Stopping Citalopram(Celexa, Cipramil, Seropram) © Discontinuation Effects or Withdrawal Symptoms



It is best to consult a physician before discontinuing SSRIs. Specific information on the effects of stopping taking Citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil, Seropram) was not available from the sources consulted at the time of writing, but the discontinuation effects of stopping other SSRIs include:

* dizziness
* vertigo/light-headedness
* nausea
* fatigue
* headache
* insomnia
* abdominal cramps
* chills
* increased dreaming * agitation
* anxiety

------------------------------

Discontinuation of Treatment with Celexa ©

During marketing of Celexa and other SSRIs and SNRIs (serotonin
and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), there have been spontaneous
reports of adverse events occurring upon discontinuation of
these drugs, particularly when abrupt, including the following: dysphoric
mood, irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances
(e.g., paresthesias such as electric shock sensations), anxiety,
confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and
hypomania.
While these events are generally self-limiting, there
have been reports of serious discontinuation symptoms.
Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing
treatment with Celexa. A gradual reduction in the dose
rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible.

If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or
upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously
prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician
may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate

If you have any questions, discuss them with your doctor or healthcare professional. For additional information about Lexapro or Celexa, call the Forest Professional Affairs Department toll-free at 800-678-1605, extension 66297.

Thanks Lindsay!


I will share my experience of going off in '98.......(currently going off again soon, but only 'cuz I'm switching to Lexapro based on a belief by my pdoc that the *now-generic* Celexa (citalopram) I'm taking is not up to the standards that the brand name meds are.....???........I dunno, I'm just taking his word for it on this one).

Back in '98 I was on it for about a year. It took 4 months (20mg upped to 40mg over the course of a month or so) to get me feeling better again. It was great. It made me (quite literally) 100% normal again. I stayed on for the next 11 months but got the great idea to come off. (Well, maybe it wasn't a completely bad idea....but.......).

At some point I had gone from 40mg down to 20mg which was easy. I really don't recall any effects coming down on it. Then later I went from 20 to 10mg for a 2 week period.........after which I went off completely.

Now here's what I experienced that I think is significant at that point............(read below)..........


A few days after being off completely I noticed that a few times a day I would get what I called "FLASHES". It was as if a flash bulb went off in my brain............or..............like God just hit the "pause" button one time for a split second. It would only last for about a second and surely freaked me out the first time it happened, but I realized it was harmless and dealt with it. IIRC, it happened for about a week (maybe two?) after being completely off Celexa. And again just a few times a day. Nothing major and after that I was fine.

This was all done during the summer time as my pdoc fellt summer was best to do this, so if anybody's thinking of going off, I would also pass on that tidbit of info. I really, honestly and truly believe there is something to this whole seasonal thing as ALL of my episodes in my life have been in Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb. I have NEVER had probelms in the spring/summer/fall.............and summer being the most distant from any of these time frames.

In the interest of contemporary timing of both Forest's SSRi's (Celexa/Lexapro)...............I know there are a lot of folks who are either in-between and/or switching from Celexa to Lexapro. I am now currently one of those people. (I loved Celexa and I won't gamble with my pdoc's intuition and suggest that I wish I would've kept buying brand-name Celexa 'cuz that's all behind me now.....but......)

As of this moment, my doc is asking me to continue my 40mg of Celexa until the Lexapro "kicks in". I know there is one other user on this board who went on a direct switch in a somewhat unusual way (only i.m.o.) because he went from 20mg Celexa to 20mg Lexapro. 20mg Celexa is a very low dose while 20mg Lexapro is a very moderate to healthy dose. Whatever his pdoc's reasoning, the direct switch seemed to have worked. That's great news for those of us making the switch.

My experience will be different as I will assume at this point that I'm going to be tapering off of Celexa starting this Friday. (pdoc appt.) I can't imagine my dose of Lexapro will go anywhere for a while as 20mg Lex is already a very therapeutic dose. I will definitely post here (like I wouldn't anyway?? LOL) to advise people how *this* method of switching works!

