Citalopram Withdrawal Advice Please
Posted , 2 users are following.
I started citalopram in September last year and went up to 20mg, i have been tapering off slowly since May. It had been going well, i last went from 10mg down to 5mg about 2 months ago and this last 2 weeks have been really hard. Old anxious on edge feelings have been coming and going. Also some real lows. Iv read a lot on how long citalopram withdrawl can last. Wandering whether to go back up to 10 for the winter or stick it out. I hate feeling like iv relapsed. Any advice or tips from would be great
0 likes, 4 replies
ian90586 harry09460
Edited
Hi Harry,if you were taking the Citalopram primarily for anxiety,you don't give any background on why you were taking it,then if you haven't learnt coping skills to deal with whatever anxiety disorder you have,then the anxiety will return. I've found myself in the past on Citalopram,and I've taken it a few times,that after improvement on 20mg I've reduced to 10mg as a maintenance dose and been alright. But when I came off completely,then all the anxiety came back after several months,I was really ill again and had to start again. To come off completely,you must be 100% sure that the reasons you went on Citalopram have been resolved. Antidepressants are a crutch that shouldn't be relied on completely to solve your problems. That means either the reasons that made you depressed have been sorted or as I said,you have learnt coping skills to deal with the anxiety.. You done the right thing in withdrawing very slowly, and 2 months is plenty to reduce in 5mg increments. You will have some anxiety and depression as you decrease as the brain readjusts again. You should be sure that it is right for you to come off completely. Good luck.
harry09460 ian90586
Posted
thank you for the reply Ian. Yes i am on it for anxiety and panic. I thought i had the mechanisms in place but now realise i havent. I have decided to go back up to 10 and stay on that for a good year or so to make sure im stable. I found my anxiety had slowly crept back over the last month or so until a small panic last week, i cant put my finger on whether its withdrawals or not, i think this time of year doesnt help things
ian90586 harry09460
Posted
Hi Harry,yes it could be that your brain is still adjusting to coming down to 5mg,though two months is quite long. If you feel the anxiety creeping back, then you're probably right to stay at 10mg as you wouldn't want a full relapse of anxiety symptoms. You will probably get some heightened anxiety from going back to 10mg,but seeing as it's only 5mg you might be alright. The way things are in the world today with the pandemic,and going into winter before Christmas is not the best time for reducing antidepressants as you say. I spent quite a while on 10mg after coming down and was OK. Think you're doing the right thing. While you're on 10mg put into place good coping skills by doing CBT, meditation and deep breathing,good diet and exercise, mindfulness if you haven't already. Good luck.
harry09460 ian90586
Edited
thanks again for the reply Ian. Yh i think its both the adjustment and just a stressful period in my life. Yh im sure il have a gew side effects and anxiety from going up but think its worth it rather than risking a full blown disaster haha. Yhh looking back i think i was too hasty to come down off them and it wasnt good timing. Currently learning meditation which i find great