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Lostmummy -- Hi all..My story


Lostmummy

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Hi all..in 2008 i had anxiety and i was put on citalopram 20mg i got better after a few months where i could go out and so on but still not go into big supermarkets....this year april 2012 i went cold turkey and i felt fine till june 2012 when i woke one morning and anxiety was back but much worse than ever...doctor put me back on citalopram 20mg after 4 weeks i still felt back so he came back out and put me on effxor i was on this for 6 days and it affected my sleep i just couldnt sleep from this drug so i called the doctor back out he put me back on citalopram 20mg 5 weeks went by (2days ago) i had to call him out again still im feeling bad so now his moved me upto 30mg citalopram and gave me hypnosis CD'S i just dont know what to do im totally lost and cant see my self getting better again!

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Lostmummy

Welcome to the forums here, you should find lots of support.

I'm sorry you're having such a terrible time at the moment, it really is the pits isn't it? but you WILL get better. There's no doubt that going cold turkey, then back on citalopram then the abrupt switch to Effexor and back again to citalopram and increasing the dose has really messed with your nervous system. Cold turkey can do that, I did it myself more than once, you feel fine for a while and then wham!! it really comes back and bites you in the bum, but no one warns you about it.

I think you need to find some stability with citalopram, it might take a while to get your nervous system stable again.

Hopefully some more people will come along with some useful advice for you shortly.

strawberry

*** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***





http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/
Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007.
Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. 

A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido.

 

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  • Administrator

Welcome, Lostmummy.

 

I agree with Strawberry. Most likely, the symptoms you felt in June were withdrawal symptoms from your cold turkey. It will take some time for these to go away.

 

No matter how much citalopram you take, you might still not feel quite right, because cold turkey injured your nervous system. Please take care about the citalopram dosage, because too much may not be good for you, either.

 

To recover from withdrawal syndrome, your nervous system needs stability, which means don't confuse it with any more psychiatric drugs.

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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Thankyou very much for your very kind and reassuring replies...the intrusive thoughts and the bridge phobia that has been brought on from the coldturkey of citalopram is awful x

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Intrustive thoughts are a nasty side effect of withdrawal, I know of a few people who have experienced that, if you stick to your consistent dose hopefully those will fade away. Keep us posted with how things are going for you.

*** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***





http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/
Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007.
Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. 

A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido.

 

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Ok strawberry, I didn't know this was possible 'withdrawal' I thought anxiety just came back at its worse with major depression it's nice to know what it may be now.

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  • Administrator

Hi Lostmummy

 

Welcome to the forum ... I am tapering off of Effexor and last fall was dropping my dosage a little too fast ... the intrusive thoughts (I call them irrational fears) were horrible. I had to up-dose to get stable and then still had irrational fears sitting on the periphery waiting to come to life with a trigger. But with a little time they did fade and now I don't have irrational fears at all.

 

I just want to reassure you that if you give yourself some time to get stable on your current meds that these fears will fade.

 

Love and light,

Posted Image

Karma

2007 @ 375 mg Effexor - 11/29/2011 - 43.75 mg Effexor (regular) & .625 mg Xanax

200 mg Gabapentin 2/27/21 - 194.5 mg, 5/28/21 - 183 mg, 8/2/21 - 170 mg, 11/28/21 - 150 mg, 4/19/22 - 122 mg; 8//7/22 - 100 mg; 12/17 - 75mg; 8/17 - 45 mg; 10/16 40 mg
Xanax taper: 3/11/12 - 0.9375 mg, 3/25/12 - 0.875 mg, 4/6/12 - 0.8125 mg, 4/18/12 - 0.75 ; 10/16 40mg;

