To ask what the hell is wrong with me?? Scared

[daphne87]

For about a week now.

Whenever I'm moving around I get sudden dizzy spells, feels like my brain is shaking behind my eyes, feel like I'm going to fall backwards. Vision a bit blurry. This happens very very often throughout the day. Sometimes palpitations at the same time.

Also forgetting or mixing up my words a lot.

I'm generally healthy, 32, normal blood pressure and heart rate (checked it), don't smoke, drink too much wine though. Usually very active but have been very sedentary during lockdown.

I have a big fear of hospitals and doctors. I hate going. Especially just now I'd hate it.

Anyone any idea what this could be??

Are you seeing a difference in your blood pressure and/or BPM when checking standing va sitting OP? As taken with a proper monitor?

I have diagnosed PoTS and chronic hypotension and this sounds like me but I do have a number of serious illnesses and it is chronic. PoTs is pretty rare so it is unlikely to be that. If it is situational and coincides with the sudden tapering of an SSRI I would assume it's that but would check the sitting to standing BP or ask a GP if you are worried.

Do make sure to take extra care when getting up while this goes on. I find it more helpful to sit for a while from lying down, then get up, rather than jump from lying to standing and make sure you arent getting up to quickly and can sit down quickly and when symptoms start. You don't want to faint and get an injury.

Separately OP- if you mean you had b12 injections before I would ask your levels to be checked. Do you mean they stopped because you don't have pernicious anaemia? I have it and have injections every 3 months for life.

Well that sounds to me EXACTLY like the symptoms of stopping Citalopram abruptly rather than phasing it out gradually. Get a phone appointment with your GP asap, tell them what you did and what's happening, and then follow their advice.

I had very similar symptoms when I suddenly stopped taking antidepressants. Constantly lost my balance and fell over a few times too. I didn’t both phoning a GP and it went away by itself.

It took me a loooong time to get off Citalopram even though I wasn’t on it for long either. My doctor said to just taper off over a week, but I was an absolute mess. I went back on it (and all the horrible withdrawal side effects immediately stopped) and used the drops instead which meant I could cut down really slowly. I did it over about 4 months.

Also get checked your iron and Vitamin D levels pls

@daphne87 exactly those symptoms. Took me 6 months to come to lowest dose and had to book two weeks off work todo the last bit. Doctor refused to acknowledge there was such a syndrome but I think they do now. Go to your gp

Definitely citalopram withdrawal. It can take ages to wean off them.

Almost certainly the withdrawal. A df of mine pretty much feels stuck on these as she feels so wobbly whenever she tries to stop and she can't afford to feel like that for any length of time due to the amount of driving she needs to do

I had similar when coming off an anti-depressant. Spaced out/electric “zap” feeling described better by a previous poster. I don’t think GPs tell people to titrate down slowly enough.

Definitely sounds like withdrawals!! I have had the exact same thing twice now. It’s a bit weird/annoying but it passes eventually, so please try not to worry.

Hope that all of your other symptoms have been fixed by it though.

Yeah it worked surprisingly quickly for the PTSD exacerbation. I wouldn't hesitate to start it again for that, despite these feelings.

Glad to know it's very likely not serious. I hadn't connected it to my symptoms as symptoms started nearly 2 weeks after stopping completely.

I don't drive, but no way would I be driving like this either tbh!! DC (older teen and pre teen) were strange about me holding a knife making soup!!

Definitely speak to your GP because it could be something serious.

That said - the brain zaps, the fuzziness, the word finding difficulties - all happened to me after I went cold turkey from citalopram (was on it for a few years). I will never, ever go back on another SSRI for that reason.

Again, had similar to a lesser extent coming off citalopram. You have reduced v quickly and 2 months wasn’t really long enough to take effect!in the first place, it can be up to 3 months. Discuss with your GP.

It does sound like withdrawal from the Citalopram. I had this when coming off a stronger AD it was awful.

I do think you should get checked out by a doctor though just in case.

Oh, I should say that it does pass eventually.

Probably the meds
You are meant to slowly withdraw not just stop

Phone and ask for a call back from the GP. Our GP and the hospital consultants (Cardiology and Oncology) have all done telephone consultations recently. They don't want you in surgeries any more than you want to go.

It's the citalopram withdrawal, I've had it too. It will pass though

This is exactly what happened to me when I stopped taking my citalopram ... it can cause strange withdrawal symptoms but mine stopped after 2 months and then I was fine. I had been taking mine for years though.

Yep same when withdrawing from citalopram - like you I was only on it for a short time but to come off it took just as long - I reduced with guidance from GP slowly.
I don’t regret taking the medication though it did the job it needed to do at the time.

It may be vertigo.

I think it's the citalopram withdrawal too. I had similar

How are you today Daphne87 l?

Another one here who came off SSRIs too suddenly. It was almost unbearable, especially the brain zaps. That was my first thought before you even mentioned the citalopram.