I'm assuming the switch will be successful and I will certainly cover my pdoc's reasonings and report back here with that as well......as to why he wanted to do the switch in *this* particular way so that perhaps we can have a better understanding. I will also converse with him as to the contrast of both methods and possibly anything in between and the benefits/consequences of any and all of those methods.

(HAVE I BABBLED ENOUGH YET?????)

Anyway.........lastly, I just want to say that I thank God for drugs like Celexa and Lexapro! They are truly great drugs and I think we are all better off for them. I know they've sped up my recovery in the past and I hope that Lexapro will do the same for me now. Also........if Celexa is working for you, I say STAY ON IT!!! 5 year studies have shown that if you stay on your meds at a maintenance dose, in double-blind studies, you are MUCH better off than if you try to go off just because you don't like being on these drugs. At my last blood test, my liver function was 100% healthy and these drugs are about as harmless as vitamins when taken as prescribed by your doc. Don't fall into the hype that you're "drugged up" if that's a fear that yo have! You are taking medication to help make you well!!! That is a GOOD thing!!!!!!!

Not gospel.......just my .02!!

Hey DI! (Dooin' it)

Your very welcome!

What you experenced are what the DF and most MH sites call Brain Zaps!
Yes they are harmless, but very annoying and they would most likely occur when you're stopping an SSRI such as Celexa/Lexapro or an SSNRI such as Effexor (Venlafaxine) which is a member of a class of antidepressants called "selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors" (SSNRI's).. I didn't experience brain zaps after stopping an sSRI. So then again your milage may vary as everyone is different.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

Take care.

I have been taking Citalopram for about five years now. I have not seen any changes except when I tried to come off it. I was worried about the effects it had on some people. When I came off it I got even more depressed. I am not sure what it does for me because I am still depress. I guess it just regulates my depression. I am taking 20mg three times a day. I still do not feel happy though. Should I try a diiferent medicine or what can make me happy and satified with my life???
Very Confused.............

If you're not getting enough relief from the depression, maybe it's time for a change. Does your doc know how you're feeling? There are many ways to go, including adding on another med, or changing meds. Do you see a "regular" doc, or a psychiatrist? Psychiatrists specialize in the use of these meds.
Also, if you don't see a counselor or therapist, I would urge you to consider it. Meds plus therapy work better than either alone, IMHO.

Hi
Today i just started to decrease my dose of cipramil. I have been on 30mg for a few years now, previously on 40. I was going to take a couple of months and steadily decrease the dose by 5mgs at a time but i went to see the doc and she told me a technique for cutting down. I think i got it right, but i should skip 10mg's every 4 days, then every 3, then 2 etc.. till i'm down to 20mgs. Then go up to 30 every 2 days, then every 3 and so on. So by the end of june i should be taking 10 and 20 on alternate days before weening onto a steady 10 for a while.
About three months from now, when i am off cipramil completely i'll give St Johns wort a try.
Today i began with a new therapist too.
I have had trouble stopping the meds before but i think this time i should stick with it. I don't feel like they are helping any more.

I think any method that's done slowly and gradually and under a doctor's care can work.
I wish you well as you taper down.

Hi all, I have been on Citalopram twice, quit once, and am in the process of quitting again.

The first time I was taking 20mg, increased to 30mg after a couple months, for a total of about 7 months. I stopped rather abruptly; if I recall correctly, I think I dropped from 30mg to 20mg for a couple days, then down to 10mg for a couple days, and then nothing. I experienced some "brain zaps" for about 2 weeks, coupled with a really odd feeling that my entire body and brain were shaking for just a second. This usually happened if I turned my head suddenly while moving. I also felt very depressed for a few days shortly after stopping, but I completely expected this as a withdrawl effect, and it quickly diminished until I was back to my natural state of moderate unhappiness.

