Im new...going cold turkey from Citalopram :/

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

As the title suggests, im coming off Citalopram - its been three weeks since i last took a pill (i was on 40mg a day....BUT i occassionally had bad days and i was taking TWO pills a day (please no lectures...i know...) which is why ive took the action to stop them straight away.
I was orginally diagnosed with PND when my child was 15 months (had it since the minute he was born (dont get me wrong he was a planned and very much wanted baby) ...but i was in denial about my feelings until he was 15 months and i had a massive breakdown... So hey ho... hes 27 months now and ive been on meds ever since.
To be honest... i feel like death, i havent slept more than two hours and its usually 1-3pm (i work evenings) then im awake all night and morning.
it feels like......sod it im going to get his all off my chest...it feels like i need to take my brain out and wash it. lol. its fuzzy and sometimes feels like its rattling about up there Lol ( i sound mad, but its the most pecuilar feeling ive ever experienced...)
im snappy and im eating like an absolute horse....and so tired, but cant sleep.
really could do with some advice and some support, my partner isnt supportive at the best of times, and due to no pills im getting the old feelings of insecurity back, and thoughts of him cheating.... so were not really in a good place atm...
reading this back, it screams to me "go back on meds" but i just dont feel anything on them, no happy, no sad ... no sex life... just weird...
i just want the whole PND part of my life over and cured... hes nearly 2 and a half... ive had receptionist in my local drs actually say to me "isnt he a bit too OLD now for you to have post natal depression??" which makes me feel like a total freak of nature...
right, ill finish this very long bizarre introduction... and sorry but i needed this off my chest and its here or facebook LOL :)
id really love all replies and any sucess stories/ tips?
xxxxx

[nomorepanic]

Hi Dontwanttobeamedsmum

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

thank you Nicola :)

[Groundhog]

Hi and welcome.

Did you just stop the Cit or did you reduce the dose over a period. Its never a good idea to go cold turkey, I would always suggest talking to your GP about coming of them and taking their advice.
On the PND side –well I’m male so what do I know:) but this does seem an awful long-time to suffer and I would guess in reality you have gone from PND to anxiety without noticing.
If your partner is unsupportive then that is not going to make things any easier either. You say you have tried the self help angle has your GP ever suggested counselling? Either for you or you and your partner? I’m personally a great believer in it.

[ladybird64]

:welcome:

40mg to 0? Oof!:ohmy: That is one heck of a jump to make..possibly not an adviseable one :hugs:

I was only on 20mg Cit for 6 months last year, being as I felt so much better I just stopped them too (and I am one stubborn cuss and refused to consult with the doc). The following weeks were not the happiest of my life!

Now then, about the PND..your docs receptionist should stick her opinion where the sun doesn't shine. :mad: Of course you want it over and done with but seeing as you didn't acknowledge it until your lad was 15 months, it may still be lingering. Coupled with an unsupportive partner, you have all the ingredients for a rough time.

Would you consider the idea of counselling as Groundhog suggested? It might help to get a lot of stuff "out" in a safe environment..maybe discuss it with your GP.

Take care :flowers:

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

Thank you for your replies :)

3 weeks and a day since I took a pill and after my big dip yesterday I feel amazing, I went to bed at 10pm and slept till 5am - something I've not done in years and in work I felt a different sort of happy, like a genuine happy. Could be just my mind but I'm starting to feel it leave my system and feel normal again! Whoop!

...... But I'm aware that it could (and probably will) change. So I'm enjoying this while I can lol

[joefyn]

hey, how are you feeling now? im 6 weeks into cold turkey and have had a couple of false dawns of feeling better but still have really low points.

[SickOfThis]

I used to take 60mg of cit a day then I felt better so stopped cold turkey. I was sick all the time, had horrible stomach pains and generally fell rough but after a while i felt good. Its not advisable but not the end of the world. Hope ur doing alright

[Ingenious]

Just a general comment (and not aimed at any of you here because what is done is done) but if anyone is reading this and is on any medication and thinking of stopping, you must see your GP about this first. The safe way to stop is to taper your dose down in increments so you have a soft landing, usually over several weeks or even months. Going cold turkey can not only make you feel like you have been turned inside out, it can also have long lasting complications, in some cases can even be quite dangerous. The problem of course is GPs rarely mention that fact when you start because they assume you'll stay on them, and how many of us actually read ALL of the patient leaflet ;)

[neroo]

Good luck with that

[joylewis]

