I am afraid I have become a frequent visitor here.
Nearly 16 weeks on cit.
1 week on 10mg
1 week on 20mg
6 weeks on 30mg
4 weeks on 40mg
4 weeks on 30mg
2 days on 20mg
First 7 weeks were great then crashed so dose went up. Felt terrible like I was on speed stuck it out for 4 weeks but dropped. Still felt terrible but less like I was on speed. Decided to drop to 20mg as I felt so good starting up. I ve been getting migranes which my GP things may be cit related.
I felt good last night but awful now. Dizzy, nausea, anxious, tingling, head pressure. I feel worse than before I started.
I also take 45mg of mirtazapine and diazepam. Psych won t let me reduce on anything else.
My question is am I starting from scratch on 20mg and will I withdraw. I feel so lost. I know moving my dose has not helped matters but I was following advice. Maybe I should just give up on cit or stick out 20mg with no changes and see what happens ?
At least citalopram is still in your system instead of going back to 0, and if you ever decide to go back to 0 mg, you should always taper off instead of cold turkey so you don't go through the withdrawal symptoms. Take it from me, I didn't taper off over long enough period of time and got the weird zappy feelings. I can see you tapered over several weeks which is great, but just continue to monitor it and hopefully a lower dosage can help to address the migraines.
Hope you feel better soon!
Hi Sarah, am not sure anyone but your GP should be commenting on what dose you should be taking but you've been having some big changes in dose in a small period of time which is bound to confuse your body. Maybe best sticking with one dose for a while...give yourself a chance to a customise to it. I was on cit for a year, same dose all the way through until I weaned off for two months. Go easy on yourself. Change doesn't happen overnight. X
Thanks Violetlily
I know my dose has moved around a lot. Wish I d just stayed on 20mg.
I m not sure how long to give on a steady dose of 20mg before I give up on this med. I have a 9 month old son and can t be this unwell.
How long did it take for you to feel better on a steady dose ? Why did you come off and how was it ?
Hi Sarah,
Sounds like your not having the best of times. All I can say is personally, some meds are not suitable for certain individuals and if I were having such a difficult time as you seem to be, I would wean off them and try a natural alternative such as 5htp. This is what I have done and I am very pleased with the result. My take is that playing around with dosage is never a good thing as it is not helping the brain stabalize. Citiliprim always had side effects for me such as insomnia, nausea and low libido, or should I say, no Libido. Withdrawing made insomnia worse for around six weeks, sleeping well now and no nausea which indicates to me that those meds were not suitable for me. Maybe that is the case in your situation.Do not try 5 htp untill your system is rid of the cit chemical as combining the two can have disasterous effects. Hope this has helped you. I personally wish I had never started in Cit but we all at some time reach a low ebb and dive for a magical pill to relieve our suffering.Hang in there Sarah, your not alone.
Hi Sarah. I felt better properly after about three months. I had anxiety not depression. Psychologically I started feeling better about a month into it though mainly from feeling I was doing something constructive about the anxiety. It took me a while to get back on my feet. Had to stay with my mum for a while as I really wasn't functioning. I also started an exercise program - running small distances and gradually building up. I found the routine and endorphins helped too. Find something else as well that makes you feel better, that makes you feel like you are taking care of yourself
I came off it because I felt it had done its job but the GP had told me to expect to be on it for a year and I think she was right. I would say there were withdrawal symptoms which they don't make you aware of. Dizziness, lightheaded, but it does pass after a couple of months. Nothing too concerning but really wean yourself off them over a couple of months!! Very imp.
You'd be surprised how many of us feel like this at some point. Think of it as a wake up call of something that is not working on your life. You won't be here forever. Promise. Stay strong. X