1/16 0.6875 mg; at some point 0.625 mg
Effexor taper: 1/29/12 - 40.625 mg, 4/29/12 - 39.875 mg, 5/11/12 - Switched to liquid Effexor, 5/25/12 - 38 mg, 7/6/12 - 35 mg, 8/17/12 - 32 mg, 9/14/12 - 30 mg, 10/19/12 - 28 mg, 11/9/12 - 26 mg, 11/30/12 - 24 mg, 01/14/13 - 22 mg. 02/25/13 - 20.8 mg, 03/18/13 - 19.2 mg, 4/15/13 - 17.6 mg, 8/10/13 - 16.4 mg, 9/7/13 - 15.2 mg, 10/19/13 - 14 mg, 1/15/14 - 13.2 mg, 3/1/2014 - 12.6 mg, 5/4/14 - 12 mg, 8/1/14 - 11.4 mg, 8/29/14 - 10.8 mg; 10/14/14 - 10.2 mg; 12/15/14 - 10 mg, 1/11/15 - 9.5 mg, 2/8/15 - 9 mg, 3/21/15 - 8.5 mg, 5/1/15 - 8 mg, 6/9/15 - 7.5 mg, 7/8/15 - 7 mg, 8/22/15 - 6.5 mg, 10/4/15 - 6 mg; 1/1/16 - 5.6 mg; 2/6/16 - 5.2 mg; 4/9 - 4.8 mg; 7/7 4.5 mg; 10/7 4.25 mg; 11/4 4.0 mg; 11/25 3.8 mg; 4/24 3.6 mg; 5/27 3.4 mg; 7/8 3.2 mg ... 10/18 2.8 mg; 1/18 2.6 mg; 4/7 2.4 mg; 5/26 2.15mg; 8/18 1.85 mg; 10/7 1.7 mg; 12/1 1.45 mg; 3/2 1.2 mg; 5/4 0.90 mg; 6/1 0.80 mg; 6/22 0.65 mg; 08/03 0.50 mg, 08/10 0.45 mg, 10/05 0.325 mg, 11/23 0.2 mg, 12/14 0.15 mg, 12/21 0.125 mg, 02/28 0.03125 mg, 2/15 0.015625 mg, 2/29/20 0.00 mg - OFF Effexor


I am not a medical professional - this is not medical advice. My suggestions are based on personal experience, reading, observation and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers

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Thankyou karma :) I can't wait for the day to feel normal again. When I first started out on citalopram in 2008 I can't remember it taking this long it was like a Miracle back then I woke one morning feeling great

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HI Lostmummy....

 

I take Citalopram. In the states it's called Celexa. I was on 40mgs. and it was too much. It aided depression, but wasn't doing what I had hoped for in terms of anxiety ~ because it was too high of a dose.

 

I do feel better at a lower dose. I do take imipramine which allowed me to drop my dose without going thru WD hell.

 

Your anxiety is worse like Alto said because your nervous system was hurt/affected by getting off Citalopram abruptly.

 

I don't mean to sound like Ms. Know It All, but I have been down this road a few times. Not fun.

 

For me and let me preface that....the Imipramine helped with anxiety and sleep. My aim, is to keep taking the Imipramine and to continue to decrease the Celexa, and maybe at some point in time, be off of it.

 

In the UK there is a med like Imipramine 'Lofepramine' which I had heard from (2) friends in the UK to be especially helpful for anxiety. Ask your physician about it. Unless you feel that you just want to taper from Citalopram slowly and safely.

 

Some of the ladies here told me that they felt better when they lowered the dose of the Celexa and that was true for me, but I was at a high dose. I still had WD but I did stabilize and felt better.

 

Medicines affect people differently. What is good for one, may not be so good for another.

Sad but true.

 

I hope you start to feel better. Hugs

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1902-nikki-hi-my-rundown-with-ads/

 

Paxil 1997-2004

Crossed over to Lexapro Paxil not available

at Pharmacies GSK halted deliveries

Lexapro 40mgs

Lexapro taper (2years)

Imipramine

Imipramine and Celexa

Now Nefazadone/Imipramine 50mgs. each

45mgs. Serzone  50mgs. Imipramine

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Thanks nikki for your lovely response :) today and yesterday I've felt somewhat better :s still the usual morning anxiety but that's half as bad the past two mornings and last night no night sweating and nightmare...I wonder if its the increase in citalopram x

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Glad you've had a better couple of days, stick with it Lostmummy, I expect there will be good days and bad days until it evens out, coming here may have given you a bit of reassurance as well, nothing worse than feeling isolated and alone with it.

*** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***





http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/
Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007.
Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. 

A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido.

 

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:) glad you are educating yourself Lostmummy , feels good to know what's actually happening eh ! welcome to the site, you will find everybody helpful and amazing here !

2007-2012started Effexor xr 225mg -150mg- Varied2months of Taper,(March 22/2012 Off Med/in W/D)Currently No medicationMarch 22/2012- August 16/2012 - Totally Off Effexor( Rough Rough time) Reinstatement for a week(didn't work)****** New Doctor******* Very nice/helpful and in touch.Tried Zoloft- No successAUGUST 17/2012- STARTED 37.5 EFFEXOR FOR ONE WEEK - NOT GOOD < STOPPED.Started Buspar Oct 11th 2012----10 mg for the first 7 days and then 15mg a day---- Taking a new route----Racing thoughts - Gone.Oct 9th ( Done Zoloft,wellbutrin week project trial to feel better) - OFFICIALLY OFF ANTI DEPRESSANT !Oct 26 - Raised Buspar to 20mg a day- Tolerating wellJan 2nd 2013-

Reduce Buspar until full off march 20th 2015 Off all medication !

Tried natural supplements to no avail

Gluten/sugar free since december 2013

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