Slow withdrawal from Citalopram (Cipramil / Celexa) with minimal side effects?
I recently heard advice from doctors on several ways to come of SSRI’s and in particular Citalopram. Many people who suffer from anxiety or depression or both have been put on Citalopram and it has certainly benefited a great many people. Although SSRI’s are controversial, there is sufficient peer-reviewed evidence that they are effective in many patients, and I have personally benefited in my time. Relying on drugs and supplements might not be wise. Why not also consider drug-free approaches to getting over anxiety.
It is always important to remember a few things: Nothing works for everyone. Not everyone is suitable for SSRI’s, and you should always speak to your doctor and have them prescribed by a doctor. Do not be tempted to self-medicate using online pharmacies: they are more expensive and you need correct, impartial medical advice with this kind of medication.
Although some people stay on Celexa and other similar drugs for ever, almost everyone comes off them at some point. Ideally people come off at a time when they have dealt with the cause of their anxiety and depression to some extent be it through therapy or a change in life circumstances.
The big question always is: How do you come off Celexa?
There is one very good book that I recommend, it is available in the USA and entitled: How To Get Off Celexa Safely: There Is Hope. There Is A Solution. For UK/Europe readers check out What You Need to Know About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Serzone, Vestra, Celexa, St. John’s Wort, and Others
The good news is that this type of drug is not addictive. Your body has no physical dependence and you are not likely to experience cravings as if you were giving up smoking. You are, on the other hand, likely to experience withdrawal symptoms as your body adjusts.
Unless specifically advised by a doctor you should never go cold turkey and stop taking your medication suddenly. The easiest way to come off is slowly and two main methods have been suggested.
Method one: Tapered withdrawal.
As the name suggests, you reduce your dose gradually, say a couple of milligrams at a time.
The pros are that this is most likely to be the smoothest transition with potentially only very minor side effects if you take it very slowly, over say a few months or more.
The cons are that tablets like Celexa are often only available in two sizes, so accurately reducing dose can be difficult. Other tablets come in liquid form and are much easier to measure.
Method Two
You lower your dosage on alternate days, taking say a full dose one day and a half dose the next.
Pros: I don’t see any
Cons: you could find your mood yo-yo’s.
Doctors often suggest the latter method, I must admit I don’t know why!
Tags: anxiety, celexa, cprimil, citalopram, ssri, withdrawal, symptoms, coming, off, side, effects, depression, doctor, length
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Ive been on citalopram 20mg a day.. im in my mid 30′s & this is 2nd time ive gone on anti D’s since i was 19yrs. I thought i was a pro with anti depressants as id been on allsorts from 19-23yrs, but these are abit scarey for me! When i was first on them i felt so strange like i had lost the plot completely but then all of a sudden i did feel “normality” returned. When i asked to come off them my doc suggested i should be on them for atleast 6 months that puts me in coming off them this March. Over xmas period i ran out of perscription n went 4 days without thinking all will be ok but it was horrendous, i felt dizzy had awful headaches couldnt sleep & had very vivid dreams & also started sleep walking again (ive always done this as a child) but not had an episode for a cpl yrs or more. Im back on them again & starting to feel back to normal but it worries me that i felt so positive to come off them and after a few days without i felt so vunerable
Im going back to docs in feb to discuss me weaning off them i just hope that gradually reducing the dose will be better than just stopping, all i advise is take your meds how your doc perscribed them x
Hi Marie
I’ve been on citaloproam 20mg for just over 6 months and have just decided to come off them. I suffered from panic attacks in my late teens and went on citalopram when I was 19 to try and combat the frightening episodes I was having. At the time they made me feel so good, that I did the classic and went cold turkey as I thought I didn’t need then any more. I suffered terribly from ‘brain zaps’ and remember being very moody and aggressive too, although this didn’t last long. Last year, 8 years later, I suffered a small ‘mental breakdown’ for want of a better term, and started freaking out all the time, not being able to think straight, having strange thoughts and even minor boughts of psychosis (hearing things, feeling ‘possesed’ etc.) … (please bear in mind that I consider myself a very normal, down to earth person with loving friends and family and so it really can happen to anyone) and so my doctor put me back on the drugs. Now, as I’ve said, I want to stop them once and for all and so I weaned myself down to 10mg a day, which was fine, and now I’ve stopped altogether. I feel a little disorientated, and the zaps are coming back but in all honesty, I’m determined to persevere as I don’t want to rely on these forever, plus I want children soon with my partner and want to ‘feel’ emotions again. I’ve probably taken a risk doing this but I want to be free of the constraints.
