Can I Restart Citalopram after not taking for 2 Weeks
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi Guys
Just a question. I was on 10mg Citalopram but felt it wasn’t helping much, so for the last 2 weeks I haven’t taken it, I was using CBD oil, which had been helping, but recently I have been having really bad headaches and sleeping a ridiculous amount. I wanted to go back on the citalopram ablets but didn’t know if I could just start them up again?
Could the way im feeling be withdrawal symptoms? Before I stopped taken them my dr advised to start taking 20mg daily but I hadn’t started that course due to me stopping them.
Should I start them again on 10mg or go straight to 20mg as suggested by the dr? I’m worried I’m going to get the awful starting symptoms again? Will that happen?
I JUST WANT TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN 😦
0 likes, 19 replies
Catherinelou vf1985
Posted
Hi , I think youre probably experiencing withdrawal effects if you stopped cold turkey.
You can start 10mg again , I'd stay on that for a while before going to 20mg .
I've been taking 10mg for several weeks , it isnt doing much either , but i did stop for 2 days and had dreadful headaches , so started again .
To stop taking it , its better to taper off slowly, some people dont have any problems , others do .
But theres no reason why you cant start again at 10mg .
I always do an online drug interactions check too , for peace of mind .
Good luck , I hope you pick up again soon and start to feel more like yourself . Take care .
vf1985 Catherinelou
Posted
i think ill do that, i feel upper crap atm. hopefully i wont get any side effects starting them up again?? i suffered real bad when i first started them.
thank you, just want to feel more myself again
katecogs vf1985
Edited
Yes you can start the meds again and yes you probably are having withdrawal. You must never just stop taking these type of meds though as you can become quite ill.
When did you start these meds?
You have to realise that it can take many months before you even start feeling the slightest bit of relief and to just keep taking them.
They work real slow and progress often hard to see, so just keep going because recovery will creep up on you without you realising it.
It took me 6 months to recover on SSRI's. Some take longer and others recover quicker.
loxie katecogs
Edited
I agree with Katecogs - there's no instant fix with SSRI's - they take a while to start having any real effect, patience is the key word. Stopping and starting will make you feel very unwell, not a good idea. Go back on the lower dose and see how you feel in two to three months, then you can decide whether you feel you need to up the dose or not. With regard to CBD oil - recent studies have shown that whilst some people claim it relieves pain symptoms with certain disorders (eg arthritis, MS, etc), it is known to increase anxiety, therefore not something recommended specifically for treatment of anxiety.
vf1985 katecogs
Posted
i started taking them 5 months ago. was getting fed up as i wasn't getting any better at all, was always so tired & not myself at all. though the cbd was workinh but its not either.
my anxiety has actually gotten worse, i barely leave the house anymore.
i think its best i start taking the 10mg again. then increase in a few weeks maybe, as originally advised by my dr. i did want to try another med, as i dont like how these mess with my mind. my sleep is worse, have even had hallucinations, which ive never had before (prob due to the lack of sleep tbh)
vf1985 katecogs
Posted
i started taking them 5 months ago. was getting fed up as i wasn't getting any better at all, was always so tired & not myself at all. though the cbd was workinh but its not either.
my anxiety has actually gotten worse, i barely leave the house anymore.
i think its best i start taking the 10mg again. then increase in a few weeks maybe, as originally advised by my dr. i did want to try another med, as i dont like how these mess with my mind. my sleep is worse, have even had hallucinations, which ive never had before (prob due to the lack of sleep tbh)
katecogs vf1985
Posted
Mmmm 5 months is a good enough time, but it could be the dose wasn’t quite right for you, and yes maybe you’d have been better increasing to 20mg. I recovered on 20mg - others fair better on 30mg and some on 10mg or even 40mg. Its all personal. Note though, that the bigger the dose doesn’t mean you’ll get better any quicker than a lower dose as it’ll take a similar amount of time. Also lots of people struggle on 40mg (the maximum dose). Each dose is tailored to your particular body and its about finding the correct one for you.
