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32wdman: side effects from sertraline, then citalopram


32wdman

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I started to get head pressure when started sertraline 50mg Oct/2016 stopped 8 days in change to citalopram on that for 3 months head pressure was unbearable was told it was side affects they'll pass by doctor i CT 13jan/2017 never went back to doctors and I'm still dealing with severe head pressure intrusive thoughts since I'm clueless what's happening

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  • Administrator

Welcome, 32wdman.

 

I moved your post here so it wouldn't get overlooked, to start your Introductions topic.

 

There are people who are sensitive to the effects of antidepressants, experience adverse reactions within a few tablets, and take a long time to recover from those effects after they've gone off the drugs.

 

Since you went off citalopram, have your symptoms changed? Do they follow any daily pattern?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Symptoms are much the same no easing up sugary foods drinks even smoking will set symptoms off specially the head pressure were it's really unbearable likened to that akathisia being like this 11 weeks since CT

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Has anyone had constant head pressure round the clock from going cold turkey and did it go or stay any comments be much appreciated

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  • Moderator Emeritus

32wdman -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 
Would you take a moment to create a medication and withdrawal history signature?

A request: Please summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly:

  • Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years.
  • Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago)
  • Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016.
  • Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
  • A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs.
  • You can find instructions in this topic: Please put your withdrawal history in signature
  • If you are using a phone or mobile device, you need to switch to the "full" or desktop version of the site. Instructions are in Post 9 and Post 10

To find information about symptoms on the site, you can use the site search function at the top of every page or use a web search tool. To get pages from this site at the top of your search results with a search engine (google, bing, etc.), include site:survivingantidepressants.org as a search term.

 

A few topics I recall on head symptoms:

Head symptoms.

Migraine, Neck Ache, and head pressure.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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try reading sertralinsomnia's thread. he had the feeling like his head was going to explode after he withdrew and then reinstated with a small dose of Zoloft

Court committed to take Prozac, Paxci, and Respiradol from 8/95 to 3/96.   developed severe akithisia and brain damage.  Was unable to speak and walking in circles 15 hours a day.  Went in for 5 sessions of ECT during a 10 day period in March of '96 and my forced medication was discontinued at that time.  My akithisia and brain damage cleared up within a few days of stopping the meds.

 

On Zoloft (200 mg) and Zyprexa (17.5 mg) March 1998- Feb 2014

In between was placed on Effexor 200 mg and Abilify for six months in 2004.  Developed mild akithisia which went away once I stopped the Abilify.  Developed severe GI issues in Dec 2001 and from that time on suffered from fatigue and hypersomnia where I would sleep between 12 and 20 hours a day and rarely ever left my apartment. 

 

Had tapered to 100 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Zyprexa at the time of going cold turkey Feb. 2014

Went 5 days without sleep at the beginning while vomiting all over my apt.  Had brain zaps for a number of weeks and also lightheadedness which both eventually went away.  However 2 1/2 yrs later I still struggle with insomnia, depression, and fatigue.

 

 

 

 

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  • Administrator

Your system has been sensitized by withdrawal. It's probably a good idea to avoid sugar, caffeine, smoking, artificial flavorings for a good while. 

 

Many people have head pressure as a withdrawal symptom.

 

You might want to take these supplements, many people find them helpful

 

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • Administrator

try reading sertralinsomnia's thread. he had the feeling like his head was going to explode after he withdrew and then reinstated with a small dose of Zoloft

 

PoetJester, if 32wdman had an adverse reaction to sertraline when he first took it, recommending he take it again could make his condition worse.

 

Reinstatement is not the answer for everyone, please stop recommending it to everyone.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Many SSRI's and SSNRI's over 20 years. Zoloft for 7 years followed by Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Valdoxan, Mianserin and more - on and off. No tapering. Cold turkey off Valdoxan - end of May 2014

 

                                                  Psych Drug - free since May 2014
.
         

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Last few days have been horrible I'm lost I'm nearly 12 weeks CT feels as if my symptoms are getting worse don't know what i doing am i in withdrawal only on citalopram 3 months is that long enough for the changes that's happening me or am a nut case just falling apart seriously I'm looking at a life through a window and the blinds are being closed

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No, it's withdrawal.  Happens to a lot of us.  some people have reactions that can go on for months or more from just a dose or two.  sometimes wd can last years from just being on the drug for a year.  there are a lot of us falling apart after taking these drugs and then stopping them.  It's like removing a leg of a table and we just collapse. 

Court committed to take Prozac, Paxci, and Respiradol from 8/95 to 3/96.   developed severe akithisia and brain damage.  Was unable to speak and walking in circles 15 hours a day.  Went in for 5 sessions of ECT during a 10 day period in March of '96 and my forced medication was discontinued at that time.  My akithisia and brain damage cleared up within a few days of stopping the meds.

