georgiap: Horrible irritibility, can't sleep after weaning off of citalopram

[georgiap]

I started citalopram about 10 years ago at 40 mg. I have spent the last four years tapering off.  I was at 10 mg. for about 2 months, and then at 5 mg for about two weeks. I felt ok, so then I stopped completely.  I was ok for about a week after my last dose, but then started having really, really bad irritability. I have no patience and have a lot of trouble sleeping. At night, when I'm trying to sleep, I feel very jittery.  I'm assuming it took a week to get it all out of my body. 

 

So I've just read about reinstating it.  I just made up the liquid solution. I thought maybe I'd start taking 3 mg each night.  Wondering what everyone else thinks.  Should I start back lower?  If I knew this irritability would be short tem, I might try to wait it out, but it's been five days and I'm having a lot of difficulty. 

 

If I start back on 3 mg, what should my taper schedule be? How long should it take.

 

I'm also taking 600 mg. gabpentin and low dose naltrexone.  Not sure if that makes a difference. 

[ChessieCat]

Hi georiap, welcome to SA,
 

22 hours ago, georgiap said:

I have spent the last four years tapering off

 

I think you might mean four MONTHS. (georgiap confirmed in the next post that it is years and not months)

 

If this is the case, then you have been tapering too fast.  SA recommendations tapering by no more than 10% of the previous dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  Reinstatement is the only known way to reduce the withdrawal symptoms.  If you have only been off completely for about one and a half weeks than reinstatement immediately is your best option.  If you were taking 5mg DAILY prior to stopping then 3mg would be a good reinstatement dose.  The longer you leave reinstatement the less chance there is of it being successful.  And withdrawal symptoms can get worse and last for months and even years.

 

The drugs we take change our brain - we have become physiologically dependent on them, not physically like caffeine and nicotine.  My own experience was trying to reduce my Pristiq from 100mg to 50mg.  After 3 weeks of extreme foggy head I was unable to type.  Being a professional typist of 40+ years I knew that something was very wrong.  Thankfully I had joined SA a few days before this happened and it had been suggested that I updose.  When I couldn't type I took extra Pristiq and about 4 hours later I was able to type and my foggy head was clearing.  After a few hiccups when I first starting tapering I have been successfully tapering with only mild withdrawal symptoms and am now down to 19mg.  I'm also feeling more like my old self from long ago.  I've been on ADs for 25+ years.  I hadn't realised how numb my brain had been for so many years.

 

Please create your drug signature so we can see your history whenever you post.  These are the instructions:

 

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

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 

• 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.
• Link to Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

Here are some topics for you to check out.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

Withdrawal Symptoms - Delayed Onset

 

Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)

 

These helped me understand SA's recommendations:

 

Brain Remodelling

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

This is your own Introduction topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.  If you click on the drug tags at the top left you can find other members who have the same tag.

 

Edited September 22, 2017 by ChessieCat
added clarification about months/years

[georgiap]

ChessieCat,

No, I really mean four YEARS. I had a lot of difficulty going down in dose at all.  So I would go down a little and stay there for several months.

 

I have increased my nutrition and supplements a lot this past year and now exercise regularly.  I think that allowed me to taper down a little faster at the end. 

[ChessieCat]

Sorry I thought you have made an error.

 

However from your signature you have gone from July this year 10mg to 5mg in September and then jumped off from 5mg.  That IS a fast taper.

 

I also notice that you are taking other drugs which you didn't mention in your first post.

 

So that we can offer suggestions based on your own situation we need to know how you tapered from 40mg to 10mg.  Also you state that you have gone from 1200mg to 600mg of Gabapentin.  We need to know dates and doses of that taper too.

 

Also, please add the date when you started naltrexone.  Because we are making suggestions which can affect your health and wellbeing we need to have as much information as possible.  Thank you.

 

 

1 hour ago, ChessieCat said:

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

[georgiap]

ChessieCat,

Thank you. I will add those changes to my post. I agree that it is a fast taper now that I've read more about it.  At first, I could barely go down a couple mg without feeding bad withdrawal symptoms. But then I thought I was doing ok, and thought (mistakenly) that I might have only slight withdrawal symptoms, but they would go away quickly. 

 

I took the 3 mg yesterday and already feel better today. 

[georgiap]

How do you know if you're experiencing withdrawal symptoms or if that's just the way you 'are?'

 

I've been on some kind of medication for 22 years. Prior to that, I remember feeling very emotional and irritable all the time. That's exactly what I felt like after I stoped Citalopram.  So how do I know if I'm truly experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

 

I guess the other question is--why was I always emotional and irritable. I just felt like I had PMS all the time. So now I'm starting to wonder if I'll always be like this and need medication or if I do the taper correctly and slowly, will I feel better.

[Kittygiggles]

Irritability is one of my worst withdrawal symptoms. It is so uncharacteristic of me but I noticed so much relief when I reinstated. It hasn't been perfect but has made life manageable. This thread discusses the kinds of emotions that can hit you because of withdrawal: 

It helped me understand what I was going through.

[Femme47]

It's a good question, which I also ask myself. There was a reason why I started taking these drugs in the first place: the depression and the anxiety, which I had from the age of probably 17. The fist time I attempted to take  an antidepressant was at the age 27-28.  

