Wanna come off Cipralex

[Eggy]

I want to come off Cipralex for a few reasons:-

1.I want to lose weight, It will be a lot harder to do so on Cipralex as it causes weight gain and is partially responsible for helping me put on about 5 stone over the past 6 years that i have been on it although i have only been on it since September after coming off it last April.

2.I want my sex drive back.

3.I'd really like to try and fight this naturally, I have already made a lot of changes to my diet and cut off caffeine and cut down from 3 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon of sugar in my tea/coffee.

My GP has tried to get me to come off them a few times and i was told if i ever wanted to come off them i had to take one every other day for a week or two and then one every 2 days for a week or two.

[sammi]

Hi Eggy

Oh I don't blame you, I hate cipralex I lasted 2 months and quit cold turkey what a horrid drug this is. Go see your gp if your planning to come off them they will tell you the best way to do it, whatever you do don't do it suddenly the dizzyness and withdrawel is as bad as the awful sideeffects. Good luck.

[AlisonMc]

I'm currently coming off of Cipralex too, and having a tough time right now - I'm not sure if what I'm going through is withdrawal or if I'm relapsing, but as the days go on, I'm starting to lean towards the latter.. but it's different for everyone so hopefully you'll have better luck than me! Either way I'm going to give it a bit more time (for one thing my appointment with my doctor isn't for another week!) and hope that it's still withdrawal and that I don't need to go back on it.

The way my psychiatrist told me to do it was like this for each level down:

Week 1: 10mg Mon/Wed/Fri, 5mg the rest of the days
Week 2: 10mg Mon/Thurs, 5mg the rest
Week 3: 10mg Mon, 5 mg the rest

Then I did the same for 5mg to 2.5mg, and started that for 2.5mg down to 0mg but found that I would start having withdrawal symptoms after the 0 days and pull back out after the 2.5mg days so I was just extending the withdrawal..

Hopefully you don't have any symptoms, or if you do hopefully you'll be able to find support. I've asked a couple different things about it on these boards and haven't got a response yet.. but I'll try to remember to check back from time to time to see if you've got any questions that I can maybe help with!

[suzy-sue]

The slower you cut downn the better .Its always better to wait until your current dose is stable ..ie without side effects again until you reduce again .This will give you minimal withdrwal symptoms when you reach the end dose .You will get discontinuation syndrome but it will pass usually after 3 weeks .But can take longer for the body to function normally without the drug in your system .Alternating doses with this drug only gives you a yoyo effect as it leaves the body quickly .So isnt really a good idea .It amazes me Drs tell you to do this method of reducing with this drug ,as the half life is 33-36 hours . sue

[AlisonMc]

Sue, have you personally been through getting off Cipralex? Can you tell me if it's normal to start feeling like I'm getting past the withdrawal symptoms, only to start feeling worse and like I'm going back into my depression? Do you think that it could still be withdrawal, and it's worth trying to stick it out another couple of weeks? Or if I was starting to feel better and am now having more bad days than good, then is it more likely that I'm relapsing? My last dose was on Dec 23, so I'm at about 2.5 weeks off of it now.

[suzy-sue]

Alison ,Its still early days for you .It can take a couple of months for the mood to get better .You have stopped taking a drug that simply made sure you were getting more serotonin absorbed .Now the body had to do this with out any help .This takes time .Everyone is different hun so its sometimes can take longer for some than others .Do things that will help your mood uplift .like excercise ,and getting plenty of vit D .Either by sunlight which is best or Vit D like cod liver oil or omega fish oil .Eating oily fish contains plenty . If you dont feel better in a couple of months ,it can be beneficial to go back on a very low dose for a few months .This sometimes helps ,Then when you come off again you dont have the same problem .Try not to worry ,its part of the process and try to keep positive .Sleep is important ,so do get plenty .Moods tend to go down when you are tired .Hope this helps a bit .Take care and all the best ,im sure you will be ok in the end ..sue x