jcook0113 changing from Prozac back to Celexa (citalapram)

[jcook0113]

I have been taking Citalopram since 1999. It works really well for me with no side effects except I think it might cause a slight bit of drowsiness but I'm not sure cause I take it at night anyway. I am chronic depressive. Not to a bad extent but to the extent that I MUST take the antidepressant. Anyway, I recommend it for anyone to try. My daughter is now on it, my niece is on it, I have 3 friends that are on it. Although, I did have one friend that had a reaction with it. When she took it, she said she felt like she had smoked marijuana and felt high. I told her I didnt believe her and something else must have caused that to happen but I was with her the next time she took it, and it really did that to her. So I guess it's not for everyone but I do know that it works great for a lot of people.

[jcook0113]

I have been taking Celexa since 1999. I am Chronic depressive and cannot stop with the antidepressants. Because of an antibiotic that I had to take, I had to be switched from Celexa to Prozac. I ran out of my refills for Prozac and my physician has retired. I cannot see the new physician without paying for the visit plus extra for a new patient fee which I do not have the money for. I do have refills on my previous Celexa though. I was just wondering if anyone knows if I can just go ahead and start back on my Celexa? I have been out of the Prozac for a week now and I am having the little electrical shock feelings in my head when I make sudden movements or turn my head from side to side.

[Brandy]

Hi, jcook,

 

The symptoms you are experiencing are common withdrawal symptoms when one cold-turkeys or goes off these meds too fast.

 

You didn't say whether you cold-switched to prozac from celexa (I would imagine so if it was due to an interaction with another med), and if so whether you had any problems with the switch.

 

Even if you didn't, it's best not to switch meds unless really necessary, because the body can be forgiving about such things a certain number of times, but often responds differently (badly) after a certain number of switches or too-fast tapers.

 

But from your symptoms your body clearly is not forgiving the cold-turkey from the prozac.

 

Did the new physician take over your previous doctor's practice? If so, can you tell him you want to make an office visit appointment with him as soon as you can but can't afford to do so at this time, and tell him that since you can't stop taking the med abruptly (the manufacturer's prescribing literature clearly states this), you'd appreciate his authorizing a refill if he can do this legally on the basis of your medical records showing that the previous doctor had been prescribing them for you?

 

If he cannot or will not do this, do you have another doctor (any specialty) who is familiar with you medically and who might prescribe them for you until you can afford a visit with the new doctor? Or are there any sliding-fee or free community health clinics you could go to who could do this for you temporarily?

 

Other than that, I think you might need to refill the celexa to avoid full-blown cold-turkey withdrawal. If there is any way you could get another prescription for what your body is now habituated to (the prozac) that would be best, but if that's not an option, hopefully your body would tolerate reinstating the celexa.

 

I hope that helps. Let us know what happens.

[jcook0113]

actually, I was only on the prozac for one month. Therefore, I really don't see what it would hurt to go ahead and refill my Celexa. Prozac does not help me like the Celexa does. I appreciate you immediate response by the way. And yes, I quit cold turkey on the Celexa and things got bad before the Prozac kicked in. I actually had a bad anxiety attack and thought I was going to have a heart attack and went to the emergency room. They just diagnosed it as "Anxiety". LOL

[Brandy]

If you were switched from celexa to prozac that recently, you probably will have no problems going back on the celexa. I'd suggest doing it as soon as possible, both because you clearly head into bad withdrawal from cold-turkeying (most people do, and especially after being on the meds as long as you have), and also to minimize any possible problems switching back to celexa.

 

If you have any concerns how your body will respond to another switch, you could try taking a lower dose (just half a tablet, for example) the first day or two when you reinstate the celexa, if that's what you end up taking. Probably not necessary, just a suggestion if you're worried about it.

 

I'm not surprised the prozac didn't work as well as the celexa. In my experience (many years on withdrawal groups), changing from one med to another doesn't fully cover withdrawal, which you were clearly starting to experience if you felt like you were having a heart attack. Even though the meds are in the same drug family and have many things in common, with occasional exceptions, most people don't find that one will completely stop the withdrawal symptoms, which as I mentioned can include rebound (worsening) of the original symptom(s).

 

Not surprised either that the ER dismissed it as anxiety. Too often that seems to be the medical profession's "bucket" catchall for anything they don't know the cause of. And almost NO doctors really understand what psych drug withdrawal can involve, even if they acknowledge that it exists.

 

If you reinstate on the celexa, I hope it goes well. Do let us know, or if we can be of further help.

[jcook0113]

OK I guess I will go ahead and get my refill. Thank you so much for the information. You have been very helpful