positive citroplam stories please x

[xkatyx]

Hi everyone,

I'm on 20mg of citroplam (may have miss spelled that) and i have been on them for about 3 months, to me there are a wonder drug, had terrible panic attacks and deppression, now i feel like my old self :-)

Me and mum hubby are to ttc in the next 6 months, so i went to the doctors today to find out information on these tablets whilst being pregnant and she told me she would like to wean me off off them before i concieve :-(

I'm really worried as i dont want to go back to how i was and also i know during pregnancy my hormones will make it worse.

Has any one had any positive stories of comming off the tablet's??

I feel really nervous about the whole thing as she said if i find it hard she will start me on prozac whilst pregant!! I really dont want to try anything else as these are perfect for me and the horrible side effects i had the first few weeks i do not want them repeated exspecially in pregnany.

Sorry i have rambelled on

x

I had a reasonably good experience with citalopram, but I have to be honest, its not nice coming off them. I had symptoms like feeling spaced out and dizzy similar to the symptoms when first starting on them. Its best to do it really really slowly and gradually, even slower than your GP might suggest probably. I was chopping up the tablets into halfs and quarters towards the end. The problem is that they have a short half life - this indicates the time it takes for the drug to clear from your body. Prozac has a much longer half life, stays in your body doing its job for longer, so is easier to wean off it. I didn't take any other pills after finishing citalopram but did make sure I had a good healthy diet with lots of serotonin boosting foods. And also I was having counselling at the time, which I think was essential to support me through it. Being pregnant can be quite a calm happy time, so I hope that could be the case for you. Good luck.

Thank you renerusso i really feel happy to stay on them i don't feel ready to come of them yet :-( i may go see another doctor as loads of woman i have spoke to have said they were told it is fine to take through out pregnancy.

Yes its worth getting a 2nd opinion. If its working for you, it seems a pity to change it. Your mental health is too important. 20mg isn't very high anyway, many people take 30 or 40.

That's what i thought as well, i'll happily go down to 10mg for the first 3 months if needed to, but i'll need to go back up. When im due on the hormones def effect the deppresion and i can feel it bubbeling and that it may come back but then goes i dont know if that's normal? but i guess my pregnancy hormones will do the same.

Hi xkatyx,
I too am wondering the same thing, have been on citalopram for almost 2years now, and DP and I are TTC.

It's like a wonder pill for me too - I was on 30mg for a while, but down to 20 mg now.

Sorry for the hijack, but I'm planning on speaking to my GP next week, so will ask the question there are well. happy to pass on any information she gives me,.

Thank you very much any info would be very much appreciated. I thought i was the only one.
Did you find during your monthly just before you felt a tiny bit anxious again? mine goes away after just wondering if that was just me?

Feel free to hijack :-) just glad im not the only one that has this concern (even though i would not wish it on anyone)

xxxx

no, i definitely get the anxiety with PMT. I have to be extra careful not to miss a day during that week, otherwise I'm a mess (I'm quite bad at taking them and miss a day fairly often

Glad i'm not going mad then .. im on my monthlys now and def feel slightly more anxious and i was scared it was comming back!

I set the alarm on my phone to remind me otherwisw i would always forget.

So glad i found net mum's i dont know anyone who has been on Ad i was begging to think there was actually something wrong with me for not being able to cope like everyone else.

x

I conceived whilst on citalopram - my gp told me to come off it, but didnt even know my history or suggest a withdrawal plan. I went to a different GP who said it was fine. Off my own bat i reduced the dose from 20mg to 10mg per day for the first three months, but then increased it back (thank goodness - it was really difficult for a while).

Im now 37weeks, all scans normal. I know one anecdotal piece of evidence doesnt constitute proof, but really, 20mg is not very much, and if you breastfeed then there won't be any withdrawal issues for your baby.

There are LOADS of people on ADs, but the stigma surrounding mental illness is such that no one wants to be the first to mention it. I think its something like a quarter of the entire population will have taken them at some point during their lives. Not so weird are you?

That is very reasuring thank you pooter :-)
I have problems on my monthly hormones so i can see myself struggeling but i will plow on but same time dreading going back to that again, the panic attacks are horrible!!

No not weird at all infact i feel great knowing that this actaully is normal people do go through it, it's just i seam to be the only one around here with them, but i suppose some people dont like to talk about it maybe.

Did you go see another doctor at the same surgery? or did you go to a complete diffrent surgery for diffrent opinion?

again thank you all for sharing you really have reduced my anixety about this all

xxx

Some good news ladies,

My sister works at gp (not my gp) i asked her to ask the doctor working there his advice and he said it's absolutley fine there is no eveidence to prove otherwise :-)so shouls continue to take them and also if they needed to be reduced it should be fine.

That is 1 of my worries i think with all the hormones and because i had pd with both my babies i may need a little extra help.

Im so pleased the GP at your sister's work said it was fine. I know that even though i am capable of reading all the research papers and making up my own mind, if someone from the medical profession tells me something, i feel like my own opinion is not as worthwhile - which is very silly - as most people with long term depression become their own experts and end up knowing far more than GPs about their own little area.

I just went to a different doctor in the same practice - we have about 6 of them so you never see the same one twice!

You might want to look at this info about breastfeeding on citalopram and other ADs. Basically - its fine. (although dont make jokes to your friends about how he's such a contented happy little baby cos of the ADs hes getting through your milk - they wont know how to react and you will feel daft (yes i did this - and i just wont mention ADs or depression to various friends now - if you havent been there you cant understand))
here

Hope it all goes well for you.

Thank you pooter, i had trouble breast feeding with my last 2 babies i tried with both of them for 5 weeks with no luck, i would love to try again but i have a feeling i may have same trouble, so breast feeding may not be such a issue for me. But i know what you mean about the jokes i def will be keeping them quiet.

I don't know anyone on AD'S when i first got diagnossed people kept saying i didnt need them i just needed to get out and basically pull myself together which just goes to show if you haven't been there then you really can't understand have horrible it really is!!

I know exactly what you mean, i have read on here loads of ladies have take the AD'S and there babies have been fine and on a higher does than me, but untill my doctor tells me i wont feel happy, very silly. but i am going to see another doctor at same practice, as like you there are a few there and i'm sure they all have diffrent opinions so hopefully i will find one that will tell me what i want to hear :-)

xx