Will citalopram leave me less tired than seroxat and prozac?!

Will citalopram leave me less tired than seroxat and prozac?

Hi.

After going through years of using seroxat and then years of prozac, I have now been a week on citalopram.

On both seroxat and prozac I was just contantly extremely tired. A constant physical feeling of being out of energy.

(My blood of course has been tested numerous times and nothing has been found. Also, when I don't take the medication my energy comes back so it can't be any underlying conditition.)

It has only been a week of using citalopram and I feel extremely tired, yawing, have a headache and can't concentrate on anything. I had the same when I started seroxat and prozac and my doctor said the tiredness would go away: sadly it didn't.


Is it likely that citalopram won't leave be contantly tired like seroxat and prozac did?

All of the SSRIs - Prozac, Seroxat, Citalopram, Sertroline - can cause tiredness. If you're still exhausted after a month on the medication, try a lower dose (if your doctor agrees) and see if that helps.

Have you tried Cymbalta, or Effexor? These are newer antidepressants and meant to be more 'energising'.

I've also heard that Wellbutrin is a good one for not causing fatigue; be aware that in higher doses this one is associated with risk of seizures.

Another alternative is an MAOI; these are the oldest types of antidepressants and one in particular, Transcylpromine (excuse wrong spelling!) is apparently incredibly stimulating and does not cause tiredness. If you do take this, you have to get detailed advice as to which foods and drinks to avoid, and also over the counter medications - all can cause fatalities if mixed with the MAOI.

I would really suggest that if you're not happy on the Citalopram (it made me very tired) then you enquire about these other antidepressants.

There is also something called PROVIGIL that is meant to help people with excessive daytime sleepiness; it's called something else here in the UK, I believe. Check it out.