Yeah they cross tapered me over a months time. Was on 60 mg of cit for about 4 months from July of2016 to Nov 2016. Then I was put on the fluoxetine worked up to 60 mg then back down to 40mg. Have been on the 40 mg since Jan 12th. I've had the better times like I said a good 9 to 10 weeks after starting were rough. Then for almost 5 weeks a lot better. Then followed by 8 days rough but maybe not as bad but not good. Then 3 days of better and now I'm on 8 days of rough again. I don't know what to think about it. Today I had to take a clonozapam. I have a drs appt tomorrow with my psychiatrist. So just don't wanna have to up them. Hoping I improve but sure makes enduring tough.
Oops was on citalopram since 2010. At 40 then 20mg and was doing fine till the accident. Is it possible to go back to citalopram after I've been off of it for a while?
I know all being different is what stinks. Too bad their not like aspirin or Tylenol where one works most everyone.
In the UK the maximum dose on Citalopram is 40mg - you can't take 60mg here. How did you feel taking that dose? Some people even struggle taking 40mg.
You do seem to have had a some good long periods of feeling well on Fluoxetine so I imagine its waiting again for this latest blip to pass.
I'm sure you can go back to any meds - something to discuss with your doctor though. Maybe give the Flu longer though - they do take a long while.
I know ..... shame they're not as quick too. These meds are so annoying too.
Hey Kate. I'm on the 60 mg of citalopram I think it was too high I would sleep but I also felt hyperactive. Actually did OK on the 20 mg before the accident. I went to the doctor today. My psychiatrist she was a feel in for my regular that's on leave. She wants me to lower the dosage to 20 mg of flux at 10 she wants to try that she thinks that the 40 may be too high. And also gave me something to help me sleep. I guess I'll try it.
Oops. Meant to say when I was on 60 mg of citalopram. Not I'm on
And I don't know why there's a 10 in there either. Scratch the 10. She thinks the 40 may be too high so she wants me to move to 20. Hope I don't endure withdrawal.
One of those days with numbers everywhere eh?
I recovered on 20mg Citalopram and always think why take more than you need anyway. When I recovered I stayed on that dose for a few years and then lowered to 10mg which I stayed on for many years.
If you were on 20mg before the accident, it often takes something stressful or traumatic to tip the balance a bit which makes people start to feel unwell again. You body had one huge shock so its not surprising it would react the way it did and suspect it probably would have righted itself eventually. During that time when your body wasn't in great physical shape it probably wasn't the best time to start playing with the meds and especially upping to 60mg ..... that's 3 x the dose you were on ..... but that's all said in hindsight now.
It may well be the 40mg Fluox is too much for you - its always trial and error getting the meds correct and then the dose too. Can you come down slowly to the desired dose - 35, 30, 25 then 20??? Just in case? Might be kinder to your system than just halving?
K x
That's what I asked her and she said the 20mg dose drop should be fine. I know better but what do I do? Pharmacist said the same.
And I thought the same thing about the moving up on dosage during the accident. A lot of it was pain pill withdrawal not to mention the anesthetics but I was nieve about a lot of it then. Had never experienced opiate meds before.
Well ..... doctors mean well and are well qualified ..... but they're not the ones taking the meds so don't know how they feel. You could try taking 1 at 20mg and see how you feel maybe ........ if you feel unsure though, insist on reducing slowly. Its your body.
Yeah I will. Kate is it possible what they say about a dose being too high and causing hieghtend anxiety and spacey feeling, Naseuia, etc.? the side effects I guess is what I'm trying to say
I was expecting them to say go up on it I guess.
Yes definitely. Some people have posted on here that they've felt better when they've reduced their dose. A high dose doesn't mean you'll get better quicker either - its about what dose suits you comfortably.
Thanks Kate. What is a good taper down schedule? Was reluctant to lower took the same dosage last night. My psychiatrist is out on leave and a practitioner filled in for her. Just nervous about it. Sure she is very good and knowledgeable. Just nervous.
Will I have to wait months again before leveling off?
I may just be getting impatient. I don't know. I'm 16 weeks and 3 days. These last few days have been the worst yet when I thought 5 to 6 days ago were the worst. Just wanna recover from it. Do you think moving down would be optimal at this point? On the citalopram I settled at 40 then at 20 even at 60 before it messed up. I don't know. When I get to thinking about it I just go in circles.
Oh and how much does lack of sleep play in anxiety? She did prescribe me trazadone for sleep. 50 mg. Said there was no addiction problems with it.
Well when I came off Citalopram I tapered down by 5mg each time and stayed on each lowered dose about 1-2 months before further reducing. Fluoxetine I believe is different as know the max dose is much higher than the Cit max dose, so you could ask your doctor if you could do it by 10mg maybe. Do check with her though as its always best to follow proper medical advice
Its always trial and error getting the right meds and then the right dose to suit you, as sadly there isn't a 'one pill / dose fixes everyone'. When I first started meds back in the 90's my first was Seroxat which was great, but it gave me anger issues (was like PMT on a grand scale), so was changed to another meds (forget the name now) and loved that one but it was eventually withdrawn from sale and I was put onto Citalopram. So though all the meds worked for me, it was 3rd time lucky I found one that agreed with me symptom wise. I've taken Citalopram twice too - after coming off it some years ago I had to return to it as stress / family illness affected me. I'm since off it again.
Whatever dose you move to there'll be some settling in I'm sure but I don't expect it'll be months.
Oh yes - sleep certainly affects me. If I don't get enough sleep I can start to feel low and know that if I don't rest and get to bed earlier it'll get worse.
I've never taken trazadone, but know a lot of people do have other meds to help with sleep etc. My son did - he took Fluoxetine and Mirtazapine.
K x