Maxime: 3 months off citalopram

[Maxime]

Been 3 months i'm off citalopram...  having really bad stomac pain for the last 2 months. Dr, told me ibs, impossible that could be withdrawal, it wouldnt last that long.. 

 

All others withdrawal are almost gone; no more dizziness, brain zap, fatigue is back to normal, mood swing are better. 

 

Left me with a choice, go back on pills to stop IBS which might be psychomatic to him or live with stomac digestives troubles.  

 

Atleast depression seem to be over, i'm definitly ok on that side. 

[Maxime]

I'm 37 years old,  3-4 years i was on escitalopram for depression and Ibs. 10 mg for 3 years,  5 mg for about a year, then off. 

 

3 months off right now. Withdrawal are ok, were really bad the first 3-4 weeks then it smoothed a little. Now i only have and mostly stomac pain, digestives problems and craps. Dortor told me last week, it's not withdrawal, for him, withdrawal are matter of 2-3 weeks and that's it. 

 

On citalopram i was very tired alll the time, i slept about 10-12 hours a day and always wanted to take a nap in the afternone. I had pretty bad headache and muscle pain without doing any exercises. It never went away like it suppose to, after few week of traitement.m

 

y dortor decided I was enough stable to stop and try to get my life back. 

 

So we here now, 3 months off, dortor said i have to make a choice: going back to pills because it might be anxiety that cause stomac pain( i dont anxious at all) or live with it..

 

Trying my best, english is not my first language.

[Sassenach]

Hello Maxime and welcome to SA.

 

This site is run by volunteer Administrators and Moderators.

 

How long were you taking Citalopram, what dose?

Did you stop cold turkey or taper?

If you tapered, how quickly?

On 8/24/2019 at 3:33 AM, Maxime said:

Dr, told me ibs, impossible that could be withdrawal, it wouldnt last that long..  

Unfortunately doctors know nothing about withdawal.

If you could answer the above questions we will try to advise you.

This link may be of interest. There are others so plese feel free to browse the site and interact with other members.

digestive-problems-nausea-diarrhoea-bloating-gerd/

 

Again welcome to SA

 

Sassenach

 

[Maxime]

My mistake, it was Escitalopram or cipralex, 3 years at 10 mg, 1 year at 5mg, then nothing. Doc told me at 5mg, it's too low to worry about tappering it. Stopped may 5 this year. 

 

I just dont understand, i didnt have any disgestion, cramps or stomac pain in the initial withdrawal that lasted about 1 or 2 months. 

 

Feeling really bad today, nausea and stomac cramps, been while i didnt feel pain like that. Just thinking to restart the pills to stop this misery. 

 

Thanks a lot. 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Gridley

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, Maxime said:

I just dont understand, i didnt have any disgestion, cramps or stomac pain in the initial withdrawal that lasted about 1 or 2 months. 

 

The lower doses are the doses most important to taper slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

 

Withdrawal symptoms very often hit hard around the 3 month point.  

 

Reinstatement is the only known way to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.  It's no guarantee but it's the best method available.  However, reinstatement works most predictably within 3 months of your last dose, and you are at 3 1/2 months.  Please read:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic

 

If you did reinstate, you should not reinstate at 5mg or 10mg, as your doctor will no doubt suggest.  In the time you've been off the drug, your system has made adjustments to being drug-free.  Taking too much of the drug can overwhelm your system and destabilize you further.  If you do decide to reinstate, it should be no more than 0.5 to 1mg of the drug.  

 

Please let us know what you decide to do.  We will be happy to support you and offer guidance, whatever your decision.

 

Have you seen a gastroenterologist to see if your problem is physical?

Edited August 25, 2019 by Gridley

[Maxime]

Blood test and fecal this week. I think i'll keep going without it, side effect of escitalopram were living hell for me, already lost 4 years of my life without sport, social life etc etc. 

 

I tried to get back on my bicycle last week, i did 2 x 15-20 milles and on the last run i wasnt sure i would make it back home..lol

 

I'll do atleast all the test my doctor want to check for my stomac, then i ll make a decision. But like i said, 4 months off it's already a long run off this drug, i really not want to do that again. 

 

I didnt know about the 3 months mark as "hit hard withdrawal"

 

Thanks for the informations,  and everything. 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

Hi Maxime and welcome from me too,

 

Here's some additional information which might help you to understand what is happening:

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

Withdrawal Normal Description

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

We strongly encourage members to learn and use non drug coping techniques to help get through tough times.

 

Understanding what is happening helps us to not get caught up with the second fear, or fear of the fear.  This happens when we experience sensations in our body and because we don't understand them we are scared of them and then start to panic.

 

This document has a diagram of the body explaining what happens in the body when we become anxious:

 

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AnxietySelfHelp.pdf

 

Anxiety Stuff - all kinds of stuff about anxiety attacks and things that help ...

 

Audio FEMALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Audio MALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

Dr Claire Weekes suffered from anxiety and learned and taught ways of coping.  There are videos available on YouTube.