I wouldn’t be in too big a hurry to increase to 20mg in a few weeks time. Give the 10mg time to settle back in, maybe a month? and then increase.
Taking these meds will heighten your anxiety at the start, and so too will any increase. Its not usually the meds that mess with your mind but its the incrase of anxiety thats the cause. Anxiety produces many side effects, gives you weird thoughts, plays with your emotions and makes you think negatively all the time. The meds just heighten this temporarily as it hangs onto your Serotonin in the brain, and until this has settled you’ll be up and down with all sorts of side effects. They will pass.
People often overlook recovery too because it happens so slow, and expect to just start feeling happy, but instead little changes start happening and often one at a time ie sleep may start being better, appetite, and you may start getting ‘glimpses’ of feeling slightly calm. Those glimpses will come and go and they increase over time until you feel relatively well all the time.
During my recovery when this happened, I still woke up evey day feeling rubbish, but by the end of the day I’d feel quite good. Those bad mornings were the last side effect to disappear for me.Don’t let those bad mornings fox you - they’re quite normal and will ease off in time too.
As Loxie says, these meds are not an instant fix, but stick with it, perseverse through whatevers thrown at you, keep going and you should find them starting to work.
Best thing I ever did was take these meds .......
vf1985 loxie
Posted
Glad i stopped taking the CBD oil to be honest, i was trying to find something natural to take, as i was never a fan of taking meds. but looks like i will have to stick to them, as at least it kept the panic attacks and horrible thoughts away, the health anxiety i get is the worst. The fact that i m back on this website shows that i am not feeling myself again, as i haven't posted in months.
Im going to go back on thr 10mg and give it some more time, just hope i don't feel worse before im better like the first time taking, ive only been off the tablets a couple of weeks, thank you 😃
vf1985 katecogs
Posted
Yes thats what i thought, i was thinking i would be out and about, wanting to go outside but its just gotten worse, i barely get dressed or put makeup on (which i enjoy and is part of my job as a blogger) i guess working from home now, hasn't helped my anxiety really.
i am going to give them another go and see how i get on. I've started having little panic attacks again, which is something that did disappear whilst on them, hate the feeling of not being in control and panicky - at least i know how to deal with them now, i try and focus on something else and practice breathing techniques, just not very nice being woken up for what little sleep i get anyway haha.
Hopefully i wont get any super bad effects from going back on them, as it hasn't been long, lets hope so anyway, as i suffered real bad for weeks when i first started them, almost gave up then as it was getting too much feeling that awful.
thanks for all your advice, i really appreciate it.
loxie vf1985
Posted
It may be worth discussing either a change in dose or even a change in meds - I didnt tolerate citalopram very well, both that and amitryptaline gave me hallucinations coincidentally. My partner takes fluoxetine and he's had very little side effects with that.
katecogs vf1985
Posted
It all takes time ... and so much more time than we ever think.
Anxiety is an awful feeling but the fear of it is what feeds it.
No, returning to the meds shouldn’t be a huge issue as you’ve only stopped them for a couple of weeks in the 5 months. You might feel a bit sick, heady etc and of course the anxiety might kick in a little again. Try and go with it and remind yourself you’re recovering.
K
angie4567 katecogs
Posted
katecogs
are you still on this thread?
i was on 20mg cit and dropped to 10, then dropped the 10. wish i hadnt messed.
so for 8 days ive beenback on 10. should i go back to 20?
im really unwell
struggling!
any advice?
katecogs angie4567
Posted
Hi Angie
Just spotted your post to me.
How long were you on the 20mg, and how long did you stay on the 10mg before dropping to zero. Oh - and how long were you off the meds?
wdm0306 katecogs
Posted
hey Katecogs! I have read a lot of your post can you send me the book you recommend to people for anxiety and intrusive thoughts?
katecogs wdm0306
Posted
Hi wdm
Yes I'll pm you the details 😃
wdm0306 katecogs
Posted
please do 😃