Going off citalopram

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So I've been off citalopram for a few weeks now. I was originally on it for depression and anxiety, but it was making me feel unwell and lethargic so I'm switching to a new drug.

I'm actually quite surprised by how much my mood has improved since being on citalopram. Going off of it made me go back to my old irritable, insufferable self. I had withdrawal symptoms despite gradually reducing the dose, which sucked but I got over it eventually. I don't feel as bad now, but earlier it was a constant feeling of being miserable.

My doctor wants me to wait a little longer before going on a new SSRI and that's understandable. My only concern is that my mood makes it difficult for me to concentrate or do my work properly and anti depressants were really helping me to cope. Also, the removal of the citalopram worsened my anxiety. I've been irritable and hard to live with, so I'm a little impatient at this point.

Oh well - that's simply the price I have to pay in order to get back to being more functional. And gladly, it hasn't rendered me totally unable to work (it's just a huge effort).

Anyone have any citalopram stories they wanna share? I hear most people hate it.

I was told that it takes as long as a month of misery to adapt to this drug. I stopped taking it after a few weeks just like that. I think my shrink was / is pretty pissed with me It gave me one horrible cramp and I just lost my highs and made me more suicidal than usual which is quite something. Seems that I am nothing without my obsessions. I am anxious about taking these meds at all for some reason, I cannot bear the sudden change they bring to my brain.

I had a very similar experience with citalopram. I also have difficulty with finding the right meds still haven't and I'm not picky when I feel different I just get freaked out. One time I went super manic on a med I took two days in a row. It was Lorazepam.

I found it very helpful. After a couple of weeks (although it felt like a very long wait), I became more consistenly happy and stopped thinking about suicide. I didn't notice any side effects, and I followed all the directions, including going off it slowly. I was very resistant to taking it -- I'd prefer to try and find a way to live with my 'normal' brain chemistry -- but it did help me go from a very bad place to a much better one and I haven't needed to take it since. I think it can be very helpful, but I notice that many anti-depression drugs have suicide as a side-effect. A pharmacist I know thinks they can make a really depressed person have enough energy to top themselves. Still, they must do more good than harm.

Citalopram assuaged my anxiety, and I felt was some help against depression. It made me docile and more easily manipulated though, which caused me some distress.

I didn't like it. It did a good job numbing my emotions, and got me through a tough time. But, it made me more likely to act inapropriately in social situations. Something I do off the drug, but didn't care that I did it while on citalopram. So I didn't try to act. Near chemical castration was a mixed blessing too. Also, coming off the drug there were times I'd feel really spaced out, and it affected my job performance. It was a bad enough experience that I don't want to try another drug.

Last time I cam off it, nothing unusual happened but I was only taking 20mg. This time I'm taking 40mg and I might need to cut down soon so I can go on Mirtazapine. I'm not looking forward to that, but I'm taking a long break from work, so that should make it less problematic.

Coming off citalopram was an awful experience for me - if you got irritable then that could well have been a side effect if it was temporary. For some of us, it causes extreme anger & emotional volatility, not great esp for anyone who has problems with aggression.

puddingmouse - hope mirtazapine works for you, I had no problems coming off it but it did make me extremely hungry which is a common side effect !

I had a nightmare with Citalopram! It calmed my mood swings down a little, however it destroyed my stomach completely and now I have IBS. I was feeling so much better in the summer this year that I decided that I would like to come off it. My psychiatrist agreed and told me to reduce it slowly. What happened next was horrible. I kept getting massive 'electric shocks' down the back of my neck and back. It felt like my brain was being zapped with a taser! I became distressed, violent and destructive. By the time I was down to 10mg, I felt like I was dying. I was shaking all the time, getting the massive zaps and my mood was really low. By this point I was desperate for help so I went online and searched Citalopram withdrawal. It turns out that brain zaps are a common side effect of coming off Citalopram. The best option to stop the brain zaps would be to go on a low dose of fluoxetene (Prozac). Sure enough, when I started taking the fluoxetene, the brain zaps stopped and I actually felt mentally well again. The Citalopram made me feel like my brain was wrapped in a cloud or haze but the fluoxetene helped my depression but didn't knock me out or give me stomach problems. I have recently had to up the dose of fluoxetene because I get SAD during the winter months.

I HATE CITALOPRAM AND I HATE THE LYING DOCTOR WHO TOLD ME IT WAS EASY TO COME OFF!! !!

I'm sure your doctor meant no harm. Citalopram affects everyone's bodies differently and clearly the doctor thought that the benefits outweighed the risks. I'm sorry that it affected you so badly.

Thanks for sharing your story.

When I was on it I was numb emotionally. off it I think it caused frequent mood swings and actually increased my anxiety levels. but I didn't want to go on a second dose so I had to cope with my depression using other means than medicine. The mood swings made me indecisive.

Sorry to hear that. My doc prob knew nothing about side effects, no warning given, but I chose to come off in my own time. I too felt so bad that I researched the side effects, and found accounts from other people going through very tough times with the withdrawal effects.

One piece of advice I took and used was that you have to withdraw VERY slowly, with VERY small reductions (to the point where I was taking chips off a tablet) & let your body adapt before going further down. I did a week on each, then went to fractions every so many days etc to cut the dosage down in ever more ridiculously small amounts - but if I tried to stop the tiny amounts abruptly I would feel the symptoms returning - so this really was a very clear signal as to what my body was telling me.

The nightmares, electric shocks, emotional lability, extreme hostility/being upset over silly little things, aghh, not a pleasant drug at all. Thankfully not everyone reacts this way, but enough do suffer to make me wonder why the clinicians are not cogniscent of this.

A thousand internet anecdotes aren't necessarily all lies, and I am grateful for the information I found that made me realise I wasn't falling apart & that it may take months but that I would survive the withdrawal process. It did take months, but I am glad I did it.
However I will never willingly take that stuff again.

I don't really remember my experience with citalopram but I get the feeling that was the one that probably made the bigest long term effect on my memory ha.
But I'm getting over it now (after 2/3 years).
I think anti-downers tend to make my moods swing a bit. And I think that one might have also made me more depressed after a few weeks. I don't think I stayed on it long.

It is funny how when you go off anti-downers, you realise how they were actually helping, secretly, in a small way. lol

I was prescribed Citalopram by my doctor a couple of days ago, and from what I've read about it on here since it's mainly been described quite negatively. I just hope I don't suffer like many people here have suffered from it.

I'll keep you all informed on my progress.

Yeah everyone responds differently. Also sometimes what didn't work before might work another time you need anti downers too. (I got that with Mirtazapine, the pill didn't work but the dissolvable version was good.) I hope it works for you. =]

Thanks.