owenee
17-12-13, 20:10
Hi all, it's my first post here after reading so much of the great information on this site and I could really do with some help and reassurance.
I have been on Citalopram for about 11 years now which was initially given for stress and depression. It worked fine and I kept taking it mainly because I felt it helped me deal with my life. After a few episodes of what I can only assume was the drug becoming less effective over time I decided to try, like others here, to get back to "my old self" ... and not be what I felt "blunted" by the medication. So at the beginning of November 2013 I started tapering off. I have always taken 10mg as I seem very sensitive to drugs so I went from that to 5mg in about a month or so. The first few weeks were actually good, I felt alive, motivated whilst having some of the expected headaches, dizziness, sinus trouble, nausea, diarrhoea (sorry!) and a general "hyper" feeling. This I could deal with. Now however I seem to be taking a bit of a crash. Recently I've had (again expected but pretty horrible) periods of thankfully controllable anger and frustration but this now seems to have given way to a return of some depression and anxiety. I decided to stabilise on 5 mg before going down further so I find it strange the way these symptoms have developed so long after starting tapering. Recently my most bothersome symptom is feeling like I cant take a deep breath and when I do manage it my chest muscles are painful - plus I have a feeling of pressure on my chest. I've had recent cardiac tests so all is fine there. This and the constant nasal congestion and sometimes a feeling of chest tightness or wheezing when I breathe is really starting to make my anxiety worse as of course I start to worry about all these symptoms. I also feel freezing cold most of the time, my feet especially are like blocks of ice!
Can anyone tell me if they have had a similar experience? - as in, tapering off Citalopram and these symptoms appearing?
Its the breathing trouble that is really worrying me now as I don't really know if that's a withdrawal symptom or not. To be honest I just feel like I've had enough suffering and feel like I should just throw in the towel so to speak and just go back to 10mg. But I've come this far and really want to be free of this.
Thank you to anyone who can take the time to reply :)
Richard
I have been on Citalopram for about 11 years now which was initially given for stress and depression. It worked fine and I kept taking it mainly because I felt it helped me deal with my life. After a few episodes of what I can only assume was the drug becoming less effective over time I decided to try, like others here, to get back to "my old self" ... and not be what I felt "blunted" by the medication. So at the beginning of November 2013 I started tapering off. I have always taken 10mg as I seem very sensitive to drugs so I went from that to 5mg in about a month or so. The first few weeks were actually good, I felt alive, motivated whilst having some of the expected headaches, dizziness, sinus trouble, nausea, diarrhoea (sorry!) and a general "hyper" feeling. This I could deal with. Now however I seem to be taking a bit of a crash. Recently I've had (again expected but pretty horrible) periods of thankfully controllable anger and frustration but this now seems to have given way to a return of some depression and anxiety. I decided to stabilise on 5 mg before going down further so I find it strange the way these symptoms have developed so long after starting tapering. Recently my most bothersome symptom is feeling like I cant take a deep breath and when I do manage it my chest muscles are painful - plus I have a feeling of pressure on my chest. I've had recent cardiac tests so all is fine there. This and the constant nasal congestion and sometimes a feeling of chest tightness or wheezing when I breathe is really starting to make my anxiety worse as of course I start to worry about all these symptoms. I also feel freezing cold most of the time, my feet especially are like blocks of ice!
Can anyone tell me if they have had a similar experience? - as in, tapering off Citalopram and these symptoms appearing?
Its the breathing trouble that is really worrying me now as I don't really know if that's a withdrawal symptom or not. To be honest I just feel like I've had enough suffering and feel like I should just throw in the towel so to speak and just go back to 10mg. But I've come this far and really want to be free of this.
Thank you to anyone who can take the time to reply :)
Richard