Coming off citalopram. :(

Hi Mary, I have been on Citalopram a few more years than yourself, and this year I made the decision to come off them, mostly because I had dealt with the issues that caused me to need to be on Citalopram in the first place, but also because of the side effects I had been experiencing and had just put up with for so many years.

I came off them in October and I have been off them now for about 9 weeks and I've never felt better. For me the drug prevented me from truly feeling anything, it was just a level experience of emotions, never too happy, never too sad, never too anything. I never really noticed that until I came off them, I was quite emotional in the first two to three weeks, and now everything has settled down.

I came off them very quickly in consultation with my GP, after all the crap I've dealt with in my life, I was well prepared for any withdrawal symptoms. I thoroughly recommend you discuss coming off them in great depth with your GP, ask questions about the withdrawal symptoms, how long they will last, how it may affect your appetite, libido, memory, concentration - the lot, don't be afraid to ask them questions till you're both blue in the face, and then agree on a dosage reduction plan and period, and go for it. I came off over a period of two weeks, I've read some people take months. My GP gave me the dosage reductions as far as how many milligrams of the drug to take daily, and said when you're ready to take each step down, go for it. I opted for a very quick approach because I had simply had enough of what the medication was doing to me.

From what I have seen, everyone is affected differently from coming off Citalopram, and for many it may be quite a struggle. The benefits of coming off Citalopram in the long term though are significant, providing you do not need to be on the medication anymore. That goes back to one thing I've always said, there is no point being on Citalopram unless you are going to seek professional help such as counselling and non psychiatric treatments to deal with the issues that led you to being on the drug in the first place, otherwise, it will be even more difficult to come off the drug, because it has only been masking the issue, or at the very least making it easier to cope with.

If you believe you are truly ready to come off them, then go for it, be kind to yourself, ensure you drink lots of water and eat well, and do as much for yourself as you can, relax, and remind yourself that any withdrawal symptoms will pass, and you will one day be free of the meds. You may have good days and bad days while the drug eliminates from your system and your serotonin factory resets and adjusts. Remind yourself that this is part of coming off them, and will pass.

I wish you all the very best no matter what you decide to do, and if you find yourself worrying that everything has gone back to square one, talk to your GP and make sure you're not relapsing (to whatever issue you have that needed the medication). Having said that, people with anxiety and depression often take a very black and white approach to things. If we aren't feeling perfect then everything is wrong and not working. The fact is that everyone has crappy days, everyone feels anxious and worried, and most people get depressed at some point in their lives. It's just about recognising when it all becomes too much and you cannot cope, then we seek professional help. I personally believe that we are taught to believe that we should be defined as an anxious or depressed person, and so it's no wonder we can't recover and get on with our lives like everyone else, instead we feel trapped in a mindset where if we feel anxious, it means we have not recovered and still require help.

Anyway I'm starting to babble, all the best xxx

Hi Mary,

I really can identify with your feelings and have to admit I am so near to the far end. I am so angry at the smallest of things and hate the person I have become. I am so afraid that this is the real me and I will need medication for the rest of my life.

The reasons for taking citalopram originally no longer exist for me so it seemed right to stop them. At this present time though it is hard to believe I can manage without.

I was okay on them but I felt a bit dulled by them. I could never have a good cry, now it seems all too easy, which bothers me.

I feel that I am that person who will need medication forever yet that really gets to me too.

It's only been 12 days clear, though it feels like much longer.

I still can't tell my husband as I feel he will be disappointed with me and, I haven't faith in my doctor, so I am dealing with this on my own hence this forum.

Sorry Mary this was supposed to be about you but I had such a bad day you brought it back.

I am working on the theory that a trouble shared is a trouble halved and shared experiences keep me better informed and give me strength in my choices.

