jen03839 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) Hello. Just looking for support while I get off of Celexa. Feeling good today however last night was rough, The worst seems to be hot flashes and feeling dizzy. Plus I had a terrible headache. The good news I guess is I am no longer sleeping all day and have some hope for change. I started taking the meds for major depression, which thankfully is gone however now I just feel blah most of the time. It has been years since my last major depressive episode. I am in a good place now and feel ready to feel again. I guess I am just scared however if I could get clean and sober and quit smoking I can do this. I have been sober for 26 years now and am trying to use the same techniques in quitting Celexa. I look forward to learning from you all. Jen Edited July 19, 2016 by scallywag tags added Jen Have taken 30mg daily of Celexa for 7 years. Started detox 7/9/2016. On 20mg daily now. Link to comment
nz11 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi Jen So glad you found sa Correct me if i am wrong but it appears to me that you have dropped 33% in one hit ..going from 30mg to 20 mg on ninth of july ...4 days ago. If i am right then that is not the taper method that is rec here. What has proven and shown to produce success in tapering is a taper no faster than 10% of the previous dose per month. This is a harm reduction approach. What do you mean by 'detox' are you attending a particular drug withdrawal clinic? , if so what do they recommend? Congratulations on quitting smoking. Welcome. nz11 Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted July 13, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi Jen, and welcome to SA, Here is some information about slow tapering that NZ mentioned: Why taper by 10% of my dosage? Introduction to AD Withdrawal Syndrome And these are what helped me to understand why a slow taper is recommended by SA: Brain Remodelling (Rhi's Description of Brain Healing) Video: Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery I discovered SA myself after attempting to drop from 100 mg to 50 mg and suffered almost 3 weeks of very foggy head and got to the stage where I was having trouble typing (I am a professional typist so it was a good indication that something was not right). After it being suggested that I increase my dose the withdrawal symptoms subsided within hours and after stabilising I then commenced tapering. I have found that I need to taper at <10% of my previous dose to keep withdrawal symptoms from happening. My taper has been going well and I am now down to 50 mg. I also found that after I lowered my dose I wasn't sleeping as much during the day. If you have dropped from 30 to 20 and you can't handle the symptoms, you may be able to go back to 30 (or even 25), stabilise and then commence a 10% taper. Here is the information about Celexa: Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram) As NZ said it is good that you have found SA. You can click "Follow this topic" (top right) and be notified when someone responds. This will be your intro/update topic (I have added your name and drug to the topic title) and you can ask questions here and use it as a journal of your progress. * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted July 14, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 14, 2016 Hi jen -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA) from another member! Your previous experience in getting sober will help you in your taper if you remember that you'll need to go much slower cutting antidepressant dosage than you did for another substance. I hope you'll check out the links that ChessieCat has posted for you. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
