NinjaFrancis: Cold turkey citalopram

[NinjaFrancis]

I don't think this is the original forum I went on when I decided to try getting off Citalopram, but here's my story and my perception. (and forgive my english, I learned my english on wow)

 

I read somewhere that ppl who didn't have any issues getting off Citalopram cold turkey just doesn't bother posting because they're busy enjoying life. It's my case but I figured I'd cheer some ppl up.

 

== My story (check below if you don't care about it and want to go straight to the subject) ==

 

Been on 40mg for like 3 months. I went on depression because the co-workers brought my self-esteem way too down. It is also important to say that I always had anxiety (though it was normal) but I also had approching anxiety with woman. I though that getting a girlfriend would change me upside down in all aspects of my life.

 

Turns up I was quite right. When I finished psychotherapy about my working issue, I knew I had to go back to work soon. However, I had eye surgery at the same time and was buying my AD and eye drops at this drugstore where a very cute woman was working. I couldn't talk normally to her or tell her she was pretty so I though myself : I have to start working on those. At about the same time, I went to a walk with my mother and she told me this story of my sister that couldn't sleep when she was younger because she kept doing this nightmare and she was afraid to do it again so she just stoped sleeping. My mother brought her to this person who did NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) and that person did something with my sister (some game idk) and she told my mother : "Your daughter will be allright."

 

Both the approaching anxiety and the NLP together got me thinking : I don't know what NLP is, but it seems powerful and maybe I can try it to get rid of my anxiety and lack of confidence. So I read a lot on the intertron about NLP, watched lots of videos on the tube about NLP, persuation, self-confidence, subliminal messages and stuff. I started doing NLP visualisation (where I would imagine myself being natural with lots of gorgeous women around) and a week after, I went to the mall and I had to get to talk to at least a beautiful woman before I got out.

 

So I went to the mall, saw a couple of beautiful woman but was too shy to talk. Was about to finish all the shops, so I told myself go to the first one that's cute and tell her she's pretty before it,s too late. So I did, went to this woman which was quite cute (like 7-8/10) that worked at those cell vendors. I got my phone out and told her while presenting my phone : You know what, my phone's working great... I just wanted to tell you you're pretty...

 

This is how I realised it wasn't so hard, and how I noticed all these videos and reading and NLP were working on me! Couple of days after, I went to the drug store where the most beautiful woman worked, and I managed to tell her before i left that she was very pretty, she blushed and told me she was shy, asked her if lots of ppl were telling her that and she said no (kinda strange since she's amazinly pretty). So mission accomplished, I started feeling confident, free and most importantly, I can now talk to the most beautiful woman easily! Won't go into details, but today I found out the woman at the drug store doesn't want to see other men. Good thing about NLP is, I feel a little disapointed, but "Too bad for her, must be sad to be in a prison, while you can free others." (I thanked her because she unlocked my anxiety cage, and now I'm confident)

 

== End of my story ==

 

So, 3 weeks ago, I was feeling great since 2 weeks straight, I mean, REALLY GREAT. And I read on those forums the dangers of quitting citalopram. I was on 40mg, very confident, very happy, and I didn,t want to get those side effects while I was at work, so I wanted to get rid of them ASAP. I stoped my 40mg to nothing and here is what happened.

 

I got a little fuzzy, but I could still walk, shop, drive no issues. One night, I woke up like I was drunk, but that's it. Very small "sparks" which are just funny before I sleep, not big, no noise, no shock, just beautiful small subconscience sparks, like 1 per night. No mood change, no sickness, NOTHING.

 

Oh and while the libido isn't as high as it was, I feared the permanent anorgasmia, but it went away very fast.

 

Most importantly, 3 days after I stoped Citalopram, I could sleep again like a baby =D

 

So, maybe it's all because I managed to completely healed myself before dropping the drug, but it's been a breeze. All these stories are scary, but the ppl like me who didn't have issues, they just don,t post on these forums.

 

Enjoy life =D

(sorry it was long, I'm a chatty bastard)

[Altostrata]

NinjaFrancis, I make your post into your own Intro topic.

 

You haven't signed up here before.

 

You are lucky that you quit citalopram cold turkey with almost no withdrawal. We know a small minority of people can do this. No one can tell in advance if cold turkey will be no problem or if it will cause terrible neurological damage. It is a very large risk.

 

It's because too-fast withdrawal often causes the neurological damage called severe withdrawal symptoms that people are warned to taper gradually.

 

I rejoice in your good fortune and hope it continues. In the future, if you should take psychiatric drugs again (which I sincerely hope you do not, having discovered NLP and other routes to happiness), DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES QUIT COLD TURKEY.

 

It's unlikely you'll win the lottery more than once. Please do not advise other people to quit cold turkey. They could hurt themselves terribly.

