1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

Hypertension with citalopram withdrawl

Posted , 4 users are following.

joy02064
joy02064

my husband is suffering from citalopram withdrawl symptoms. He has the crazy, bad anxiety, the sleeplessness, the irritability, etc. 

My question is....does anyone else have extremely high blood pressure as a result of withdrawl? What did you do about it?

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Sissy63
    Sissy63 joy02064

    Posted

    How much was your husband on and did he taper or go cold turkey? How lucky ng was he on it? 

    The high blood pressure is probably a result of the extreme anxiety from the withdrawal, especially if it was fast. Does his doctor know what is going on?

  • Sissy63
    Sissy63 joy02064

    Posted

    The second question should be 'how long was he on it'? Stupid autocorrect!
  • joy02064
    joy02064

    Posted

    He started at 20mg. Weened to 10mg for about 6 months. Then, down to 5mg for about a week before getting off completely. 

    He was on Citalopram for 10 years.

    His doctor doesn't know about this. His doctor told him he could never get off Citalopram. He wouldn't even discuss it as an option.

    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 joy02064

      Posted

      Hi Joy, I dont want to be the bearer of bad news, and it may be different for your husband, I also came off them after 10 years, and suffered really really bad anxiety for the next 6 months, and ended up breaking down and having a panic attack, I have now gone back on them sad xx

       

  • joy02064
    joy02064

    Posted

    Dawn66355-

    I'm so sorry you went through that and weren't able to get off the meds. I hope you're feeling better now.

    So far, he is handling it okay. He is taking detox baths, drinking lemon and grapefruit water, taking magnesium, getting massages and using essential oils to help calm him. 

    I think the sleepless nights are the worst part for him right now.

    • dawn66355
      dawn66355 joy02064

      Posted

      Thanks Joy, yes I am getting there ;-) Sleepness nights were the only side effect i did not have, in fact I slept better off them smile x

  • katecogs
    katecogs joy02064

    Posted

    You can come off these meds, but really slowly.  Seems your husband did the right thing in reducing from 20 to 10 for 6 months, but the last bit was far too quick.  Going from 10 to 5 then stop in a week he will feel ill.  Should spend at least a month or longer on each dose.

    He could reintroduce maybe 5mg to help ease it, and when stabilised then spend a good month coming off that by increasing 1 day, 2 days etc etc inbetween each tablet.

    May I also suggest that when he is completely off the meds to try taking a natural SSRI called 5-HTP as well as l-tyrosine.  I came off Citalopram and went on these with excellent results.  He will need to have the meds out of his system though as you can't take both together.

    There a good book called 5-HTP The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity by Michael T Murray ........ it's a really interesting read.

    You need to be off SSRI's completely before starting 5-HTP as they must not be taken together.

    Hope he's ok xxx 

    • katecogs
      katecogs

      Posted

      Forgot - 5-HTP and l-tyrosine can be bought over the counter - Holland & Barrett if you're in the UK.
Back to top

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.