Coming off citalopram and onto venlafaxine

[RoseBud56]

Hi everyone,
ive been taking 60mg of citalopram for 3 years now, i tried to reduce the dose in june. It made me feel so tired, i was walking gently accross some hills in edinburgh and my legs just felt like lead and i just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. I also couldn't bear to go out, i couldn't concentrate on anything either or get anything done. I'm usually an avid reader, but after coming off citalopram i couldn't even do that. I felt like crying all the time when i wasn't feeling sad. It was just out the blue. I could be in the middle of a conversation and then burst into tears. I also had panic attacks after withdrawing from it.

I've been back on citalopram for a while now and have just been prescribed venlafaxine. My Gp told me that i could come straight off the citalopram and onto the new stuff, but i'm worried about it too.

I read through some other posts and they talked about it being a really slow process, i'd like to have some idea how it would be to go from 60mg of citalopram to 0 and replacing it with venlafaxine. My doctor is very off-handish about it, and i'm not able to discuss it with her.

All replies are very much appreciated
Thanx, Mary

[Jon06121974]

Hi

I had to come off of citalopram and on to venlafaxin about 6 months ago as citalopram didnt have the required kick to help me. theres a lot of positive and negative comments on the net re venlafaxin but i have to say it worked for me. i to citalopram at half dose for 1 week while also taking 75mg of venlafaxin. after a week i was 0 citalopram and 150 venlafaxin. you have to take venlafaxin for approx 3 months before even considering coming off so bear with it. for me the effect was almost immediate, you get some strange sensations from the meds like a pumping / spray sensation at the back of your head. withdrawal is difficult but if you persist for 2 weeks all is good. just learn to ignore the wierd sensations and headaches on withdrawal. good luck i hope venlafaxin works for you.