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Original poster

Citalopram: Thinking of going cold turkey - not a good idea?

29 replies

LucyEllensmadmummy · 23/01/2010 20:19

I am on 20mg citalopram

I have been on citalopram for about 3 years. Firstly on 40mg, must have been on 20mg for nearly a year now. I want to stop taking it.

When i mentioned it to my doc a while back she said ok fine, you could take 20mg one every other day, i was a bit , then something happened so i decided to stay on them for a bit longer. Anyway, i really dont want to be taking them now - its getting to the point where i am putting off taking them for as long as i can - but then i end up going for a couple of days at every other day, then DP notices and says im snappy (or words to that effect ) and i do feel fraught.

Is that withdrawal? Or am i not ready to come off them yet? I have had lots of counselling and was signed off before xmas - dont know if it was because my counseller thought i was doign ok or if we were going round in circles.

So anyway, i think it was 2.5 days this time, not on purpose, i deliberately didnt take yesterday but forgot to take this morning, been out all day - then preparing dinner tonight and i felt really weird - buzzy feeling in my head and felt detached from myself. it was unpleasant but not a full on panic attack. Had a heart flutter last night (i am prone to palpitations).

So - why i am asking re the cold turkey is - if i am to continue dropping my dose and gong every other day, i think im going to feel like shit and it will drag on. If i do every other day for more than a few times in a go, i feel like shit - quite angry and prone to well, tantrums i suppose (i have a very firey temper, always have done).

Doc didnt think going to 10mg a good idea, dont know why

If i just stop taking them, what side effects would i expect? might i just have a rough few days or am i mad to even consider it?

OP posts:
Original poster
LucyEllensmadmummy · 23/01/2010 20:52

bump

OP posts:
NoahAndTheWhale · 23/01/2010 20:57

I was on citalopram for ages.

Am off them now .

I went down to 10 mg from 20mg and then cut down very slowly. I get horrendous nightmares when I change dose and get much more anxious.

I really wouldn't advise going cold turkey - I have found that doing that means I seem to need to go back on them sooner whereas gradual cutting down seems to work better.

sweetnitanitro · 23/01/2010 20:58

No, not a good idea. I went cold turkey and I fell over. A lot . And it was the weekend so I had to wait until Monday to get another dose. Mentally I felt fine but I was very VERY dizzy. If you need to drive anywhere or look after kids I would definitely not recommend it. In the end I was weaned off as you described and it was fine.

MerlinsBeard · 23/01/2010 20:58

I went cold turkey. It was (and still is) Hell On Earth.

ConnorTraceptive · 23/01/2010 21:02

No, don't do it. I came off very slowly and had a couple of weeks of dizziness and was a it PMT (ish)

My sister has just gone cold turkey (well it's been a couple of months actually) and frankly she is a right old cow bag to be around

wingandprayer · 23/01/2010 21:02

No cold turkey. Not advised by anyone. Half your dosage and stick to it for a good few weeks if not months, then that dosage every other day for few more months. Think you should speak to GP again too. You've been on them a while and you have to give yourself time to adjust. Also maybe arrange counselling to run alongside so you can deal with stuff as it crops up. Stuff will crop up, anxiety is a normal emotion if is result of things that should cause anxiety. You need to
come to terms with that too before coming off pills entirely.

Ginormica · 23/01/2010 21:04

Don't wish to be nosy, but think of the reason why you were prescribed Citalopram in the first place. Has that "thing" gone away, whatever it was?
If not, maybe you should still take it, and be guided by the doc. If, with a reduced dose you are angry and prone to tantrums, then perhaps you should carry on with it at the prescribed dose. Surely, you don't want to feel like that?
Sometimes it is necessary to take SSRIs for a protracted time in order to recover. Please be guided by your doctor with regard to withdrawing this.
Good luck from a former Citalopram-er.

Original poster
LucyEllensmadmummy · 23/01/2010 21:06

ah, that'l be a resounding no then - my friend did come off her meds cold turkey and was fine, but i dont htink she had been on them so long.

I dont want to be a cow bag!! lol

I dont want anymore counselling - I think i just ended up navel gazing in the end. Not saying it wasn;t useful IT WAS!! my counsellor was excellent but i have flogged that particular horse to death now.

thanks guys

OP posts:
Original poster
LucyEllensmadmummy · 23/01/2010 21:08

Ginor, i still have stress to deal yes, but doesnt everyone. i suffer from health anxiety and figure i always will - i just dont want meds for the rest of my life, they make me tired and lazy

OP posts:
Austra · 23/01/2010 21:08

Another advising against going cold turkey.

I went ct at the start of the year under the advice and care of my GP and it was AWFUL. I've never felt soawful both physically and mentally. Stick to the advice of your GP.

MerlinsBeard · 23/01/2010 21:09

I wasn't a cowbag LEM (well no more than normal!) but i DID sink and actually felt a lot LOT worse for a while

NoahAndTheWhale · 23/01/2010 21:13

I took 10mg for a few months and then cut down (ie every other day, then once every few days, then twice a week, then stopped) over a few days.

