Stopping Citalopram - withdrawal symptoms - how long (ball park figure)?

[marthamoo]

I've been on Citalopram (Cipramil) since ds2 was born - 3 and a half years - and it's taken me the last 18 months to wean off, I've found it very hard. I was on 10mgs (original dose 40mgs) every other day and I stopped altogether 5 days ago.

I'm suffering quite badly with feeling very dizzy, light-headed and spaced out. In fact, it seems to be getting worse rather than better. If anyone has experienced this, how long did it last?

I'm also a bit weepy and bad-tempered today but I'm hoping I can just put that down to PMT and school holidays.

Hello, I'm new, only found this site today,
I have been on Citalopram for last 6 years, tried to come off them about 4 years ago without success, found I couldn't stop crying and couldn't function properly in college so went back on them.
Been on 10mg a day since.
Citalopram has lead to me gaining unbelievable amount of weight, I gained 4 stone within 9 months of starting it and have been unable to loose any weight since. I was never big before this, not even after son was born, tried everything for years now, exercising regularly and eating very healthy too,.
I am convinced that not only has it made me gain weight but it also stops me loosing it.

So last week I decided to go cold turkey, been to the gym everyday and still eating healthy, and touch wood, I have lost half a stone already, wooo hoooo!
Don't get me wrong I have had my moments when I have cried uncontrolably, felt excrutiating anger and have been irratable but only for short periodd. Gonna try and exercise through it and have also been lying on my bed and reading my book when I feel like this, felt like this has been an effective distraction.
I eat a lot of fish anyway but just incase this helps anyone, I have also read about how Omega 3 can really help with tackling depression.
Good luck everyone, its not easy but great to know we are all in the same boat eh!

Iv been taking citlopram 20mg for nearly a year now, started to run out and couldnt get a doctors appnt 4 weeks,theyre funny about re-issuing anti ds without appnt. Iv been cold turkey for bout 2 weeks now,after two days i started to feel spaced out,its a horrible,unbearable feeling. I woke up 2day and i keep bursting in2 tears, shouting at my kids and my fiance doesnt understand, i dnt know what to do. doesnt undedoesnt und

Iv been taking citlopram 20mg for nearly a year now, started to run out and couldnt get a doctors appnt 4 weeks,theyre funny about re-issuing anti ds without appnt. Iv been cold turkey for bout 2 weeks now,after two days i started to feel spaced out,its a horrible,unbearable feeling. I woke up 2day and i keep bursting in2 tears, shouting at my kids and my fiance doesnt understand, i dnt know what to do,feel so bad.

I have been on citalopram for about five years, and am now starting to come off them. Thank goodness after reading these forums , because I now realise that I am not alone with all my thinking and symptoms!
After having a complete change in lifetyle over the last few years (going from an Army Officer to being a girls gymnastics coach)I am looking forward to being off them, and hopefully those vivid dreams will be good ones!

has anyone sufered from sexual problems during and/or after taking citalopram? will be grateful for any response

Hi,

I'm so glad that I found this site, I thought I was going mad.

I have been on Citalopram for a year. I was put on them for panic/anxiety attacks which my GP put down to severe anaemia due to huge problems with my periods. I was on 20mg a day. 9 weeks ago I underwent a hysterectomy to resolve my problems, so 3 weeks ago I approached my GP about coming off the Citalopram before I return to work. She advised me to reduce to 10mg a day for 2 weeks, then 10mg alternate days and then to stop taking them.

I have been off them completely for a week but have suffered many of the withdrawal side effects I have read about here. The worst of which have been mood swings, irritability, headaches, joint ache, dizziness and now today the emotion. The good thing is, apart from today, I have been full of energy instead of just wanting to sit and do nothing.

Finding this forum has made me realise that I am not mad, not alone, not suffering from Swine Flu and whilst the last 4/5 days have been unpleasant they have by no means been as bad for me as for others withdrawing.

I am going to persevere with not taking the citalopram as I am beginning to feel human again and wish to give support to anyone who is withdrawing. It does get better and you are not alone.

Sorry chappettes, I have to confess that I?m a 54-year-old man. However, I do have a young daughter? anyway, I have long and varied experience of taking antidepressants, and I have to tell you that Citalopram are BAD NEWS.

They?re unlikely to do you any permanent damage, fortunately, but are very well known for their side-effects and withdrawal difficulties.

Just to give you an idea, all drug dosages are weight-dependent (though they?re rarely prescribed on this basis, except by very enlightened doctors like mine. Believe it or not, the standard dosage of any drug is calculated on ? from memory ? an 11-stone man. I am 6?2? and 17 stone.

So. I was put on Citalopram a few months ago, and advised to start on ½ a tablet ? ie 10mg. This basically put me in bed for 2 weeks ? I could hardly move. I thought this was a pretty severe effect, as I should theoretically have been on a dose of something like 35mg to adjust for weight.

Within 4 weeks, I had put on nearly a stone; I was suffering from insomnia and bruxism; and became completely impotent (this is common with men taking SSRI?s, but I?ve heard tales of sexual difficulties with women too).

