Coming off citalopram. :(

Don't get me wrong thus powerful little drug helped me- started on 40mg when I was 6 stone 10lb 2 years ago now down miraculously 20mg and 8 stone 10lb- just want to get down further and fit into my old clothes without the bloated tummy! If you reduce do you go 20-20-20-20-20-10 in a week? Shaving a little off each day made me suicidal after a month?

Anyone know how many 20mg tablets you would need to take to kill yourself?

Hi Tradders,

If I've read this correctly you need to speak to someone urgently.

Just so you know, overdosing on these tablets can be fatal and it would be a horrible and agonizing way to go as they fuck up your liver and your kidneys and mess with your body temperature way before they get to doing you in.

Honestly though, trust me when I say, 'This too shall pass'

And in the meantime if you can't find anyone to talk to then get in touch with these guys now: http:// www. samaritans. org/

Clare.......1974..........I am on two different but similar threads and I posted this on the other one in answer to a similar question

....

I kept a record and ticked it off each night as serioulsy I would forget even if had taken it!

🌟💫🌟✨

I did 20-20-10-20-20 -10. For 4 weeks

20-15-20-15. For two weeks

15 daily for 3 weeks

15-15-10-15-15-10 3 weeks

10-15-10-15 for 3 weeks

10 for 3 weeks

10-10-5-10-10-5. 3 weeks

Now on second week of 5-10-5-10

Everyone is different am sure but I have had no side effects of withdrawal or brain zaps

I have lost some weight

I hope to do 5 daily next then I may even do 2.5 mg

All these horror stories of people coming off them too quickly is scary

I got a pill cutter £2.20 and use that

As I said everyone does it there way. But this worked for me

Good luck!

Hi Guys

Well 8 days tablet free and still here lol!!! Hey Tradders I read your post with despair!! please, please speak to someone, I know how hard it is coming off them as I am going through hell and this forum is a lifeline for me at the moment but I also know that the tablets were not working any more!!

I am writing this today to say that I have only had 3 occasions of brain zaps and nausea today.....that is huge for me so fingers crossed this is the start of the end (if you know what I mean) oh and i have not cried today either.

I am by no means out of the woods yet but feeling much more positive than before

Keep safe everyone

Tradders I hope you are feeling a little easier today, I'm on week 3 now and it is getting better honestly, am eating sleeping, few brain zaps, and the nausea has eased and I'm not so prone to cry, or get angry. It can be done. Tradders you have shown courage on here, and I do hope that you are getting some support, think we all use this forum to rant and support others who are struggling.

We are doing it together, there's loads of advice from ppl who have researched into alternatives and things to help with the withdrawal symptoms. Glad your doing well jigglyjules.

I spoke to my boss today and told her I had stopped taking my tablets, the look said it all.. Eventually she asked me why, told her they we're making me ill.. Like I said the look said it all. Good job I didn't rely on her support.

In the one hand I'm disgusted as it's a massive decision to make, but on the other, I'm not surprised..

Hope everyone's day is lovely, and before you tell me to ram it I will add if it's not than I know it will be very very soon..

Xx

Hey guys

Thanks kat99794 and really glad that things are easing up for you too. You know the anger was one of the things that I found hard, I was sooo pent up and ready to blow!! I too told my boss as I was worried that I was going to blow at one of the other managers!! I just warned him to keep him away from me until I felt better lol Also I don't know if any one else also suffered with absent mindedness!! my god I was keeping the milk on the bench and putting my cup of tea in the fridge!! I would forget I had done something as soon as I had done it.

Work has probably been my worst, busy supermarkets are not the best place at the best of times never mind like this!! Oh and as you said Kat there is no support too, all they care about is that you are actually coming to work!!

