Coming off citalopram - worried my doc is moving too quickly

[LEMAGAIN]

I have suffered with depression and anxiety since DD born 3.5 years ago. The anxiety has always been a slight problem for me anyway. Have been on citalopram for almost two years now. I want to come off, i don't think its helping anymore - im having counselling, and i think im making progress. I think im tired all the time because of the meds and i have little or no sex drive (NOT like me at all!).

I am on 40mg, my counsellor suggested i should do this over six months to a year! That to me, seems a long time. I went to my doctor today and she said ok, drop to 20mg for a month, see how you feel and then think about dropping to 10. To be honest, im a bit - i was thinking of 30mg for a couple of months then 20, then 10 then every other day etc. DP says i should take notice of the doctor but i am scared im going to crash again.

My life still has stress in it (finances and DD starting school in sept and i have to get a job - can't decide what to do etc), but i can't wait for there to be no stress otherwise there will always be something wont there.

Anyone have any experience - how did you feel when you first reduced your dose?

[ellielou02]

Hi I think you should go back to you GP and speak to him and tell him what your thoughts are about coming off your medication, I was on citalopram for about a year and although was only on 10mg (had counselling too) I was worried I would be back at square one (was having panic attacks etc). My GP was very understanding and said just to take either half a tablet every day or one tablet alternate days. Hope you get on ok, oh and that was 3 years ago and have never needed to go back on them. Good Luck

[LEMAGAIN]

I did tell her that i was worried that it would be too quick but she said that, going from 40-20 will be easier than going from 20-10. Maybe that is because it still leaves enough in your system. I asked if i could do 20 one day, 40 the next - she was but said it would do no harm.

Im quite scared, but hey - scared is what i do best

[claireinthecommunity]

Hello LEMAGAIN, I've been taking Citalopram since last September, I started on 20mg once a day which was increased after two months to 40mg once a day. I had an appointment yesterday with my GP and we discussed decreasing the dose (I've been feeling much better about life in general for the last couple of months), she recommended that I take 40mg every other day for one month and then go back to see her. Today is my first tablet free day! I feel a little apprehensive as I don't want to go back to how I was feeling before taking the tablets but I also don't want to be taking the tablets forever.

I feel I am ready to start decreasing my dose and I agree with ellielou, that if you have concerns or are worried about decreasing your tablets, go back and speak to your GP again. Meanwhile I'll post how I'm getting on with my lower dose - I check the site a couple of times a day, so if you need any support I'll keep a watch on this thread

[tigerdriver]

Keep in touch with your GP. I have been on 20 for a while, this is for SAD, so am coming down now to half a 20 a day (biting them in half as I am too mean to go and get the smaller ones). I am aiming for none over the summer but don't know what will happen in the Autumn again... I expect I will go down a bit more but I don't like it if I forget one. DH has had them for years and has to go up and down carefully, it seems to need fine tuning. Best of luck.

[LEMAGAIN]

having a stressfull weekend so quite glad to have the 40mgs on hand! thats a great name clair! I have missed a few tabs in the past few weeks and to be honest, i dont think it has done me any good - too up and down. So will take 20mg a day and see how i go - shitty my pants though

[claireinthecommunity]

Hi LEMAGAIN, I've had some slight side effects from not having a tablet yesterday, I've been grinding my teeth a little which has given me a sore jaw! I had this a lot when I first started taking the meds. Today is a tablet day.

Hope the weekend improves a bit and isn't too stressful for you

Yeah the name is a joke between me and my DH. It was also used as the title for a radio 4 show about a women called Claire who worked for social services! (It was a comedy)

[LEMAGAIN]

oh bollock bollocky bollocks - day 2 on 20mg and i feel like shit - i was ok but DP has just rung me and his employee has fallen off ladder at work and broke his arm - DP could be liable WHY the fucking hell can't something just go right for us for fucking once? I honestly just feel like throwing my hands up in the air and saying bollocks to everything. My DP is going to be in a foul mood when he comes home now - if it doesn;t end in a row i will be surprised - oh, what i would give to just go to sleep and wake up when everything is ok.

[deanychip]

Ah hun, i came off it after bieng on it for 2 years.
Was only on 20mgs,
cut to half a tab every day then half a tab every other day.

Felt like shite, shaky, jittery, couldnt sleep, anxiety, lasted about 2 weeks each reduction.
But when they were out of my system i feel great, the pnd hasnt returned and i dont have anxiety at all.

Been off it for 18 months now.
i did it over about 8 weeks all together.
may be better if you take it slower.

[lucylue]

hi leamagain,
decreasing is done that way as far as i know:
30mg 3 weeks
20mg 3 weeks
10mg 3 weeks
alternate days 10mg 3 weeks.
good luck

[LEMAGAIN]

I feel terrible, not sure why - i don't think its the meds, we have had some trouble and its quite serious - i don't know what to do with myself - its my DPs birthday today and i forgot to get him a card even. I just don't think i can hold it together today - sometimes i just want all this to stop.

