Coming off citalopram. :(

Hi Cath

If you read through my posts, you will see my withdrawal journey. Please, do it very gradually and, if you experience withdrawal symptoms, keep taking a small dose.

The withdrawal symptoms, to be truthful, didn't last too long and were to be expected after taking antidepressants for 13+ years.

I feel a new person, as I don't have the overwhelming fatigue that I had. I would come in and, literally, through myself on the sofa and go to sleep or go to bed and sleep for 2 hours. Bed-time was the opposite - I couldn't sleep!

I feel in control of my life and can't wait to lose the 2 stone I put on when I started taking those pills. That, in itself, caused depression. I am now getting my self-worth back.

Good luck and all the best.

Mrs Mac....I will be following your posts about coming off Citalopram . Keep putting it off as i I'm afraid of the withdrawals ! Tried twice ( too quick) just so sick of the weight gain and lack of weight loss by eating right!

Iv been on it since 2001 after I moved to USA 😳 I'm so pleased you did well coming off them. Very encouraging.....now just need to find my pill cutter! Do you know how I look up your old posts by any chance? Xx

Julie ms Mac Sharon

My 10 mg are made by Actavis Barnstaple EX328NS. Trademark Almus

Pillcutter was about £1.79 at super drug

Assorted colours ....:-))

Slow slow absolutely

I cannot say this enough

Your right about staying on sAme brand...it's one of those medicines mgt medical things we have to follow

Can't see that mine are at all coated though do it may be worth trying to get these and stay with them?

I only started withdrawal about Feb. so best way is just to go back a few pages.

I wasn't frightened about the withdrawal symptoms but I did get them and wondered how long they would last but wasn't long at all, really.

Longing for the day when I can look in the mirror without grimacing.

I still take it a day at a time.

Hi gillian and ms mac

gillian i would rather use my pill cutter and cut the 20's into 4 and have minimal side effects using a brand that suits me than try to see what 10mg tablets dont give me side effects, its swings and roundabouts, i have tried to come off them before and only got to 10mg before increasing them to 20mg again as i couldn't cope with the withdrawals.

you have to find out what works for you, and stick to it, its a funny old game trying to quit these tablets, your brain is a magical muscle and you dont know what its gonna do next, part of the fun hey lol

ms mac i am truly terrified of getting bad withdrawal symptoms and i know this makes me even more anxious, not sure why i am letting it effect me this way, but another of life's mysteries lol

my heart goes out to everyone who is trying to quit and i applaud everyone who has done it, i cant wait to be in your position ms mac and to look in the mirror and say YES i've done it

had a good day today, so all is well

Juliex

gillian

its not just the coating if it has one, it could be what they use to fill the tablet up or bind them together, the worst ones for me which i have tried 20mg are Almus, Sandoz, Ranbaxy

apparently there are 26 manufacturers in the uk making the tablets under the generic name of citalopram, when the tablet ciprimil patent ran out, the manufactures started making the same tablet but under the generic name of citalopram each one adding its own coating, filling and binding agents and colourings.

i will most probably be ok with more brands than just the Bristol labs tablets, but am not prepared to find out and i want off these tablets as soon as possible.

At first i thought that i wasn't coping and that i needed to increase my dose of cit, i was forever at the gp's stating i dont feel well, have aches and pains, persistant cough etc am sure they thought i was making it up and becoming a hypochondriac lol i really thought that i needed more help and at one point the gp was going to refair me to the mental health team, which would have been awkward as i work for them lol

It was like a breath of fresh air when the pharmacist helped me in finding out what was wrong

if anyone is interested then just google different brands of citalopram or manufacturers and symptoms and you will be surprised at what it shows, there is even a thread on this forum under citalopram manufacturers i think

sorry if i've bored everyone to death lol

Juliex

Hi Mrs Mac

Thanks for the link to the pamphlet from the Royal College of psychiatrists listed on this website patient dot uk as 'coming off anti-depressants.' (pg 37 of our discussion)

Here is the first evidence I have seen of health professionals acknowledging the problem of reduction syndrome. What I also found interesting is their recommended time frames for stopping.

They say

treatment of less than eight weeks is 1-2 weeks

treatment of 6-8 months is a 6-8 week taper

if you had a longer maintenance treatment then recommended to taper gradually 1/4 dose every 4-6 weeks

I hope this is helpful for others

Marbel

Marbel, after I read that, I was shocked that my doctor had told me TWO weeks!! Two weeks after 13 years was shocking! No wonder I felt rough but I survived.

I just checked, I started reduction July 18 th. Was only on it from feb 13 ...20 mg

Am still reducing

Sticking at 2.5 for 3 months...as suggested, thanks ;-))

I tell you, some of these GPs no nothing!

Its no big deal to take it slow. Tnere are no prizes at the end

Just a better journey ☺️☺️

I just signed up to comment on this thread.

I started taking 20mg back in Feb/Mar 2011, this was then increased to 40mg a couple of months later. After nearly 3 years I have now been off them for 8 days.

I feel let down by the doctors who prescribed them and didn't follow up on how things were working for me, every time I tried to talk to them about it... my thoughts were basically dismissed.

There are no long term studies about the effects of this drug, certainly not for people who have been on them for several years like I have.

I have suffered enormously with side effects, which were ignored by doctors who kept telling em to keep taking the citalopram. The side effects were restless sleep (i'd wake up every 90-120 mins), weight gain... about 3-4 stone since taking them. Loose bowels... excuse the visual image, but I've not had a solid bowel movement in almost 3 years.

