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Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)


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4 hours ago, MindDrift said:

@CalmseekerThanks! How did it work with the capsule in terms of tapering? did you keep getting the chemist to keep reducing the doses every time you came down?

 

 

 

For each dose reduction I get the chemist to make a new batch. I'm currently on 2.5 and I'll get them to make 2.3 next and then 2.1. They can make 30 or 50 or 100 capsules. It's a lot more expensive but I find it is worth the cost. 

Temazepan (for sleeep)- as required (no more than one per week) June/July 2020

Valdoxan (for sleep) - 2 weeks in July 2020 - no taper as not required for this drug so stopped straight away 

Temazepan again - July/August - as required, noticed interdose withdrawals - fast taper - last dose 4th October 2020

Citalopram (for panic/anxiety which I suspect was due to the other drugs) - 26th August 2020 - have been tapering since 8th October (20mg>15mg (one week)>10mg(one week)>5mg(one week)>2.5mg (one week). Jumped 1st November - 2 days later had anxiety, insomnia, meloncolic jerks. Reinstated 2.5mg and currently tapering from here. 

 

Supplements - Fish Oil, Probiotic, Vitamin C

 

 

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13 hours ago, MindDrift said:

Hi everyone.

 

I'm tapering off of Citalopram.

 

Down to 5mg daily & have been preparing the dose like this:  Dissolve 20mg tablet in 20ml lukewarm water then use oral syringe to administer 4x5ml doses over 4 days. Well, that's the idea anyway. I'm keeping the prepared liquid in the fridge, in a small glass jar with screw lid. I'm noticing that when I come to the 3rd or 4th dose that there's not enough liquid to make up the last 1 or 2 5ml doses. Not sure what's going on. I thought it was evaporating but can't imagine that's going to happen in a sealed glass jar in the fridge.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

 

x

MindDrift, this is exactly what I do, I have noticed it happening sometimes. It's either evaporating or it has something to do with the syringe. I'm at a lower dose so I always have leftover by the 4th day.

1996 Aurorix, Zoloft, Serzone, Lithium and Aropax

1997 Luvox. 1998 Prozac. 2000 Zyprexa with Prozac

June 2000 Cipramil  October 2000 Prozac again

2001 Sinequan with Risperdal

2002 Cipramil. 2009 Stillnox. 2010 Imovane

2016 February 24th 50mg Luvox and 25mg Largactil. Stopped Largactil 2 days later, back on Imovane

August 2016 125mg Luvox. November 100mg Luvox, December 75mg Luvox.

 

March 2017 50mg Luvox, August 25mg Luvox. September 10mg Lexapro, then 20mg ,October back down to 10mg Lexapro

December 20th 20mg Cipramil

 

2018 January 9th 15mg Cipramil, January 12th 10mg Cipramil. January 20th 5mg Cipramil, February 4th 2.5mg. June 25th 2.4mg, September 17th 2.3mg

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1 minute ago, mariella said:

MindDrift, this is exactly what I do, I have noticed it happening sometimes. It's either evaporating or it has something to do with the syringe. I'm at a lower dose so I always have leftover by the 4th day.

@mariellaThanks Mariella! Yeah, I'm not sure why it's happening either. My concern with this, is that if the water is evaporating, is the water & dissolved Citalopram evaporating together in the same measure. If it is, then the dose would be the same, but if not then the dose is not going to be accurate. Think, till I get a more reliable way of doing things,  I'm going to dissolve a 20mg daily, administer the 5mg then do the same each day. It would mean throwing away the additional 15mg of dissolved solution but at least the dose will be correct. x

Olanzapine 2.5mg 2007 - 8.5.2020. 1.25mg held for 4 weeks then stopped.

 

Citalopram 20mg 2007 - December 2020. Tapered down from 20mg daily, to 1.25, by halving the dose, holding for 3/4 weeks after each reduction, then jumping off in March 2021.

 

23/6/ 2021 Reinstated Citalopram, 0.5mg, held for a week then increased to 1mg. Held for four weeks then increased to 1.5mg. Held for two weeks then increased to 2mg. held for two weeks then increased to 2.5mg. been on 2.5mg since 24/8/21

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Thinking of getting a scale to measure the dose out in powdered form. Anybody got any recommendations of something that could accurately do the job?

 

Thanks! x

Olanzapine 2.5mg 2007 - 8.5.2020. 1.25mg held for 4 weeks then stopped.

 

Citalopram 20mg 2007 - December 2020. Tapered down from 20mg daily, to 1.25, by halving the dose, holding for 3/4 weeks after each reduction, then jumping off in March 2021.