Rockingchaircat Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I wish you all of the best in your recovery Jen. It won't be easy, but it'll be worth it. 1)Zoloft- 6/99 to 8/04 2)Escitalopram- 8/04 to 8/10 3)Citalopram 8/10 to 4/14 (C/T), 4)Paxil a week or so, 5)Wellbutrin a week or so, 6)Reinstated Citalopram- 9/14 to 7/15 Before Taper- Celexa/20 mg....Taper Start- 04/21/15- 15mg....05/26/15- 10 mg...06/22/15- 5 mg...07/18/15- 0mg. http://tinyurl.com/qjfoqe9 Ativan/Lorazepam use/taper 10/14 to 2/15- http://tinyurl.com/ljebp84 Baclofen- Intermittent use of from 2008 till 2014. Some use of Promethazine. Some use of Zofran. Clobetasol Propionate- for Lichen Planus. Some Flexeril use. Ativan- GABA,A receptor Agonist., Baclofen- GABA,B receptor Agonist., Celexa/Lexapro- Serotonin 5-HT1A Receptor Agonist., Zofran- Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Agonist..Promethazine- Histamine H1-Receptor Antagonist. Flexeril- Serotonin 5HT2a Antagonist. My self imposed Amino Acid Therapy: Tyrosine 500mg 1xday, Theanine 200 mg 1xday, & Taurine 500 mg 2x day. (All neurotransitter pre-cursors)- seems to have helped me immensely. And of course- eating healthy, including Black Beans for the oligosaccharides for gut health. The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of trick learned while mastering the Art of Living. - Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning. Link to comment
geminigirl Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Wishing you luck too Jen. Yana 2010 started 10 mg celexa, 2011 went up to 20 mg 06/2014 started tapering (20 mg,10 mg alternate days) 19/09/2014 crashed at 10 mg 20/09/2014 updosed to 20 mg to try and stabilize- Never stabilized and CNS basically plummeted August 31 2015- Started my 5% taper anyways May 3 2016- At 14 mg the tapering caught up with me- Withdrawal included severe anxiety, feeling like im on speed, suicidal and homicidal ideation, akathesia, feeling like I was on heroin, memory loss, PGAD, feeling like I was on an acid May 4 2016- Updosed to 15.5 mg to try and stabilize June 4- Started taking 2 mg 5 times a day which adds up to 10 mg because of akathesia when taking my full dose. Akathesia symtpoms smaller July 27th- Dropped from 15.5 mg to 10 mg because could no longer tolerate taking drug- bad side effects mainly akathesia and emotional deadness. Oct 11- Improved a lot since May 4th after my crash. Withdrawal symptoms still left- DR/DP, emotional anasthesia, akathesia, tingling in head, feeling like my body and face disappears, messed up sound interpretation, perception and difficulty reading social and emotional cues during DR/DP, apathy, inability to tell if I am in dream or reality, disturbed sleep. Started having few windows Link to comment
genlady Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Hi Jen, I too am tapering off Celexa. I'm down to 35mg. and am staying there for awhile until my head burning sensation subsides. Taper slowly like everyone has said and you will cope better. July Medications: Started taking antidepressants in 1981, also benzos off and on; antiphychotics , anti-seizure for years. Trazodone, Lamotrigine, Klonopin for over 10 years all at maximum dosages,:Disconcontinued Klonopin in month of February 2011, discontinued Trazodone and Lamotrigine in month of March 2011 while in hosptial. Given Seroquel to "help" go off Klonopin gradually increased to 600 mg ; doctor took me off 600 mg. Seroquel in two weeks, and switched to Resperidal because of weight gain on Seroquel, went off Resperidal quickly, then gradually reinstated Seroquel to 600 mg. at my request. Went off Seroquel by myself at 25mg. per month in 2014. Last medication Seroquel completely off since May 2016. Also went off Morphine at the same time as last 25 mg. of Seroquel in May 2016. Started tapering Celexa 40mg. to 35mg. on 11 Aug. 2016 ; 16 Oct. Celexa 32.5 mg.; 6 Nov. 2016: 30mg. , 50 mg abt. Feb 26 with occasional 30mg. , : May 10, 2017 began tapering rapidly because of adverse reaction to Celexa;, 40 mg. Celexa; May 24, 2017: 35mg Celexa.; June 8, 2017, 30 mg. Celexa, June 22, 2017 25mg.Celexa,; July 6,2017 20mg. CELEXA, July 20: 15mg.; August 10: Sep 29 2017: 10mg. Celexa + 10mg. Prozac, 5 Oct, 2017: 5mg. Celexa + 10mg. Prozac.; Oct. 14 Celexa 0., Prozac 10mg.Took last Prozac on November 22, 2017, Jan. 31 30mg. Cymbalta........ May Cymbalta 90mg. Supplements Cal/Mag , Potassium, , Multi Vitamin. digestive aid, antioxidant Medications presently taking: Lyrica 150mg. 2x day , Synthroid 175mcg, Nasonex 2 sprays each nostril, once a day , Tylenol 1,000 mg. 2x day., , Restasis eye drops 2x day, Trazodone 100 mg, Cymbalta 90 mg. Arthrotec 50 mg., Plavix Link to comment
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