I’ve been taking Citalopram for 18month – the best thing I’ve ever done – I feel a thousand times better than I ever did before. The problem is that I feel so much better that I’m really scared to come off them in case I end up as bad as I was before! I’ve missed a couple of dosed due to running out and felt awful – stressed, angry, and the brain zaps. I think I should maybe try to reduce the dose a little for a couple of weeks and see how I feel. Trouble is that means slicing a bit off the pill! Will report back!
I have been trying to reduce – initially from 40mg to 20 and now to 10mg but the last reduction has really affected my sleep badly and i’ve been put back on 20.
Feeling a little low today
Glad it s working for you Jacqueline
I have been on 20mg of Celexa for 10 years; I have taken SSRI’s a total of about 20 years. I’m convinced that I don’t need it anymore. Originally they were prescribed primarily for moderate seasonal affective disorder and mild general depression. I now live in Southern Arizona where the sun shines virtually all the time. I have reduced my dose to 10mg for a week–no problems so far. Next week I am going to try a cycle of two days on 10mg followed by one day off. I just can’t chop up the pills any smaller in order to go to 5mg. If anyone has come off SSRI’s after being on them for a very long time, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks.
Hi! I was chopping up the pills much much smaller….til i was just taking a crumb a day….really tiny reductions each time. I have to say it was pretty easy with very few and very mild side effects.
All the best!
I have been weaning off Citalopram for about a week now… Just cutting my tablets in half and thus halving my dosage. While it has only been a week, I do feel less energy and a few aches and pains have returned. Not sleeping as well either. I am bound and determined to get off this drug as I feel it is a real deterent to my weight loss issues.
I had depression, anxiety, sleeping, psychosis problems after the birth of my daughter 7 yrs ago. I also had chronic hives. The doctors put me on Citalopram. The Citalopram “covered up” all my problems and I was good, but I have gained a lot of weight. I have recently found a doctor that incorporates natural supplements, and I have been completely CURED of all my symptoms…my problem was a LOW THYROID and LOW ADRENALS. PLEASE go get checked for your CAUSE of depression, etc. There IS a reason. Do not let the regular doctors tell you there is not a reason… there is! I even had the regular doctor check my thyroid, and he told me it was fine. Because my thyroid levels showed up OK, but my thyroid antibodies were EXTREMELY high. I have now helped several people fix their problems by asking their doctors for a FULL thyroid test. The doctors NEVER test for the antibodies. There may be another reason, besides thyroid problems, that you are having sleep and depression problems…perhaps a hormonal imbalance. But YOU are not depressed, etc just because. There is a REASON>>>find the SOURCE of your problem and fix that, then you will not NEED depression medication. I praise God that I have found doctors that will listen to me and have actually gotten to the root of my symptoms. I have SO MUCH ENERGY now that I feel like a different person! This was affecting my marriage, my relationship with my kids and family and friends. I was so tired all the time and now I feel incredible! Please find the SOURCE of the problem.
I have been taking only 5 mg for about 10 months. I couldn’t be on a higher dosage because I got way too dizzy. However, the horrible headaches and side effects I had even after taking them for many months were enough to say this drug is not for me. I am very afraid to go on any other anxiety drugs b/c they turned me into a different person and it was really scary.
MY husband thinks I am going crazy and I want to argue all the time. I don’t see that I am trying to be argumentative, but I am very out of it while I am going through the withdrawal of this drug. I don’t want to drug myself to be able to deal with stress anymore and he just doesn’t understand that the side effects are so severe for me.
I feel so alone in that I am not my happy self and trying to make him understand how I feel ……he thinks I just want to argue. HE says I should go check myself into a mental hospital. I know once my brain is totally clear from this drug I will be able to think, act and feel like my old self, and not a drugged person.
