Hello all
I was on citalopram 20mg x 1 a day for the last 6 months, I have stopped this medication last week and since then I feel so bad, I am nauseaous, shaky, electric shock feelings in my legs, numbness, tiredness WTF!
Maybe I should not have just stopped right? But I felt that it was doing me no good! Anyone feel the same once they stopped this medication
You should never stop these meds 'cold turkey' as you'll become very ill as you're just discovering. These meds need weaning off over many, many months. I spent a whole year coming off 20mg and had no withdrawal effects. I came off some years before that a little quicker (but still over months) and had withdrawal.
If you came off last week then speak to your doctor now about reintroducing half the amount and then easing back up to 20mg again. Once you've settled then start withdrawing slowly. I did it by buying a pill cutter and went from 20 / 15 / 10 / 5 / 2.5 / 1.25 / 0 with each reduction lasting about 1-2 months.
K x
Hello
Thank you - you are right I feel hurrendous, why I just stopped them is beyond me, feels like they werent working, I have done the wrong thing, feels like I have been on a merry go round and its that vertigo and nauseous feeling and thick head! - thank you for your advice.
Yes the withdrawal symptoms are pretty awful, and they don't wear off quickly either. Best to reintroduce them (the quicker the better), wait until you settle and then wean off.
You were on them for 6 months - did you not get any days of feeling ok?
K x
Its like a hangover but just 10 x worse...YUK!
Yes I will tonight, did not think of this when I thought they were not doing me any good
Whilst I was on them I was still having anxiety (I suffer the most with Health anxiety) but the thoughts used to diminish quite quickly before the panic could even settle in, I thought it would take the anxiety away all together hence why I stopped them as got fed up
Yes - I remember the withdrawal well - nausea, headaches, brain zaps, dizziness, feeling detached ...... Did you stop on your own or did your doctor know you were stopping too?
Citalopram does help stop the anxiety - these meds take a long, long time to work and during recovery the anxiety will come and go too. Thoughts are a side effect of anxiety and these will diminish when the anxiety eases too.
I'll send you a link xx
Its so gross, I though I was pregnant at one stage as they symptoms are so similar
No, I just decided to stop on my own, I am struggling with some coughing and throat issues right now which is hyping my anxiety so badly and I thought sod all the medication
Hi Kate, how long did your withdrawals last? I was only on these for 21 days before I couldn't take the side effects any longer... After 4 days I felt extreme brain zap, confusion, severe anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. That's when I got scared and decided to stop this poison. I weened off for roughly 5 days before stopping altogether. It's now been 6 weeks since stopping, and I still feel anxious, constant fears and worrying, and feeling detached like I'm not myself at all. I'm actually really worried these feelings are permanent.
I also found out my wife had an affair after only being married for 1 year which started me on these in the first place. But I haven't decided what to do, and our lives have been in limbo for 4 months causing anxiety as well.
Please tell me these fears and worrying will eventually go away
Hi Dobber
Withdrawal time all depends on how long you've taken the meds and how you withdraw from them too. I took meds for 16 years and the first time I came off them I spent around 5 months maybe (I forget) withdrawing and halved my meds each time. It was still too quick and though I didn't have severe withdrawal, it was still really unpleasant feeling sick, heady with brain zaps all the time. I remember it lasted months for me and the brain zaps lasting the longest.
The meds are serious stuff and tough to take, though they don't suit everyone ... but they're a godsend for many.
Its stress that causes anxiety - and its actually our body's natural alarm system kicking in telling you to slow down as its reached its maximum stress levels.
You sound like you're suffering symptoms of anxiety more than the withdrawal. Anxiety causes fears, worry, panic, physical aches and pains, that detached feeling, panic, headaches, sickness, lethargy ........ and we often start to worry about these symptoms which then produce more anxiety, keeping you in a constant loop as you feed the anxiety.
Sorry to hear of your troubles - I can that's why you're feeling so stressed.
These fears will all go away in time. Its the anxiety that keeps them there.
I'll send you a link.
K x
Yes they are quite similar to pregnancy - that constant nauseau especialy.
I must admit I did stop the meds on my own too, but knew they'd make me ill when withdrawing as even taking a dose late used to make me feel really sick and heady. So the first time even though I thought I was doing it slowly (halving each time and spent about 5 months ??? withdrawing) I still felt ill.
Second time around was much better and had no withdrawal and did it even slower and with minimal decreasing.
Coughing and throat issues can be annoying - is it a virus?
Hi Kate
Well I took a 20mg tablet last night as I normally would and I do feel slightly better today (hold thumbs)...
My cough has been going on for about 7 months now and the Dr's are literally at a loss, I am currently being treated for asthma for the next 6 weeks and if this fails I will be transferred to Respiratory, again, anxiety kicks in thinking its lung cancer.......
That's good you feel a bit easy - it'll take a few days I expect before your body settles again.
I read a side effect of Citalopram can include cold symptoms such as a cough / sort throat so your doctors might want to look at that. We all react differently to meds.
No I doubt very much its lung cancer ..... anxiety plays havoc with our thoughts, making us always think the worst.
K x
Hi again Kate
I started taking the citalopram again and I am starting to feel a little better (touch wood).
The cough is just annoying and they testing me for asthma so see what that brings but the more the symptoms are here the worse the anxiety settles, its such a massive vicious tiring circle!
My HA settles around Lung cancer or any cancer for that matter, petrifies me so badly to the point I cant do anything
Sorry for the delay .....
Glad you started feeling a little better - the nauseau and headiness will ease soon.
How long have you had the cough and throat issues?
Hey there, the nauseous feeling has left me but cough and wheeze and horrid feeling in my throat started last year, left me and now its back with a vengeance, im so scared
I was on cit for 2 months as my doctor believed I had depression and anxiety. After 4 weeks my mood was the same but my throats starting getting tight all the time. I looked into it and anxiety can cause that sensation and cit can increase anxiety, also cit can cause stomach stress which can cause reflux which can cause throats issues. So I came off. Cold turkey had one day of throwing up but since have felt better but the throat is still pestering me, but it takes around a week for cit to get out of your system so maybe I'm almost through this stretch
So did the throat and cough thing start when you started the meds? Is it a coincidence it feels worse now you've started back on meds?
I read the meds can cause some people to have a cough and throat issues. Its interesting its picked up again since you restarted.
Hi again
Started the citalopram again and the nausea has left left me alone
I started presenting with a cough and wheeze in my throat prob Jan 2016. It kind of went away and its now been nagging since Feb/march 2017. I started citalopram in Jan. Its probably the most panicking thing i am encountering at the moment. Upper throat feels like not enough air is getting into my lungs and the wheeze is in my throat is hurrendous and i have it every single day. Dr says its mild asthma. Been on a brown preventer inhaler for 8 days now and no difference the blue inhaler for a quick fix takes the wheeze away but it comes back after a few hours. Im so panicked and on edge I cant live my life anymore
Its actually more tolerable one day to the next. I coughed so much last niggt I just kept waking up in a daze and then falling asleep again. Im so sick of it, its making me feel like I am dying literally waiting for the diagnosis. Sorry its so irrational but nothing else can cause these persistent symptoms
Coughing at night is often worse because of laying down ...... so annoying as it disturbed sleep.
When is the diagnosis due back?