I?m now trying desperately to withdraw from the stuff, but am horribly irritable (throw and break things at the slightest provocation) and have what?s known in the trade as ?brain zaps? (see Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_discontinuation_syndrome )

My point is that this horrible drug (although I think it actually worked for me while I was taking it) can cause horrendous side-effects and be very difficult to get off. I?m stuck on ¼ of a tablet every night now, but I can?t get off that last bit because of the brain zaps.

So? my sympathies to anyone who?s struggling with Citalopram getting fat, not enjoying sex, and having brain shivers on withdrawal. I may know some of the answers if I can help anyone ? in the meantime, good luck!

Roger

Oh god Hogweed, thank you so much! I have been grinding and clenching my teeth constantly for the last few months and I had no idea why. I wake up with pounding head-, jaw- and face ache from doing it and my teeth hurt so much I can't bear to let them touch each other in the morning.

Hi everybody else, I have been on Citalopram for about six or seven months now. Due to not being able to get to a doctor recently I've been stringing out my prescription (20mg) by taking one every other day which has been fine, but for the past three weeks I have had a vicious migraine pretty much every third day. I get the whole aura thing and it's really causing me problems.

The thing is, I can't figure out if it's reducing the Citalopram or taking it that's causing them. Any ideas?

Also, for those who are getting dizzy, it definitely happens if I miss a dose - it feels like you're falling doesn't it?

Sofabelly
xxx

Me: on 40mgs for aprox. 6 months, ironically on it because my GP told me to take it to prepare for getting off diazepam (in stages), which I still take at 40mg per day (6 years). I decided on my own to get off it because I recently reviewed the side-effects on the web, and realised I had some (like sweating). Plus, since I did not ever notice any assistance by the drugs, I wanted to see what my mind was like without them...

Going cold turkey. First day: No ill effects - Second/third day: pronounced tiredness, sleeping 48hrs, with 'breaks' from sleep of 15-45 minutes. Dreaming was much more interesting. - Now in fourth 'day': starting to gt a bit nervous (tempted to take extra diazepam) have a surfeit of energy, can still take small naps with the telly on. Best thing so far-My brain seems to be coming alive. I had not predicted this, as I said, I never noticed any changes to myself when I was on the drug.

I am curious to see what happens next.

I doubt this monologue will help anyone, but there are a mixture of experiences here, and I felt compelled (laugh) to share.

Thank you all for sharing -- Much better info than the medical sites...

Has anyone else used diazepam & citalopram?

I am coming off citalopram after 3 years on it for PND. I was on 40mg day for at least 2 years (whose counting and leastI enjoyed the time).
For those who are worried about taking it, not everybody puts on weight or has horrendous side effects. I felt a bit weird for a week or so when I started but nothing worrying or scary and far better than wanting to throw myself down the stairs or stab kitchen knives into my arms.

Last time I saw my GP he said that for some people you just have to find the lowest dose that works for them and not worry about coming off the drug. Since then I have reduced slowly (over 5 months) and am now on 10mg every other day with no side effects so far.

hey just coming off citalopram i feel like im getting electric shocks in my head its so weird like little zaps ahh sorry this might make no sense finding it really difficult to concerntrate. It feel like im seperated from my body and my heads going to fly away everything looks weird has anyone else had this? how long does it last. I have come off on my own coz i didnt think my doctor would advise me to do this should i start taking them agin?? thanks

You've probably all finished talkinga bout this now, but can I tell you how I did it? I've written this before ages ago on here and another forum and a couple of people found it helpful.

Essentially you need to do a little bit of planning and work out on a piece of paper the following:

1 - start taking the dose every 30 hours instead of every 24 hours do this for 4-5 days, as long as you don't have any symptoms. If you do, start really slowly, taking it every 25 hours then every 26 hours.

2 - Then take it every 36 hours (I just use these approximate figures because they slot quite well around sleep etc., they're not concrete) for a few days.

3 - Once you've got to taking them every 2 days (every 48 hours), drop the dose a little (to 7.5mg)I would do this for another 4-5 days before dropping further to 5mg.

4 - Once you get to 5mg start spreading them out further again but really slowly, so every 50 hours, 52 hours etc etc. In the end you can either start taking tiny bits of tablets, or just get to a point where you realise you ahven't taken anything for 5 days and realise you could probably stop!

tbh, I even used the oral solution at the end htis time, because I was pg. and I wanted absolutely no symptoms to deal with, but that was my second time fo coming off them. The first I just did this with the tablets.

I had literally no symptoms either time.

CAVEAT - this is MY approach, works wonders for me, my GP was completely happy with this, but I cannot take responsibility for someone else doing it obviously.

good luck.

Hogweed - think you would agree that being ON them was positive, it's teh getting off them that's the problem? and the problem is that the people creating it don't take it themselves so don't knwo what it actually feels like!

Anyway, hope I've helped someone....

PPS Jsut seen thsi is a very old thread. apologies for adding to it, but if this helps someone, well.....

