decreased from 20mg to 10mg citalopram and had anxiety attack

Treatment and medication
1

hi, first post so excuse me if if this is mis-directed.

ive been on 20mg of citalopram for just over a year. about a month ago as i felt good i decided to cut down to 10mg. went fine, little head zap now and again but overall felt great. i went for a new job a couple of weeks ago and it was a 4 stage process. out of my comfort zone, i was really excited to have been offered it last Thursday. i went to the gym as normal, came home and celebrated with some champagne, 3/4 bottle to be precise. looking back i must have been dehydrated and i don't know if this acted like a trigger but come Friday morning i woke up confused, and in the beginnings of an anxiety attack, which has led me to have all the classic symptoms. i haven't had these symptoms since i started these (they really did help and do work) and i was wondering if anyone had decreased then increased back to their original dose? i could do without this right now..

2

Hi aj I did the same yesterday had massive panic wave come over me

Ive been on cit for 5 months and its change my life around

I had to deacrease because I was waking up with massive headache

I cut my tablets in half been doing that for 2 months

Feeling good but I do have moments!!

I just imagine its cutting down which is a good thing but be wary

Keep strong

3

thanks gill. ive gone from my old self to waking up early thinking my world is nigh and eating like a bird...since Friday. have felt alot more hungry in the evenings though strangely enough.

4

I was on citilapram for 3 years 20mg i think it was. Been off them for two now. I had many side effects only one was not detrimental and that was when I first started to take them I found it difficult to stop laughing,everything seemed to be funny that lasted about 4 -6 weeks. Although it was embarrassing at times he he. The rest varied from mildly unpleasant to very unpleasant and some are still with me two years after stopping. Thing is whenever you change your dose up down or stopping anxiety will follow.

5

thanks zapper. i think it was partially down the gym where i smash it hard and sweat loads and become dehydrated. then mixing that with achohol. i should have learnt from years ago when i played gold all day in the sun then went straight out on it and the next day had a huge attack in the middle of the night?...div. for me it certainly seems to be a trigger. question is how long will it take for the 20mg dose to kick back in..

6

Hey AJ,

I've been taking citalopram for 10 months to try and pull me out of my severe state of anxiety and from having panic attacks. I found it to be a god send and feel strong enough to come off. Alchohol was always a danger for me when on them. I would wake up in a panic or with the anxiety unpleasantries often after a big night. I found vitamin B and sodium to help in this department.

I'm on my 3rd day of slowly coming off of citalopram and am feeling dissassociation and hot and cold sweats, not dissimilar to the side effects when I started taking them. Hopefully this will only be temporary as were the original side effects.

Have you continued to reduce? or are you back on 20mgs? They have a 30 hour release into your blood stream so can take a couple of days to get you back to that level. How long have you been taking 20mgs?

Would be interested to know any other side effects you had coming off of them.

7

hi Kelly,

im back up to 20mg after suffering a relapse last weekend. about 6 weeks ago i decided to try and cut down and reduced to 10mg a day. i experienced electric shocks in my head every now and again for about a week or so, same as i had when i started on them. i did start to feel things creeping in a couple of weeks in, but i coped with them and was going well. id had a 4 stage interview process for a job and got the offer last thursday. the usual good anxiety was there, celebrated and the relief and drink led me back into the dark hole....im a week in, been back on 20,s since saturday night.

i went to the doctors on tuesday and she literally shook her head as i said i decreased from 20 to 10mg and told her what happened. she said the decrease was severe and she advises patients to do 20 one day, 10 the next and so on. the time i was off the 20 had depleted that level so will take a couple of weeks plus to kick back in (fingers crossed, i hate being like this)

i dont know about you, but the first 2 weeks are horrible after an attack, ive lost my appetite completely and my sleep is shot to bits.

i have been on 20's from last march, and i wished id stayed on them!

8

day 9 since the relapse and 8 days back to 20 mg, feeling a bit better. still waking early but anxiety has eased to a light sweat and less negative thoughts. last night was the best i have felt since the relapse. was hungry, had a good dinner, relaxed. fingers crossed im starting to level out and slowly get back in the groove and ill be going to the gym tonight which i have kept up (bloody hard, but worth it).

if your looking to decrease, then please do so with care and the assistance of your gp, unlike i did.

9

Great to hear it's all starting to level out for you again!

10

cheers kelly, thanks for your comments. re reading your post my sister also suffered with cit and having a drink. i didnt even know she was on Ad's at the time let alone cit! she hardly drinks and has cut out caffeine entirely. if i have a big night, then i dont take the pill till the next day. also dont mix the drinks which really seem to be the monster...

im still a bit washed out and not a great appetite during the day but hoping that will come.

cheers

11

perhaps i was a bit early to be cheery..waking up early is killing me at the minute. i had bad headache yesterday afternoon but i dragged myself to the gym and had a good session.the morning sweats was bad this morning also incredibly dry mouth and reaching/vomiting motion. might have to take night nurse tonight as im struggling

12

Hi AJ

was looking to reduce my medication as only been on it for 10 days. I suffer from insomnia anyway and it makes me anxious, also had major health anxiety two weeks ago so I asked the Dr for help. I'm struggling with the side effects at the moment so was thinking that going down to 10 mg may help. Are you still on 20 mg? 

After reading your thread I just don't know what to do for the best. I'm off work sick at the moment as I just can't face it. Was hoping the medication would help with sleep anxiety so that I didn't have to rely on sleeping tablets too.

fed up😔