anything to be honest. We have been doing CBT for about 6 months and was just told that she can’t really help him because his executive functioning is so bad. I am super nervous about putting him back on any kind of stimulant.

9. I haven’t been officially diagnosed with ADD yet, but after doing research for my son, I am more and more suspicious that I have at least a mild case. However, my periods are insane. I track my period so I can double my dose of Celexa (an antidepressant I take every day) the week before my period. Otherwise I’m so irritable, I’m borderline abusive. The Celexa really helps! I also take 1000 mg of salmon oil daily to help with spacey/forgetfulness; it does my cholesterol levels good too. 1 mg Melatonin is the only way I can get to sleep at night (any more than that and I am groggy for the whole day, but my husband takes 5mg). But I still have no energy, no motivation, and monster cramps once I start my period. Exercise helps a little, if I can get off the couch long enough.

10. I am the queen of drug-sensitivity; I have tried EVERY antidepressant with brutal side effects; As for anti-anxiety, I have been on Bu-Spar for several years with no issues and it actually works. Currently I am on Celexa for the depression only because it keeps me somewhat stable without side effects. My therapist has recommended ECT therapy as my last resort. That’s another story…I have been taking Adderall along with the Celexa and Bu-Spar safely, but am wondering if the Adderall is doing what it is supposed to.

11. When I was young I had ADHD but as I grew older it got better. I tried Wellbutrin and then Adderall and it was like a light going on in my head; it took away the fear and gave me a calm I never had. Then I was prescribed Celexa for my depression (I had tried Prozac, Lithium, and Wellbutrin but there were too many side effects). Celexa was a life savor!

12. I am currently going through the process of weaning off of 20 mg of Celexa, which I have been on for about 10 months. While Celexa seemed to help a little bit, a few months ago I started noticing my irritability coming back and realized it was likely more connected to my ADD than anything else. I also gained 25 pounds on Celexa in 8 months, which made me feel (surprise!) a little bit depressed about myself. So, I decided I’d try to wean off of Celexa.

    The problem I’m now experiencing is that the weaning process is making my ADHD OUT OF CONTROL. Even though I take 10 mg of Adderall twice a day, I feel like my pre-medication self. I have been forgetting things at work on a regular basis; I have been irritable as all get out; and I’m super tired, among other issues.I am going to talk to my doctor about upping my Adderall dosage at the end of this week, but I’m not sure if there’s anything else I can do.

    1. I was at 20 mg of Celexa and dropped to 10 mg with no problem. In fact, that dosage is enough for me, and I am still there. I also am prescribed Bupropion (Wellbutrin) for depression, and it also has some effect on ADHD.