changeing from paroxetine to citrolapram advice please

[lisa12]

hi all been on paroxetine 20mg daily for over 10 years now but my doctor as decided to try me on citrlopram 20mg .He says i can just swap straight over but i am not sure if this is right as i thought you had to withdraw from paroxetine slowley, any advice would be great as i can not find any info anywhere about this

[KK77]

Ideally you should allow a few days for the paroxetine to clear out of your system before starting citalopram. Some doctors use cross-tapering, ie, gradually reducing one drug while starting you on another, but there are no clear-cut guidelines on this and doctors seem to have different approaches.

I would say see how you go with your doc's advice and if you have any problems go back and ask for a withdrawal plan.

I was on paroxetine for 7 years and had a nightmare coming off it but you may do fine. It's hard to tell.

This chart may help from the GP Notebook:

http://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=1637482568