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rubyreddress: tapering off celexa


rubyreddress

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Hi All.  I am a 58 year old woman who has been taking celexa for 21 years. How do I slow taper or where can I find the info. I feel that I may be Tardive Dysphoric and am afraid that it is irreversible. Do you think I should try to taper off or just keep taking it not caring whether I live or die. I am more depressed now than when I started taking it. So depressed. Also what can I expect while tapering? God help me and bless you all. Thank you.

Edited by scallywag
tags added

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi rubyreddress -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 
I've moved your post to the Introductions Forum so that more people will see your question. This is YOUR introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community.
 
You may way want to follow this topic so that you get notifications when someone posts in your thread.  Click the gray "Follow this topic" button. A dialog box appears:  select one of the notify options, then click follow this topic in the dialog box.

We suggest that people use a tried-and-tested harm reduction approach: reducing dose by 10% or less and holding at that dose for at least one month.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)
 
For more information about withdrawal symptoms, please read the topic I've linked below.  The intention of cutting dose by small amounts and holding for at least a month is to minimize the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

What is withdrawal syndrome
 
A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-18 months particularly? Any drugs prior to that can just be listed with start and stop years. Please put your withdrawal history in signature  
 
 
Have a look around and come back to this topic to ask your questions.

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 Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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hello all. I have decided to stop taking citalopram. I am 58 and have been taking 60 mg  for 21 years. What I would love to know is....are there any others that have successfully weaned off of citalopram after long term treatment and how long it took you to get off of it. I would also be appreciative to know if you did get off citalopram are you better now? I have read about tardive dysphoria (chronic depression from taking antidepressants too long) and wonder if the citalopram has damaged my brain forever. Thank you for your time and information.

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • Moderator Emeritus

ruby:

 

You have an introduction topic here: rubyreddress:tapering off citalopram 

 

More people will see your questions if you post them there.

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 Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Ruby and welcome to SA,

 

These helped me to understand SA's recommendation for a slow 10% taper of the previous dose with a hold of 4-6 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug:

 

Brain Remodelling (Rhi's Description of Brain Healing)


Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

* 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

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Hi Ruby and welcome to SA,

 

These helped me to understand SA's recommendation for a slow 10% taper of the previous dose with a hold of 4-6 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug:

 

Brain Remodelling (Rhi's Description of Brain Healing)

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

Thanks ChessieCat! You go! go!go!

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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Help! Please! I have reached out to my doc about tapering citalopram and he said to go from 60 mg to 40 mg!!!!!!!!!!!! What an uneducated idiot! I will definately have mega symptoms after taking this for 21 years!!!!!! I cannot change doctors because of my insurance. What do I do now? I cant cut the 40mg pills small enough! Help please anybody.

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • Moderator Emeritus

ruby:  Please read these topics about achieving doses that use manufactured tablets/capsules:
 
Using a digital scale to measure doses

Making a liquid from a tablet or capsules

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 Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment

Hi rubyreddress -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)

 

I've moved your post to the Introductions Forum so that more people will see your question. This is YOUR introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community.

 

You may way want to follow this topic so that you get notifications when someone posts in your thread.  Click the gray "Follow this topic" button. A dialog box appears:  select one of the notify options, then click follow this topic in the dialog box.

 

We suggest that people use a tried-and-tested harm reduction approach: reducing dose by 10% or less and holding at that dose for at least one month.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)

 

For more information about withdrawal symptoms, please read the topic I've linked below.  The intention of cutting dose by small amounts and holding for at least a month is to minimize the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome

 

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-18 months particularly? Any drugs prior to that can just be listed with start and stop years. Please put your withdrawal history in signature  

 

 

Have a look around and come back to this topic to ask your questions.

Thank you Scallywag!!!

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

Link to comment

ruby:  Please read these topics about achieving doses that use manufactured tablets/capsules:

 

Using a digital scale to measure doses

 

Making a liquid from a tablet or capsules

 

ruby:  Please read these topics about achieving doses that use manufactured tablets/capsules:

 

Using a digital scale to measure doses

 

Making a liquid from a tablet or capsules

Thanks for your help!