NoahAndTheWhale · 23/01/2010 21:17

That shoudl have been months, not days. Would have been impressive to do that over days.

Ginormica · 23/01/2010 21:20

Yes, I don't blame you for wanting to get off the meds - I so remember that "spacey" feeling - walking up the road and feeling sort of "distant" from myself, and sort of happy-dippy. Also the total laid-back rationale.
This was not good for me either - just don't be in a hurry to stop the tabs in a rush. Weaning down in a controlled and progressive manner is the way to go. If you do it right, you won't have to re-start the medication - that has to be a win?

GetDownYouWillFall · 23/01/2010 21:36

I am trying to get off my ADs too. The problem I have is with my sleep. If I stop too quickly I get really bad insomnia. So I am just weaning myself off really slowly. Good luck with it all x

Original poster
LucyEllensmadmummy · 23/01/2010 22:14

just feel like im going to be on them forever

OP posts:
Ginormica · 23/01/2010 22:19

No you won't be on them forever. Just allow some time. Stay positive.

kelfro · 13/11/2012 17:15

tried going cold turkey from 3 years on 40mg citalopram, BAD IDEA!! its best to come off cit step by step lower your dosage , give it time, cold turkey will make you feel sick, anxious, helpless etc. the main reason i want to come off cit is because its made me gain sooooooooo much weight i've gone from size 8 to 16!!! :( this also gets me down a lot, has any one else suffered weight gain??

Millie2013 · 13/11/2012 18:09

kelfro, yes, me. I went from a size 8 to 12, before I realised that it was the citalopram making me gain weight. Sadly, 15 months after stopping it, the weight was stubbornly hanging on (then I got pregnant....)

puds11 · 13/11/2012 18:10

No dont go cold turkey. I was only on 10mg and i was advised to gradually reduce it.

domesticgodless · 13/11/2012 18:12

I have just gone sort of cold turkey off sertraline and carbamazepine.

However, i came to think that it was the meds which were causing 50% of my problems so in my case I don't feel great, but no worse :D

i am watching myself carefully for signs of a crash. However, I had multiple crashes int he last 16 years of being on various SSRIs and recently mood stabilisers.

We shall see. I haven't really felt any ill effects from coming off the pills other than increased appetite.

domesticgodless · 13/11/2012 18:13

Sadly I suffer the reverse re weight. I lose weight on anti-d's. But was also spacey, dissociated, twitchy, losing concentration etc.

JackThePumpkinKing · 13/11/2012 18:15

Really really don't, not worth it.

Go down to 10mg a day, then after a month or so go to every other day. Take your time over it and you'll be fine. If you rush it you'l feel really terrible.

meg15 · 30/03/2016 12:44

Ive been on citalopram for almost a year and a half. my brother had passed away in a car accident..was having problems with my fiancé.. i at the time was a stay at home mom. I would cry for absololutly no reason at all. I would find myself screaming at my kids at the top of my lungs for every little thing. (most horrible feeling ever for my kids to have to go through it with me) I would snap at my fiancé for everything as well.. Well my doctor ended up upping my dosage to 40mg where i was at the for the year and a half. Within the past couple of months, I've gotten a job, (that i absolutely love) became manager just recently, my relationship i feel like 110% is in a better place. I was still taking my meds but felt like they "weren't working" anymore. I felt irritable and felt like crying....not like a a bad feeling though, like i had normal emotions. Anyway, I felt great!!!

My rx ended up not having anymore refills, so i pushed it off a couple of days and felt no withdrawal symptoms at all...so i went cold turkey off 40mg to nothing! No symptoms at all of coming off..

Since being off of it...i'm not as tired as i was. I'm actually doing things around my house...cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc.. which i wanted nothing to do with while being on it. My mindset is completely different! things i didn't care anything about i now want to "fix". People have told me NOT to go cold turkey off of it, to get back on it because i'm going to go through withdrawal or i'm going to start feeling depressed again.

I have been off of it now for about 2 weeks and i couldn't feel better!!! I"m not recommending going cold turkey to anyone..i just wanted to share my positive story and see if anyone else has gone off with no withdrawal symptoms...

Whitestripes1 · 18/11/2018 08:44

It’s been 2 weeks and 2 days since I came off citalopram. I was on 20mgs for around a year. I cut down to 10mgs for a week then stopped completely. During these last two weeks I’ve had a flu, been sick, felt dizzy, been weepy, had nightmares, been bad tempered, felt terrible about how I look , how fat and ugly I am, been so tired. I’m going to give it another week and see how it goes. I really don’t want to go back on them. I’ve put on so much weight and had zero sex drive because of these pills. The doctor who prescribed them told me nothing of this. Surely before a doctor prescribes citalopram, they should tell you of these side effects and the also the side effects of coming off these pills. I had started with the menopause and felt a bit down so the doc prescribed me citalopram. If I’d known how much more problems I would have taking these I would NEVER have taken them in the first place. I’m going to try my hardest to fight these side effects of the cold turkey and thankfully my partner is very understanding about it all. Has anyone been successful in the cold turkey and how long does it take to “get back to normal”