 

On Zoloft (200 mg) and Zyprexa (17.5 mg) March 1998- Feb 2014

In between was placed on Effexor 200 mg and Abilify for six months in 2004.  Developed mild akithisia which went away once I stopped the Abilify.  Developed severe GI issues in Dec 2001 and from that time on suffered from fatigue and hypersomnia where I would sleep between 12 and 20 hours a day and rarely ever left my apartment. 

 

Had tapered to 100 mg of Zoloft and 7.5 mg of Zyprexa at the time of going cold turkey Feb. 2014

Went 5 days without sleep at the beginning while vomiting all over my apt.  Had brain zaps for a number of weeks and also lightheadedness which both eventually went away.  However 2 1/2 yrs later I still struggle with insomnia, depression, and fatigue.

 

 

 

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi 32wdman,

I'm sorry you are still not feeling well, from reading your thread, it sounds to me like you had a severe, adverse reaction to first sertraline and then citalopram. You shouldn't have been left on it as long as you were.

 

Some people are very sensitive to Serotonergic drugs, it sounds like you might be one of these people.

 

Symptoms from an adverse reaction are similar to withdrawal symptoms, so it can be confusing. But if these symptoms started when you started the drug and they remained through the whole time being on the drug, then I think its safe to assume it was a reaction to being on the drug, not from coming off it. Ideally, if you have an adverse reaction, you stop the drug immediately, this may lead to a faster recovery, but not always.

 

In your case, you stayed on the drug for 3 months, so it may take a while for you to recover completely, but you will get better. The brain and nervous system has a remarkable capacity for healing itself, but its a slow process, so try and be patient.

 

Please would you put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature, please include details of your adverse reaction, this helps us to understand your situation easily while reading your posts, it appears under every post. You can find instructions in this topic: Please put your withdrawal history in signature

 

The best I can offer by way of advice is to listen to your body and avoid those things that set off symptoms as much as possible. Aside from a high quality fish oil and magnesium, avoid supplements. (See King of Supplements: Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) and Magnesium, Nature's Calcium Channel Blocker). They've been helpful to many of us. 

 

Here is the link to our symptoms and self care section, you may find some useful ideas to help manage symptoms as you recover.  Especially read the topics pinned at the top.

 

And here is our topic about adverse reactions: Immediate adverse reactions to SSRIs? - Surviving Antidepressants

I'm not a doctor.  My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one.

My Introduction Thread

Full Drug and Withdrawal History

Brief Summary

Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects

2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010

Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal

DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms

Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal)

May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins.

Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes

Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine

Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D

June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens.

Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered

Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days.

April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close.

VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from?



VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made?



VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes?



VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects?

VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes

 

 

 

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  • Administrator

Thanks, Petunia, you covered everything nicely.

 

32wdman, people who have had similar reactions to yours have recovered. If you have a tendency to be dramatic, this is a good time to draw a deep breath, acknowledge that you have been in an accident -- nothing of your own doing -- and prepare yourself for recovery, which will be very gradual.

 

We can keep you company while you work on recovering. 

 

PoetJester, you can help 32wdman by being realistic, not singing a chorus of doom.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I had an instant reaction to an SSRI.  Fortunately I only took five before I stopped.  I am just over three years out and (I'd say) around 98% recovered.

It happens. Like Alto said - it's an like an accident - you do recover but it takes time and effort.   It is easily the most horrible, challenging experience of my life but you do get better again.

 

Reading up on the waves and windows pattern of recovery is useful. So is learning about CBT methods to deal with those shocking intrusive thoughts and SSRI induced anxiety. 

 

Don't be perplexed if some of the supplements don't work for you.  I found most tablets too activating for quite a while.  I did quite well with epsom salt baths though.  It's a fine balance between noting patterns to identify what has made matters worse and trying not to obsess over it to the point of avoiding things unnecessarily.  Trial and error, really.  Just take baby steps  in these early days.

 

Best wishes with it all.

March 2003 took two sartroline tablets after a traumatic incident and had a reaction so stopped.  I am not sure now whether what I had for the next 18 months was WD after the reaction or the emotional fallout from the traumatic event.  Some of it was very similar to WD in hindsight.  

 

February 2014 - Took five pristiq (50mg) tablets and three Ativan and had a severe reaction.
Extreme withdrawal symptoms for three weeks compounded by visit to naturopath -

One week later took 900mg St John's Wort x 3 daily for six weeks - more negative effects and suspected serotonin syndrome - before tapering over three weeks. Last tablet late May 2014.

Waves and windows cycle of recovery with longer windows and manageable waves.

May 2015 - already in a mild wave, following a usual pattern, I took clarithromicin and amoxicillin for two weeks for a sinus infection which I also seem to have had quite a reaction to.

 

February 2016 - Feeling much better.  I still have waves and windows but they are manageable.  I'm largely enjoying life again.

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  • 3 years later...
  • Administrator

Hello, 32. How are you doing?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to 32wdman: side effects from sertraline, then citalopram

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