I empathise with you but don't feel in a position to advise you .. yet I take heart from your experience and wish you good look

Thank you Jan, Kurani and Julie, your replies are much appreciated, it's been very helpful to read about your experiences. I would love to make some useful comments about your posts but not able to right now. I am so close to giving in and going back on them but now decided to try and get through one day at a time in the hope that feeling this awful will pass. The thing I dont understand is that I feel worse at week 6 off them than I did in weeks 1, 2 , 3 and 4... just hope that because I was on them for so many years its taken longer for my brain to realise that I've stopped taking them so having a delayed reaction which I hope will not last. But I've got no idea how long it will last..perhaps it'll never stop, in which case I would go back on them straightaway. Somebody (every time I try to scroll back I lose what I have written so I can't name who) wrote a brilliant description a few posts ago...something like 'feeling raw, like they have been peeled and rolled in salt and then sent out to direct the traffic' sums it up for me!!!

Cmc.....yes I used to feel worse in morning then better by end if day but that was before I went on cit..it has really helped me though , and it's quite right we cannot be happy jolly all the time...I wish!

Re other posts. .....I came off it at instigation of my GP. She only wanted me on it short term..hey I could have stayed on it forever it was so good!

But it's not along term drug, I don't think it was designed for that and there are cumulative ongoing effects

However hand on heart....I have said if I have to stay on this the rest of my life so be it...but I am succeeding at reduction..

Am still chopping along at 7.5/5/7.5/5. But my cuttings getting so dodgy! .....as this is week 3 I will go to 5mg daily next week I think. I have been reducing since July very slowly in case anyone's new to my posts

Good luck all

Hi Gillian,

I'm having terrible mornings now but this time of night I feel really well, doesn't make sense. I still don't feel any better by going back on to 10mg, saw GP the other day and he wants me to go back to 20, I am hanging off for now and hope that the 10 will soon do its stuff. I'm hoping the reason I feel bad at the moment is just side effects from going back up, don't know.

Well done on your progress you are doing well.

Hey linnyM1978 well done you for coming off Citalopram. I've only been on it just over 2 months so I'm

that if the GP says it's ok to come off then I'm going to do your 20/10 for 3 weeks and then down and down

until nothing. I am wondering tho if you have to be on it for a minimum period? I was given it for mild

depression and severe tension headaches, weird tho cos when I read the possible side affects it said

possible headaches! Why would you give someone with tension headaches a drug that potentially could

give them more headaches? Anyway the drug did "silence" my brain and I have been a lot less moody my

husband is very happy but now I have found out that my headaches are probably caused by the dreaded

Peri Menopause as are the night flushes and day flushes and the sleepless nights!! So I am thinking that I

can hopefully come off the Citalopram as I'm not depressed or anxious. Although I am a bit nervous about

doing the whole withdrawal thing. This has affected my job as I drive trains and have been off the road since

Sept!!

I will keep you guys updated as to what the Docs says tomorrow. I'm hoping for some Amiltriptyline

(can't spell it) as this is used as a muscle relaxant and I was on it originally before the Citalopram and

it did help me sleep as I took it at night time about 2 hours before going to bed. The Citalopram I take in the morning as I didn't want the horrible nightmares it gives if you take it at night.

It seems to have calmed me down but I would like to have my brain back and be able to read my books,

I haven't been able to read much while on Citalopram as I seem to drift off and get distracted when trying

to read... anyone else have that problem??

I've been on Citalopram 20mg for 5 years and in the last year have felt AWFUL. My depression kept getting worse, gained weight that I just cannot take off more than 5 lbs of the 25 i gained and lately started getting super dizzy - I even passed out cold at my friends house the other night. I decided to get off this drug and quit cold turkey on Saturday. Done. Today being Tuesday, I have a bad headache, which I just took some tylenol. I have been sleeping awesome (i wasn't before) and I really feel like this is the right move. I know that could very well have more side effects of quitting cold turkey - but would rather go through that then how i've been feeling for so long. I'm going to start incorporating natural methods of "feeling better". Liquid Vitamin D…multi vitamins…..lower my caffeine intake slowly….exercise EVERY day…..and eat better, whole foods…Citalopram gave me such a sweet tooth i could not control it. Anyways…these posts are helpful. thank you.

