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My experience comming off Citalopram 20mg

Posted , 3 users are following.

joel54682
joel54682

I've read so many horror story on the Internet about people trying to stop this medicine that I was really scared. While the drug did help my anxiety the negative side effect just weren't worth it so I decided to stop.

I've been taking them for about a months or so, I was fully under their effect. I called my doctor, she told me to take 10mg for 5 days and then just stop completely. It's been a week now since I have complete stopped and I've had zero side effect. Of course my anxiety is back but at least I'm back to being myself.

Not real point for this thread to be honest. Just wanted to re-assure some people. Don't read to much of what people say on the Internet (Including this message, haha) and always call your doctor first.

If anyone want to know why I stopped. I'm 37 years old, suffering from heavy anxiety attack. I started taking 20mg Citalopram and while it actually did worked and significantly reduced my anxiety the side effect were really bad. I had lots of trouble concentrating, short memory issues, teeth grinding, not being myself, felt no emotion and lost all sex drive (couldn't even orgasm anymore).

I'm sure those pills can help but for me those side effect were just too much. Right now I'm completely off the drug, sure my anxiety is back but I appreciate being myself. Also all of the side affect are gone and I got my sex drive back (phew). I'm sure they're other drugs out there that I could try but I'm done with this and I don't like what those things did to my brain and body. Strangely, after coming off the drugs I now feels better about myself and I really appreciate being myself again.

I will start seeing a psy soon, I got myself a gym membership and I plan to go out a bit more, hopefully this should help.

Later everyone and never gave up please, there's always a lights at the end!!

1 like, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • dean64305
    dean64305 joel54682

    Posted

    been on them for 3 years and they do not reach the full effectiveness at 4 weeks. Think more like 6 plus (longer really). The side effects get better with time too

    Been coming off them for some medical reasons (have made me ill) went from 20mg to 10mg for a month. Now day 5 on nothing and feel dizzy and dodgy dreams.

    i agree if you can do it without its best but they can be a help for a while. Def agree on the gym membership, also B vitamins are apparently good. Doc said b3 b6. good luck

    • joel54682
      joel54682 dean64305

      Posted

      Oh they certainly do reach their effect. I took 10mg for 7 days, and then 20mg for a little bit more than a month. I was under the effect, fully :P
    • dean64305
      dean64305 joel54682

      Posted

      in my case I found them to effect me after a week, but to really kick in later on. All the horrible side effects dropped to near nothing at one point. As I said somewhere else, just hoping for no problems (around a week off now). I am determined to try every possible way to not go back on them again.  
  • 0wen
    0wen joel54682

    Posted

    Joel - good to hear you haven't encountered any side effects coming off the drug after taking it for a month.  Hopefully you won't be hit with the discontinuation side effects that typically show up within a week or so after quitting the drug and can be around for ~2 weeks.

     

    • joel54682
      joel54682 0wen

      Posted

      So far so good, I feel like I'm almost 100% back myself, still no side effect. Crossing my fingers. It's hasn't been 2 weeks yet so who know what might happen!

    • 0wen
      0wen joel54682

      Posted

      How ya feeling this week?  Any side effects?
    • joel54682
      joel54682 0wen

      Posted

      Hi there,

      Still no side effect and it's been about 14 days now! I'm pretty much my old self again and my libido is back at 100% (complete lost of my libido among other minor side effects was why I stopped taking these pills). I'm just not willing to sacrifice my sex life, not now, not ever.

      Anyway, I actually feels a bit better because I've done something that I should have done before taking Citalopram...instead of keeping all this for myself I've opened up about my severe anxiety attack to the people around me. I've told my best friend, my parents, some of my close coworker and even took the courage to meet with my boss and told him about my anxiety attack. Everyone as been very understanding, even my boss was really understanding (we talked in his office for like 2 hours and he was very nice about it and even offered some help). Don't get me wrong though, now that I'm off those pills I'm definitely back to my anxious self and it does sucks but at least the anxiety is a bit more tolerable. I've also started going to the gym again which feels GREAT.

      Anyway, I'm derailing here, sorry. So yea, no side effect, I'm completely off this drugs right now and I'm doing a bit better then I was before taking the pills :P

       

  • dean64305
    dean64305 joel54682

    Posted

    I assumed the depression would come back within a day or two if it was going too, assume its longer? feel dizzy all the time though
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