[LEMAGAIN]

hey claire how are you getting on - i have just bitten the bullet and gone down to 20mgs. Its OK so far, i lost the plot yesterday but tbh i think i would have lost it anyway as we had a crisis to deal with. I felt a bit rushy this am but apart from that im ok.

[claireinthecommunity]

Hi Lemagain, this is probably not very helpful to you, but, I found decreasing my dose rather difficult. I started getting the side effects that I first got with them, aswell as feeling quite anxious - which is not good as that had really improved. So I've decided to go back to the dose I was on for a while longer and rethink decreasing the dose (by a lesser amount) once I'm back to how I was IYKWIM?. I'm trying to be philosophical about it.

I'll keep an eye on this tread to see how you are doing .

[LEMAGAIN]

Sorry that you are not feeling good claire. I am doing OK, i felt rushy and panicky on the bus yesterday but i knew it was due to the tablets so i could ride it out. I think the every other day thing is what is causing your problems. As i said, i have been forgetting to take my tablets for a while and one day of forgetting is fine. But what i noticed that if i did this more than once a week or in a fortnight say (not in a row) then i felt like shit. Thinking about how the tablets work, this shouldn't really be as it is more to do with indirectly increasing your levels of seretonin in the brain. but that is just my random thought. Could you go back to your doctor and see about dropping to 20mg, or 30mg a day? He could prescribe 20mgs and 10mgs to start. To me going from quite high dose one day to nothing the next seems a bit too much though. Worth thinking about - I will let you know how i get on.

[claireinthecommunity]

Lemagain, that's exactly what I was thinking of discussing with the Dr when I'm back to 'normal!' Since being on the tablets from last September, I'd never actually missed a day, so to go to one every other day of 40mg has been rather a shock to my system. Just as you've suggested, I'm thinking that dropping to 30mgs a day to start with would suit me better, but I'll leave visiting the Dr for a few weeks and continue with 40mgs per day at the moment.

I'm surprised at how quickly I started to feel different, I'd only managed two alternate days without the tablets and felt I'd had enough. I think I got panicked and thought I wasn't ready to come of them yet, but maybe it was just too much of a jump in dose?

I'm pleased you're doing ok, I'll keep a watch on this thread

[LEMAGAIN]

maybe, or maybe its the fluctuation in dose, i know that when i went up from 20 to 40 i experienced panic attacks and generally felt awful for about a week.

I feel a bit rubbish again, been on the phone lots to DP today which is one of my anxiety flags, but my doctor told me i might feel a bit rubbish - im going to see how i feel after another week, but ive been on these things for too long now and have forgotten what normal feels like. My doc says, until i come off the tabs or reduce the dose i wont know if i can cope or not.

[ConnorTraceptive]

Hi LEM I know it's a bit late as you've already reduced your dose but here's how I did it

1st two weeks - alternate 30mg one day 20mg the next day

2nd two weeks - 20mg everyday

3rd two weeks - alternate 20mg/10mg

4th two weeks - 10mg everyday

5th 2 weeks - alternate 10mg/no AD

I had no side effects until about a weeks after i'd stopped taking them all together and then that only lasted a couple of weeks

[ratwoman]

Hi all,
Just wanted to tell my story - been on ciprimil for 12 years after a nasty bout of depression. They helped greatly but for the last few years I wanted to get off them and feel 'normal' again. I had put on weight and had completely lost my sex drive (husband not a happy bunny..). Anyway for years I tried to cut down in a sensible manner but the side effects of withdrawal always got me back on them again. ANYWAY, I have now been completely off ciprimil for 3 weeks. I did it slowly as I read Joseph Glenmullens book on anti depressant withdrawal and took his advice. I am still feeling out of sorts but am determined this time to do it. I had the brain zapps which are really scary but they've stopped thank God, also the spaced out feeling and that is better. However am quite anxious and irritable and over emotional. I hope this will all improve although I am an anxious person anyway I dont want to have to go back on tablets to help it. Docs tell you that weight gain is not a side effect but it most definitely IS and also another side effect I had for these 12 years was coughing. I'm interested to hear from anyone else who had this side effect. It isnt in the contraindications but it is in the BNF which doctors and pharmacists use. I thought the cough would go as soon as the tabs were out of my system (which is apparently after 7 days) but I am still coughing. Being anxious, am now thinking its something more sinister. Anyway, anyone out there who has had this as a side effect please get in touch. Its a dry annoying tickly cough and I clear my throat constantly. Thanks..hoping for a reply soon.

PS Excuse the nickname - I DO like rats but I dont suppose its a very attractive nickname to some people!!

[lucylue]

ratwoman,
coughs maybe some form of allergy, side effect of something.
have you tried any antihistamin?
good luck.

[mandabot]

i have been on citalopram for 2 years and i have been trying to come off for last 6 months but due to the side effects i am now decresing very very slowly, i too have beed suffering with a cough,dry and tickly and mainly at night...... driving me and my hubbie mad.
any advise any one????

[mandabot]

i have been on citalopram for 2 years and i have been trying to come off for last 6 months but due to the side effects i am now decresing very very slowly, i too have beed suffering with a cough,dry and tickly and mainly at night...... driving me and my hubbie mad.
any advise any one????