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Has anybody suffered with Restless legs syndrome whilst taking Citalopram?

Posted , 13 users are following.

Mrs_Barlow
Mrs_Barlow

Hi everyone!

This is my 1st post. I was on Citalopram 10mg for 4 years but felt ready to come off them this May. I was successful in coming off them with no withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunetly my anxiety came back full throttle in July/August this year and i got put back onto Citalopram again in the October, only this time on the 20mg. I felt great but have suddenly developed Restless legs syndrome which is ruining my life at the moment. I've decreased to 10mg now and have been for 4 days & RLS is slightly better but my anxiety seems to be slowly creeping back. Does anybody know if coming off Citalopram will cure me or has this drug damaged my nerves forever and i'll have to live with it?

The doctor has prescribed me Duloxetine instead but i'm scared of going onto it as it's a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and it states that these can cause this syndrome so don't think it would get any better as it's the same type of drug as Citalopram. I feel like coming off all tablets to see if all symptons go away but at the same time i'm scared i'll go into major anxiety mode again! x

0 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • beautifulday
    beautifulday

    Posted

    Hi,

    Have been on Citalopram 20mg for 9 years and had restless legs for around 5 years. Never put it down to Citalopram before but having just dropped my dose down to 12.5mg have noticed it seems to have gone - havent had it for 2 weeks. Keeping fingers crossed as its horrible and drives me nuts in the evenings!

  • Shell2468
    Shell2468

    Posted

    Hi all. New to this forum. So glad I came across it as I have suffered so badly with rls for about a year and been on ciprimal for 7 years . Had no idea the meds could be the culprit for this dreadful problem that occurs almost every evening . I feel I can now reduce my ciprimal and with the thought of reducing the rls is an added incentive . Now I'm not quite sure how to start process - I'm on 20mg is it to fast to reduce every other day to

    10mg for say 2 weeks and make these small adjustments . Would so appreciate some reducing advice in the hope one day I can be off them totally . Thanks for listening

  • anne2953
    anne2953

    Posted

    Hi Shell,

    Speak with your doctor as it can be really bad to come off quick and you may have to start again if you are too quick, also you may suffer a lot if its too fast.

    Anne

  • kerry10244
    kerry10244

    Posted

    Hi - i've come off citalapram after 3/4 yrs on/off and the restless legs have only really started - been off my meds 2 weeks and am up til 5am unable to get over to sleep because the legs driving me mad - they are even driving me crazy during the day now - i'm totally miserable :-(
    • marcia3538
      marcia3538 kerry10244

      Posted

      Like you Kerry, my rls only started AFTER I had come off the citalapram. It's making me nutty! I see Dr. on Tue. but I don't want yet another pill that's going to mess with my brain...
  • andrew17638
    andrew17638

    Posted

    I've had RLS for perhaps 15 to 20 years. It was so mild and intermittent that I never really regarded it as a problem. It was "just something I did" and was only barely aware of long before I realised that it was a recognised medical condition.

    I began taking 10mg of citalopram daily just over a year ago. This dose was quickly increased to 20mg, and then 40mg. At some point during this I realised that my RLS symptoms were far more frequent (perhaps whenever I was in bed at least), pronounced and incessant than they'd ever been before. They certainly had become a problem.

    I stopped taking citalopram about a month ago as I didn't believe it was providing any relief to my depression (and now having done so I think it actually made it worse). Anyway as a result my RLS symptoms may have eased slightly, but are still at a level far beyond what I remember them to be before taking citalopram.

  • scott73387
    scott73387 Mrs_Barlow

    Posted

    I've been on Celexa (citalopgram) for several years and just recently reduced my dosage from 40mg down to 20.  Had intermitted RLS but I thought it was related to running.  When I was training for a half marathon, it was bad but then 3 months after training it would subside.  Now that I've reduced from 40mg to 20mg it is really bad.  I'll ask my doctor and see what she says.  

    Thanks for the insights!

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