The second time I had been taking 20mg citalopram for about 8 months. I missed my dosage one day, took 20mg the next, then 10mg for the following 2 days, and then nothing. The withdrawl effects have been very similar but less powerful compared to the first time (I stopped taking it just over a week ago). One different thing which I am experiencing this time is a feeling that I have been in a totally different place for the last 8 months. Because my perception of the world suddenly switched back to how it naturally is (which is very different from my perception of the world on citalopram), it feels as though I am now living in a place which I have not been to for 8 months, and that while on the medication I was living someplace totally different. It's a very strange feeling, but I suppose not very unexpected.

As to why I keep going on citalopram and quitting: that would make a great topic for another post!

For anyone else out there who will be stopping citalopram or any other AD, I would suggest following lizard's advice and take it as slowly as possible. My withdrawl effects were fairly limited compared to others out there, and I have heard of some terrible withdrawl stories!

Hope everyone is doing well,

-Mike

Well I will be stopping the Lex over the next 6 weeks
the information I have been given is as follows

I am presently on 15mg
so will go to alternate days of 10/15 for one week then on 10 for a week
then 10/5 alternately for a week then 5 a day for a week then 5 on alternate days for a week then stop all meds for 2 weeks before starting something else

Congratulations Viviane, you're doing the right thing. I got off Lexapro after being on it for about 3 years ( at first it was Celexa of course ), but i did it with no formal plan like you have. but i DID ween myself off slowly and that seemed to be the only way to do it after hearing so many horror stories of people stopping cold turkey.
Everyone's body chemisty is different, so there's really no concrete judgement on what could or should happen. But i will say this : people talk about how severe of a change they felt after missing a dose or missing perhaps 2 days worth. I feel that's psychological. This medication builds up heavily in your system and even after not taking it for weeks there are still traces of it in your system. The only real side effect I felt while coming off of it was light-headedness. Sometimes it got extreme. I would feel my heartbeat and sometimes it felt like it would vibrate my whole body. But it stopped after being off of it for about a month.
And I'm so thankful for being off the medication. Depression IS certainly chemical, and IS certainly related to life's situations, it's just a matter of the ratio of each of these in an individual's experience. I would never denounce SSRI's or other med's because sometimes they truly are necessary. In my case, it was something that i needed for a few years to help get my mindset in tune. However, at the same time I never felt like myself on them. You feel numb to life's experiences both good and bad, and many times i felt indifferent to things that were really important.
Anyway, I tend to babble on a lot. But if i can be of any help to Viviane or anyone else on this forum, i'd be glad to. I know just how harsh depression can be, and perhaps because of that, i love life even more today.

thats a really lovely and supportive thought thank you :)

Greetings all. I am currently trying to stop Celexa after about 3 years of taking it. I have not had a dose now for about three weeks. I am having very uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. The best way to describe it would be dizziness but that is only a general description and not really 100% accurate. When I move my eyeballs from the left and to the right, I can hear a 'buzzing' sound in my head. This also occurs when I move my head abruptly, but I think it is because eye movement accompanies my head movement. Accompanying this odd 'eye movement buzzing' is a general feeling of bodily discomfort. I feel light headed, slightly confused at time (nothing serious really) and feel physically ill to a certain degree. I am able to go about my daily activities but the constant buzzing in my head, caused by natural eye movement, is a constant irritant and source of discomfort. I have no trouble sleeping, only this odd feeling of physical illness. It is very uncomfortable, and over the course of three weeks, has not let up at all. At times, it will feel as though it is lessening and I am hopeful that it is about to go away, but after a nights sleep, I wake up and upon opening my eyes, my head is flooded with the buzzing 'sound', full force. I am beginning to despair that these symptoms will never go away. Has anyone experienced this before?

'Buzzing in he head' caused by eye movement.
General feeling of physical illness.
Dizziness and light headedness.

I am not feeling depressed, and feel like I would be ok if these feelings would just go away.

Anyway, what I am hoping is that someone has experienced these exact same symptoms, as I have yet to encounter any descriptions of withdrawals that match mine exactly, and that they eventually went away completely.

Thanks.

I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time with discontinuation symptoms. I had the general feeling of being unwell, but nothing like the intensity you describe.
How quickly did you taper off the Celexa? I've always tapered off ADs very slowly, and that seemed to help.
I hope you feel better soon!