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View Full Version : From Citalopram to Fluoxetine - and totally clueless!



birdcage
14-11-08, 19:02
Hi there. Just stopped taking Citalopram as was not helping battle my depression. Been prescribed 20mg fluoxetine, was wondering if this was a normal or a low dose? I seem to be quite tolerant to ssri's...
Also, an obvious question but was wondering if there were any daunting and terrible side affects (apart from the expected nausea/ weird stuff!)

Find this site a real support and would appreciate a message or two, just for me to know that someone is out there, listening who understands what it's like - as no one I know really has a clue about all this depression business. Had a freak out panic attack on Thursday which has put me off rinking for a couple of weeks as I'm sure it was directly related to that. Does Flu.. have any adverse affects? I suppose being a depressant alcohol is a no-no but I'm a 20y/old student who works in a nightclub so am pretty much surrounded!
Hope you guys are all good and hopeful.
Thanks for your time, again feel free to contact me.
Thanks,
Alicia X :)

nic x
14-11-08, 23:06
just curious about your post, im currently taking citalpram, have dun for 2 half yrs, dnt find them help me much, have been talking to gp about prozac, how u finding the change? did u have to stop cit before taking prozac? like get the cit out ya system? how long were u on cit? would love to hear x

kitttykat
16-11-08, 18:24
20mg is the normal amount I believe. I have severe depression and take 20mg per day every morning. Alcohol is an absolute no-no, some people find its ok, but I have had a couple of really bad experiences and find that if I drink I get alot more anxious and seem to take 100 steps back, since I stopped drinking I feel much better and I am steadily getting there.

As for side effects I found for the first couple of weeks I drank water like a fish as my mouth was perpetually dry and towards the afternoon I started to feel exhausted, but that has gradually worn off as the positive aspects of the fluoxetine have taken hold. If I'm feeling a bit worn down towards the afternoon now I just take a berroca and that seems to do the trick. I also seemed to yawn alot (not just because I was tired!) but the improvement that I am making has made all the side effects worthwile.

birdcage
18-11-08, 00:51
just curious about your post, im currently taking citalpram, have dun for 2 half yrs, dnt find them help me much, have been talking to gp about prozac, how u finding the change? did u have to stop cit before taking prozac? like get the cit out ya system? how long were u on cit? would love to hear x

Hi
Stopped taking cit completely for a few days under doc's orders. I know you're not supposed to but that's what she said so i was like 'what the hell' and tried it. was very teary for a day or so, took my first fluoxetine today so haven't experienced any effects yet. if the cit's not working then you may as well try something else. i found them a total waste of time, so that's why i'm on the new ones and very hopeful!
Alicia xx

yellowpoppy
19-11-08, 18:01
I too have just stopped taking citalopram after being on it for a year. It seemed to have stopped working for me suddenly. I was on 20 mg then doubled it to 40 mg to see if it helped and made no difference so I went back to the doctor and she changed me back to prozac again.

Before the citalopram I was on prozac then this time last year it too stopped working so that's why I was put on the citalopram. Like I said this too worked great for a year and now I'm back to prozac again. But so far no change. I've been taking for just over a week now since stopping the citalopram and still don't feel good. Still anxious/panicky and the depression is awful. I can't seem to pull myself out of it and I don't know if I have to wait for it to take effect but my experience in the past when I swapped meds the effect was almost immediate. which is why I am wondering why nothing has happened yet. Is it still early days?

The doctor said to see her again next week. Which will be 2 weeks. If I still feel like this then I don't think I will improve.

Just interested to see if anyone else has experienced this at all with these 2 drugs. Sorry for rambling, can't seem to collect my thoughts properly.

yellowpoppy
24-02-09, 23:04
Just looked at my last post and can't believe it was long ago. I'm doing great now on the prozac, apart from not sleeping well now. Dr said take it at night and see if it makes any difference but that was worse so I'm now taking in the morning again. Apart from that, I am like a different person now from the one who wrote the previous message. Just goes to show it takes time to work and you usually end up feeling worse before you feel better.