With the help of my doctor, I decided to switch from citalopram to venlafaxine (Effexor), which is supposed to have fewer side effects. We decided that I would taper off fast, to decrease the amount of time I would experience withdrawal effects. We agreed on 5mg every 2 days, so went down to 15mg, then two days later 10mg, etc.

Well as I hit 5mg it occurred to me that I might want to try going off meds completely. I haven't experienced much in the way of withdrawal symptoms so far. I figured I'd try for a few weeks and if I couldn't handle it, I'd go onto the venlafaxine.

I finally started researching citalopram withdrawal today, and discovered that everybody's screaming "DON'T TAPER OFF TOO FAST!!" They're talking MONTHS to get off the meds, and here I am taking a little over a week.

So what should I do? Should I go back up to 20mg and then taper off more slowly? Today was my first day on 0. I'm worried that the withdrawal will last longer because I went down too quickly. Advice?

Additional info: I started taking SSRIs at age 11 (paroxetine), then switched onto citalopram about 7 years ago. I'm now 31. My only other experience being off meds was a few years ago, I tried to go off citalopram for 2 months and was anxious the whole time (but I was still taking Zyban - bupropion).