So tomorrow is another day and I am staying positive that it will be better than today and that it won't be long before I can concentrate on losing this bloody weight I have put on lol, but you know what, one step at a time

just one step at a time

xxxx

I had a bit of a meltdown at Schipol airport about 6 weeks ago and I've been on them for the last 4 weeks. I'm sleeping about 12 hours a day and I just don't seem to be able to get going. The doctor also put me on 3 beta blockers a day so I'm not sure what's holding me back. Where has my self confidence gone???

Hi tradders, it will get better but it does take time and it seems like it is never going to happen, am I right in reading that you started the citalopram 4 weeks ago? you may find another thread on this site helpful 'Success stories of citalopram', I found it very helpful when I started on the medication but now I am trying to come off of them, but while I was on them for about 18 months they helped me a lot. Good luck, it will get better.

I've been taking Cit 20mg for well over 5 years now. About a week and a half ago, I just decided to stop taking the medicine.It's been a wild ride since then -- I've experienced the dizziness most of you refer to as well as the occurrence of the "brain zap" effect.There has also been some sleeplessness and some minor digestive discomfort. However, I am also experiencing some very positive results that are going to keep me off the drug -- better concentration and reading comprehension, a very ambitious sex drive, more interest in old hobbies, less of an appetite and better eating habits, and even a slightly improved complexion.

I will see what 10 days off the wagon will do and provide you with a report.

Hi tradders, if you look at the side effects of the betablockers one of the side effects can be extreme tiredness, a friend of mine has just started them and is sleeping 12 hrs a day. Think your meltdown was probably a combination of things it's not your fault, it will get better for you though, I know it doesn't seem like it will but it will honestly it's hard to see any light when you have a breakdown but there is truely, and you are helping yourself get better already.

Like with cmc64 I grateful for taking the citalopram and I wasn't bothered by telling people either, I was proud that I recognised I need help, and proud that I could ask for it, and this applies to you to.. It will take time so if you can stop pressurising yourself, and try to accept that no matter how small the step is, at least it's a step .. Xx

My Doctor has had me on anti-depressants pretty much for 28 years. Had a break from them for 4 or 5 years and was put on Citalopram 20mg in April. Felt better in some ways but have put weight on (which gets me down loads) and can't shift it despite a restricted IBS diet; no 'romantic' feelings what so ever and permanently tired and falling asleep which I put down to a new job I started at the same time as the meds. Now decided to come off them and see how I get on. Stopped completely which was a disaster so cutting down my daily dose having read several posts on here. Just hope my mood stabilises and I manage to lose a few pounds

Hi. I have been coming off Celexa for about a month and half now. I did the gradual drop in dosage and am to the point of not taking any. I am having some tough withdrawals these last couple of days. Brain zaps, feeling foggy, nauseated, dizzy. I'm trying really hard to not go back on but need some ideas on how to better deal with these withdrawals. I'm feeling exhausted and don't feel like I have the energy to workout and do my normal routine. Any advice or encouragement would help! I really want to get off this drug and feel real emotions again.

Hey Beccaj4848

well done for weaning off the tablets!! All I can say is Hang in there!!!! Those withdrawals will prob get worse before they get better but don't give in!!!!!

I am 10 days free now and I have been to hell and back! This forum has been a lifeline.....Even in my darkest days of depression I never wanted to end it but I tell you I could have hung myself last week!!! But..........and I am frightened to tempt fate.....the last two days have been fabulous!!!! Now I have still had the odd brain Zap mainly in the evening but I really, really mean the odd one!! I have not cried in two days and woke up with a smile this morning

I know that in about another week I am sure all the withdrawal symptoms will be gone and then its going to be the journey of whether the depression comes back, but you know as I said in a previous post....One step at a time.

So do the best you can and hang in there!!! the light is at the end of the tunnel.

I don't mean to sound ignorant but what are the 'brain zaps' people keep mentioning?

My timing to wean off the tablets couldn't be worse as we have taken on a new contract at work so had 2 days of tears and frustration dealing with snotty car dealers on the phone but I will not be beaten