Help me come off

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hello I'm Noor 28 from Pakistan I really want to come off from cipralex and want to live a drug free life peacefully. How I came dependent to this drug is long story but coming to the point I loved hashish/weed since I smoked it in my teenage I smoked hashish for more than 5 years because of this I sometime had panic attacks completely lost my social circle studies gone poor then when I quit hashish, almost after 2 months i started experiencing worst panic & anxiety attacks than i shared all my story to my strict father luckily he said nothing to me and rushed me to a best psyciatrist of my province who then prescribed me first on 10mg dose of cipralex after 1 month he increased it to 20mg i took it for 3 months then i started to feel better and thought that nothing will happen to me i became overconfident and again started smoking hashish and quit my medication without telling my doctor after some time same symptoms returned then i again started cipralex 20mg and continued my addiction of hashish for two years I did both drugs for almost 2 years then after my marriage in 2015 I completely quit hashish but continued cipralex 20mg till 2017 then i red some article on how to come off citalopram I started to cut as I took 15mg for 2 months then 10 mg for 2 months now I'm on 5 mg since 4 months and hectic to continue trying as withdrawal symptoms are worst to face they continue for 1 month after that my brain starts to adjust. Now all I want is help on how would I become completely drug free as I'm on 5mg I don't want to see a psyciatrist as he will put me on another alternate drug. Guys I started cipralex 20 mg in the 2012 still I'm on it this thing scares me that how I became dependent for so long help me.

1 like, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • Posted

    Hello Noor.

    Addiction is a very powerful thing my friend.

    I am in the UK & was on Oxycontin (Heroin) for around 9years for a back problem.

    I think the main thing for you is to really want to be drug free.

    You mentioned you were married, do you have children?

    I know people say you have to do it for yourself, you do, but, my main reason was, if I didn't stop, then I knew that by now, I wouldn't have been around for my daughter's & that was my motivation. Along with it ruling my life from when I opened my eyes in a morning to when I went to sleep at night.

    I have been off it now 2 years in August but, I had to have methadone to stop withdrawals as I was so sick when I got to a low amount on the taper I was on. I am also very close to being totally off the methadone now also.

    I'm sorry I can't really offer you any real advise but I wish you well & hope you manage to become drug free!

    Good luck

    Ritchie

  • Posted

    As the previous reply said, addiction is a powerful thing and I feel for you.  I've been fighting alcohol for 20 years.  About 2013 I started taking large doses of unprescribed benzodiazepines (Ativan/Valium) and became addicted.  I was able to get free of these about 2 months ago and the withdraw is terrible. You said that you didn't want to see a psychiatrist.  I felt the same way until I got brutally honest with mine, and told him everything I had been doing.  He was able to help me slowly come off minimizing the withdraw.  I know some doctors are just drug pushers but if you can find a good one and MAKE IT CLEAR that your goal is to get drug free, you may have some luck. I know there are other meds with far fewer withdraw symptoms.  Maybe talk to the doc about switching to something else to ease the transition to drug free?  Another thing I found helpful was talking to whoever I could trust about what I was going through and using support groups like AA or NA.  There are plenty of other people going through the same thing.  I found it very helpful to be around people who understood what I was going through.  People who could understand why I was shaking, unable to focus, unable to carry on a normal conversation and not judge or act like I was a crazy person. I don't know if any of this is really helpful but just try to remember you can do it.  I'm no doctor, but in my opinion slow and steady is better than giving up.  I'm sure if my doc had me go cold turkey from my substance I would have gone right back to my other sources. I'd rather see you posting a year from now that your doing good on 5mg and ready to come off than hear that you gave up. Find someone who understands what your going through and talk about it. Remember this too shall pass.  I hope the best for you.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.