 

23/6/ 2021 Reinstated Citalopram, 0.5mg, held for a week then increased to 1mg. Held for four weeks then increased to 1.5mg. Held for two weeks then increased to 2mg. held for two weeks then increased to 2.5mg. been on 2.5mg since 24/8/21

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55 minutes ago, MindDrift said:

@mariellaThanks Mariella! Yeah, I'm not sure why it's happening either. My concern with this, is that if the water is evaporating, is the water & dissolved Citalopram evaporating together in the same measure. If it is, then the dose would be the same, but if not then the dose is not going to be accurate. Think, till I get a more reliable way of doing things,  I'm going to dissolve a 20mg daily, administer the 5mg then do the same each day. It would mean throwing away the additional 15mg of dissolved solution but at least the dose will be correct. x

🤦 I did not think of this. I've been doing it this way for 2yrs. 🙆🙆

1996 Aurorix, Zoloft, Serzone, Lithium and Aropax

1997 Luvox. 1998 Prozac. 2000 Zyprexa with Prozac

June 2000 Cipramil  October 2000 Prozac again

2001 Sinequan with Risperdal

2002 Cipramil. 2009 Stillnox. 2010 Imovane

2016 February 24th 50mg Luvox and 25mg Largactil. Stopped Largactil 2 days later, back on Imovane

August 2016 125mg Luvox. November 100mg Luvox, December 75mg Luvox.

 

March 2017 50mg Luvox, August 25mg Luvox. September 10mg Lexapro, then 20mg ,October back down to 10mg Lexapro

December 20th 20mg Cipramil

 

2018 January 9th 15mg Cipramil, January 12th 10mg Cipramil. January 20th 5mg Cipramil, February 4th 2.5mg. June 25th 2.4mg, September 17th 2.3mg

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hello everyone,

 

this information can be found in the "Stopping Antidepressants" document by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (see: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants).

 

"* Note: 8mg of citalopram (as hydrochloride) from oral drops is equivalent to 10mg of citalopram (as hydrobromide) in tablet form, so care should be taken when converting dose."

 

Greetings

 

Nomansland

2022 IMPORTANT WITHDRAWAL SURVEY, PLEASE PARTICIPATE: https://uelpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AR9IsQ61jsiXBk

 

non-native speaker of english

2020: 3-March -> started Mirtazapine 15mg;

3-March to 6-April -> approx. cutting to 0 mg; 6-April to 20-April -> ~ 7,5 mg; 21-April to 31-April -> 15 mg; 1-May to 13-May -> ~ 10 mg (approx.); 15-May to 19-July -> 15 mg (psychosomatic clinic) 19-July -> started taper (scale and file) 14 mg (-6,6%); 08-August -> 12 mg (-14,3 %); 27-August -> 10 mg (-16,6 %); 15-September -> 8 mg (-20 %, bad idea, heavy WD); 23-September -> 10.2 mg (+20 %, 102 mgpw)

2021: 12-April to 12-May -> crossover from solid pill to DIY liquid (water only), 10.2 mg, not stable; 10-September -> back to crushing and weighing, still 10.2 mg (102 mgpw)

2022: 13-March -> changed to DIY liquid with suspension vehicle, 10.2 mg

 

Supplements: 1 x ~125 mg magnesiumbiglycinate before bed, low histamine diet

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Hi all.

 

Hoping this message finds you all well today.

 

I have a question about Citalopram withdrawal & reinstatement:

 

When I finally jump off, if the withdrawal gets too much & I need to reinstate, how long will it take for the drug to start working again & the withdrawal to subside?

 

Thanks! x

 

 

Olanzapine 2.5mg 2007 - 8.5.2020. 1.25mg held for 4 weeks then stopped.

 

Citalopram 20mg 2007 - December 2020. Tapered down from 20mg daily, to 1.25, by halving the dose, holding for 3/4 weeks after each reduction, then jumping off in March 2021.

 

23/6/ 2021 Reinstated Citalopram, 0.5mg, held for a week then increased to 1mg. Held for four weeks then increased to 1.5mg. Held for two weeks then increased to 2mg. held for two weeks then increased to 2.5mg. been on 2.5mg since 24/8/21

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  • 4 months later...
  • Moderator
On 2/23/2021 at 11:40 AM, Nomansland said:

Hello everyone,

 

this information can be found in the "Stopping Antidepressants" document by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (see: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants).

 

"* Note: 8mg of citalopram (as hydrochloride) from oral drops is equivalent to 10mg of citalopram (as hydrobromide) in tablet form, so care should be taken when converting dose."

 

Greetings

 

Nomansland

 

I discovered this too late after re-instatement. But a very important point. I wonder if we can pin this to the beginning of the thread. 

"Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig 

 

I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. 

 

In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. 

 

Aug  2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg,  xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn 

Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used)

Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up)

September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0

Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd

March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week

Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering)

citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg,  7/27/19 -1.5 mg,  8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg

 

Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate

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  • 1 year later...

can you store homemade citalopram in the fridge? if so, how long does it last?