 

Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Audio:  How to Recover from Anxiety - Dr Claire Weekes

 

CBT Course:  An Introductory Self-Help Course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

 

Resources:  Centre for Clinical Interventions (PDF modules that you can work through, eg:  Depression, Distress Intolerance, Health Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, Panic Attacks, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Social Anxiety, Worrying)

 

On 4/28/2017 at 4:03 AM, brassmonkey said:

 

AAF: Acknowledge, Accept, Float.  It's what you have to do when nothing else works, and can be a very powerful tool in coping with anxiety.  The neuroemotional anxiety many of us feel during WD is directly caused by the drugs and their chemical reactions in the brain.  Making it so there is nothing we can do about them.  They won't respond to other drugs, relaxation techniques and the like.  They do, however, react very well to being ignored.  That's the concept behind AAF.  Acknowledge, get to know the feeling involved, explore them.  Accept, These feelings are a part of you and they aren't going anywhere fast. Float, let the feeling float off as you get on with your life as best as you can.  It's a well documented fact that the more you feed in to anxiety the worse it gets.  What starts as generalized neuroemotinal anxiety can be easily blown into a full fledged panic attack just by thinking about it.

 

I often liken it to an unwanted house guest.  At first you talk to them, have conversations, communicate with them.  After a while you figure out that they aren't leaving and there is nothing you can do to get rid of them.  So you go on about your day, working around them until they get bored and leave.

 

It can take some practice, but AAF really does work.  I hope you give it a try.

 

 

[Maxime]

A lot to read lol, good pratice for my english, I'm french canadian.

 

I like that concept AAF : Acknowledge, get to know the feeling involved, explore them.  Accept, These feelings area part of you and they aren't going anywhere fast. Float, let the feeling float off as you get on with your life as best as you can.

 

This mostly how i went throught the first insane withdrawal i had at start ( the first 2-3 weeks) told my self " get ready for hell, face it and the pain is only the process of it". 

 

But i was like you said, I was definitly in linear mode about healing and for a good reason. The big guys with the big diploma on walls are too, after all I'm the one who is taking brain pills to make it trhought the days. 

 

Acceptance of windows and waves I'm feeling right now will definitly be easier after all medical test. 

 

Thanks again. 

 

[Maxime]

Another thing to help me going throught is drawing. Been drawing for years but i decided to relearn drawing from step 0. 

 

It get my self buzzy, without doing exhausting physical activities i would normaly do. It push the brain to work on something else, thinking to something else, if you really focus on it, it easy the bad withdrawals. 

 

I think is express well my pain for today lol 

[Gridley]

47 minutes ago, Maxime said:

drawing.

 

Very nice, Maxime!

[Eastcoastgirl]

Hey Maxime ! I'm from Nova Scotia, it's nice to see another Canadian here, despite the circumstances. I took Citalopram for nearly 10 years. I always had problems with my stomach while on it, and when I stopped it got much worse. I had constant stomach pains, vomiting, bloating, etc. I lived with it for a few months until I did some research and got tested for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). Citalopram seems to be very harsh on the GI system. I have talked to a few other people who have had the same experience coming off the drug. You could try limiting your carb & sugar intake and see if that makes a difference. Otherwise, sometimes your stomach just needs time to adjust to the changes. Most of your serotonin is made in your GI tract, so it's understandable that many of us feel stomach discomfort when stopping SSRIs. 

[Sassenach]

Hello Maxime

 

Just checking in.

 

Please let us know the outcome of your tests, hope all is well.

 

You have a great attitude which will help you through this.

 

Sassenach

[Maxime]

Yeah sure, waiting on them, no reinstatement for now. 

[Maxime]

On 8/25/2019 at 11:38 PM, KMart95 said:

Hey Maxime ! I'm from Nova Scotia, it's nice to see another Canadian here, despite the circumstances. I took Citalopram for nearly 10 years. I always had problems with my stomach while on it, and when I stopped it got much worse. I had constant stomach pains, vomiting, bloating, etc. I lived with it for a few months until I did some research and got tested for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). Citalopram seems to be very harsh on the GI system. I have talked to a few other people who have had the same experience coming off the drug. You could try limiting your carb & sugar intake and see if that makes a difference. Otherwise, sometimes your stomach just needs time to adjust to the changes. Most of your serotonin is made in your GI tract, so it's understandable that many of us feel stomach discomfort when stopping SSRIs. 

 

Thanks for sharing, it's helping to know it could  be only this drug, that is really hard on stomach and i'm not alone.  I'm starting Keto diet soon, my girlfriend been on it for 3 months, she lost 40lbs. I just been added to the FB group, 35 000 members, this diet is a storm right now. 

 

I have done SIBO a while ago, they didnt find anything. Taking very hot bath it's helping a bit for now, waiting on blood test and other thing. 

 

Thanks 

[Maxime]

Refreshing the topic; blood test are normals, except i have a fat liver. 

 

Getting really nauseous today, idk if it a liver condition or withdrawal, hard to tell.. stomach pain very mild to not much. 

[Maxime]

Reinstatement yesterday, i couldnt deal any more with the anxiety, after almost 6 months.. back to 2.5mg. 

 

Having Ct scan, echography planned for stomach issue, my doc is not believing thats withdrawals because it can't last that long or it's relapse of anxiety. 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

 

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[Maxime]

Back to escitalopram 5mg , i couldnt stand any more this living hell of withdrawals. Relapse for my family doc, there not such withdrawals and he added to the cocktail 150xl wellbutrin once a day

[Altostrata]

Hello, @Maxime, how are you doing? 

 

Please put the names of your drugs in your signature.

[Maxime]

@AltostrataBetter, still trying to quit. At 3 mg right now on escitalopram. I do 1 mg tapper every 2-3 months very slowly but surely.