18 weeks on citrelpram

Hi ryan, 20mg Is still a strong dose,have you tried going down 5mg Instead of up? I'm sure that will reduce the dizzyness & weirdness.

I was the same on sertraline, i persevered in the hope it would work. In reality i was worse off than when i started. Eventually the penny dropped no matter what dose i was on it wasn't the medication for me. I was dreading starting from scratch again, best decision I've ever made going onto Citalopram, i had pretty much instant relief coming off the poison that was sertraline, the side effects on citalopram were nowhere near as bad and now i feel back to normal. Citalopram just might not be for you as Sertraline was poison for me. The trouble with reading these boards is most people keep banging on about giving it time, that is true to an extent (especially when changing dose) but there comes a time when you need to say it isn't for me. Personally I'd give an A/D 6 to 8 weeks, then its goodbye if no improvement or a change in dose. 18 weeks is a long time, id suggest Citalopram is not for you, 20mg works for me, its the middle of the road and always gives that flexibility to increase in the future if it poops out. 5mg or 10mg is next to nothing, looking back sertraline just wasn't for me, i started on a low dose and i still couldn't hack it, whatever dose i took was a painful waste of time. You just know when you have found the right one, the difference is like chalk and cheese. Look at it this way, you could be a mere few weeks off finding great relief with another med or you can struggle on with something that doesnt work for you. By all means drop the dose and see what happens its your body, just dont discount changing, its not as bad as you think. Good luck whatever you decide.

Hi Ryan

If you upped your dose to 30mg within the 18 weeks since you started and then went back down to 20mg, you will have a mixture of withdrawal and side effects. Any dose changes will affect you. Rather than changing dosages again, try to settle on your existing dose, also try and take them the same time each day, and avoid alcohol whilst you are settling, that affects celexa too. How long have you been on 20mg? dizziness and that wierd zoning out feeling sounds very much like the side effects I had from these.

Hi Ryan,

Likewise, I'm thinking if you're feeling a bit weird and out of it, with heightened anxiety, you may just be on a dose where the side effects are quite strong for you.

Being as you've already increased and decreased again, it might be better to wait another 4 weeks or so to see if you settle back at 20.

When I first took cit, I was on 20mg, and the side effects for me were quite strong, but I just kind of kept going and it settled around 4 or 5 months.

Subsequent times I have just used 10mg and find that this is enough.

Im new to this 😃 so thank you all for replying and your advice. It means a lot 😃

Just to add, you already tried 12 weeks at 20mg, 1 week at 30mg isn't going to cause weeks of withdrawal, you weren't on it long enough at that level. Perhaps you could have stuck the higher dose out for at least a month but i know what its like if its not possible. Extensive trials suggest some relief from 1-2 weeks with full benefit being seen in 4-6 weeks. I can see it taking longer for some, even if you double it on the higher number it would only be 12 weeks. Id suggest that those taking it for 4,5,6 months before seeing relief is not the medication taking effect but a natural recovery imo. Therapy has the same success rates as A/D's, why, because people either learn to change their mindset or behaviour or they believe its making them better. If you look at how they actually work and what they do, they are either going to work quite soon (i think 12 weeks is sufficient), they wont work or they will make you worse. I'm rather sceptical about this notion of persevering for months on end or playing about with 5 or 10mg here or there. Its not the information the manufacturers give and its not what a psychiatrist will say either. I can only talk from my own experiences and those of a few friends. Time and patience is required but not to the extent some mention. I'm just trying to come at it from a different angle, theres a balance in my view between giving it time and saying this just isnt working, time to change. The tablets are tiny, are part of the same group in SSRI's, essentially do the same job but can have massively different effects on different people, its weird really. One last point i have mulled over myself, the amount of A/D's taken has rocketed over the last decade or so. I'm not having the human brain has changed to the point millions more need a rebalancing of chemicals in less than a generation. It could be external factors, we are more sensitive, modern life or it could be doctors are taking the easy way out and dishing pills out for fun. Exercise, a balanced diet, more exercise and less drink or drugs (in some cases) all help hugely. I don't necessarily think A/D's are the answer in quite a few cases, although they are life savers for plenty. I went with them as we have a long family history of mental illness and medication has worked. Sorry for the long ramble. All the best, its not easy.

Thanks for all the advise guys 😃 been to the docs and been switched to setraline