Hi
I am new aswell and have just gone through a horrible time coming off cit, I was on fluoxitine untill a few months ago then cit 20mg. I also had PND and then it has turned into anxiety. My son is now 3years old.
I can honestly say you are very lucky if you can cope with the withdrawl symptoms.My gp said i was on a low dose and could come straight of 20.... Wel lmy body didnt think so and l rang the out of hours doc who suggested i had one and saw my gp tomorrow. I took 10mg this morning.
I had a feeling like I had consumed large amounts of alcohol, bursting out crying, dreams beyong tv ficton and terrible mood swings. When you add them all up it is the ideal ingredients for setting off anxiety. So a planned withdraw is going to be topic for my gp in morning... After all that i have palpitations now.... that i can cope with for now x

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

thought id update - im 9 weeks (this week) drug free. had some very shaky moments but would say im 85% ok. the little brain ...pops? have all but gone, the only thing remaining is snappiness but that's mostly when i haven't had enough sleep. (the 3am bedtimes have gone - this (9:40pm) is a late night for me :D)

the stomach pains and bad stomach lasted a while. but wasn't unmanageable.

3 days after i wrote my original post we were suddenly hit with the death of a very dear friend, and actually being able to feel emotion helped a great deal.

thank you for your posts and im here to give my experience if anyone needs/wants it.

(realise im not totally out of the woods yet - but i can see a gap in the trees Lol)

---------- Post added at 21:46 ---------- Previous post was at 21:42 ----------

sorry joy - i didnt see your reply. Im doing loads better, im sorry about your experience - if you want to pm me, feel free xxx

[stormyok10]

Hi to you,

Am also going cold turkey from mirtazipane, was only on it for 3 months but didn't think it was any help, am now in week 3 of it but still not feeling to good.
What withdrawl symptoms did you get? I have dizziness, nausea,loss of appetite & generally feeling down. How long before you saw any light at end of tunnel?

[Carys]

Why are so many people not tapering their meds to come off them ? It aint good for you guys, why feel ill during come off meds when you can do it slowly, safetly and without withdrawl.

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

Stormy: i have had lots of dizziness, a lot of brain "pops" - but i experienced them alot while i was on the meds too. i had very bad bloating and loss of appetite too
i would say a month when i started to feel (majority of days) ok, not overly happy not sad. Well done, youve done really well xx

Carys my thinking was to be on those pills a second more would be more harmful (mentally) than any withdrawl symptom.
combined with a useless doctor - i decided to take matters in my own hands.

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

hello i thought id check in, its been 3 months (yesterday Lol) since i took a pill, and i believe FOR ME (before anyone starts...) it was the best thing to do, im calmer, im less anxious - and most importantly, when i feel sad its ok, its not going to spirial into a never ending cycle of depression and meds, just feel sad then get myself through it.
i sweat less (TMI LMAO) - but i found my face was very shiney/sweaty when i was taking them. im in the process of losing weight as i gained quite a lot with my son (hes 3 now, reeeeally need to stop blaming baby weight...Lol)
so yes its proper to go through your doctors, but when you have lost all faith in your doctors for handing meds out like smarties - to go it alone is do-able.

[angel wings]

well done you... i have been thinking of going med free myself just to see how i get on but and scared i will get worse :wacko: to up the meds or to stop the meds that is the question ????

[daintydi]

Hi all,
Well done Medsmum, if it has worked for you,then that's all that matters. I was prescribed cit in Jan started at 10mg went up to 20mg 2weeks later. I couldn't sleep, I was sooooooo tired, so doctor changed to trazadone 50mg. It's a different anti depressant but also a sedative. Took that for 2weeks still not a lot of sleep. Anxiety and depression not that much different. Went back to docs he upped them to 150mg!! So i left the doctors that day, stared at the prescription for a couple of days. I was so scared to take them! I really don't want to be zombiefied. Upshot is, I never cashed the prescription, haven't taken a pill for two weeks!! I have good days and bad days, BUT.....my head feels clear! I listen to relaxation cd's. Still not sleeping that great. I just feel better off Meds. Not for everyone, I know, but works for me at this time. I might not always be Meds free but right now it feels right. :yesyes:Diane x

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

Next month I will have been med free for a year! It's the best thing I've done for my health, my anger and pure rage that I got with the antidepressants has gone - I generally feel happier. I sleep better and I've lost 24lbs this year (that's a work in progress) although I did the unconventional route of stopping, it worked for me.
Wish anybody trying to quit lots of luck.
And merry Christmas :) xx

I reached my goal! 1 year without anti-depressants - i would urge anyone to try coming off or at least down.

[Dontwanttobeamedsmum]

Almost 2 years now!
Still have off days but a million times better than what I was... merry christmas all xxx