Insomnia after citalopram withdrawal - help!

[Sufferingwithinsomnia]

I’m hoping someone might have had some positive experiences after coming off/tapering down from citalopram, particularly with the insomnia side effect.

I’ve been on it for about 4 years after suffering post natal depression and have tapered down to 2.5mg very slowly for about a year and a half. I’ve now been taking 2.5 every two days with a view to stopping altogether. Recently though, I’ve been experiencing horrible insomnia and I feel desperate. I can’t seem to fall asleep until 2-3 in the morning and that’s usually after getting really upset each night. I’ve tried Nytol and other antihistamines. These don’t seem to work much anymore. I’ve been prescribed zopliclone which helps but I can’t rely on this. I’m certain this is a side effect from reducing citalopram as it definitely helped with my sleep. I really don’t want to go back on it as it caused huge weight gain.
does anyone have any experiences of this and how long their insomnia lasted? Mine has been very bad for about four weeks now and with three young children, I feel really low about how to cope. Thank you :)

Bumping in case anyone else has had this :)

Commenting to hopefully increase traffic on your post! I am currently coming down on my citalopram dosage, this is the second time I've come off it but this time I've been on it for much longer (about 8 years, this was for horrendous PND/ PNA whereas last time was more general depression and a lower dose). I haven't had the insomnia so I'm afraid I have no advice, only sympathy. I've found GPs can be a bit dismissive of the side effects of coming off it and I've had to argue with mine about reducing the dosage very slowly, but it sounds as if you've done everything right coming down very gradually. Is there any chance there are other factors at play, eg could you be perimenopausal, which might affect your sleep? I hope you get some answers and that your sleep improves. 💐

Thank you for your post :)
Sadly I don’t think there’s anything else at play - I’ve read some fairly horrifying Reddit threads of people experiencing the same delayed insomnia and have never got rid of it so I thought I’d see if there’s anyone that’s had a positive outcome from it! You’re right that GPs are really dismissive. I came off once before about three years ago and had horrible side effects. I’ve been on 2.5mg now for months and the GP told me it wouldn’t be doing anything - but since I started reducing even the 2.5mg, I’ve noticed side effects. The insomnia is persistent and severe and it’s really getting me down. I’ve read how hard it is to come off SSRIs and I wish there was more
help involved.
You sounds like you’re doing well with your tapering down! How are you feeling about coming off them?

Sorry, that does sound really rubbish for you. Last time I came off them I had the brain zaps the worst, but I can't remember much else about other side effects, just that it took over a year to come off. I wish I'd come off them sooner this time but covid got in the way after I came down from 40mg to 20mg and I didn't want to rock the boat any further! Then I didn't go back to the doctor for years until I got fed up of the weight gain. I am alternating 10mg and 20mg and I have already noticed that I can cry at sad things on TV again! I feel that they make me a bit numb, I call it emotionally constipated! Which is another reason to come off. But I'm a bit worried I'm case I can't cope with life without them! How do you get 2.5mg? The smallest dosage I had before was 10mg and I just took it every other day, every 3 days etc etc till I came off.

That’s so great you’re feeling good having come down so far! I remember having the brain zaps before when I came off them a few years ago, and felt really dizzy. This time as I’ve done it so slowly I didn’t get any zaps. I went down in 5mg every few months. The doctors prescribed me 10mg pills so I cut my pills in half and then quarters for 2.5mg! The doctor said it wouldn’t be doing anything (the 5mg and then the 2.5mg dose) but I know it was helping me a bit. I also found the doctors were really dismissive of how hard it is to come off the SSRIs and how long
it would take.
My insomnia is by far the worst thing that’s happened - I was so worried I wouldn’t cope mood wise but after a blip/low period I’m actually feeling ok again! I really hope you feel ok coming off them too :)

Hi @Sufferingwithinsomnia I just wondered how you're doing now? I really hope things have improved for you. I'm down to 10mg now but decided with my GP to leave it there till after Christmas (I work for a church so it's a busy time of year and we thought it best not to rock the boat!)

In the meantime I've been diagnosed with both autism and ADHD, and during one of my assessments I discussed the citalopram with the psychiatrist. He said two interesting things - one that neurodivergent people are often more sensitive to the effects of medication, and the other was that the last stage of coming off medications completely is a lot harder on your body than reducing the dose. So that gives a bit more ammunition with the GP about reducing more gradually.

Hope you're doing ok, and Happy Christmas! 🎄🌟