I'd finally had enough of having my wishes ignored and the lack of help I was getting. I had made a friend in the US a year or so ago, and she's a doctor, I also know a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst as friends.

For the last couple of months, and with the help of my Dr friend, we sat down and worked out a plan to approach my doctor with... She wrote this plan out specifically so it would be easy for me to speak to the Dr in language they would understand.

I told the Dr I 'WAS' coming of the meds and they could either help me or hinder me. I spent 3-4 weeks taking a reduced dose of 20mg and then a couple of weeks on 10mg.

Having been of them for a week, I know they're not out of my system completely, and it will take a while for my brain to adjust and start supplying the dopamine itself.

But I feel better, I'm still depressed but I feel like a gof has been lifted. I am no longer emotionally numb, I have more energy, I'm thinking clearer and my already warped sense of humour is just getting better each day.

I'm sleeping better, although I do find myself getting tired earlier and heading of to bed around 9pm, I fall asleep to a movie on the media centre, and the TV shuts itself of automatically by midnight if I'm asleep. I'm waking up before 6am, and normally need to pee which means I'm up as getting back to sleep afterwards is next to impossible.

I'm eating twice a day, before I was binging on one giant meal, now it's two smaller ones... I don't use up enough energy to eat three meals a day. Most days I am waking up with a clearer head than I've had for years. Before I woke up tired, was tired all day and went to bed tired... if I could sleep as I had insomnia issues, then I'd be awake for 24-36hrs before crashing and I could sleep in 90-120 min bursts for 15hrs or more.

No change in the bowels yet though... but one of the many reasons for coming of the drugs was to see if I actually had IBS or a side effect.... Only time will tell on that.

The only advice I can give people... and remember that I'm not a doctor... Is to stick firm to your needs, you know your body better than a doctor does, and if you feel ready to come of them... DO NOT let them sway you. If you need to go back on them again you can.

As for the drug itself... I will never take it again now that I know more about it.

If I do need to go back on something in the future I will be insisting on the following from the Dr.

I want an SNRi instead of an SSRI (which citalopram is), these are old drugs and knowledge and research has led to better and more efficient drugs... Citalopram is cheap and costs the NHS far less money, so they're pushing drugs based on cost rather than individual needs.

Also... make sure to get something that is considered weight neutral, the drugs are out there and the side effects are far fewer for those taking it.

A part of me is angry that I was allowed to take a drug for 3yrs when there aren't studies about taking them for that long. Unfortunately we live in a time where you rarely ever get to see the same Dr twice in a row and then you have to explain everything again only for them to dismiss your concerns because you're depressed according to the notes.

I am now taking back control of my life from lazy doctors and a complacent NHS... So don't be afraid to stand up to them and tell them what you want, and ask how they are going to help you get there.

I've suffered from depression since the mid 90's... probably my entire adult life. I've always coped in the past without drugs... I only agreed to them because I'd suffered 5 deaths of family and friends in an 18 month period... I should NEVER have been prescribed such a high dose for so long.

Can you imagine how I feel, having been prescribed them for over 13 years?

My doc. would not admit that they caused weight gain, until recently. Insomnia wasn't addressed either - it was just 'keep taking the tablets'.

Another weird side-effect was a persistent cough. There would be a tickle at the back of my throat and I would have to be sick to get rid of the phlegm (sorry). Since stopping the pills - no more cough after 13 years. Unbelievable!

I, too, feel quite bitter that these pills were dished out to me and no real help given. Counselling was a waste of time.

I told my doctor, I will never go on them again.

Hi everyone. As some of you may know from my past posts I came of Citalopram over a very quick 6 day period as they were causing significant rare side effects. I thought I’d give you an update on my withdrawal. Mostly I’ve escaped relatively unscathed (one of the lucky ones I think), Having said that I have been taking other meds so they may be masking the side effects. Please note: I don’t suggest sudden withdrawal – I just happen to have been lucky.

The side rare side effect they though I had was Myclonic jerking. I’m now 10 days post Escitalopram and the jerks haven’t stopped and have in fact increased in severity and type so they’re reconsidering if it was the Citalopram...

However, it is soooo great to be off it The difference is like night and day. My exhaustion has definitely lessened and the brain fog is almost gone.

The meds they put me on for the jerks, Diazapam, may have helped with the lack of side effects. Also I already had meds for Migraine and Nausea which I used a lot of. Whether the migraines and nausea were caused by the withdrawal I can’t be sure as I’ve also started HRT recently and hormones running through my body have caused migraines in the past.

Not sure if any of this is very helpful but I thought I’d just let you know how GREAT it is not to be in a brain fog any longer

Great to be off them, isn't Philippa?

It's only now that I'm rediscovering the real me. I, 100%, think that antidepressant do not help, in the long run. I think they do something to your brain to keep you on an emotional roller-coaster for years.

Just googled Myclonic jerking - how terrible for you!

I'm pleased to say that the "brain zaps" I was getting so much this time last week are becoming few and far between.

hi all

well still on the 5mg, and the only side effects am having at the moment is aching muscles/cramps and heartburn

now not sure if these are withdrawal side effects or not

Am sleeping a lot better, and i have got just over a week on the 5mg before i stop them.

hope everyones doing ok

Juliex