decreased from 20mg to 10mg citalopram and had anxiety attack
Posted , 6 users are following.
hi, first post so excuse me if if this is mis-directed.
ive been on 20mg of citalopram for just over a year. about a month ago as i felt good i decided to cut down to 10mg. went fine, little head zap now and again but overall felt great. i went for a new job a couple of weeks ago and it was a 4 stage process. out of my comfort zone, i was really excited to have been offered it last Thursday. i went to the gym as normal, came home and celebrated with some champagne, 3/4 bottle to be precise. looking back i must have been dehydrated and i don't know if this acted like a trigger but come Friday morning i woke up confused, and in the beginnings of an anxiety attack, which has led me to have all the classic symptoms. i haven't had these symptoms since i started these (they really did help and do work) and i was wondering if anyone had decreased then increased back to their original dose? i could do without this right now..
0 likes, 11 replies
gill28325
Posted
Ive been on cit for 5 months and its change my life around
I had to deacrease because I was waking up with massive headache
I cut my tablets in half been doing that for 2 months
Feeling good but I do have moments!!
I just imagine its cutting down which is a good thing but be wary
Keep strong
aj15433
Posted
bigzapper
Posted
aj15433
Posted
73942
Posted
I've been taking citalopram for 10 months to try and pull me out of my severe state of anxiety and from having panic attacks. I found it to be a god send and feel strong enough to come off. Alchohol was always a danger for me when on them. I would wake up in a panic or with the anxiety unpleasantries often after a big night. I found vitamin B and sodium to help in this department.
I'm on my 3rd day of slowly coming off of citalopram and am feeling dissassociation and hot and cold sweats, not dissimilar to the side effects when I started taking them. Hopefully this will only be temporary as were the original side effects.
Have you continued to reduce? or are you back on 20mgs? They have a 30 hour release into your blood stream so can take a couple of days to get you back to that level. How long have you been taking 20mgs?
Would be interested to know any other side effects you had coming off of them.
aj15433
Posted
im back up to 20mg after suffering a relapse last weekend. about 6 weeks ago i decided to try and cut down and reduced to 10mg a day. i experienced electric shocks in my head every now and again for about a week or so, same as i had when i started on them. i did start to feel things creeping in a couple of weeks in, but i coped with them and was going well. id had a 4 stage interview process for a job and got the offer last thursday. the usual good anxiety was there, celebrated and the relief and drink led me back into the dark hole....im a week in, been back on 20,s since saturday night.
i went to the doctors on tuesday and she literally shook her head as i said i decreased from 20 to 10mg and told her what happened. she said the decrease was severe and she advises patients to do 20 one day, 10 the next and so on. the time i was off the 20 had depleted that level so will take a couple of weeks plus to kick back in (fingers crossed, i hate being like this)
i dont know about you, but the first 2 weeks are horrible after an attack, ive lost my appetite completely and my sleep is shot to bits.
i have been on 20's from last march, and i wished id stayed on them!
aj15433
Posted
if your looking to decrease, then please do so with care and the assistance of your gp, unlike i did.
73942
Posted
aj15433
Posted
im still a bit washed out and not a great appetite during the day but hoping that will come.
cheers
aj15433
Posted
fiona1905 aj15433
Posted
was looking to reduce my medication as only been on it for 10 days. I suffer from insomnia anyway and it makes me anxious, also had major health anxiety two weeks ago so I asked the Dr for help. I'm struggling with the side effects at the moment so was thinking that going down to 10 mg may help. Are you still on 20 mg?
After reading your thread I just don't know what to do for the best. I'm off work sick at the moment as I just can't face it. Was hoping the medication would help with sleep anxiety so that I didn't have to rely on sleeping tablets too.
fed up😔