Switched Meds!

[soulcrosses]

Hey guys!

I'm sorry I haven't been around too much, I haven't been in a good place. So, I had been on Citalopram for six months, and got up to 50mg (which is apparently the highest legal dose these days). It was a bit of rollercoaster, ups and downs, you know. Anyway, today the Doctor switched me to 50mg of Sertraline, and I'm losing hope. Any information, experience, dosage, etc. you guys can supply me with would be amazing!

I hope you have all been keeping well,

[LightUpYoYo]

Hi,

I was on 60mg Citalopram, the new limit is 40mg, so much like yourself I have had to change over to Sertraline.

I was given a complicated change over program (for the best, I guess), I'm currently on 150mg Sertraline.

I have been told I can go up to 200mg if needed but we are monitoring.

I really feel for you as the transition is horrible, I really struggled with anxiety, panic, hot flushes, sweats, diarrhea, fatigue etc.

I have started meditating twice a day and trying to keep my alcohol intake down, it seems to be helping... although that said, today has just been derailed by work related stress.

I hope you settle in to your new dose soon, although I would expect you to get put up a lot as I was told 150-200mg was comparable to 60mg Citalopram.

Good luck,
Phil

[chrisjay]

A good news is that you give up at Citalopram. FDA launched an alert and the new maximum dosage is 40 mg. A bad news is that you switched with Sertraline. I saw a lot of side effects and it`s better to try something else preferably not drugs.
Good luck.

[erin31]

I think you are very wrong to tell people not to take their medication Chris. Would you tell someone with heart disease not to take their heart medication?
People usually only go onto antidepressants when they can no longer cope without them and it is not your place to tell someone they should not be taking them.
I am sorry you have had a bad experience with Sertraline but thousands of people including myself take it successfully without major side effects.
What works for one person does not necessarily work for the next person but you should not be trying to put people off something that could very well be a life saver for them.
I have had terrible experiences with other antidepressants before I found one that works and I make a point of not going on about the side effects I experienced so I do not discourage people in any way. If I do mention these experiences it is usually while supporting someone going through the same thing and I always state that people react differently and would NEVER suggest that someone stops taking medication.
To tell Soulcrosses that it is bad news that she switched to Sertraline is in no way helping anyone. I switched to Sertraline and it was the best thing I ever did, yet if a listened to people like yourself who are angry after having a bad experience I would still be in those dark depths where I could not even get out of bed in the morning and may well be dead.
By all means post your own experiences with your problems and medication but this forum is a place where people can both find support for their problems and give support to others. If you can't do that then it is best not to post rather than suggest they give up medication. That is between a patient and their doctor and I am sure that most doctors would be horrified to think that someone with no real knowledge of their patient is advising them to give up their medication.