Came off citalopram just over week ago wondering whether to take this. Very wary as says it affects the serotonin has similar effect to SSRI 's which made anxiety and everything whole lot worse than before I took them. Has anyone else used it, as I had bad exoerience with citalopram wondering if best to avoid it in my case?
i would completely avoid anything for a while hun, just let your system settle on its own for abit, your body and brain need a rest and time to adjust, adding more things especially those that affect seretonin in any way will just confuse your brain and body, try magnesium, and other natural remedies except st johns wort, just vitamins etc, what withdrawals are you getting? ive got 3 days left on 10mg then im off, i can see improvements drastically, ive been feeling much better, ive had one bad morning where i was crying, but by the afternoon i was fine xx
That's what I thought. I'm up and down, did read the acute stage of withdrawal can be 1-4 weeks, had couple crying meltdown days, but was expecting that to start with. The OCD still not great but think will take while as was on them for 6 months and they did lot of damage. Really glad I came off them, sleep not great last couple nights but been stifling hot here. Son came down and felt normal for a day long time since felt like that. Had awful sinus on them that improved a lot.Let us know how you do making the final jump hope you continue to improve!
How is your sleep, mine not been good last few days but think maybe could be very hot weather here. Find I'm getting quite angry at things and snappy especially fact zopiclone has ruined my life. I's very easy to get addicted to it any withdrawal can take years if you've been on it a while. At least not getting cravings fir citalopram like i did with zopiclone. Least 1st week done!
i have never slept well since all this has been going on really, especially not last few days im in the uk, ive been having anger outburts i find too but thats about it xx
If you do decide to supplement I'd still go for L-Tryptophan rather than 5-HTP, Tryptophan conversion is how your body makes Serotonin anyway so you're just giving it more of the raw ingredient. Tryptophan to Serotonin conversion is rate-limited so less likelihood of pushing it too far in the other direction.
Just in case you're interested the conversion is:
Tryptophan -> 5-HTP -> 5-HT (aka serotonin)
It's the first step that's rate-limited i.e. taking 5-HTP skips that step but that may not be the best option.
It may be of interest also to know that melatonin is made from serotonin.
Feel bit more hopeful found blog/ website of psychologist in US who'se been through withdrawal, she said intrusive thoughts very common symptom of benzo withdrawal which zopiclone basically is. Said anti depressants will just make it worse and advised against any supplements said if didnt have before will eventually go. Just feel angry that if I'd never taken citalopram or zopiclone would have a normal life not going through all this. Hope u sleep least it's cooler today!!!
Slept bit better last night think it was the really hot weather making it worse. Think will avoid any supplements fir moment brain needs to recover from the drugs i think. Have you dropped meds any more?
Nope, still at 5mg.
Going to try supplement called inositol just for week meant help OCD doesnt seem have side effects that others have. Have read SSRI's only work for half of people, and can have paradoxical effect, just wish GP's would warn you instead of touting them as the cure all that they clearly aren't for everyone. Thinking back although I wasnt great , compared to how I felt on them was actually quite well in comparison so glad i came off them even though withdrawal tough at moment. Just wish come off lit sooner.
Meant to say compared to how I was on them was a lot better before I started them. Think they seem good for depression but think can make anxiety a lot worse, they don'T warn you about that one. Not eating a lot so hopefully might loose some weightt.
how are you doing?
I think they work for some people and the difference is probably to do with the underlying cause of their condition e.g. is it serotonin or dopamine or norepinephrine or a combination or something else?
Unfortunately it's very difficult to test the levels of all these things, hence all the trial and error.
Inositol is a funny one, I've seen some claims that it can help with various conditions but be warned the effects reportedly take several weeks and the doses need to be quite high e.g. 12g and higher per day - you'd want to build up slowly otherwise there's a good chance of some, erm, 'inconvenient' side effects.
If you're looking at supplements the other one I'd research is N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) as there are some promising studies using it for OCD-related issues.
Like I don't want to be here to be honest. Withdrawal pretty brutal been in tears a lot. Have read acute stage lasts 1-4 weeks can't see I'm ever going to be back to how I was before stopping zopiclone. Hope things fare better with you anywaya x
It is going to pass, it is temporary, every day is a step closer.
Thanks Charlie, in hindsight instead of listening to everyone telling me to stay on them longer should gone with my gut feeling come off them liot sooner. Done more research and realised can make things worse for some and don't work for quite a few people. Probably didnt help as did take a zopiclone Sunday night in desperation to try calm things. Can see why people struggle coming off citalopram. How are you?
Last couple of days have been an improvement but it's a fickle thing so not counting chickens yet! Yes, I wish after say, 3 months, I'd have tried something else - I don't expect a 'cure' in that time frame but I probably should have seen an improvement of some kind. This is now the 3rd SSRI I've tried so I think a new angle is needed, I don't think serotonergic meds are a good fit for me.
Found they only work in 40-60% of people and can actually cause ocd. Think can work well for depression but if it's anxiety think can make it worse. Seem to only work well at higher doses that i couldn't tolerate think 10mg was just too low . Very hard when everyone advising you to stay longer on them, made things lot worse in my case Getting quite scary dreams now. If you can find the right therapist think they are more effective to be honest. Least I know to avoid them in future, hope you improve whatever you do.
How are you doing have you stopped them yet? One thing I will say is with the zopiclone was definitely addicted to it and had awful cravings when I stopped it's nasty drug, don'T think anti depressants are so addictive so haven't felt thatat all.