[Rhiannon]

NinjaFrancis, I make your post into your own Intro topic.

 

You haven't signed up here before.

 

You are lucky that you quit citalopram cold turkey with almost no withdrawal. We know a small minority of people can do this. No one can tell in advance if cold turkey will be no problem or if it will cause terrible neurological damage. It is a very large risk.

 

It's because too-fast withdrawal often causes the neurological damage called severe withdrawal symptoms that people are warned to taper gradually.

 

I rejoice in your good fortune and hope it continues. In the future, if you should take psychiatric drugs again (which I sincerely hope you do not, having discovered NLP and other routes to happiness), DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES QUIT COLD TURKEY.

 

It's unlikely you'll win the lottery more than once. Please do not advise other people to quit cold turkey. They could hurt themselves terribly.

 

yes, just have to add that in my observation this kind of success, when it does happen, seems to almost always happen to people who have taken only one psych med and don't have a prior history of CT or too-fast tapers in the past.

 

My therapist has seen many people quit ADs and she says that some of them quit with no problems and others with similar histories become very ill for a long time.

 

So as Alto says, please don't advise other people to CT based on your own wonderful success (which I am happy for you about, it sounds great!). Believe me, you don't want to be responsible if that person turns out not to be one of the lucky ones. It's always safest to taper.

 

And congratulations! Stay well!

[Nikki]

Hi NinjaFrancis...

 

I think you were trying to send a message of hope that not everyone will have withdrawal symptoms. I have heard of the therapy you went to and I understand it is very helpful.

 

It probably did assist you in many ways including feeling fine after dropping the Citalopram.

 

What Rhi said is so true. Withdrawal may not be bad or relatively easy if, like you, were only on one drug in their lifetime.

 

Bless your heart and thanks for telling us about the therapy. Much happiness:)

[Rhiannon]

This is an aside, Francis, no reflection on you!

 

I have to say that someone being put on 40 mg of citalopram for these kinds of reasons absolutely boggles my mind.

 

Even the existing literature admits that antidepressants really only help people with severe depression and otherwise have very little edge over placebo.

 

NLP or CBT or other such therapies are absolutely what was indicated for this young man. He could have skipped the whole drug thing and gotten right to what worked, without all the risks to health that these drugs represent. 40 mg is not a small introductory dose, even among doctors who prescribe ADs often!

 

Not that it's not all too typical of doctors who've received the usual "education" about these drugs. Of course we hear about this sort of thing all the time.

 

Sheesh.

[Barbarannamated]

NinjaFrancis,

 

I, too, am glad to hear that you've done well in overcoming your anxiety and have been able to get off of drugs with little distress.

 

You are absolutely correct that people like yourself are underrepresented on forums such as this and hope that you will check in here periodically to offer encouragement.

 

I got through the taper without too much trouble. Im trying to regroup and establish a life after nearly 2 decades on the drugs. Any signs of good life most welcome!

[Jemima]

This is an aside, Francis, no reflection on you!

 

I have to say that someone being put on 40 mg of citalopram for these kinds of reasons absolutely boggles my mind.

 

 

I went to the dentist for my six-month cleaning and checkup on Monday and since I've been going there twelve years, my favorite hygienist and I are are quite friendly and chit-chat away like long-lost college roommates. I told her of my travails with Lexapro, we trashed the medical establishment in general for a while, and then she told me that her early twenties-something daughter had been prescribed Paxil for weight loss. Fortunately there were no sharp objects in my mouth, because I nearly leapt out of the chair protesting for all I'm worth. The hygienist was already familiar with the dangers of Paxil as her boyfriend was on it for a time, and the two of them will be exerting all the pressure they can muster to dissuade this young woman from taking it. ACK!!!

 

 

Not that it's not all too typical of doctors who've received the usual "education" about these drugs. Of course we hear about this sort of thing all the time.

I'm not sure the current, prevalent attitude has all that much to do with education. I think what has changed in medicine since I was a kid - back when dinosaurs roamed the earth - is the fabulous salaries doctors are able to command in our time. In the fifties and sixties when I was growing up, there were no big health conglommerates hiring doctors and there were very few specialists. Doctors set up a practice with the same risk factors as any self-employed person. There was no guarantee of success or even a living wage. IMO, people who toughed it out and became doctors anyway back then were people who were passionate about helping others.

 

Well, what a difference half a century makes! Now we have people going into medicine who don't care much for other people at all and who probably were never all that interested in medicine either. We have the fifteen minute, slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am appointment, which consists primarily of handing out prescriptions to go somewhere else, such as a lab, a pharmacy, or specialist. No more the kindly family doctor who knew us from cradle to grave and probably wept at an untimely death (with no regard whatever for malpractice liability insurance premiums).

 

Sheesh.

 

Sheesh, indeed.