Jan 2020 - June 2021 Citalopram                                     (1.5 years)

June 2021 - Sep 2021 Citalopram gradual withdrawal    (3 months withdrawal)

Oct 2021 - Dec 2021   Sertraline                                       (2 months)

Dec 2021                      Sertraline gradual withdrawal      (1 month withdrawal)

Dec 2021 - Feb 2022  Mirtazapine                                    (6 weeks)

Feb 2022 - May 2022   Attempted to come off Mirt 3 separate times (by skipping doses). Simultaneously started citalopram 10mg

May 2022                     Came off Mirtazapine (7.5mg 1 week, 3.75 1 week, stopped) 

                                      Came off Citalopram (10mg 1 week, 5mg 1 week, 2.5mg 1 week, stopped). After stopping citalopram, experienced                                          hypomania-like symptoms including: no urge to eat, no sleep, high mood, constant extreme anxiety

June 2022                    Citalopram re-instated (5mg). Hypomania-like symptoms mostly went away

                                      Experiencing "sensitivity" to citalopram - memory loss, brain fog, SI, headaches, pains in neck, blur vision

Current                         Severe, ongoing Mirtazapine WD, kindling from Citalopram. Holding at 5mg Citalopram, failed attempts at reducing it

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  • Moderator Emeritus
10 hours ago, liverstone1951 said:

can you store homemade citalopram in the fridge? if so, how long does it last?

 

It needs to be in a seal container and can generally be kept for 3-4 days.

* 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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Will an empty plastic toothpick container work? It's the closest thing I have. All my other containers are far too wide, making the liquid very shallow, so it's impossible to draw up from it without getting air bubbles.

 

image.png.63663c52fcd0bf2c30198fc4b5d9c8f0.png

Jan 2020 - June 2021 Citalopram                                     (1.5 years)

June 2021 - Sep 2021 Citalopram gradual withdrawal    (3 months withdrawal)

Oct 2021 - Dec 2021   Sertraline                                       (2 months)

Dec 2021                      Sertraline gradual withdrawal      (1 month withdrawal)

Dec 2021 - Feb 2022  Mirtazapine                                    (6 weeks)

Feb 2022 - May 2022   Attempted to come off Mirt 3 separate times (by skipping doses). Simultaneously started citalopram 10mg

May 2022                     Came off Mirtazapine (7.5mg 1 week, 3.75 1 week, stopped) 

                                      Came off Citalopram (10mg 1 week, 5mg 1 week, 2.5mg 1 week, stopped). After stopping citalopram, experienced                                          hypomania-like symptoms including: no urge to eat, no sleep, high mood, constant extreme anxiety

June 2022                    Citalopram re-instated (5mg). Hypomania-like symptoms mostly went away

                                      Experiencing "sensitivity" to citalopram - memory loss, brain fog, SI, headaches, pains in neck, blur vision

Current                         Severe, ongoing Mirtazapine WD, kindling from Citalopram. Holding at 5mg Citalopram, failed attempts at reducing it

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Instead of storing it in one of those containers, which I would not do because they do not seal completely and some of the liquid might evaporate and therefore my your liquid a stronger dose, you could store it in a bigger container and just tip some into the small container for measuring out.

 

And you could also then look for something suitable; if you can't find something you could ask at the chemist / pharmacy.

* 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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  • 2 months later...
On 9/13/2022 at 2:23 AM, ChessieCat said:

 

It needs to be in a seal container and can generally be kept for 3-4 days.

 

This is why it pays to re-read these topics occasionally.  I've been making up batches and storing them in the fridge for a week at a time, genuinely thought that was the right thing to do.  I'll do it more frequently from now on.

 

I do find it easy to pipette my daily dose into a small bottle and storing the bottles in the fridge.  That way I don't need to concentrate with the measuring on a daily basis.

Citalopram 20mg from 2014. Spring 2016 10mg for 4 weeks then stopped May 2016. Sept 2016, 20mg; increased briefly to 30mg but felt worse and dropped back to 20mg. May 2018 15mg. July 2018 10mg. May 2019 dropped to 7.5mg (ish).  Returned to 10mg from mid-June 2019. 16th Nov 19 gradually changed to 100% dissolved tablet over 2 weeks. 

2019 28th Nov 9mg.

2020 13th Jan 8.1mg. 11th Feb 7.3mg. 29th April 2020 6.57mg. 30th May 5.90mg. 21st July 5.31mg. 17th Sept 4.8mg.

2021 7th Feb 4.3mg. 29th Mar 3.8mg. 10th May 3.42mg. 19th June 3.12mg. 29th Sept 2.83mg. 10th Nov 2.55mg.

2022 7th Jan 2.3mg. 15th Feb 2.07mg. 15th Mar 1.87mg. 7th May 1.68mg. 20th June 1.5mg. 24th Sept 1.43mg. 12th Oct 1.35mg. 12th Nov 2022 commenced Brass Monkey method (mg values are those of the fourth drop where I'll hold for a least 2 weeks): 3rd Dec 1.25mg.

2023 4th Feb 1.097mg. 27th Mar 0.988mg.  8th May 0.89mg. 19th June 0.8mg.  14th Sept 0.72mg. 

2024 (commenced lower dose drops) 1st Jan 0.71mg. 8th Jan 0.70mg. 15th Jan 0.69mg. 22nd Jan 0.68mg. 29th Jan 0.66mg. 5th Feb 0.64mg. 12th Feb 0.6mg.  19th Feb 0.56mg. 25th Mar 0.52mg

 

Supplements:  Omega 3 Algae Oil, Vitamin D, Magnesium Citrate 

Non-AD prescribed drugs: Levothyroxine 200mg (since 1988), Amlodipine 5mg and Ramapril 10mg (since ~2005)

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