Coming off citalopram. :(

Bless you Ged 43598 I think you've done amazingly well going cold turkey so long.Im cutting down slowly and finding it really hard! Glad you're going for help from the doctor. Good luck xxxx

Cheers Julie, to be honest i never thought it would be this hard, stupidly, never mind see doc in the morn and no doubt be on more pils. Hope there is other meds i can try because cit is doing my head in. Anyway how are you doing?

Hi Ged Im on a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment but I'll get there. Another month and I should be off them then we'll see what happens then. Keep me posted x

Hi - I posted a little while ago and thought I would provide another update. It's been nearly three weeks now since I took my last pill, after reducing from 20 to 10 and then to 5. The brain zaps have nearly gone and I feel completely different - in a good way. I am not as tired and fuzzy headed as I was on the pills, and I think I may be able to shed some of this weight I have piled on over the past two years because I have more energy and self control.

I do not intend on taking the tablets again so any more side effects will just have to be coped with but all in all it is definitely getting easier. I don't think the depression is still there but you never know, I haven't been tested yet - but even if it is, I don't want to go on the tablets again. You don't know how much they numb you till you come off them.

Good luck everyone - I will keep on reading as this has been a really useful forum.

Well done Cindy, you have a very positive outlook on it, that helps, I am struggling on 5 but determined not to go to 10.

Hi all, went to see doc yesterday and he has prescribed Fluoxetine instead of cit, anybody had any expierence with these when changing rfom cit?

Hi Ged glad you got some help. I was on fluoxetine for quite a while and was fine. Also no withdrawal symptoms when I came off! They are both in the same family of drugs so should help quite soon. Good luck x

Hi Everyone,

21 days FREE of this drug and I gotta tell ya..it does get easier. The first 10 days or so were absolutely horrendous. I had all the symptoms that everyone is speaking of but I can tell you, IT GETS BETTER! You have to stay determined to get off this drug! This last week or so I have been feeling more myself, not depressed or anything, slightly irritable, but I think that comes and goes and I feel like I have better control over that now and can deal with it better. I know how hard it is to come off this drug, so I understand what everyone is going through, but just stick with it. Take it day by day or even minute by minute and talk yourself through it. IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Good luck everyone! There is light at the end of the tunnel!

To cindy and beccaj, it is really encouraging to hear your persistance in coming off the medication. I have reduced from 20mg to 10 mg in the last month and after a couple of weeks of obvious symptoms, I am feeling more clarity and less tired. I have cut to 10mg/5mg alternate days and plan to do this for a couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone sharing, it keeps me determined to completely get off these tablets.

Hi all thought I'd update. I've reduced from 40 to 30 and now on week one of 20mg. Beginning of the week that I reduced to 20 was awful felt really confused, exhausted, dizzy etc. Yuk! Then today I woke to feel the fog had lifted :-) Had a good day with no mood swings which makes a change. Let's hope it continues. Good luck everyone xxx

To Tarn,

Keep it up! You are getting so close, but just pay attention to how you are feeling as well. I also did the reduction stage, which I think probably helped me in the end. Don't try to come off too fast. I have been on and off this medication for about 6 years..so I had a bit of a harder time getting it out of my system. Take care of yourself, do things that you enjoy doing, that make you feel happy. I really found that taking an omega 3 everyday and vitamin B complex seemed to really help with the brain fog and brain zaps, and also my overall energy level. Exercise is SO important, even when you don't feel like doing it. Just go for a walk for 30 minutes or something to get active. I promise it helps. Stay strong, and take it day by day..it's such a good feeling once you have been off completely and beaten all the withdrawals. Well worth the fight!

Keep fightin!

i was prescribed citalopram 20mg after hurting my knees (CRPS - complex regional pain syndrome)

the knee problem was so bad that i had 7 weeks off work and could hardly stand never mind walk .

as a result of the contant crying my GP prescribed citalopram 10mg for a few days and then increasing to 20mg after a week. i have to say that i felt emotionally much better within a week. after several months i tried to come off it slowly by reducing the dose to 10mg per day. at the same time i was suffering from facial dermatitis and had patch testing done which showed that i'm allergic to nickel. i therefore went on a reduced nickel diet and stopped any contact with nickel (in the form of keys/coins/handles etc)

my dermatitis did not improve and in fact got worse. it was then that i read the leaflet accompanying the citalopram. the 2010 version had mentioned possible rash/hives but the 2012 updated version of the leaflet said that it could cause coin shaped redness on skin which was exactly what i had. i mentioned this to the dermatologist but he dismissed it out of hand. therefore i continued to take the citalopram 20mg and concenatrated on really trying to avoid nickel in any food/drink.

the dermatitis continued to get worse. then i decided to stop citalopram completely. from 20mg per day to nothing.

i was a bit emotional and snappy for a while but the main thing for me was that i was incredibly jumpy and this made my knees worse as i would jump at the slightest noise. CRPS is difficult in that the slightest thing can have long lasting pain which completely puts a stop to normal life. again i had time off work and went back on 20mg citalopram a day. i have now been researching citalopram and dermatitis and find that it can cause ezcema and dermatitis. i am therefore once again going to come off it. i also take amitryptline for the nerve pain relief 50mg per day therefore i will increase amitriptylene and cut down to 10mg citalopram and further reduce in a few weeks. obviously the best way to cut down is slowly so your body can adjust. maybe some people will be able to just take 10mg per day - when i told my GP that i wanted to come off citalopram he told me 10mg is not a high dose and it's hardly worth bothering to cut it out. i disagreed and went ahead anyway. for some people it may well be the case that taking a small dose works, avoids the tears and makes life better.

It's been 1 weeks since I weaned myself off the "demon drug", I've been on it for about a year. I gained 20 lbs in that year. How long before I'm not experiencing the side effects? I still get dizzy, irritable, and the brain zaps.

6 weeks free now, cold turkey worked for me, though not for everyone.. I hope everyone is feeling ok, anyways most of the withdrawal symptoms gone, thank god!, still get a little heated now and then and sometimes over emotional, but just stay strong and focused.. It's a relief to know it will stabilise and probably already is.

Keep smiling

Lots of love xxx

ive been taking citalopram 40mg for over 8years. ive just moved to Spain a few months ago and thought as life would be better here for me i would come off the Cit. i reduced the dosage to half a tab a day then about 3 weeks ago i ran out of them and thought right thats it,im coming off them altogether and let cold turkey begin....oh dear i wish i hadnt,i feel absolutely awful. headaches dizzy,more depressed than before i took them etc. it was such a relief to read other peoples experiences and know im not alone. what i thinks making me feel even worse is im going thru the change...no period since august...and i dont take hrt and have no plans to,so i think how im feeling is a combination of factors really. Anyway,i cant live with myself like this and nor can my hubby and 8year old daughter so ive caved in and have ordered more citalopram online...and i cant wait for them to arrive. ive come to the conclusion that even tho i begrudge taking them,its got to be better than how i feel at the moment and i just want to wake up with a bit of enthusiasm for the day ahead. Good luck folks x