Hey all, so I have been on citalopram for about 8 years now I was on 20mg but about 2 years ago I started to slowly work my way off it. I was on 10mg and about to lower to 5 so I could come off it all together, problem was I was taken ill and my panic attacks come back.
The doctor told me to up them again to 20mg so I have but my question is being on them for so long could they not be working as good? Not sure if I should change my meds.
More than likely, you tapered down too fast and set off withdrawal which can include panic. A smaller reinstatement would have likely put you right. The more we change around with dose on these meds, up and down, the more sensitized we get to them. Also, they do poop out over time.
Studies have shown that AD use over the long haul leads to treatment resistance, with the patient ending up feeling relapsed even while on the med. This is caused by the meds and the nervous system's desensitization to them, sort of like bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics. The best course is not to switch meds, but to do a properly slow taper off. You likely felt well enough to not need them anymore when you tried to come off before, and the fact that you seemingly got worse when trying to go off was due to withdrawal, not You.
Because these drugs cause oppositional compensation in the brain, we need to taper off very slowly to allow the brain to come back online without the drug. Unfortunately, this takes a lot more time than the doctors allow for with their too-fast taper schedules.
Please see the "Reducing ADs with 10% taper" in the following thread:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570
Hi Tydril
How long have you felt the panic attacks return? I'm assuming you've been on 10mg for 2 years now?
The meds don't stop working. Sometimes small stressors can upset the body rhythm so I guess this is what has happened. Being taken ill can be a wee shock for the body, and your body did what it knew, and that's to have a panic. I've taken these meds for around 20 years and went from 20mg to 10mg and stayed on that for years, and am now on 5mg.
Personally I'd stay on the meds, let the feeling be there, try and go with it and ride out the storm. I'm sure this is a passing phase.
K xx
I agree with you, I think it's a blip due to stress of being ill, just try and de stress yourself tell yourself it will all be ok soon, give it at least 2 weeks before changing dose.
best Lattifa
Yeah I was my doctor told me to up them back to 20 till all the hospital appointments are over and everything is sorted.
I will definitely stick to them for now thank you for the advice.
Good idea for now. Best sort one thing first before thinking of reducing them again. Hope all goes well with the hospital xxx