Hello, i have been on celexa 20 mg for 20 years mostly for anxiety. i am married now and working and am stable. i worry a lot about the medication effecting my heart and have had heart palps off and on especially day after having wine. i am wondering if anyone has had success coming off celexa?? i have heard the drug actually changes your brain chemistry over time and becomes reliant on the drug. Have been considering getting pregnant and would like to get off but am really scared any info would be great thanks:)
From everything ive learned from the most trusted on this forum, it is very achievable. The key to success is tapering very slowly. Cut dosage from 20 to 15 to 10 and so on. Give tourself time to adjust to each dosage brfore tapering down to the next dosage. Could be 3-4 weeks for each stage. @katecogs is probably the most reliable although there are others who are really helpful also. As far as permanent changes to your brain, I’m unsure. Ive read several success stories on here. Good luck to you
okay, yea ive also heard taper slowly but i have had drs tell me to just stay on it indefinantly so i am confused as to weather i need it or not, as i was pretty much non functional before. but that was a long time ago. Thanks for the reply!
Hi Kelly, it sounds like you are doing well on Celexa which is probably why the doctors are saying stay on it. Regarding affecting the heart, I have read that its the higher dosages which can be dangerous for the elderly. If they are working for you what about reducing to a lower dose and staying on that, there are people on this forum that do well on lower dosages of 10mg for example. Whatever you decide, the slower the better and tapering at small amounts is the best way to come off this. Well worth speaking to your doctor regarding your health concerns to put your mind at rest.
hi kelly, im currently down to 6mg xx
do not go down 5mg at a time that is too much! take it from someone who learnt the hard way xx
google surviving antidepressants lots more info on there on how to do it properly and safe xx
hi there thank you for the reply ! i have been doing well. I just have a hard time w taking a pill everyday and always being concerned about what I can take with it and what I have to be careful of like caffeine alcohol cold medicines muscle relaxers I’ve had a horrible interactions with all of these things so i considered going down to 10 mg last year. i got the pill cutter and everything. i started having so much anxiety about “rocking the boat” and scared of what the w drawals might be, that i decided that i wasnt a good time for me… my brother has had some of the same issues that I’ve had and has been on SSRIs for a long time to he decided that he was going to get off of them did well for a year and then all of his anxiety and depression came back and when he went to get back on the SSRI he found that nothing would help him so he struggled for years trying to find something that would give him some relief. I realize we are two different people but that is always in the back of my mind when I go to start titrating down on medication
ok did u use the liquid form to titrate down then?my doctor when we discussed it I was going to go from 20 to 15 and try that for a couple of months but I chickened out LOL
oh wow thats great good for you! had you been taking Celexa for a long time before you started titrating down?i’m just wondering because I’ve been taking Celexa for so long it makes me wonder if my brain is just going to need that chemical for the rest of my life now
messing with an already good thing is a no bueno for me.do the benefits outweights what you described?thats the question you gotta ask yourself.nobody on this or any forum can make that decision for you 20years is a long time to decide what the outcome could be?
messing with an already good thing is a no bueno for me.do the benefits outweights what you described?thats the question you gotta ask yourself.nobody on this or any forum can make that decision for you 20years is a long time to decide what the outcome could be?
good point! thank you 
hi kelly yes 7 years and yes im using liquid, i made a mistake of listening to a doctor and cut 5mg it was too much and im paying the price, i honestly dont think your brain needs chemicals for the rest of your life, you just need to go slow, since reducing though i actually have my emotions back xx
yea i agree, def needs to be a slow taper. I dont think alot of doctors really get that. but then everyone is different i guess
Have you personally experienced any adverse side effects since u have been tapering? i have read that the w drawal effects basically mimic anxiety and so its difficult to tell the difference between anxiety symptoms coming back or just a side effect from wdrawal that will go away in time…
ive had every symptom going fear racing thoughts anxiety terrible pain brain zaps migraines nausea dizziness i could go on! btw i wasnt on it for anxiety either xx
gotcha . ok well thanks for sharing . and good luck to you! hopefully things get better and even out for you
Regarding anxiety and depression coming back, there is lots of information on the internet about this very thing, including doctors being too quick in assuming that its come back, instead of recognising that it could be withdrawal symptoms. I had terrible withdrawal coming off these as went cold turkey (dont recommend) and after 9 weeks am med free, and over the worst. Am thinking that in my situation when I felt at my worst, I know for a fact that if the doctors medicated me, I would not be in the good place I am now.
Please be careful using the liquid, I didnt read the instructions so took it wrong and had a terrible reaction. You need less mg when changing from tablets to liquid, and you need to dilute it. All the details are on patient leaflet. My doctor and pharmacist didnt tell me any of this.
the liquid is just more potent as its not mixed with fillers, im on 3 drops that has the potency of 7.5mg but its still 6mg! i add it to a glass of water, paula if youre feeling good after 9 weeks youre very very lucky as a lot suffer for years xx