Indeed, how does one know if this is not the original problem rather than putting everything to the withdrawal or protracted withdrawal ?

 

So, I am afraid I can't answer your question but would be curious to know what others think.

 

F47 

[baroquep]

5 hours ago, georgiap said:

How do you know if you're experiencing withdrawal symptoms or if that's just the way you 'are?'

 

I've been on some kind of medication for 22 years. Prior to that, I remember feeling very emotional and irritable all the time. That's exactly what I felt like after I stoped Citalopram.  So how do I know if I'm truly experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

 

I guess the other question is--why was I always emotional and irritable. I just felt like I had PMS all the time. So now I'm starting to wonder if I'll always be like this and need medication or if I do the taper correctly and slowly, will I feel better.

 

Hi Georgia, I've moved your new post into your introduction thread and would ask that you post any new questions there.  There is a policy that there is one thread per person and it is best to keep all of your activity there and in one place for when the moderators have to review your information.  

I am going to attach a link that should give you an idea of whether it is "withdrawal" or "relapse" so you can try and determine this be asking yourself a few questions:

 

How do I know it's withdrawal and not relapse?

 

How do I know it's withdrawal and not relapse?

 

Typically, in withdrawal symptoms such as melancholia, anxiety, and disorientation come in intense waves, sometimes only a few minutes long, which differentiates them from relapse of a psychological condition.

In withdrawal, symptoms are much more intense than the original psychological condition. People suffering from withdrawal often say things like

- "This doesn't feel like my depression."
- "I've never had symptoms like this before."
- "I feel very weird and not like myself."
- "I can't feel my feelings."

It's up to you to decide whether your body and brain are behaving "normally" as they did before you tried medication, or if you are feeling differently. No one else, not even a doctor, can determine this.

Edited September 22, 2017 by baroquep

[georgiap]

For over 9 months, I've been trying to wean down from 5 mg of citalopram. I'm having a tough time, so my psychiatrist agreed to switch me to prozac. I've read it is a lot easier to get off of prozac.  She said she is worried about me getting serotonin syndrome from switching antidepressants. I would like to hear the experiences of those switching from citalopram to prozac. She said if I reduce citalapram by 1 mg, then I should take 1 mg of prozac. How small of increments are necessary and how long should I take to swtch over to prozac?

[georgiap]

I'm going to be dissolving 10 mg capsules of prozac into 10 ml of water. Should I put the whole capsule in the water?  Or should I empty the capsule and put the contents of the capsule into the water? 

[ChessieCat]

You would empty the contents of the capsule and dispose of the capsule.

[georgiap]

Thank you ChessieCat. I guess I'm confused about switching over to Prozac.  I was reading other's posts where they went on higher amounts of prozac than the original antidepressant.  My psychiatrist doesn't know much about this and told me if I reduce 1 mg of the old antidepressant than I add in 1 mg of of prozac and do that until I'm on only prozac (but it's at the same milligram as the citalopram.)  So how exactly should I do the switch? 

 

[georgiap]

On 7/30/2018 at 12:18 PM, georgiap said:

Thank you ChessieCat. I guess I'm confused about switching over to Prozac.  I was reading other's posts where they went on higher amounts of prozac than the original antidepressant.  My psychiatrist doesn't know much about this and told me if I reduce 1 mg of the old antidepressant than I add in 1 mg of of prozac and do that until I'm on only prozac (but it's at the same milligram as the citalopram.)  So how exactly should I do the switch? 

 

Just bumping up this post since I didn't get any responses.  I know you said to post here under my introduction, but am wondering how many people see this post. 

[jonnypeters1234567]

Yes I've got loads of anger at times. 13 months off citalopram 20mg. What other symptons do you have??

[georgiap]

On 8/8/2018 at 2:39 PM, jonnypeters1234567 said:

Yes I've got loads of anger at times. 13 months off citalopram 20mg. What other symptons do you have??

I've never really had anger. My main symptoms were irritability and feeling jittery. 

[Rosetta]

Hi

 

I'm sure you have seen this by now, but just in case, Here's the thread:  Please see post #7 by Altostrata:

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1463-the-prozac-switch-or-bridging-with-prozac/

 

By the way, If you are stable trying a Prozac switch might be okay, but if you are feeling bad, it's not recommended.  You may decide to hold the 5 mg of citalopram until you feel almost no WD symptoms before you try the switch.  

 

I don't know much about this, but I saw your post and thought I would try to help out.  Good luck!

 

Rosetta

 

 

[georgiap]

On 8/11/2018 at 6:10 PM, Rosetta said:

Hi

 

I'm sure you have seen this by now, but just in case, Here's the thread:  Please see post #7 by Altostrata:

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1463-the-prozac-switch-or-bridging-with-prozac/

 

By the way, If you are stable trying a Prozac switch might be okay, but if you are feeling bad, it's not recommended.  You may decide to hold the 5 mg of citalopram until you feel almost no WD symptoms before you try the switch.  

 

I don't know much about this, but I saw your post and thought I would try to help out.  Good luck!

 

Rosetta

 

 

Thank you Rosetta. I feel pretty stable on the 5 mg, but can't seem to go any lower. I hope the prozac will help. 

[Rosetta]

You're welcome.  Good luck and take care.