Coming off citalapram - How long do the side effects last

[ConnorTraceptive]

Have been coming off slowly and have now not taken a tablet for 5 days. Feel quite dizzy and very PMTish. Have come off ad's before when I had pnd with ds1 and had similar side effects but can't remember how long they lasted and I also fell pregnant with ds2 very soon after stopping so wall all hormonal from that too.

My AF is also due in the next week so I guess that isn't helping, getting worried incase I've made a mistake coming off

[NoahAndTheWhale]

How slowly did you come off them? I did it very slowly - probably took me about 9 months from taking 10mg every day to coming off them totally. Generally whenever I increased or decreased the dose I found I would feel sick and sleep really badly for about a week and then improve.

PMT could well be due to it being PMT I should think. Hope you feel better soon.

[ConnorTraceptive]

Thanks for replying noah. TBH I think I may have come off them a bit too quickly this time. Will ride it out for a couple of weeks and see how I get on

[NoahAndTheWhale]

I did get v frustrated at taking it slowly, but when I did it more quickly another time I found the withdrawal was a lot worse and then I was back on them again soon.

Maybe see how it is after your period starts but if you know you are feeling really awful, it is better to take the ADs (in my opinion anyway )

[peggotty]

Hi Connor, I too have been slowly coming off citalopram, am down to 10mg every other day at the moment, and I found that going from 20mg to 10mg made the side-effects bad for a few days, then it settled down; then again, going from 10mg every day to every 2nd day made the side-effects bad again. In fact I had a week of feeling bloody awful physically and mentally and was seriously considering going back on them when it eased off. I will expect to have a week or so of feeling bad when I stop them completely at the end of February, but it will hopefully pass. You will know if it goes on too long. I find I recognise the feelings quite quickly now. There's no way I would go back to feeling the way I did willingly! Good luck!

[ConnorTraceptive]

Yes you're right. If needs be I will go back on them I don't like this feeling at all! I should have gone slower but I found I was forgetting to take them and thought that I was just messing myself up more.

[OrmRenewed]

I found that most of them had gone after about 3 weeks. But then in my case the emotional symptoms came on. I ended up back on them again wthin a few months. I thought I was ready but I wasn't. Take it easy.

[peggotty]

How quickly have you been cutting them down? I have only been cutting down since christmas, so by the time I stop, it will only be 2 months.

[ConnorTraceptive]

I alternated 20mg every other day for almost 3 weeks and then stopped all together. God written down that seems ridiculous and much to quick compared to what I did last time.

Crap, should i start taking them again or will that mess me up even more. arghh|!

[peggotty]

Did you speak to your gp before you did it? Sounds like maybe a bit fast, but you could see how you go over next week. Don't panic, it'll probably be fine. How long were you on them for?

[OrmRenewed]

connor that is what I did more or less. I did start taking 10mg but I was already getting symptoms so I thought 'what the hell' and went for it properly. It wasn't nice TBH. It depends on whether you can hold out for a few weeks and whether you are really ready to come off them. In my case I went through a few weeks of hell (not exagerating!) only to find I went back to square one and ended up back on them again.

[ConnorTraceptive]

i've been on them a year (same as last time) Ok will give it a week and then go to gp (didn't see gp first) Oh I'm a tit aren't i

[peggotty]

No, of course you aren't! You obviously felt well enough to attempt stopping them- you sound very sensible and are willing to go back on them if required, so don't worry, it'll be fine one way or the other! I've been on them a year as well, marvellous bloody things aren't they!

[ConnorTraceptive]

Yes they are a god send! Thank you all for the advice