I have been on Citalopram on and off for the last 10 years - on 10mg for the last 4 years consistently. I'm 48. I had 4 episodes of anxiety/depression between the ages of 37 and 45, each time going back onto medication. Each time was worse than the others although in the 4th time I managed to keep working as a teacher and manage my weaning onto my meds very slowly (over a few months as I suffered terrible side effects). I left teaching in 2017 and have been much happier and stable but have also been on medication consistently since then. My periods now need tranexamic acid to manage pain and flow (I have fibroids) although they are still fairly regular. I have started to experience hot flushes in the last 2 weeks and back ache.
I just wondered if all the anxiety etc could have been managed with HRT instead of antidepressants and I'm now wondering if I do need HRT in the near future, can I replace the SSRIs with the HRt and still manage anxiety. I have brain fog at times and get my words muddled and have noticed the occasional background looming feeling of anxiety creeping back although I've not suffered it for years. I also have palpitations every so often not related to anxious stuff.
Any experiences out there of swapping one medication for another?
Thanks