Citolopram withdrawal symptoms

[TellySavalashairbrush]

One week off of Citolopram. I was on it for 4 years, 40mg dose and I did a slow withdrawal under the direction of the gp. I wanted to know if anyone had done this and if they suffered the same withdrawal effects as me; terrible dizziness, numbness and achy joints. I just wondered how long I can expect this to last. I’m due to start a masters course within the next month as well as working full time, so I really need to be feeling better than I currently do.

They are quite common, I'm afraid. How slow was the slow withdrawal? You might want to talk to your GP about extending it even further. I'm a GP and I find patients vary a lot when coming off SSRIs. Some people seem to stop them overnight (not that I would ever advise that) with no problem. But, others seem to need a really, really slow withdrawal: getting down to 10 mg and then going to every other day, then every 3 days. I have had a few patients where this has even taken a couple of years - you have to play it by ear.

I can't remember exactly how slowly I came off but I think it was over 3 weeks or so after taking it for 8months. I found the withdrawal really tough for maybe a month. I regretted not doing it slower.

I remember watching a tv program on this and it emphasised that you should come off them really slowly, over a long period of time.

Thank you both so much for your replies. I took more than 2 months to come down from 40mg to 10mg and then a week ago I stopped the 10mg. They were a very helpful medication for some time when I had a lot going on in my life (carer for mum with dementia, adult dc experiencing difficulties) but now want a clear head to move forward with my life.

Its tough, but you can do it. Drink lots of water, take omega oils and keep on going.

Yeah it's rubbish but you've done it now. I had withdrawal symptoms for about a month, but felt much better after that and am so glad I stuck with it. Hang in there!

Just to warn you, you may experience brain zaps as you go through your withdrawal. They won't last forever but can be quite disconcerting.

Probably about a month and I still get the odd dizzy day after maybe 10 weeks. I should say I was only on 5mg every 3 days for at least a month before I stopped so it maybe be a tougher ride from a higher dose.

I was on 20mg, and not for as long as you, but I'm not sure it should be as hard as you describe. Maybe talk to your GP again? I had some ringing in my ears, the infamous brain zaps, and generally felt a bit weird, but nothing unbearable. Perhaps after taking it for so long you need to take it slower?

I came off earlier in the year from 30mg.. I found going from 10 to 0 the hardest... For the last bit, I held out between doses for as long as I could until the side effects became too bad, then took another dose. Gradually built up number of days between doses until I didn't get side effects any more. It did take a few weeks