Long Term Side Effects

[InnerChaos1990]

So years ago I was on citalopram at a dose of 60mg. I had chest pains ever since, which I generally put down to be anxiety related. I have been on and off citalopram since, because I did find it helped but only in combination with other things and it seems to be the first port of call for doctors at my surgery. I explained to the doc recently I only found it helpful at the 60mg dose. To which I was told the safest dose is supposed to be 30mg and the side effects are heart issues, hence the chest pains. I'm due to get some tests done, but just wondered if anyone else had experienced this?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi and welcome to NMP :welcome:

The max dose for Cit is 40mg (20mg for the over 65's), not 30mg. Your GP is mistaken.

The licence was changed worldwide because they found a significant risk to people with Long QT Syndrome when they went >40mg but also that they found the Serotogenic effect was little more beyond 40mg anyway.

https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/citalopram-and-escitalopram-qt-interval-prolongation

Side effects are quite varied with any antidepressant, they are far more wide ranging that heart issues. And they should go early on, not continue.

If your GP is suggesting you could now have heart issues due to being on the 60mg dose, then that's a very different story and one that requires legal action against the NHS.

[KeeKee]

How long ago did you take it? As the safety concerns were known about from 2011 (if I've read correctly).