View Full Version : My experience of Citalopram withdrawal
Hi
I have posted on here in the past (years ago) but have forgotten my password and the reminder thing is broken!
Anyway so i've been on Cit for at least 10 years,started on 40 and quickly settled on 20 which is where i have stayed for the last decade.
Well this year i finally decided i needed help to sort my head and i sought out a private counsellor which has been the best thing i have ever done!...i finally like who i am and can see light at the end of the tunnel.
So i decide its time to get rid of Citalopram.I start off by taking 20 every other day,after about a week i'm getting anxious but it's not too bad.
I then went to 10 every day and again,kinda anxious but not awful.
So now i have just started 10 every other day and i feel terrible,the worst i have felt in many years,mood swings,tearful for seemingly no reason,i have a near constant feeling of impending doom/panic,a fuzzy head,the feeling that i can't cope with even everyday normal activities and just generally crap!
Oddly i still feel good about myself and all the work i have done in counselling is still there,it's as if i can tell all the symptoms are withdrawal related but it doesn't make them any easier to deal with!
I think i will start taking 10/5/10/5 etc from tomorrow,does this make sense people?
I'm not even really sure why i am typing all this,maybe for reassurance that it WILL get better?...i know what i have learnt,Citalopram is not the fluffy 'no side effect' drug i thought it was for the past decade!
Paul
I am currently coming off citalopram from 20mg. Have been on 10mg for 2 weeks now. The first week was great, but last weekend I developed some symptoms, including insomnia, lack of taste buds (everything tastes like straw!!) and 'head rushes' of dizziness.
I'm going to stay on 10mg until after Xmas and new year, and then start going down to 5mg and then nothing!
I know what you mean about feeling anxious etc but still feeling good about yourself! But I see it as a good sign, and then I have truly learnt what CBT taught me and am using it everyday without realising!
Good luck and keep us posted with your experiences!!
Laura x
Jonas - can you pm me with your old username? I'll merge this account into your old one (or vice versa) so that you don't lose all your old posts.
Pip
Jonas - can you pm me with your old username? I'll merge this account into your old one (or vice versa) so that you don't lose all your old posts.
Pip
You are assuming i remember it correctly!...i will rack my wobbly brain..
Sparkle1984
11-12-12, 21:50
Hi Paul,
Did your doctor/therapist tell you to take them every other day when tapering off? I personally don't like the sound of that, so I think when it's my time to come off them I'll cut the tablets in half and taper off in that way instead.
It's just that I've seen other people on this forum saying that taking the tablets every other day was very difficult for them, so it might be better to cut the tablets in half instead, so then you'll still be able to take something every day. I'm not an expert, this is just my own opinion and I may be wrong.
I am currently coming off citalopram from 20mg. Have been on 10mg for 2 weeks now. The first week was great, but last weekend I developed some symptoms, including insomnia, lack of taste buds (everything tastes like straw!!) and 'head rushes' of dizziness.
I'm going to stay on 10mg until after Xmas and new year, and then start going down to 5mg and then nothing!
I know what you mean about feeling anxious etc but still feeling good about yourself! But I see it as a good sign, and then I have truly learnt what CBT taught me and am using it everyday without realising!
Good luck and keep us posted with your experiences!!
Laura x
Hi Laura
Powerful drug isn't it!
I think at least for me anyway there can be a tendency to rush it a bit and try to get it over with,forgetting my brain has been used to it for the last 10 years!
Your method seems really sensible,i will stay on 10/5/10 until i stabilise and then onto 5's etc...memo to self...stop rushing!
It helps to know others are going through similar trials although i kinda wish none of us had to :)
Paul
---------- Post added at 22:00 ---------- Previous post was at 21:54 ----------
Hi Paul,
Did your doctor/therapist tell you to take them every other day when tapering off? I personally don't like the sound of that, so I think when it's my time to come off them I'll cut the tablets in half and taper off in that way instead.
It's just that I've seen other people on this forum saying that taking the tablets every other day was very difficult for them, so it might be better to cut the tablets in half instead, so then you'll still be able to take something every day. I'm not an expert, this is just my own opinion and I may be wrong.
Hey Sparkle
My GP and pharmacist both suggested that every other day is a viable method,it's really not in my experience.
My GP even told me that 20 is the first 'real' dose of Citalopram and that 10mg is mostly placebo effect,maybe she should try coming off of 10mg and then see what she thinks!
On the whole my experience of mental health on the NHS has been very poor...self help CBT booklets and diazepam!
I would urge anyone to try counselling if you can,it really has helped me massively.
Paul
Yea, my Doc also said that every other day can be a good way to do it as well, when I get to 5 mg, she wants me to take 5 every other day before I stop, but I'm going to see the Doc before I do this just make sure that that is still what she recommends!!
Your right in that you need to take your time, at first I wanted to just rush it and have it done and dusted by Xmas but then I realised that its better me to learn to cope without the drug if I do it slowly and let my body get used to it!
CBT is what I found worked for me...I hated the idea of therapy where you sit and talk through stuff, I wanted something pro active so I felt like I was doing something to get better. But the piece doesn't fit for everyone and you have to try stuff and find what works! I was lucky I tried CBT first and found it really helped!!
Laura x
Yea, my Doc also said that every other day can be a good way to do it as well, when I get to 5 mg, she wants me to take 5 every other day before I stop, but I'm going to see the Doc before I do this just make sure that that is still what she recommends!!
Your right in that you need to take your time, at first I wanted to just rush it and have it done and dusted by Xmas but then I realised that its better me to learn to cope without the drug if I do it slowly and let my body get used to it!
CBT is what I found worked for me...I hated the idea of therapy where you sit and talk through stuff, I wanted something pro active so I felt like I was doing something to get better. But the piece doesn't fit for everyone and you have to try stuff and find what works! I was lucky I tried CBT first and found it really helped!!
Laura x
Yeah you are right,it's about finding out what works for you,i have been doing CBT with my counsellor,it's great!
I always find Christmas adds a bit of pressure to feel ok,change is something i have struggled with in the past and xmas always unsettled me a bit,looking forward to it this year though!...but it would be nice to shake the withdrawal!
Paul
Well i felt pretty dreadful again today,it's the near constant feeling of dread that is so draining,i do feel a little better now,i tend to feel better in the evenings.
Quite wired though,over excitable and chatty :wacko:
sticking to the plan of 10mg everyday until i stabilise
Anyway,thats my daily ramble!
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