Citalopram symptoms after 9 months withdrawal, will they ever go away?

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hello,

I am a 24 year old female and I started on Citalopram back in April 2016 because I was diagnosed with depression. They started me off with 20mg but after a week I was having horrible side effects. They lowered me down to 10mg. I took that for about 2 weeks, but it was still making me feel really sick. They finally lowered the dose to 5 mg a day and decided that with time I would gradually increase the dosage. I think the reason it might not have worked for me at a high dosage might have been because I am underweight. Well, I took the 5 mg for about a month and I began to feel better and I honestly thought this was going to save me. However, around early June 2016, the side effects started again and this time they were worse than before. My body temperature began to rise and I felt like I was on fire. I felt nauseous, weak, and felt like I was going to pass out. I still took them for two more weeks because I thought it might go away. One day, I was on my way to school and my body began to feel like it was burning up and I almost passed out. I decided to see my psychiatrist right away and he told me that he could switch me to venlafaxine. I was scared about trying new medication, so I told him that I just didn't want to take anti-depressants anymore. He suggested that I slowly lower my dose by cutting the 10 mg pills to 3 parts and take one part each day for a while and he would tell me when to get off them. I did that, but it was still causing problems and was getting in the way of school, so after two weeks I stopped taking the 1/3's of the 10mg.

After doing that I felt much better. No side effects at all and felt great. That is, until two months later. Around mid August 2016 I began to feel a lot of nausea, awful anxiety (which I never had before taking citalopram), high body temperatures, fatigue, fast heart rates, and a stiff neck. These symptoms would come and go throughout the 9 months. Some days I would feel great but most days I would feel those symptoms. I still feel those symptoms till this day and it is interfering with my education. I am going to graduate from college soon, but this is getting in the way and I am scared that I won't end up graduating from it. I get so depressed thinking about feeling this way forever and these symptoms stop me from doing anything. I just feel like being at home and not going out anywhere because I feel so sick sometimes. I have seen doctors, but they tell me everything is fine with me and they never make any suggestions.

Sorry for the long post, but I am just worried and wondering.. will these symptoms ever go away? How can I get better? I feel like this is destroying my life.

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2 Replies

  • Posted

    I have heard people taking vitamin and mineral supplements have an easier time of it. It could also be metabolic You will probably have to be a sleuth and scour the internet to see what you can find. Did Dr. Do a blood panel? Have hormone levels tested and vitamin D levels for deficiency. After 9 months you have a real reason to ask for more tests.
  • Posted

    When I first stopped taking celexa, I went to the drug store and bought a bottle of saint johns wart.  I took  one pill a week, then 3/4 for a week then 1/2 for a week then I just stopped.  

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