Switched from Paxil to citalopram and feeling scared

Treatment and medication
1

Hi all,

I was in the process of trying to taper off of paroxetine(generic Paxil) when I ran into trouble late April.  My anxiety was horrible, so I tried updosing a little, but ended up feeling worse and worse.  

My doctor and I decided to switch me to citalopram just over 3 weeks ago now.  I was down to 9mg of paroxetine and started on 5mg of citalopram at the same time.  Over 2 weeks I gradually increased to 10 mg of citalopram and came off of the paroxetine.  It was 1 week on Friday since I completely came off the paroxetine.  

I tried going up to 15 mg of citalopram this past Wednesday, but started feeling worse and figured it was too much too soon for me as I seem to be very sensitive to these medications.  I am gradually making my way back to 10mg.  I took 12.5mg yesterday and today.  

I guess I am just looking for reassurance that it is possible to successfully make a switch from one SSRI to another.  I have been having quite a bit of anxiety-especially in the morning.  I take lorazepam as needed, but not more than 1mg a day.  I am trying to cut back on how often I take it as I don’t want to become dependent on it.

This process is very difficult and I worry I won’t be able to stabilize on this new medication as I was really struggling with anxiety on the paroxetine before the switch.  Any advice or reassurance would be greatly appreciated

2

I don't have direct experience of switching meds, Jane, but I do think you'll stabilise.

Paroxetine is quite a tricky one to wean off, from what I have read, and I see you're only just a week off of it. So you'll be going through a withdrawal process from that, PLUS a start up with citalopram.

So your brain is gonna be trying to figure out what is going on at the moment...

Bear in mind am not a gp, but if it were me, I would just stick with the same dose of citalopram as soon as possible. It sounds like you're aiming for 10mg?

Its common with this one to feel heightened anxiety when raising/lowering the dose, and it can take a while. For this to settle, so moving the dosage around is going to make this worse.

But you will settle.... when your body has the chance to adjust to a clear dosage.

I went from 2.5 to 10 (way too much of an increase, had terrible side effects, hence finding this forum) to 5 to 7.5 since June, so I know how much moving around on doses can affect you. Hang on in there!

3

I should add that I am a lot better aside from an occasional blip. So it does get easier.

4

Thanks Ruth.  That makes me feel better knowing the increased anxiety is normal and will take time to resolve.  I am feeling a bit better today, so I’m feeling much more hopeful