Coming off

[laura3007]

Hello everyone,

I am brand new to this forum, and am looking for some general advice.

I'm a 21 year old female who has been taking Citalopram for 12 months, after being victim of a nasty confrontational burglary which left me struggling with severe anxiety and PTSD.

I initially started on a 10mg dosage, but this was increased to 20mg after 4 weeks.

I now feel I am ready to come off the medication, having 'faced my demons' so to speak and witnessed the man being sentenced to prison time. I am a lot more settled, and things are going well for me, and I feel strong and balanced enough to stop taking Citalopram.

Having read many posts on these forums I have some idea of what to expect when I come off Citalopram, but see conflicting advice on how to do so. I have an appointment this afternoon with my GP, whose advice I will of course follow, but I would be really interested to hear anyone else's withdrawal stories, how they have done it, and what I can expect. I'm fully prepared for it to be a long and unpleasant process, and any advice would be much appreciated!

Best wishes,

Laura

[Ingenious]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The withdrawal effects are sometimes a bit strange (I had some odd vision effects and head "zaps" when tapering off it) but are not usually in the same league as the side effects when you start and if you take your time in lowering the dose you can have a soft landing. I'd expect your GP to suggest you go down to 10mg for a week or two then come off. If you're really worried about withdrawal effects your GP could even suggest 10mg for a couple of weeks then 5mg for a little while after that.

I'm sure others here might have had other experiences but if done properly I wouldn't expect it to be long and unpleasant.

[laura3007]

Thanks for your reply, Ingenious.

I have heard people refer to the "zaps" on these forums... what exactly do these entail?

From what I have read, it seems better to gradually reduce the dosage as opposed to going cold turkey... would you agree?

L

[LAURA48]

Hi Laura

Sorry to hear of your trauma and glad you are feeling better.

Just go slow - no rush 20mg to 15mg, 10mg to 5mg , etc over a few weeks - that is what I would do.

Good Luck

Laura x

---------- Post added at 15:10 ---------- Previous post was at 15:08 ----------

Sorry Laura - I have just started this medication! but if I had to come off it would go very slow! as stopped Sertraline suddenly and had zaps and head rushes - weird feeling.

[julieannboo]

Thanks for your reply, Ingenious.

I have heard people refer to the "zaps" on these forums... what exactly do these entail?

From what I have read, it seems better to gradually reduce the dosage as opposed to going cold turkey... would you agree?

L

yes.

zaps are horrible and i wouldnt wish these on anyone. when you drop from an ssri too quickly - some people get like an electronic shock through the head or when they stand up or sit down - if feels like you head takes a little while to connect with the rest of the body.

horrible stuff.

[ems73]

I've had head "zaps", it's kind of like a sharp buzz in your head a little like a tiny electric shock/static... it's a bit weird but honestly not scary especially as you're expecting it to happen.

[Ingenious]

I didn't find the head zaps that bad either - just a little weird - but remember you may not even get these, everyone is different. I guess it all depends on expectations, if you know it's just a harmless side effect you'll just laugh at it, but if you had no warning and didn't know what it was, it might panic you. And yes in answer to your question, you should only ever taper your dose down gradually, never go cold turkey (as sudden withdrawal has other complications). If the dose decrease is gradual enough and over a long enough period I'm sure it is possible to get little or no effects.

[laura3007]

Thanks so very much for all of your replies.

I have visited my GP, who is also convinced I am ready to stop taking Citalopram. She has halved my dosage to just 10mg, which I will take every day for a month. Providing I don't suffer any horrendous side effects, I will then take them every other day, for another month. Finally, I'll take them every three days, until I run out of tablets in the pack of 56 she has prescribed to me.

With any luck, I should be pill-free within 12 weeks or so.

I'm keeping a blog to chronicle my experience of being weaned of Citalopram, to follow my progress please click the following link:

http://citalopramstory.wordpress.com/

I hope to make a collection of experiences and to build a resource for those starting to take the medication, those coming off it, and long-term users. Please check it out (it's very empty at the moment!) and contribute your own stories and experiences if you feel able.

A million thank yous for your responses, I'm feeling very reassured and ready to take on the challenge! x

[Ingenious]

It's great news to hear, sounds like your GP is really spot on with tapering your dose down slowly. The fact is you have all the time in the world to do this, so doing it over a few months is perfect. Good luck :)

[citalopram1]

Hello everyone,

I am brand new to this forum, and am looking for some general advice.

I'm a 21 year old female who has been taking Citalopram for 12 months, after being victim of a nasty confrontational burglary which left me struggling with severe anxiety and PTSD.

I initially started on a 10mg dosage, but this was increased to 20mg after 4 weeks.

I now feel I am ready to come off the medication, having 'faced my demons' so to speak and witnessed the man being sentenced to prison time. I am a lot more settled, and things are going well for me, and I feel strong and balanced enough to stop taking Citalopram.

Having read many posts on these forums I have some idea of what to expect when I come off Citalopram, but see conflicting advice on how to do so. I have an appointment this afternoon with my GP, whose advice I will of course follow, but I would be really interested to hear anyone else's withdrawal stories, how they have done it, and what I can expect. I'm fully prepared for it to be a long and unpleasant process, and any advice would be much appreciated!

Best wishes,

LauraHi Laura,

I was on 10mg of citalopram for 8 months. My doctor advised me when coming off to take a tablet every other day for 2 weeks and then to stop altogether. I too had read all the withdrawl symptons that i might get and was very worried. Well had no trouble at all going alternative days but after i had been off the tablets completely for 3 days i was very sick on and off from 8.30pm one evening to 6.30 the next morning...had been sick so may times that my stomach felt stretched...that was very unpleasant but am pleased to say that was the only withdrawl i had so basically it was all over in one day. Hope this helps you.