Reducing Citalopram

[becksi2006]

Hi all, I have been on citalopram for around 7 weeks now, started at 10mg, then increased by 10mg each week until i was on 40mg which i am on now, alongside promazine and diazepam has been perscribed today. My gp thinks i am having some sort of overload of citalopram and he has reduced it to 20mg as he said having the high dose can cause more anxiety symptoms. Has anyone ever experienced this and halved the dose suddenly, i am worried about going back to how i was when i was diagnosed which was a horrible dark time for me.
Thanks in advance

[pinkdove]

Hi Becks, yes i was taking too high a dose of citalopram and it made me very tired and increased my anxiety, so i would do what your dr suggests, you have not been on them very long, and you have diazapam to help you through, hopefully you wont get any withdrawals, as you have not taken them for long, and maybe th 20mg will do the trick. good luck x

[becksi2006]

Thanks so much for your reply Pinkdove, I really appreciate it, maybe its the anxiety making me worry about reducing them who knows?! Its a vicious circle that you get caught up in, what a horrible illness this is!! xx

[nicola1980]

Hi yep i was put on 40mg and my anxiety shot through the roof and i hate to say it but i was having suicidal thoughts as i felt so bad, the doc put me back to 30mg just over a week ago and im loads better, too much cit can have an adverse reaction, last week before i lowered id had enough i was having full blown panic attacks, severe anxiety and my god the thoughts i was having well..... my doc also put me on 5mg of diazepam twice a day at the same time as the reduce as i was that bad xx

[becksi2006]

Thanks for that Nicola, do you think halving the dose is the right thing to do? I was hoping to reduce it to 30mg rather than 20mg so i minimise the risk of the withdrawal symptoms, my gp wants to see me this morning again so maybe i should mention it to him, just dont want him to think i am mithering him xx I am on 2mg diazepam 3 times a day when required and also on 150mg of promazine per day, feels like its a constant cycle of meds and moods!! xx

[william wallace]

Same here, I was on 40 and felt bloody awful so doc dropped it down to 20 about the same time as Nicola. The only effect was that I felt much, much better after about 5 days. Had a couple of really good, symptom free days this week so as someone once said, "onwards and backwards"to the way we were......

[nicola1980]

mention to him that your concerned about the big drop and see what he says, u might find 30mg is ok for you?? its just trial and error finding the right dose?? whats the promazine?? ive never heard of that? good luck at the docs let us know how you get on xx

[pinkdove]

Good luck at the dr's becks, let us know how you get on xx

[becksi2006]

Hiya all,
Well I am back from the doctors and he has agreed to lower my dose to 30mg a day of citalopram, he does think it has been an overload for my system so I feel a little better knowing that, he has also given me more diazepam until next week when I go to see him again, just 2mg 3 times daily. I am to continue on the promazine which I believe is to treat severe aggitation and those intrusive thoughts that I have been blessed with, so hopefully I will begin to see an improvement, I feel like I live at that surgery!! I am due to have an assessment for some therapy on tuesday too which I am hoping will benefit me a lot, I am trying so hard to fight this illness, I want to be myself again and not a person ruled by anxiety and depression!! xx

---------- Post added at 12:09 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Same here, I was on 40 and felt bloody awful so doc dropped it down to 20 about the same time as Nicola. The only effect was that I felt much, much better after about 5 days. Had a couple of really good, symptom free days this week so as someone once said, "onwards and backwards"to the way we were......

Hiya William,
I am so glad things are feeling better for you, hopefully I will be saying the same thing too soon x

[pinkdove]

Hi Becks, that is great news, i'm sure you will find a difference on 30mg, i know i felt lousy when my dose was too high, and your diazapam will help you through the reduction.

I think we all just want to feel normal again, but we will get therem good luck with it xx