Now think I know why I have been in such a state for the past week - after 12 years on citalopram coming off them in a week and a half does not work (for me) I'm now back on 10mg (half my previous dose), and will get a pill cutter and come down in dose over the next few months. Am having CBT at the moment and working hard on diet, exercise, and reading books like mindful meditation tho struggling with that one right now. Kurani can I ask you what dose were you on and how many weeks were you off it when you started feeling better?

Hi Mary, it sounds like you are doing all the right things, good for you! I was on 40mg a day, I dropped to 20 for a week then 10 for a week then stopped. The first week off them I had a few brain zaps as they call them, but that was pretty much it physically. I did have some strong emotions - crying a lot, laughing and being really happy, and episodes of rage. These strong emotions lasted for three weeks, and since then I've been a little more balanced. I'm sure some people would find it difficult with the emotional roller coaster, I suppose I did too but more than anything else I felt alive and able to truly feel for the first time in a decade and a half. I wouldn't recommend coming off so quickly to anyone else, I felt I had done my research, and was more than prepared because of all the skills I learnt over the years to cope. I suffered some pretty horrible side effects from the medication that I had put up with for so long, and I got to the point where I wasn't prepared to anymore.

I'm still emotional sometimes but I've had a relationship break up, and quite a few other traumatic events that I'm working through, and so I expected it. I think the most positive thing to come out of stopping the meds is that I could acknowledge all that's happened in the last year not only logically in my mind but I was able to have a good cry and let it all out.

I have never felt better and I'm enjoying being able to cope with life's ups and downs using all the relaxation and coping skills I've learnt over the years. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel as if I have a future and something to be excited about and to live for. I'm making goals and plans that I never thought I would.

I think one of the key things to feeling better was recognising that everyone on earth has bad days and rough times. For many years if I didn't feel 100% for any reason, it was the end if the world and I felt I couldn't cope and would never get through it. Now I know I can and will get through whatever life throws at me, and when I'm having a bad day, tomorrow is another day

Try not to think of it as a race, just do it in your own time, you are in complete control and when you are ready you will take the next step that's appropriate for you.

No matter how bad things may seem, no matter how unfair it feels, keep at it, you WILL get through this

Thank you kurani for your last post. It was like reading about myself and it has given me hope and reassurance that I am definitely doing the right thing. The intensity of emotions I feel is exciting and, though I am not in full control yet, I feel confident I will get there. [at the moment at least]

Yes thank you Kurani, going from 40 to 0 in two weeks after so many years on them is amazing! The fact that you can do this and are feeling better encourages me. I have now gone back to plan A (off them) and abandoned plan B (back on 10mg a day). I'll discount the two I took and go with that I'm 7 weeks off them. Jan - I'm with you when you say you don't trust your doctor, I think it effects everyone differently - I was fine until I hit 6 weeks then fell apart big time for 5 days but seem to be scraping myself back together now - basically doctors can't be accurate. Go with what you believe is best for you. I'm staying off them a day at a time now, but no idea how it's going to go.....

I have it on good authority that it is standard practise for GP's to always tell patients to increase their dose of anti depressant if the patient presents with any problems, this is despite the fact that higher doses are now not recommended even by the drugs manufacturers especially in the case of citalopram. GP's really need to keep up to date with current guidelines, it would save their patients an awful lot of grief and the nhs's overstretched budget at the same time! I have been off cit for 2 months now and it has been one of the best choices I have ever made, weight loss increased, motivation increased, friendships renewed, cant think of a single negative. Hope everyone has a very happy christmas, best wishes Karen.

Hi ..I am new to this forum and would be grateful for some advice.I have been on 40mg of cit for about 3 years ..other SSRI's before that .I started to reduce the dose to 20mg in a September ..40mg every other day for about a month send then 20 mg a day for the last month .I have had some dizziness but not too bad .My problem is where to go from here ..my GP is not helpful and I have quit on my own before...this moment in time I do not want to spoil the good work I have managed to do ..I need to f"feel" again and sleep again..I cannot cry which is so frustrating and counter productive I feel ..I also take a small amount of Diaxepam and hope these might help me with withdrawal ..what do you all think .Thankyou Ann