Citalopram Withdrawal, worst anxiety of my life.

[LiveAboveIt]

Thanks, Mojo. It's been rough, but I have had brief respite from it over the last few years where the anxiety disappeared for a few weeks at a time.

I'm hoping that through all of this I am still on my way to recovery. Nobody is destined to suffer with intense anxiety forever, right?

[pollynewsome]

I have friends that tells me the start up in my head cos they take it with no start up at all. They don't hang out on sites and read nothing about side affects etc. They say cos I read stuff that's say you may experience side affects, I now have them.. could be true.

[Mojo61]

I think it is true. Many years ago (nearly 19 to be precise) I lost my mum when I was 6 months pregnant with my son. After he was born I had the "baby blues" and the doctor prescribed a short course of Prozac 20mg which I took without question. I never read the information leaflet - if there ever was one of course, and the Internet as such didn't really exist. I can't remember having any problems whatsoever, no nausea, no anxiety, nothing. Now I can't even get 10mg Citalopram down me without thinking I'm plagued with every side effect written in the lengthy tome they euphemistically call the Patient Information Leaflet.

[Suziewuzie]

I must admit that when I don't come on this site for a couple of days, they are generally my better days. Probably because I'm not focusing on how I feel and giving it so much power. I removed the information leaflets from my meds and put it in a safe place, I'll only read it if I'm experiencing something unusual and want to check if it's a normal side effect.

[R1CH]

Thanks, Mojo. It's been rough, but I have had brief respite from it over the last few years where the anxiety disappeared for a few weeks at a time.

I'm hoping that through all of this I am still on my way to recovery. Nobody is destined to suffer with intense anxiety forever, right?

Of course not, your mind will heal itself and the meds will help you too. I asked the very same question to myself over and over again when I was completely debilitated for 5 months. Keep the faith!

Rich

[LiveAboveIt]

Of course not, your mind will heal itself and the meds will help you too. I asked the very same question to myself over and over again when I was completely debilitated for 5 months. Keep the faith!

Rich

Thanks for the reassurance, Rich.

[Pammie81]

Hi there did you ever get better from your withdrawal of citalopram? I'm going through exactly the same you were....it's pure hell!

[ianw21]

Hi Pammie, I'm in the same boat and came across this thread - it's quite old now so I wouldn't expect much of a response. If you want to talk about your withdrawal let me know - I'm 6 weeks in and it feels like the bad days are getting worse rather than better - you can see why people keep going back to the pills to stop feeling like this!

[Danibroony]

Ian and pammie, I am going through the Exact same. Really struggling to find recent posts or support or even comfort to say how long it takes to recover from this. I am 6 weeks off citalopram.

---------- Post added at 19:30 ---------- Previous post was at 19:30 ----------

Hi Pammie, I'm in the same boat and came across this thread - it's quite old now so I wouldn't expect much of a response. If you want to talk about your withdrawal let me know - I'm 6 weeks in and it feels like the bad days are getting worse rather than better - you can see why people keep going back to the pills to stop feeling like this!

Ian and pammie, I am going through the Exact same. Really struggling to find recent posts or support or even comfort to say how long it takes to recover from this. I am 6 weeks off citalopram.

---------- Post added at 19:31 ---------- Previous post was at 19:30 ----------

Hi Pammie, I'm in the same boat and came across this thread - it's quite old now so I wouldn't expect much of a response. If you want to talk about your withdrawal let me know - I'm 6 weeks in and it feels like the bad days are getting worse rather than better - you can see why people keep going back to the pills to stop feeling like this!

Ian and pammie, I am going through the Exact same. Really struggling to find recent posts or support or even comfort to say how long it takes to recover from this. I am 6 weeks off citalopram.

[George B]

Oh how I can relate to these posts. After many, many years on 40mg Citalopram my doc changed me to Mirtazapine (in late August) as I was feeling the Citalopram was doing nothing for my ongoing anxiety and depression . I am now in what can honestly be described as a living hell. I have been experiencing anxiety like nothing I have experienced before. The morning is the worst. After a terrible night’s sleep I wake in a blind terror, and it takes what little reserves I have to get out of bed and face the day. My waking hours are filled with an ongoing, oppressive anxiety that NEVER relents. I’ve always been an anxious person, but this is of a new dimension. I get no joy from anything I did previously. I cannot bear to be around people and every opportunity I get I crawl into bed and lie in terror. As a husband, father and grandfather I have responsibilities that I try to fulfil, but the effort is wearing, and people are weary of my ‘moodiness’. I have returned to my doctor and have an appointment with the mental health centre this week. It seems clear to me that my long term use of Citalopram has altered my brain chemistry in a devastating way, yet this doesn’t appear to be something that is considered by the medical profession. I cling to the hope that healing will come and my mind will recover, but at the minute I am in despair.