Jed12 Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Hi Have just joined and looking for practical advice on supporting myself as have started a gradual reduction of citalopram today. I've been on it for 12 months having been fortunate to never have had mental illness before. Any practical advice much appreciated. Thank you Link to comment
Moderator Gridley Posted May 29, 2019 Moderator Share Posted May 29, 2019 Welcome to SA, Jed12. I'm really glad you've found us before you get far into your taper. To start, please add a signature. Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. This is a direct link to your signature: Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature. SA recommends that you taper by no more than 10% of your current dose every four weeks. Why taper by 10% of my dosage? Here is specific information on tapering Citalopram, including how to obtain the small doses you will need for a 10% taper. Basically, this means cutting the pills and weighing using an AWS Gemini-20 scale (available on Amazon in the U.K.), making your own liquid from the tablets, getting a prescription for liquid, or having your doses compounded at a compounding pharmacy. Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram) These links explain the importance of a slow taper. Brain Remodelling Video: Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium (magnesium glycinate is a good form) and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) Please research all supplements first and only add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems. This is your Introduction topic, where you can ask questions, give updates and connect with other members. Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg End 2021 year 1 of taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of taper at 2.75mg Current dose as of Feb. 25, 2023 2mg Taper is 89% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan-Sept 2016 tapered to 16mg Held until Aug 2021, tapered for 4 weeks to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5 and shift to Valium taper Taper is 87% complete. Supplements: omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice but simply information based on my own experience, as well as other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
jozeff Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Hi! Wow, so very wise of you to search for information before quiting this stuff (CT). You are definitely on the right track. I'm tapering citalopram myself and advise you to take the first steps very carefully. If things go well you can always speed up your taper! Good luck and let us know how things work out for you. Cheers Jozeff - 2016 - Okt 2017 citalopram some months 15 mg some months 20 mg - Nov 2017- Apr 2018 citalopram 25 mg - April 2018 - June 2018 citalopram 3 month TAPER too fast from 25mg to 16.5 mg (0.1 mg per day decrease, felt horrible and crashed) - June 2018 - Aug13th 2018 citalopram trying to stabilize at 16.5 mg for 5 wks - August 14th 2018 - April 29th 2019 citalopram 18 mg (1.5 mg updose). 2019 apr 27 : START taper citalopram @ 18 mg: 29Jun 16.4 mg / 19aug 15.4 mg / 25aug 15.2 mg / 30sep 14.0 mg / 4dec 13.1 mg 2020 03Jan 12.75 mg / 28Jan 12.29 mg / 18Feb 11.83 mg, 25Feb 11.68 mg hold.. / 7May 11.33 mg hold...., 4Aug 10.98 mg / 5Dec 10.0 mg 4 month hold... 2021 30mar 9.8 mg / 06apr 9.5 mg / 13apr 9.4 mg / 14may 8,5 mg / 04jun 8,0 mg / 11jun 7.75 mg, 02jul 7.35 mg / 09jul 7.2 mg hold 3 weeks during holiday /31jul 7 mg/ 8aug 6.8 mg / 15aug 6.63mg / 22aug 6.5mg / 1sep 6.3 mg / 8sep 6.15 mg / 15sep 6.0 mg / 22sep 5.9 mg / 29sep 5.8 mg / 04 oct 5.65 mg / 10oct 5.55 mg / 17oct 5.45 mg / 24oct 5.35mg / 30oct 5.25 mg hold 3 wks / 22nov 5.15 mg / 01dec 5.1mg / 12dec 5.0mg / 20dec 4.85mg / 30dec 4.70mg / 2022 08jan 4.5 mg / 16jan 4.4 mg / 23jan 4.3 mg / 27jan 4.2 mg / 18feb 4.1 mg / 25feb 4.0 mg / 04mar 3.9 mg / 11mar 3.75 mg / 18Mar 3.65 mg / 09apr 3.55 mg / 16apr 3.45 mg / 23apr 3.35 mg / 01may 3.25 mg / 8may 3.15 mg / 17may 3.10 mg / 28 may 3.0 mg / 7jun 2.94 mg / 18 Jun 2.88 mg / 27 jun 2.84 mg / 05 jul 2.80 mg / 16 jul 2.75 mg / 23 jul 2.70 mg / 01aug 2.65 mg / 09aug 2.60 mg hold 5wks / 18sep 2.55 mg / 25sep 2.5 mg /02oct 2.45 mg / 10oct 2.40 mg / 19oct 2.35 mg / 27oct 2.30 mg / 05nov 2.27 mg / 14nov 2.25 mg / 22nov 2.20 mg / 29nov 2.10mg / 09dec 2.05 mg / 15dec 2.0 mg 2023 holding 2.0 mg couple of months now Link to comment
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