I have been taking 20mg of citalopram for over a year now, I cut down to 10mg every day and then 5mg every day for about a month now I've gone cold turkey for 5 days and I'm still feeling really dizzy and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I don't want to go back on them as I'm pregnant so just wondering how long will these withdrawal symptoms last??

Thanks, Jen

Hi Guys,

I am new to this Forum but would like to get some feedback about Citalopram.

Been on 20mg for depression & anxiety, since July 2008 and have been fortunate enough to have not suffered too many side effects apart from the normal ones i.e tiredness, vivid dreams , loss of sex drive etc.

I am keen to come off them now although my GP doesn't agree. However i the last few days I have experienced a numbness/loss of sensation in my right thigh and groin area and wondered if this is a side effect of the meds. No pain just the numbness.

Its really strange. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Thank you amyyetta for you post. It has made thing a little clearer for me.

Me and my partner decided to 2 months ago to try for another baby and before i had the chance to wean myself off Citalopram 20mg we found out that i was expecting. So i decided to go cold turkey and i mean on everything...Smoking, caffeine and Citalopram. So after a few days of giving up everything, i started feeling like i was about to pass out. Eyes would feel like they were rolling to the back of my head and then brought back to reality with some sort of shock as amyyetta described. I felt like i was seeing things too. It has been about a week since this started and i have been to the doctors and had blood tests the lot and they still didn't have a clue what was wrong. But now i have read all the posts on here esp amyyetta (thank you again) i feel more at ease. I just hoping that it doesn't last for long as i need to get back to work.

Hi there - I just wanted to let you know that i'm coming off of Citalopram to try for another baby, - I'm currently writing a blog and feel that this may help some people

Good luck everyone and keep smiling

[url]sarahjane373.wordpress.com/[/url]

Hi guys,
I have been on escitalopram and citalopram ( not together) more or less for the last 6 years at least. I am now trying to wean myself off of them slowly ( thanks so much all of you for sharing your experiences ).
This is just to tell people who are apprehensive about starting anti-ds that these tabs have probably saved my life.
Please don't hesitate to start them if you really need help dealing with your depression. I now deal with life one problem at a time..... Deal with your depression now and deal with the withdrawal when you come to that stage.
I have gained weight too ( but I was never a slim girl) and I have had some problems with my sex life as well but I don't regret having started them. .
Take care all xx

Not everyone gets these withdrawals from SSRIs. I'm a MH nurse and really underestimated it till I had to come off mine-it was awful. Had like a feeling of electricity in my head. Had to taper mega mega slowly but did it in the end.

Hi all you mums, I'm not a mum or even a woman, I am a father and grandfather. I have been reading your messages regarding citalopram withdrawal symptons.I have been feeling unwell for about a week now, had no idea what was wrong with me until now. I am getting the dizziness, the woozy loss of balance feeling, the headaches, the weird mild electric shock type sensation when I turn my head quickly, feeling slightly nauseous, all the things you describe are happening to me since I tried getting off the drug, obviously I need to do it over a long period as I have been on 40mg per day for over 5 years. I did cut down to 20mg for two weeks then 10mg for another two weeks, then 10mg every other day for a week then stopped altogether about a week ago. I thought I had some virus or something as everything felt so wrong but I had no fever so it didnt make sense. It must be the citalopram withdrawal, it all fits with what I've read, so dont despair your'e far from alone, I know exactly how you feel, good luck to you all, I am quite relieved as I was worried I had some mysterious illness, never felt symptons like this before, at least I think I know whats going on now.

I didn't see this thread when I started to come off Citalopram a few weeks ago.
I was lucky; GP supervised coming off dose very slowly over couple of months, and apart from week or so of vivid dreams, no problems.
I would definitely take them again - so sorry to hear so many people had bad experiences.

I have been on citalopram and tamazipan for ten years i had no side effects while i was on them,but three weeks ago my dr told me i would have to come of them I was dropped down from 40mg then to 20mg and then 10mg all in three weeks I knew nothing about about withdrawal symptons feel

as if i am going mad my head feels as if i am leaving it behind i have electric shocks going through my head im very dizzy feel sick and have cramps,i called the out of drs and told me it is withdrawal symptons. Can anyone tell me how long it will last.I am trying to do normal things but am finding it very hard Keep having bouts of crying have seen doc today tells me im doing well and should feel better soon.Glad i found rhis thread.

I have been on citalopram for two years. I went up to 30mg and gradually over the last 5 months, I have stopped taking them. I have now been off them for 2 weeks and my GP said nothing about withdrawal symptoms. I have been snappy, having headaches, sleepy and now I'm having night sweats. I was worried at first but now I have read other websites and realised it's not me going mad (for once lol)I feel a lot better. I have read these symptoms can last up to 6 weeks, so hang on in there and don't give up.

I think with any anti-d or neurological drug the side effects and / or withdrawal are hard to tolerate for a few weeks - because they affect the way your brain works.
So don't worry + give it time. When i had my second breakdown citalopram literally saved my life - although ultimately it hasn't cured my depression as i have BPD + atypical depression. Am now on venlafaxine, and on epilim (as mood stabiliser). Epilim is horrible, but i recommend venlafaxine.