Slow tapering back on to citalopram?

you seem to be on the right track Holly, 2.5 mg steps is the way to go to reduce the side effects. Maybe give it longer than a week when you up doses though.

when i first started on citalopram years ago i started with 20mg rising a few weeks later to 40 mg. side effects were bad but eventually settled down. During talking therapy i reduced it back down to 20mg and i was a happy bunny. at the end of the therapy i stopped taking it. big mistake. anyway i went back to my gp and went back on it taking 10mg. the side effects this time was horrendous but i kept on with it. iv'e read that some people DO have worse side effects the second time around. i went back up to 20mg and although i still had side effects it certainy was'nt as bad. the advantage i have which you dont is that im retired and dont had a little one. i think your plan is a good one but at every stage of increasing the dose why not wait till the side effects are better then increase it again. it might take longer but think it might be more gentle on you than your weekly plan.

Hi, I have started citalopram very slowly from 2.5mg through 5mg and then after 2 weeks 10mg. in a hindsight maybe if I had taken 5mg to 7.5mg and then 10mg I would have avoided some side effects.

i am very sensitive to the meds of this kinds. Maybe it is not an increase of the med you need just now, but more self care? Being with the toddler and j9ggling your work is very taxing. Have you tried checking your minerals (vit B, calcium, magnesium and vit D?- after winter they are bound to be low, particularly vit D and the deficiencies make depression and anxiety worse). Some yoga? anyone to look after your child? I catch myself on running like a hamster: school run, work, school run, after school activities, chores, cooking- no space for me in it all- and then wondering why I feel bad. You maybe are simply exhausted and still did not recover after pregnancy, childbirth, having little sleep, breastfeeding and then your body and mind halts you to force you to take time to yourself. Also hormonal changes might be of some importance here after pregnancy and breastfeeding- I breastfed for 2 years and when I stopped my body went crazy, my mind too tbh. Any hormonal contraception you started using recently?

I would try magnesium, vit D, l theanine, epsom salt baths, meditation even for short time before sleep- headspace is an awesome app, and yoga (yoga with adrienne on youtube is my favourite-various lengths of sessions, various motives, awesome girl leading sessions). Then if you still feel that the increase is needed, I would go very slow.

I think that antidepressants don't solve things for us, they give us stable ground so that we can look for solutions to our issues. Citalopram was a life saver for me when I was in the middle of a mental breakdown but now I am trying to take repsonsibility for my recovery and not slipping into my bad ways again and purposely try not to increase. I know that it is a very personal choice though.

On a personal note, could you say more about taking it in pregnancy? i want to try for a second baby and am a bit weary of weaning off totally from it. I have read that citalopram had a very miniscule chance of affecting pregnancy but might cause withdrawal in a newborn. i am on 10mg.

would you share some of your knowledge and experience? I intend to see how I do on 5mg and hopefully stay on 5mg throughout the pregnancy.

xxx