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • 1 month later...

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/803-dr-peter-breggins-10-taper-method/                                                        this is a great place to go if you want a wealth of information on tapering. Thank you Altostrata!

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • 10 months later...

Hey everyone! Computer died, got a new one and thought I would check in. I'm now down to 17mg of celexa or should I say Sucks-lexa. Ha.Ha. Anyway I have been chugging along reducing my dose by Dr. Peter Breggins' method (just a little slower). He is my super-hero! I am starting to feel consistently better. I still have my ups and downs but with good,regular and committed therapy I am getting by. I  definitely feel better than I did a year ago so that is saying a lot. I hope that my brain (and everyone else's) can heal itself from all the damage done by this poisonous drug! Good luck to everyone and thank you scallywag ,Altostrata and ChessieCat (hope I didn't forget anyone) for turning me onto invaluable information that I believed has miraculously gotten me this far! LOVE!

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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  • Moderator Emeritus
19 minutes ago, rubyreddress said:

I  definitely feel better than I did a year ago

 

That's really great to hear.  Thanks for dropping and an updating.

 

I'd just like to remind you to update your signature whilst you are here.  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

And yes, I'm also feeling improvement the lower my dose gets.

* 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

Awesome ChessieCat! Thanks!

 

1997 tried zoloft quit after 10 days     paxil for 2 weeks  1998 prozac for 2 months  1998 welbutrin for 2 weeks                1998 celexa 20 mg. a day for 2 years     2000 celexa 40 mg. a day for 3 years 2015 celexa 60 mg until august 2016      Titrated down to 50mg. august 12  2016 Titrated down to 45 mg. september 12 2016. October 2016 to 2017 Titrated over the last 10 months to August 2017, currently 17mg celexa.  carbamazapine  400 mg. started july 2016

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Hi there, I am thinking of switching to Celexa and wondered what sort of taper you did?  Was it 10% and how often?

Did you ever have to slow down to 5% or go longer in between and/or do "holds" etc?

What sort of symptoms did you experience?
What is carbamazapine and why are you on that?

Thank you!

1995-2007      20mg Aropax/Paxil for pain.  Years of up and down doses

2008                Endep, Lexapro and then Esipram (hell!) CT (oh dear!)

2009                20mg Aropax.  Tried skipping doses for a year (more hell!)

                        2010                10mg.  10% taper.  Lasted 4 months. Crashed again

2011                5% taper. 9mg-7mg (hell got even worse!)

2012                2.5% taper.  6.6mg – 5.6mg (worser still & unbearable)

2013                5% taper.  Big mistake.  5.5mg – 4.6mg  (even worserer)

2014                2.5% taper.  4.9mg – 4.5mg;    2015 2.5% taper 4.4 - 4.0mg

2016                2.5% taper.  3.9mg  Feb 3.8   Mar 3.7  May 3.6   Jul 3.5

2017                2.5% taper.  Jan 3.4;   Mar 3.35;  Apr 3.3; Oct 3; Dec 2.9;

2018                2.5% taper. Jan 2.8; Mar 2.7; Mar: 2.75; Jun 2.7; Aug 2.6; Oct 2.5; Nov 2.4; Dec 2.3

2019                Jan 2.2; Feb 2.1;

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  • Moderator Emeritus

There is a very important survey on drug WD at the moment. We might finally get some acknowledgement for all the suffering these drugs caused us.

 

Adding your experience would be very valuable. It only takes a few minutes. They extended it because they got so many replies after Alto mobilised our members here but the more people join, the more powerful we are.

 

https://roehamptonpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6gSHZN88sOmHDlr

 

Edited by bubble

Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2

2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013)

Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 
1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg.
2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg
went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days after
reinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours
28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr  2015 1 mg,  25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64  Xanax     9 month hold

24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26

Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic 

I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. 

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