Need help with coming off citalopram !

[Matthew123]

Hi there guys , I was taking 20mg of citalopram for depression for about 6 months . I decided to come off it as I'm in a much better place now. My doctor told me to go down to 10mg for 2 weeks then 10mg every other day. I took my last tablet 3 or 4 days ago. I feel ok a bit irritable but not too bad except I keep getting an electric shock type feeling along with a heart palpitation. It was bearable before, but today it seems to be happening every 5 minutes and it's beginning to scare me a bit. My doctor said it should pass in a few days but I'm really tempted to take 1 10mg tablet today and then start with 5mg every other day then every third day etc. Can anyone advise me if taking a 10mg today will settle my heart palpitations down. Many thanks everyone .

[Blam_Stoker]

I sympathise, I found coming off citalopram extremely difficult and distressing (far worse than the side effects when I started taking it).

Like you I had the brain zaps, fast heart rate, dizziness and nausea. I've taken my fair share of ADs and I'd not had anything like this before. Having done a bit of research it seems that if you do get discontinuation symptoms when stopping citalopram, you tend to get them pretty bad (sorry!)

The good news is that it WILL pass in time, the bad news is that sometimes it can take a long time. I felt generally better after 2 weeks, but I still had brain zaps 2 months later. They then gradually wore off over the next few months.

Not everyone is the same, you may already be passed the worst of the discontinuation. If your symptoms do persist and are troublesome, go back to your GP. Make them check your blood pressure and heart rate, it may be that they can prescribe something short term to help with the palpitations.

I have my fingers crossed for you.

[Christoff]

Hey Mathew.
It will get better. I came off 20 mgs a while ago and had major head wooshes for maybe 2 weeks. I found that they wouldn't come as often or be as severe if I was out walking or doing something physical to keep me occupied. Watching tv, playing PS3 or on laptop made them a lot worse for some reason!
I kept feeling I was about to cry quite a lot but I kinda countered this by laughing at it rather than letting it make me get depressed .... if that makes sense lol.
Stick with it pal and it will def get better.
Oh, I also found that eating a couple of ibuprofen at night helped calm them and get to sleep.

[Matthew123]

Thanks the replays guys. I seem to be past the worst of the palpitations . But now I feel really miserable and irritable . Is this normal did you experience this ?

[Blam_Stoker]

You were taking citalopram for depression so it's likely that it'll take you a bit of time to adjust to coping without them. Be kind to yourself and expect to feel a bit out of sorts for a while.