citalopram & weight gain ( how long to lose it after coming off cit)

Missness, your situation is very like mine. I've actually been on a high dose of cit for about 3 years but am underweight. I too suffered anxiety that affected my eating patterns. I suffered some nausea when I started on them and found it helped to snack a little between meals but that soon settled. The tiredness persisted but I feel so much calmer and am able to cope better with everyday life.

My weight remains low, in fact I've dropped a few pounds and know I'm very underweight but this doesn't worry my GP. I hope the cit helps you as much as it helps me. Please don't worry that you may gain weight. I eat healthily and have regular meals but tend to have smaller helpings than average out of choice.

Weight gain seems to be one of the side-effects but that doesn't mean that EVERYONE will put on weight. I've been taking different SSRI's for 13 years and it's been a gradual process over the years.

If you are very depressed you HAVE to take them to get well,

I have been on Cit for over a year started at 20m then dosage was increased to 40m. I definitely gained weight with this medication. 20mins after taking this medication I'm craving food and eating when I should be full. The cravings are strong almost seem chemical to me! It's hard to control even though you want too! It's not a natural food craving; its definitely from the Cit! I'm work out a minimum go 3 days a week, low fat diet and watch my portion size but the Citalopram will over-ride all of my hard work. I take my meds at night as recommended by my doctor to help with sleep also. However the medication will cause me to snack and graze at night. Tried to weaned myself off. The food thing became a little easier but my emotions became extreme! Anger, crying...when I'm not a cryer, negative thoughts, BRAIN ZAPS, tingling in my legs, trembling and others not at once but I will and have experience these symptoms to the point I started back on the medication just to eliviate this private hell I'm going through withdrawing of these meds. I can now add digestive issues, bloating, gas, nausea ... Almost like a morning sickness...and I'm too old to be pregnant. I see my Dr tomorrow thank God I hope he knows how to weaned me off these meds! Not all Docs are informed on how to do this properly some will even tell you it's not the meds. Know your own body folks! If you know something is not right with do not take the passive approach. This my experience ... Don't get me wrong I'm sure their are plenty of individuals that have positive experiences! It started positive but ended negatively for me. I have two last final words:

WANT OFF!

I've to wean myself off over two weeks. Felt weird, this morning and dizzy but it wore off.

I'm feeling 'normal' and a lot better than I ever felt on them. I hope never to go on another antidepressant again - been on different ones over the last 13 years and they haven't helped me at all, looking back.

Looking forward to getting slimmer.

Hello everyone! I live in California and it's been my understanding that 60mg of Citalopram is dangerous. Effects the heart and other issues. This medication was effective in getting rid of my depression but I was ready to get off because of all the side effects; weight gain, increased appetite, memory loss and some trembling. I've tried several times to get off and I have experience all sorts of withdrawl symptoms. 60mg is pretty high I hate be Terry downer....but I would like to know how your going to get off this stuff with your sanity in tact...because I was reduced from 40 to 20 and the withdrawals have been horrific!

Hi Terry

The time has got to be right, to reduce and come off them. I've tried before but had too many problems in my head and it just didn't work.

Personally, the most I've been on has been 40mg but, I reduced that to 20mg as soon as I could.

I got rid of the people who were causing my depression and that included the love of my life.

My weight was adding to my depression and not helping me at all so knew I had to give it another try. This time next week I should be free and I hope I never go on any again.

i would suggest if u plan to reduce dose to do very slowly.....from 60mgs try 60 one day and 50 the next then 60 then 50 ect for 2 to3 weeks....then try 50mgs only for 2 to 3 weeks...then 50 one day and 40 the next then 50 then 40 for 2 to 3 weeks keep going if you feel unwell then go back up half a tablet and stay at that level for a couple of months the whole process should be 6 months min up to one and a half years.......some people have hardly any side effects coming off and can do so easily yet may find difficulty with a different medication....some antidepressants are available in liquid form for very difficult cases...it is fine to half your tablets so you reduce dose by 10mgs rather than by 20mgs each time

I am currently taking 10mg of cit every other day...on the off days I take Wellbutrin xL and I take 20mg of

Adderall as well (and take the adderall daily). I have been taking the adderall and Wellbutrin for years now And was in the best shape of my life...I added the cit just 12 months ago at the recommendation of my doctor since I was going through a divorce and was experiencing major depression. Over the past 12 months I have slowly gained around 10 lbs or so (mainly in my belly area). I am really mad at myself that I added cit into my routine when the adderall & Wellbutrin were working just fine. Now That i want to stop taking the cit I get those crazy tingling feelings and start feeling very sick and depressed...what is the best and easiest way for me to ween off of the 10mg of cit which I am currently taking every other day? Also, how long do you think (with proper exercise & diet) that it will take me to drop the 10 lbs I gained over a 12 month period? Have I permanently altered my metabolism for the worse by taking this stuff?

a1 I have gained 28lbs!! I've now been off Cit. since Jan. and only managed to shifted about 3 -5 lbs. Not easy.

I have been off cit for 6 months although I have not gained any more weight I am still finding it very difficult to lose wight only 4 lb. I have not changed my already healthy diet or doing any more or less exercise so I guess it will take time but at least the weight has stopped going on.

I'm the same, Jayne. At least it's still not going up and I expect it to take a long time to go down, unfortunately.

I've been on cit for 3 years and I'm on 40mg. I've put on 3 stone and my doctor has said I need to lose some weight ! I am trying but feel maybe I need to talk to her about what I've read on here. I thought it was down to me about the weight gain even though I hadn't started to eat more . Reading the above posts I feel maybe cithas something to do with it. Finding this site has given me hope.

Julie, my daughter denied, for years, that SSRI's had anything to do with weight gain but I knew it had to be and didn't believe her. Only, in January, did she say that they all did.

I gained 2 stones after taking Citalapram and cannot lose the weight despite being off the medication for 2 years now.r Have tried every healthy eating plan - including weight watchers,calorie counting and exercise. The GP referred me for blood tests but all came back clear for Thyroid + Diabetes. Have now been under a nutritionist and followed Slimming World plan for several months plus 2 weekly exercise classes and walking 4000 - 8000 steps daily but only lost 3 lbs.

Has my metabolism been affected permanently? My BMI is 30.5 and I don't want to develop HBP or Type 2 diabetes - any advice would be welcome