Withdrawing from Citalapram

[adagiok5]

I am reluctantly having to reduce my dosage of Citalapram . I am on 40mg and have been for years for panic attacks . I have been very happy on the medication but now due to being 65 the doctor has told me that I need to reduce to 20mg . I asked the doctor whether it was possible to start something similar that would be more suitable for my age but all she said was to reduce the citalapram first to see how I feel . I am really concerned about this drop .

I have started alternating between 30mg and 40mg . I read somewhere that this approach lessons the withdrawal symptoms. Has anyone else done it this way? Tia

My husband was on 20mg citalapram twice over a few years. The first time he came off them he did so without tapering and he felt horrible. Terrible headaches, dizziness and nausea. The second time he tapered very, very slowly over about 3 months. We bought a pill cutter so was able to shave off part of the tablet and then down to nothing. This worked out much better. Still felt rough for a little while but nowhere near as bad as the side time. Good luck.

@Smleps Thank you for your message I am glad your husband is dong ok Originally a doctor a few years ago told me to go from 40mg to 20mg the side effects were awful and this put me off for sometime . I am taking it much more slowly this time

Slowly is the way forward, like you, he found the withdrawal awful the first time round. Wishing you all the best, and hopefully you’ll feel much better off the medication now. DH still has bad days but overall he is relieved to be off the tablets.

I’ve gone from 20mg Citalopram to zero, but it took me about 4 months. GP intoned that I’d do it faster… but that’s how long it took me. I agree… get a pill cutter and taper off very slowly.
I'm fine now… the odd wobble… but don’t we all have them?

@ ItsOnlyJustBegun Thank you

I’ve been taking Citalopram for over 15 years and honestly, sometimes I just stop when I’m really low. I go from 40mg to nothing basically overnight. Only feel crap for a couple of days.

@ItsOnlyJustBegun Thank you that’s reassuring . I still don’t think that GPs have caught on how difficult it is to drop the dose

@StormingNorman that’s amazing but I think that you are an exception

GP was very nice but very blasé on how long it would take me to taper off. She effectively cancelled my prescription after a month. Had to go back and ask for a few months of 10mg to eke it out a bit longer.

However, it seems that everyone is different.

I went from 20 to 10 and was fine, but 10 to zero was tough.

I would try and pill cut rather than alternate - get a cutter from Amazon and take 35 a day for a bit, then drop to 30 etc.

I became very unwell with food poisoning while I was on 10mg. Nothing stayed in my system for about 10 days… Absolutely nothing!

So… my tapering off system from 10mg to zero was somewhat erm… fast tracked. There was no point restarting on 10mg but I’m sure my recovery was hampered a bit by my low mood.

It did occur to me that if you’d been through the same illness on a much higher dose, it could have been pretty catastrophic.

I've reduced 40 to 20 over months. Very supportive GP.
A few weeks of 30 every 3 days until I felt confident
Then 30 every 2 days...
Then 30 every other day
Then 30 every 2 days and 40 every 3rd day...
Then. (You see where I'm going?)

It must have taken me months. Rather than physical withdrawal I needed to manage how I relied on citraloplam mentally and build my confidence

It may not be relevant to you, but I have a maintainance dose of 20mg. I have in the past (and may again in the future) go up to 40mg when I need additional support.
It might be worth talking to your gp to see if you can have that as reassurance?

@KatyN Thank you that’s was very helpful . My problem is that at 65 the new guidelines specify that I should only be on 20mg . The GP was very unhelpful and said that I shouldn’t be taking such a high dose . But I tried to explain that there is a reason for that . I have been taking them for anxiety and panic attacks . I did ask if there was something else I could try but she just said that I need to see how I feel cutting back on the current dose of Citalapram first . . She also said that if I notice any side effects to see the pharmacist to discuss it first then they can advise me if it’s worth seeing the Doctor . I felt very neglected when I left

@ItsOnlyJustBegun Oh dear that sounds awful . That’s something that’s always worried me about sickness bugs and being on a high dose

Why is it difficult to stop taking Citalopram and such a long tapering off process? Genuine question as I’ve never heard about this before.

Could you ask to be switched to Sertraline I think that’s one of the easier ones to come off. I came off it with just head zaps and leg zaps but I was only on it a year. I have recently been prescribed Citalopram but it made me constipated after a few days so stopped. Also I do worry about coming off it.

@kerstina i am in the process of changing my GP surgery as I was so unimpressed with my doctors attitude . So this is something to bear in mind . Thank you

I am considering changing mine too. I think when you suffer with your mental health it really means a lot to have an understanding dr. I am still looking…..

@kerstina i totally agree I felt very misunderstood at my last visit .

GP said I could just take it alternate days when starting to reduce from 40mg. It was far too big a reduction. Eventually I tapered very very slowly over a period of about 6 months.

@gavisconismyfriend they really have no idea about reducing the dosage it’s very worrying

I am currently coming off 30mg after 15 or so years as I realised it wasn't working any more. I have terrible anxiety. I dropped 5mg per month on doctor's recommendation. When i got to 15 l felt really ill. Vertigo, paranoia, tears etc. Anyhow, Dr said it shouldn't be that bad so she changed me instantly to escitalopram. Same kind of drug but easier to come off! I'm so relieved! Could you ask your gp about escitalopram? Good luck.

@SGANDRUE . Thanks for your advice did you have to come off of the Citalapram completely before starting the new drug ?

No. Just a straight switch!

Ok thanks for that