Anyone had this experience ??
hi this is the second time of been on citralopram. the first after the birth of my son 9 years ago, where i felt anxiety and had panic attacks. i did wean myself off them and was fine a little emotional for a few days but was determind to. i have now been on the drug since dec 2010 after the birth of my daughter with the same symptoms as before. my doctor last week told me to reduce them by taking 20mg every other day, this i would not recommend! my body shaked i was sweating, headache felt sick and out of it so i have taken 10mg (half tablet) every day to even things out. apart from a bit of a low mood i am doing ok, i am sick of having no emotions and that feeling of numbness so am determind to come off them gradually!
mary
I have been on Cito..for years. Weaning off now. Thought I was going slow enough. Apparently not. I am dizzy and depressed and exhausted. So I called Dr. he said go back on 2.5 mg until I see him in 2 weeks. I went from 15 to 10 to 5 over a couple of months… then nothing. Not a good plan I guess…. so we’ll see what happens now. All I want to do is sleep and NOT go to work and deal with people!!!! I don’t like taking taking these drugs… I take Trazadone too for sleeping. sick of it…. feel lost really…
I was on citaporam for 10 weeks and came off them abruptly, i now know this was wrong to do. 10 weeks on i am still have withdrawal symptoms, very tired, exhausted, anxiety, anyone had similar experience.
I have been on ssri’s for 14yaers .i have tryed to come off them suddenly(no good0 side effects made me feel like i was going to die. Now still on 60mg of citalopam a day , i am very over weight and it is effecting my life. i am frightend to come off the drug as i have a high pressured job and my children rely on me to provide for them. I am going to try over the next year to very slowly reduce the dose. I think i should have my thyroid function tested as i am always yawning and tired. We will see what happens.
Been on citalopram for over a year now and the Dr is weaning me off slowly, i was on 40mg and hes now reduced me to 20mg for a month then it ll be down to 10 mg, I ve been feeling a bit sick and a bit dizzy now and again but its not too bad, cant wait till im off them, my memory is terrible since i started taking them…
Teresa
I am 37 and have been on Cipramil (and all the gerneric brands) since my first daughter was born. (She is 10 tomorrow!) Looking back I had had many épisodes of depression over my life, that were never picked up. Always thought it was very much in my genetics as my Mum and Nan also suffer from depression. Started on 20mg back in 2001 and increased to 30mg a few years ago to help with anxiety. It definetely helped. The last 2 months I have been coming down (one month on 20mg, one month on 10mg) . Had Docs advice and help and the decrease was easy – no side effects, just an optimistic feeling of being clearer headed and more äuthentic with my feelings. IE In hindsight I feel I have been sedated and supressessing my opinions while now I am much better at saying what I really think and speaking my mind. (Not always well received.) My Doctor failed to mention that there may be side-effects from coming off them. After about 4 days of having no Cipramil in my body I felt terrible! Much like the original depression. Fearful, terribly sad, anxious, angry, yelling at the poor kids for minor stuff, dizzy, light-headed, nauseaus, bloated, loss of appetite (sure sign of a problem!), breathlessness, exhaustion,heightened sensitivity to loud sounds . Thankfully after a week, the physical symptoms eased and I had a very emotional week – crying, angry, guilt, worry, fear. The next week (this week) is much better. I actually feel positive, I am looking forward to the future, am much calmer with the kids and my husband and am enjoying things again. A Naturopath suggested I take some natural stuff to help with keeping calm. So I am now taking Omega 3, Magnessium which were suggested for their calming properties.( I was already was on Swisse Multi for Women and Swisse Iron – they are excellent for energy) . I am cautiously optimistic that I will be able to do without AD’s, but am still worried about longterm and when life throws up some challenges (I work at a school and am on holidays which helps as life is more relaxed at the moment). But I want to know if there is a test to see if my body is now making its own serotonin (or whatever the missing chemical is). I will try a thyroid test as suggested above by Deana in July. So, slowly does it and expect withdrawal sypmtoms similar to original problem.
Hi there all….. I have just been prescribed Citalopram by my doctor today but havn’t taken them yet. my flat mate suggested I check out what people had to say about it first.
Now Im absolutly terrified. I am a solo mum and my kids only have me to rely on… I am a full time student…. I have a history of depression and anxiety. I usually dont take medication as my first experience 11 years ago was horriffic ( a doctor put me on them and left me to fend for myself) I have since managed (or not managed) with support of friends and “taking time out” from life to get back on my feet. In some cases (I know not very sensible) a friend of mine has given me some of their ADHD meds to help get me through the pressure of exams/deadlines it has worked but as with anything it seems addictive and I don’t want to get hooked.
Im sick of my depression and anxiety getting the better of me… and want to study and get somewhere. Im barely getting through this semester as it is I’m affraid if I start this and it makes things worse I will ruin any chance I had at still passing (usually when Im not deppressed and anxious im an A student)
Are there any Students out there who can share anything about their effects with study…. If I get too sleepy ( I am already) or any duller than I am now I will be in trouble…. has it been ok for students?