Thought I was ok but...

[peelio81]

Hey Folks,

I was on citalopram 20mg for nearly 3 years and in January this year my doc said that, since I was doing well, I should try going without it and see how I get on.
Everything was fine till about 2 months ago when my old severe panic attacks started happening again. Had to leave the cinema, had to leave the pub and going anywhere is very daunting, all cause of the panic.
So, my doc said that if I was feeling bad again just go back on citalopram, which i'm thinking would be a good idea but, how long till I feel ok again?
So my point being, has anyone been on citalopram, went off it and had to go back on again? How long till you where back to normal? Was there any side effects that were different from the first time on it?

Any help would be very welcome thank you

[violet12]

Hi, there are a few people on here who have restarted citalopram. As for how long it will take to work this time is impossible to say as everyone reacts differently. A lot of people respond differently the second time around also so there really is no way of predicting what might happen.

Did you taper off when you stopped taking them or did you just stop?

[peelio81]

Hi, violet, I tapered off them. Went from 20mg to 10mg then to nothing. Does this make a difference?

[violet12]

Tapering is the correct way to stop. I just wondered if you might be suffering from withdrawal effects if you had just stopped taking them suddenly. How long did you taper for?

[peelio81]

I took 10mg for a week then off them completley, as adviced by doc. But this was in january 6 months ago. Surley it wouldnt be withdrawls

[violet12]

Well you did say it all started up again a couple of months ago and one weeks tapering after being on them for 3 years doesn't sound enough to me. I'm currently reading....coming off Antidepressants by Joseph Glenmullen (check it out on Amazon) you'll be amazed at what little doctors know about the withdrawal effects of A/d's. According to the book you should have tapered it for at least 3/4 weeks.