1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

How do you know when to switch?

Posted , 9 users are following.

Grounded
Grounded

So I've been posting on here for quite awhile and I've hit a block again and not sure what to do, and thought it best to ask the people whom have been through all this for advice.

I've been on Citalopram for a total of 7 months now, I started out with 10mg for 5 weeks and 20mg for 22 weeks and reduced down to 15mg for a week. Now, I have had times of feeling a little better, and it has helped with anxiety at the 20mg but at that dose I had other things that were very troublesome that almost made it not worth not having the anxiety and panic attacks that I've dealt with for the past 20+ years such as: DP DR (pretty bad), emotionally numb, and just feeling really 'off'. Now, once I reduced to 15mg for the first week I felt pretty good, I had energy, I was going out and doing things, but still had that 'off' feeling, and now going into my 2nd week I'm starting to feel worse again, as well as my anxiety returning. So even at the points I felt the meds helping for the anxiety and panic attacks, I still had that awful weird feeling, almost like I was on auto pilot and living but in my head I felt strange. I'm not sure if this makes sense to anyone else and I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. Now, mind you before I started taking it it was mostly extreme anxiety, and panic attacks, didn't have that really off feeling. So, do I continue taking it in hopes that it might go away, and the meds work or do I now consider switching?

Im sorry for the long post but I don't know what to do.

0 likes, 42 replies

42 Replies

Prev
  • Chris00000
    Chris00000 Grounded

    Posted

    definitely withdrawal, itl take time, but they will definitely level off, everybody's different but when i came down to 20 i was brilliant, two weeks later i had all the side effects i had in the beginning but nowhere near as strong, they wore out in about 3 weeks off and on, not nice but tolerable, as time went on (months) i just improved and improved, now 3 years on and feeling better than when i was young, these meds will work again its just time and knowledge on these meds, good luck

    • Grounded
      Grounded Chris00000

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply, I figured there was going to be some sort of effects from decreasing from 20mg to 15mg, so I suppose I should wait 8-12 weeks on the 15mg to see how I feel, instead of letting the doctor switch me?

    • Chris00000
      Chris00000 Grounded

      Posted

      absolutely definitely, you've done 7 months, keep on them and push through, youl get there .

    • Guest
      Guest Grounded

      Posted

      Hi Grounded

      I'm 9 weeks into reducing from 10 to 7.5 and I get really good days and some not so good when anxiety creeps in for a little while, also headaches aches and pains and lightheadedness. The good days give me hope and I do feel better than I once was. I'd give it more time, that's what I' m going to do and I don't think I'll be reducing again once I settle. Regards😊

Back to top
Prev

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.