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Came off citalopram now been out on sertraline

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diane_11363
diane_11363

have Been on citalopram for nearly 3 yrs, young son diagnosed with cancer tipped me over the edge, decided I wanted to come off them as don't want to be reliant  and didn't like the weight gain and loss of libido , slowly decreased dose, and been off them since middle of Aug, have now been coping with my mum having lung cancer and a colleague at work who constantly uses stress to get extra holiday time.  Have lost the plot at work and had a couple of meltdowns Have had sleepless nights , so went to the doc to ask for sleeping tablets and he has refused , has now prescribed sertraline . I really don't want to take any more antidepressants , will excercise help ,misused to walk a lot but stopped when my son was diagnosed with cancer 

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • natalie2608
    natalie2608 diane_11363

    Posted

    hello Diane  - i have been on this tablet since last November and I am hoping to come off in the spring as i, like u. dont want to be reliant but I also know they got me over a bad patch. However, I have taken up running which I find helps massively! I am not a natural runner by any means and have to almost force myself to go sometimes but i joined a running club which helped a lot. x
    • diane_11363
      diane_11363 natalie2608

      Posted

      Thank you Natalie,  I have decided not to take the tablets, will start back in my walking , and monitor how i feel, if I am not coping after a while , I will go back on he citalopram , but maybe ask for a lower dose 
  • Capodingos
    Capodingos diane_11363

    Posted

    Sorry to hear you are having a difficult time. I would say you are still suffering from the effects of coming off the citalopram, I found I was very anxious and got angry easily for a long time after stopping them.

    It sounds like you are reluctant to take time off work yourself, and that could be why you feel resentful of your colleague. It is often easy to think negative of people and judge them. Try and give them the benefit of the doubt, people put on a front but they might also have personal problems and depression.

    I really would consider taking some time off work yourself, having meltdowns at work could cost you your job and is not fair on other people. I had a similar situation at work, but I was in the position of your colleague.

    Take the time out now, you need it to feel better.

    It is a difficult decision whether to start antidepressants again, they probably will help, but you will have the side effects and withdrawal problem in the future, but maybe now is not the best time to stop them. Maybe you could try a different GP who might prescribe beta blockers, sleeping tablets or diazepam and try to perservere with the withdrawal. Exercise does help to a point but it would help to see a counsellor to help cope with the stress better, the GP might be able to arrange or if you are able to pay privately to avoid a long wait.

    • diane_11363
      diane_11363 Capodingos

      Posted

      Hi, I hear what you are saying , but the colleague I am talking about has not worked for 25 yrs as she been a kept woman so is not used to working every holiday she has ,she tags sickness on to . She is constantly late and always manages to leave early . She will never cover anyone else if they are sick or has holiday , but expects me and another co-worker to cover her . We are both sick of the situation.  I would not mind if she was really ill, but we know she is not , she actually pre meditates when she is going to be ill. And has told people she is going to get herself signed off sick, because she does not have much holiday left.
    • Capodingos
      Capodingos diane_11363

      Posted

      It does sound frustrating but try and take a step back, it just makes you feel worse by getting annoyed. It is because of the withdrawal from citalopram and the great deal of personal stress you are under that makes it seem more important and irritating than it really is, and speaking with your other collegue about it is building up your frustration more.

      Taking some time off from work yourself would remove that stress and allow you to deal with the effects of the antidepressants and the important issues in your personal life.

      I have very mixed feelings about antidepressant medication, and had many physical side effects and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, but it may be worth reconsidering taking them. It is very difficult stopping the medication without extra support from counselling, especially when there are ongoing stressful circumstances.

      I have tried different vitamins and supplements, I found St. John's wort to help somewhat, there are studies to show it does help reduce depression, but shouldn't be taken at the same time as other medication.

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