Kain: Hey changing to Prozac since citalopram stopped working.

[Kain]

Hey my name is Matt but I use the name kain feel free to call me either.

 

I'm actually in the middle of a really rough patch. My anxiety has come back with a vengeance after citalopram stopped working after 4 years. I'm as high as I can go on citalopram and am not excited about this switch.

 

My doctor wants to do a cross taper which scares me because im worried about serotonin syndrome. I'm also on 2mg of klonopin a day and have been since my anxiety has come back. It's so debilitating and I was just wondering if anybody has had an ssri stop working on them and find a other ssri helped? Or anybody have experience with a cross taper?

[nz11]

Kain welcome to sa.

So how high are you in dose on citalopram? Have you recently upped the dose?

Were you on other psychotropic drugs prior to citalopram?

You might like to complete a drug signature.

When did you start klonopin? Did you know that within two weeks dependancy may be established on this.

What does the doctor say about serotonin syndrome risk.

Whats the cross taper plan...does the doc have a plan B should it turn to custard have you asked the doc his success rate with these cross tapers? what did he say? ....

[Petunia]

Hi Kain, and welcome from me too.

 

I'm sorry you are going through a difficult time right now. Psychiatric drugs don't cure anything and often if they are helpful initially, they stop working after a while, especially if the underlying cause of the symptoms hasn't been identified and resolved. Do you know what caused your initial anxiety? Maybe you were having a normal reaction to a difficult situation.

 

Doctors like to medicate problem emotions, because its convenient, quick and that's really all they have been trained to do. But temporary suppression of emotions with harmful, powerful drugs rarely helps anyone long term and brings other health risks. Only in extreme cases should these drugs be used. But sadly, they are handed out like candy at Halloween.

 

This web site is primarily to inform people how to safely taper off psych drugs and to support those who are tapering or recovering from withdrawal reactions. So I really can't advise you about switching drugs. Your concerns about serotonin syndrome are valid though. My best advise would be to slowly and safely taper off citalopram, which is obviously no longer helping, and then find healthy ways to deal with anxiety, which is actually a normal part of life and not an illness. If emotions are unmanageable and disrupting life, there is usually an underlying cause, which should be identified and dealt with properly. Finding a good counselor or therapist would be a good place to start. They can help you identify what might be causing the increased anxiety.

 

If you have been taking Klonopin daily for more than a week or two, you have probably become dependent on it and will also need to taper that in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

 

Here are some topics you may find helpful:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)

 

and here is the link to our benzo forum, where you can get advice regarding how to safely taper off klonopin: Members-only benzo forum

 

I'm sorry we can't help you with switching drugs, I hope you will consider my suggestion about finding safer, healthier ways to manage your life. Drugs don't cure anything, they only mask symptoms and in the long run, cause worse health and increased risk of new illness. I'd highly recommend reading Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker.

 

If you would like help and support with safe tapering, please use this thread as your own journal and to communicate with the community here. We would be happy to help you with this if you decide to go a healthier route.  If so, please would put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature. Doing this helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts. Here are instructions for how to do it:

 

Please put your withdrawal history in your signature