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Citalopram withdrawal advice

Posted , 8 users are following.

alison81137
alison81137

I was wondering whether anybody has been through withdrawal from 10mg citalopram.

I know it's the lowest dose but I'm extremely sensitive to anything going in or out of my body.

I've been on citalopram for almost 2yrs and feel like I've been stuck feeling the same for the last yr so it's time for me to come off it.

Obviously I've had Dr's tell me to just stop its the lowest dose but I was wondering whether a d what kind of withdrawal people got?

I've decided to take 5mg before suddenly stopping. It's been almost 4 weeks and I'm not feeling great..... Very woozy head and feeling anxious and agitated at the same time for no reason oh and very irritable over the slightest things.

Think I'm just looking for some reassurance as to how long it lasts if it is withdrawal.

Thanks for reading. Hope to hear back off people.

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • fiona47570
    fiona47570 alison81137

    Posted

    Hi Alison,

    I too was on 10mil and have been on it for 5 years...decided I didn't feel like I was myself so did the same as you. It's only been a few weeks now but getting to sleep is hard, I feel very teary and short tempered...hubby not happy but I don't want to spend my life on drugs.

    have been reading up on it and this could take a while so now I'm taking deep breathes and calming myself...mind over matter and taking rescue remedy ,it does help. 

    I think if everytime we we feel like killing someone!! we are best to go for a walk, cuddle your dog, play your favourite tune and just change our thought pattern, god I sound like a Dr....lol

    anyway, just know you aren't the only on having a hard time getting off this drug...

    best thing for me is not having to pop a pill every morning....oh and get a few massages in...helps the body relax and re tune its self.

    all the best, drop me a line if you need to blow off steam !!

    fiona.

     

  • alex69446
    alex69446 alison81137

    Posted

    Hi Alison

    I have been off 10mg since 1st November. The withdrawal wasn't as bad as I thought to be honest even though I was very nervous. I reduced by a quarter a time just by nibbling off a little each morning. I did this over 40 days. So a quarter every 10 days. I got a few headaches and some slight drunk feelings but nothing I couldn't cope with. I am so glad to have stopped. Good luck

  • borderriever
    borderriever alison81137

    Posted

    Try taking the 10mg tablet every other day, so you would take your last day, then wait two days take 10mg dose then wait this time three days. The next medication take after four days, then stop

    Do not split the tablet to 5mg, you are not balancing the dose because the tablet may have a coating and if you smash the tablet it could effect the dose

    BOB

  • katecogs
    katecogs alison81137

    Posted

    Hi

    Never just stop - even 10mg will give you withdrawal.

    I spent a year coming off 20mg Citalopram and did it my reducing by 5mg at a time and about 2 months on each reduction.  Doing it that slow I didn't have any withdrawl at all.  I came off once before years before and dropped by 10mg each time, but that gave me withdrawal.

    Buy a pill cutter and just divide the 10mg up.  My last dose of 5mg I went even further and crushed it and took half again.  I wasn't taking any chances of haveing withdrawal effect.

    K x

     

    • marky_b
      marky_b katecogs

      Posted

      hi everyone i was on 20mg for a month but these tabs make me feel terrible so the last month been taking only 10mg an now starting to feel total crap really anxious today. i feel worse now then i did before starting with this medication been 4 months now and wishing i never started with this medication.wanting to get of these advice would be great.
    • katecogs
      katecogs marky_b

      Posted

      Hi Marky

      These meds can make you feel worse in the first few weeks but it does wear off.  You may have done better starting on 10mg and working your up.  Now that you've dropped by 10mg you may be having slight withdrawl too, which happens to some people.

      You have to take these meds real slow, whether starting or stopping and they can take 3-4 months to work for some people (sometimes longer) ... but it really is worth it in the end for many.

      Did your doctor suggest you drop to 10mg or did you decide to?  Its always best to discuss with your doctor so he knows where you're at and will help to suggest things too.

      These meds are no overnight fix and many people do struggle to start with.  If you've taken 10mg for a month its probably best to stay on that dose and persevere as the side effects / withdrawl does ease off.  Also go see your doctor if you haven't already discussed taking the 10mg.

      What symptoms are you having at the moment?

    • marky_b
      marky_b katecogs

      Posted

      hi kate i started these around 4 month ago now the first month 10mg and then for around six weeks 20mg and felt unreal and terrible so i then decided to try and come of so have been taking only 10mg for around the last 5 weeks. but since coming back down to 10mg the last week i have been feeling alot more anxious and spaced out feeling week shaky and wake up feeling sick and anxious with like a nervous butterflies in my stomach i dont feel any better since starting these meds
    • katecogs
      katecogs marky_b

      Posted

      Hi Marky

      When you start these meds they will make you feel worse.  Anxiety worsens before it starts to get better.  The side effects can last a few weeks or longer for some, but it does ease off.  Decreasing the meds will give you withdrawal effect, so that added to the side effects your were already experiencing can make you feel quite low, sick, anxious etc.

      The best things is to stick at one dose for a long time.  Wait until the side effects have eased until deciding if an increase is needed.  Usually recovery comes in waves too so you'll get days (or hours) when you feel ok and days when you feel back to sqaure one.  This happens repeatedly but it does ease and eventually even out.

      If you keep swapping from one dose to another you'll get side effects / withdrawl effects and your body won't know whether its coming or going.  So its best to stick to one dose for now and let things begin to settle.  It will be tough going for a while - some people are prescibed with meds to take occasionally when the going gets really tough, so maybe your doctor can help give you something that'll take the edge off.

      They're strange meds to take and its not simple like taking an asprin that'll ease a headache.  With these meds there's the awful side effects, and when they ease you often get waves of glimpses of feeling maybe ok mixed with feeling like you're going backwards.  That's normal for many.

      Recovery can be realy slow - its often hard to see it happening too.

      It took me 6 months to recover on one dose.

    • katecogs
      katecogs marky_b

      Posted

      Hi marky

      I was taking 20mg and after a few years on that I reduced to 10mg for a maintenance dose and stayed on that for some years too.  Finally I reduced to 5mg.  I came off meds last August and have stayed well since.

  • ian82869
    ian82869 alison81137

    Posted

    Hi Alison. I decided on 12 October 2016 (my sister's birthday, easy to remember) to come of Citalopram 10mg and Propranolol 40mg. My doctor also told me to just stop taking them, saying I was taking the lowest dose. I didn't! I halved both doses to 5mg for 2 weeks and then took one every, other day alternating each of citalopram and propranolol.

    I kept on like this until I stopped both tablets completely on 19 December 2016. Withdrawal was not easy, the headaches on waking were dreadful. I still am waking in the middle of the night with a pounding head so maybe my withdrawal regime was too abrupt. But I had no advice from my doctor so went my own way.

    Best of luck!

  • pam34048
    pam34048 alison81137

    Posted

    I took celexa for 4 years on and off this is one of the easiest in my opinion of the Srri to come of of.  I went cold turkey twice I also found it to be the most positive of all of them.  I did get the Bain zaps but at the most lasted a week.
    • marky_b
      marky_b pam34048

      Posted

      hi what dose were you on before you went cold turkey.
  • pam34048
    pam34048 alison81137

    Posted

    Wish I could tell you but I think I took the medium dose the first year 2 pills and weened myself to half that when I started feeling better.  The second time was three years on the lowest dose.
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