10 days into citipram are these side effects?

[Worriedalot]

I am 10 days into 20mg citipram and I getting chin / jaw tremors at night that make my teeth chatrer slightly ? I have also been off balance for days, both ate symptoms of Parkinsons which is my big fear

[BlueIris]

They're side effects, when I started Cit I kept on getting toothache where I clenched my jaw so hard. The wooziness was also something I had, it made me feel kind of stoned.

[Worriedalot]

My jaw shakes all day, chattering my teeth lightly , how long before it stops ?

[panic_down_under]

My jaw shakes all day, chattering my teeth lightly , how long before it stops ?

Unfortunately, this is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions which can only be answered by 'it depends'. Most side-effects begin diminishing within a couple of weeks, but there are no guarantees.

Magnesium supplements sometimes help, so often do small adjuvant doses (5-10mg x 3 times a day) of buspirone (Buspar). Buspirone is a GAD specific med which works well for a few, but not at all for most, however, it can alleviate some SSRIs/SNRIs side-effects and also increase their effectiveness. Low doses of the antipsychotic quetiapine (Seroquel) may also help. Imo, buspirone is the better med, but UK GPs often can't/won't prescribe it whereas they don't have the same problem with quetiapine.

Another trick which sometimes works is switching from citalopram to escitalopram. They are essentially the same med sharing the same active 'S' isomer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314378/) of citalopram. The difference is citalopram also has the less biologically active 'R' citalopram isomer, however, because of that small difference in chemistry the side-effects of the two can be different. I can't guarantee that switching to escitalopram will resolve the chattering, but it's worth a shot, imho, as there are rarely any issues when switching between the two (note: escitalopram doses are half that of citalopram).

[Worriedalot]

Spoke to the doctor he said that teeth chatter in wasn't a side effect you have and that I should come off it.... Bit upset as I was waiting to feel a bit better

[panic_down_under]

Spoke to the doctor he said that teeth chatter in wasn't a side effect you have and that I should come off it....

He is wrong. Teeth grinding, medically bruxism, is a common side-effect. It is listed under: 'Side effects not requiring immediate medical attention' in the registered side-effects (https://www.drugs.com/sfx/citalopram-side-effects.html).


Bit upset as I was waiting to feel a bit better

Instead of quitting citalopram ask your GP if you can switch to another SSRI. There is no need to come off one SSRI before starting another and you should retain some of the benefits from your time on citalopram.

[Worriedalot]

Now I have stopped taking them how long before the side effects should stop? It's been a couple of days and it's still happening

[panic_down_under]

Now I have stopped taking them how long before the side effects should stop? It's been a couple of days and it's still happening

Citalopram has a half-life of ~35 hours so it may take 2-3 days for plasma levels to drop below the triggering threshold, and possible another day or two for things to calm down. :sad: