Coming off citalopram. :(

Thanks ms mac !

Yeah i rely on it too cause i have an empty feeling if i dont. But i dont want to be on it any longer so decided to stop~ what is 5htp?? I read thats its dangerous??

I also had no idea about the weight gain with Cit. :S. . . . But i heard someone talking about it lately. And then ive read here that many people experience weight gain. I thought it was just because i ate lots of food or something haha.

Sunnybunny - Welcome to the forum, hope you manage to stay off!

MsMac - So sorry to hear you are not having a good time of things. All I can say is I too had a very bad patch about 15 years ago - one thing went wrong after another and ended up having a breakdown. I couldnt see a way out of it. But then everything changed and though it has taken me a very long time to feel stable, I now have a completely different life which I never thought possible. So keep you chin up - things can change for the better. Wishing you lots of luck xx

Beautiful - I, too, went through severe trauma and then it was one thing after another so that kept me pill-popping. I'm not an addictive person, normally, so hated to feel weak but the time wasn't right to stop. I know, if I had the kind of life I want, I wouldn't be depressed. As I'm in my 60's, not much chance of getting what I want. At least I have a roof over my head and no money worries. I could be a lot worse.

I'm so happy that YOUR life changed - we all deserve happiness.

Sunny - I read about 5HTP on here and then research it. It's a natural boost to serotonin and I haven't seen any bad reports. I've only taken 3 so early days.

Ms Mac, its not at all weak to take antidepressants. In fact I think that some of the nicest people I know take them. Life is very hard to deal with, especially if you are a sensitive person. Bereavement, divorce,wars,crime,always bad news on tv,unfeeling people etc etc. Life just isnt easy and unfortunately some suffer more than others and need these meds to cope. I am in a good place at the moment but I know it could all change and I might not be able to cope again. Am absolutely dreading the thought of my parents dying (they are in their late 70's/early 80's) and I think I will definitely go right down again when it happens. So I guess we have to count our blessings while we can like you say. I still say that life could change for you though, even though you are in your 60's. I hope so and wish you all the best.

Thank you Beautiful. Thank you for those kind words.

My life fell apart when my mother died in 2005 and a traumatic event took place on the night she was cremated. I really needed those tablets!!!!

My trouble is, as you say, being super-emotional/sensitive at the best of times. I cry at anything sad. I hate this nature.

Grab any happiness you can, when you can and look after number one.

Take care and keep smiling.

Thats awful MsMac, no wonder you are still feeling bad.

Sometimes I hate being so emotional and sensitive too. I dont think there is any cure for it but it does sometimes have consolations. At least we can also empathise with others.

I used to always put others before myself and suffered for it - then I went completely the other way and got a bit too selfish. So now I try and reach a happy medium, probably try and put myself first sometimes but then also help others when I can. It seems to work better for me that way. I read about taking the "middle way" in a book on buddhism.

You take care too,

Sounds like I need to read that, Beautiful, I always seem to get kicked in the teeth and then I get so low because of what I've done for people. At least, we have hearts. I really do hate this nature!!!

Hi Ms Mac I'm with you there - it's no fun being oversensitive and emotional! Just wanted to check - am I right in thinking you tapered off Citalopram in 3 weeks? I've been on 20mg for 6 months and am reducing to come off now. Have taken a tablet every alternate day for 2 weeks and am feeling a good bit better but am not sure how long to continue that for. Reports on the Internet seem to suggest all manner of various time periods and are just confusing. I suppose everyone's different though so it's difficult to tell how anyone's going to react.

Just wondered how you were feeling now and if you think the 3 weeks wasn't long enough to reduce?

Margaret

Yes, Marg - less than 3 weeks. Doc. told me to do 20/10 first week 10/nil next week then nothing. That was far to quick, in my opinion and still getting the woozy heads. Horrible, horrible feeling and I just want to lie down to get relief. It doesn't stop me doing things and I'm a lot less emotional being free of the medication.

I was on SSRI's for a long time so a lot of chemicals had messed with my brain. I would suggest weaning yourself off for at least a month but that is only because of the withdrawal affects I have experienced. I am taking 5HTP, at the moment.

Keep posting!

Thanks MsMac I was kinda thinking along those lines myself - just to be on the safe side. I have almost another 6 weeks worth of 20mg tablets in the cupboard anyway so might as well use them up and not waste the NHS's money seeing they make such a good job of wasting it themselves!

My daughter was prescribed sertraline and took one one night, decided she didn't like the feeling and didn't take any more. Went back to the doctor and was promptly prescribed Prozac. She hasn't touched them. What a waste! This particular doc told her there were no side effects from these anti depressants! It's scary it really is when you hear some of the things they come out with.

Anyway thanks for the advice - I'll take it slowly and hope the fact I'm feeling better is down to coming off them although I'll be simultaneously pissed off as well because it means I've almost wasted the last 8 months being on these things and feeling absolutely miserable when I didn't have to but at least I gave them a good try - I would have felt bad if I hadn't.

The joys! :D

I've been on different SSRI's for THIRTEEN years and told to come off them in TWO weeks - shocking, especially when I have a whole packet left. Yes, a waste because the chemist just destroys them safely.

I was fine for a week after coming off Cit. and thought 'Yes!' - little did I know what was to follow.

I, definitely, would use the tablets you have up and go slowly. Wish I had done that.

Without the tablets, I have lost a persistent cough and my stomach is lots better. I feel I might get my life back, as I'm planning things now, where for a long, long time I had no interest and just wanted to die. I'm not that kind of person either - I love FUN and well known for being mad. LOL! Mad in the zany way, of course!

That's dreadful!

You've convinced me - I shall take it slowly and not do anything rash. Must say after a fortnight though I'm feeling MUCH more like my old self - and alive. Like you I found myself planning today - long time since I've done that. At 55 I thought my life was pretty much over and yes many a time thought it would be sooooooo much easier if I didn't exist - problems all solved in one fell swoop!

Sometimes it's frightening how your perception of everything can just become so distorted on these tablets.

Yay to life!

I'm in my 60's but a young one. Many days and nights I have so wanted to die. I don't think those pills helped at all, looking back. I, too, only looked forward to death as I thought there was nothing else.

It's strange how different I feel - something I haven't experienced in years.

Since coming off, I've enrolled for voluntary work and booked a holiday - not that the depression stopped my holidays as I needed those escapes.

Ah well I haven't QUITE got that far yet but I have contacted a kennel for my 11 year old lab whom I've been using as a very convenient excuse not to go away anywhere for years now! He's a rescue dog so not great with other dogs but to be honest if I really wanted to get away I would have made far more inroads to seeing about someone taking him.

So that's good. Actually feeling normal and WANTING to do stuff feels pretty strange I have to admit.