Coming off citalopram. :(

Hi all

think i spoke to soon about it going great, have started to get some of the symptoms i got last year when i first reduced them.

Tingling up and down my arms and feeling very anxious and that i cant breathe , have now got myself into a bit of a panic worried that its all going to start again and i wont be able to cope again.

Hubby in work, and i dont want to call him, i keep telling myself that its just the cit coming out of my system, but am soooooo annoyed with myself that i am letting it get me into this state.

hope it passes as am sure it will, but not till i've worked myself into a right state which i know i will do, so think i will take the dog for a walk he'll luv that lol

Oh the joys and i now feel that i am well and truly in the club lol

Juliex

Julie, I would say, take a small dose, as the placebo effect, if nothing else, helps. It's a roller-coaster ride and just take each day as it comes. When you have a bad day, you think you are on another slippery slope but keep positive.

What about asking for some beta-blockers which you can take when needed? I had to take them yesterday and they do take away the shaking and palpitations?

Look on the bright side - you AND the dog will be fit!

HI ms mac

i have not stopped taking them yet and am still on the 5mg, i think i've just got myself into a tizz and am now comparing it to what i went through last year, i put up with it for 3 weeks and then went back on them.

am hoping that it will be different this time as i know what it is, whereas last year i was taken blue light job by ambulance as they thought i was having either heart attack or a stroke, scarey stuff!!!!!

its fantastic that i can chat to someone who is going through it as well as this makes it so much easier, as although my hubby is great, he doesn't fully understand how difficult it is.

oh well onward and upwards, thanks for the post ms mac i feel better already, going to walk the pooch now as he is being an over excited puppy as i've told him were going walkies lol

thanks again

Juliex

We are here for each other, Julie, ass only other sufferers really know what it's like and not imaginary.

I was in a panic because of things I'm having to deal with alone but the Propranolol helped. You know,now, it's the drugs leaving your body and your body is objecting!!!! 'Body' will just need to get used to doing without as it's been in control for far too long.

You WILL feel better but it will take time.

Oh, lovely little puppy - I love animals - they never let you down like humans do.

Chin up!

S

I feel so much better today....yesterday was awful....I'm so glad I found this page and forum.....just reading through it makes things easier.

I spoke to my GP a while ago...who is genuinely lovely (a rarity i know) but they really are clueless about ssri withdrawal and side effects...they told me the withdrawal would last for 2 days! ha! .....and they told me citalopram doesnt cause weight gain! Ha again!

Keep up the good work guys and good luck.....i'm on day 8 and I think it's getting better.....still can't sleep though

Ben, I was told the same - no side effects - rubbish! Let them go through what we have gone through. You will have good days and bad days, just like me. We will get there.

Wish we had a coping mechanism button. Things not going good here. Just need to wait until the feeling passes as antidepressants didn't help me to cope either. Wish I had a Valium!!!!

Hi Ms M hang on in there,you have been doing great,just think of the hard work you have got past.

Thanks Ian - after kitchen leak now got bill in for the communal roof of almost £400.

Def not good,Suppose we all would be upset by that.At least you can tackle it with a clear head now.

Ben and Nezza - if it is any comfort to know that you are not alone, I am a bit of a mess too. I stopped taking 40mg citalopram a few weeks ago because I'd forgotten to take it for a few days and, more importantly, felt great after my Mother went home after staying with us for 3 weeks ("ancient wounds that have not healed", as Joni Mitchell says. I digress!).

I only get the brain zaps now and again in my third week of stopping citalopram but my mood is disturbing me. I have always been a sensitive person, but since coming off the citalopram I from ok to choked with tears in a second.

You will be all pleased to know that I have just deleted a long paragraph detailing what has made me bawl my eyes out in the past week

Still, I won't go back on them unless I really have to, because I want to see how I go before committing to be on them for the rest of my life.

Sorry for the long post, but I don't post very often.

wishing you lovely people a happy weekend. Allison x

Allison - I'm a super-emotional person and hate it. Guess I will never change. Are you Piscean?

When I start to cry and it doesn't take much, I can't stop and then I go down, and down, and down. I get so fed up having to deal with everything on my own. It overwhelms me.

The Citalopram didn't stop feeling like that so what is the point of taking them. I need something entirely different or more people who REALLY care and will take my burdens off my shoulders.

Escaping tomorrow, to meet friends not seen in years so I know I will have fun and, boy, do I need a break!

I am now at the end of a week of taking a tablet cut in half every day and spring is here. I notice nothing serious so far but muscle tension in my neck which I had before I started the pills, and wierd dreams returning.On the good side I am more energetic and focused.

At 10 stone I am still within the BMI, I am going to try and stay on 10mg for one year and see how I feel next Spring. This illness took years to come on and it is not over just because you decide that you want to throw pills in the bin for whatever reason. My reason being the weight gain which is only half a stone but too much for me to cope with as I feel sluggish. It is due to a sweet tooth and good appetite after years of living on my nerves and even being as low as 7.5 stone in the past.

I have been counselled out as far as I can be over the past 30 years and have been on Cit for 2 years for which I am grateful as I feel so calm, even if I am in a daydream I like it better. I can't remember anything to worry about. LOVELY.

I am looking for some middle ground, so a cut down to 10 is a good place to start for me. As I am more alert I could end up back to where I was so I am going carefully. Good luck to all.

Hi All

Well this is day 5 of taking 1/2 a tablet so down from 20 to 10mg. I am not feeling any different. I am always lacking in energy and not very motivated. Which I am hoping coming off the drug will help me improve

I have never been a good sleeper so no change there.

How long will it be before I get any withdrawal symptoms. I think I plan to stay on 10mg next week so I am just taking it slowly.

Keep up the good work everyone. We can do it together xxx

Cuckoo, we are all different. Maybe you won't get any withdrawal symptoms.

I'm sure that I came off mine too quickly, was off for a week and then for about 2 weeks I had dizziness and muzzy head. Those have gone now.

I'm definitely more alive. recent problems have made me feel edgy though but Cit. wouldn't have helped me, anyway. I never felt 'relaxed' on them - lethargic yes, relaxed no.