Been off Cit for 3 months and still feel Rubbish

[mike2512]

hi, Iv been off citalopram for 3 months now and i still feel extremely down. I get twitches under my eye, spasms in my head. Just cant see the future. Im still getting dizzy/Wobbly and its horrible its not a room spinning sensation its a weird balance type feeling. Really starting to wonder wether i should have just stayed on citalopram :weep:

[sop84]

Sorry to hear that your feeling rubbish. Maybe its best that you see your gp again and discuss things before they spiral out of control again x

[mike2512]

ihave spoken to gp she said i have ottis media with effusion in my right ear and thinks i should start cit again but i think thats the easy route for them :-(

[sop84]

Ouch, I bet thats not pleasant and its probably causing the spinning sensation as our ears are part of keeping us balanced.

Have you spoken to a counseller? x

[mike2512]

yer i spoke to a counsellor on friday he said i need to get on treadmill and burn off the nervous energy he wasnt very helpful at all to be honest. I have no pain in my ear which is what ottis media says so i just dont believe the doctor. Thanks for replying it helps x

[sop84]

That is odd for him to say jump on a treadmill. But then maybe chanelling your negatives into something like changing your day to day will help.

See friends or family, do something that you know makes you happy. Hope you feel better x

[suzy-sue]

Sorry to hear you havnt levelled out yet Mike .I can understand the advice to get on the treadmill as it will improve your mood .Also boost your enrgy and metabolism .That said doing it when you are dizzy isnt a very good idea ,you could fall and hurt yourself .I have as you know experienced the dizzy inbalanced feeling myself when I reduced my dose last .Its really not something i look forward to again .Some people can take a few months to stabilise after coming off .Looks like you are unforunately one of them .If things dont improve ,I would personally ,think about going back on Cit ,just on a minimal/maintenance dose .This can be for just a short period and with a view to a very slow tapering to finally come off them .If you take 10mg for 3 months and then cut down by half a pill until you feel ok then take one every other day for another 3-4 weeks and then stop .You will hopefully succeed in discontinuing and not feel like you do now . Other than that all you can do is ride it out and hopefully you will start to feel better soon .A good quality Omega fish oil is meant to be helpful with the discontinuation syndrome you are experiencing BTW . Good luck with whatever you decide to do .T/c luv Sue x:hugs:

[Trundler]

I think it takes time to restablish yourself when you quit Cit. I stopped almost dead from 20 mg in mid december and I feel absolutely awful. I think that telling yourself that feeling like this is part of the withdrawal might help.

[mike2512]

I feel like I can't cope anymore. My brain is constantly telling me there's something wrong, my face feels numb, my ears feel heavy and weird and I can feel my heart thudding on my chest. I just want it to go away I just can't cope with this anymore

[cityinadream]

I felt the same way. I stopped it at the beginning of November (after weaning myself off obviously) and I felt depressed and anxious throughout December and January.

[mike2512]

do you still feel rubbish now?

[cityinadream]

No, I started up on a different dose.

[NES]

Mike,

I have been on CIT for 4 weeks now after realising I was having anxiety and panic attacks, Before realising what was going on I thought it was Labyrinthitis which is an imbalance in the inner ear. I had this about 12 months ago and was prescribed a travel sickness tablet called Stugeron 15. Its available over the counter for about £3 it really helped me with the balance issues of labyrinthitis which also makes you feel sick and as though your heads going to fall off. I took them 3 times a day not the 1 a day it says which I was told to by the doctor. It was a siple but great way of getting on my feet again. Just a suggestion!!

Best of luck.:)

[mike2512]

Thanks NES i find it hard coping with this weird off balance feeling in my head, the doctor said i have ottis media in 1 ear but iv had no pain?? I was at the gp out of hours on sunday and he said my ears were fine?? Iv taken Betahistine and i find it just makes me groggy. Im convinced (again) i have a brain tumour. I cant control my brain and the thoughts but i really dont want to go back on Cit. I know theres an underlying problem but now one has diagnosed it, as soon as i go the doctors they put everything down to anxiety.

[cityinadream]

Do you have healthy anxiety?

[trooper]

Hi Mike,

It is ok to go back to your GP and challenge them, just be very calm and proactive about it. If you are uncomfortable with that particular doctor, you could request seeing another in the practice. They are there to help you, paid for by our taxes. I have been fortunate for the past few years to have very good doctors despite moving around, but I have had awful ones before.

If you are experiencing problems with your ear and feeling dizzy to which the GP has given a diagnosis, but then alarmingly suggests going back on the CIT.

Looking on the NHS website, it says it should clear up by itself in a few days and if not, then anti-biotics should be prescribed. This is surely a different matter, try to separate them.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Otitis-media/Pages/Treatment.aspx

If you can deal with that issue, then at least it elemenate's it from the inquiry so to speak, then you can see if these symptoms carry on, if so it could be that it is as you suspect withdrawal.

Although, to a degree, there isn't much in a GP's war-chest for treatment other than re-starting CIT, changing to a new type of anti-depressant or giving you short term drugs like tamazapan.

As for your counselor, I understand your frustration, but again to a degree, the treatment counseling offers is normally of a long term, there is no silver bullets. And it sounds like you need / want a more short term solution which I am not sure a counsellor can't really offer, his suggestion is just a practical thing that you can do yourself.

And it will help, I absolutely guarantee it. If you don't like running, swimming is great, there is also something soothing about having your body weight supported. I swim once a week and I always come out feeling better no matter how bad my mood is going in. If strenuous exercise is too much then even just a long walk, particularly in nature and away from things can help lift mood. There have been several studies to show that being in nature and exercising has a positive impact on mood for depression and anxiety.

When I get depressed I feel very hopeless too, its a perfectly natural part of the condition / experience, but going out to do some exercise, even if you have to drag yourself or get others to drag you is empowering, its something you can do for yourself without GP's or counsellors and actually has a positive effect on your brain chemistry as you are rewarded with all the chemicals which aren't present when you feel depressed.

Best of luck and remember, just hang in there, everything is temporary.

[mike2512]

its now been 15 weeks since stopping cit after almost 7 years on it. I feel so down because of this weird off balance type feeling in my head its horrible and making me feel so sick. Another Doctor told me she THINKS i may have viral labyrinthitis last week. I had my bloods done on monday and they came back normal which is good but makes things even more frustrating as im no closer to finding whats up with me. I went to the opticians last week and had all the checks and tests which were fine. I find it hard to believe it can have something to do with the cit not being present in my body as every doctor iv seen has said no defenatly not thats gone now, but if my brain relied on it for almost 7 years could it still be that? I dont know but the feeling is horrible and makes me feel so low, i have no interest in life at the moment every second is a struggle. I have been taking betahistines for the balance dizzy feeling but they dont do anything there rubbish. Just wish someone could actually diagnose the problem so i can get better because i just dont see a future.