Faith: my journey off Celexa

[Faith]

I started taking Celexa over 3 years ago.  It was never something I was excited about starting but was struggling with anxiety issues and after counseling and many sleepless nights I opted for the "medicated" route.  I first started taking Zoloft but it gave me severe GI upset so I was then switched to Celexa.  

 

I started my taper off of Celexa 40 mg at the beginning of March of this year and it has been ridiculously difficult.  My psychiatrist suggested that I taper 10mg every 1-2 weeks.  I knew withdrawal symptoms were real and awful as I had experienced severe withdrawal symptoms 2 years prior when I had forgotten to take the Celexa for 4 days.  So I went in search of my own research on tapering off of SSRI's.  Since March I have tapered down in 5 mg increments every 2-3 weeks.  I could write forever on the many withdrawal symptoms I have experienced along the way but the main symptoms include; restless legs, anger, crying, headaches, irritability, agitation, fatigue, nausea, forgetfulness, difficulty focusing.  However as of Sunday of this week I was down to 5 mg and decided to stop taking the medication.  Which brings me to day 5 of being off of Celexa and it has been HELL.  I really had not anticipated having such severe withdrawal symptoms and thought that I had tapered off 'just right' and that I would be fine going from 5mg to nothing at all.  However, today has been the worst I am extremely dizzy, I can't focus, everything seems hazy in my mind, extreme nausea and experiencing every emotion under the sun in just shy of 1 minute.  I have to be honest in saying that I feel like a crazy person and have never felt this awful in all my life.  

 

I am very sad and, like many others, scared at what is happening to my body.  I do have a loving husband, a family that is supportive through this time (although I don't think they quite get it and how could they having never gone through it themselves) and faith that sustains me.  However, I am in need of some input on how to proceed from this point.  I am apparently very sensitive to this damn medication, its so frustrating!  I hope this is written out so that others understand, my brain is fried right now so I am sorry if some things do not make sense.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Karma
added topic title to member name

[Petunia]

Hi Faith, welcome to the forum, I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time with trying to come off celexa.  Most of us here have experienced all of those symptoms you mentioned.

 

Someone with more experience than me will be along soon to give you some advice, they will probably suggest reinstating a small dose of the medication and then tapering slower.

 

Here is a link to the topic on withdrawing from celexa:

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2023-tips-for-tapering-off-celexa-citalopram/

 

You have a supportive family to help you, so that's a huge bonus.  Don't worry, with some time and patience, you will be able to come off this medication with minimal discomfort.  Some people just need to take it very slowly.

 

Petu.

[Narcissus]

Hi, Faith, what a lovely name you have.  I'm so sorry for the suffering that Celexa has caused you.  Your symptoms are all classic withdrawal symptoms.  Our advice for people in your situation (as Petu guessed) is to go back on a low dose of the drug and try to stabilize before trying another taper.  It sounds like your tapering schedule was too quick for you, particularly towards the end where you generally want to slow down.  Don't beat yourself up over it though, there's really no way to know how sensitive you are until you've gone too quickly.

 

I would immediately start back on the 5 mgs and see if you find any relief there, then depending on how you feel I would consider going back up to a dose where you were when you felt comfortable before.  At what point during your taper did the withdrawal symptoms start?  At what point did they become severe?It's great to hear that you have a supportive family, and don't worry if they don't quite "get it".  It's very hard for others to fully appreciate the agony of withdrawal without experiencing it themselves, but they can still offer some much needed love and acceptance.

 

Please try the reinstatement of 5 mgs and let us know how you feel, then we can talk about how to taper in a way that's less upsetting for your nervous system.  You can read up on the 10% method we generally suggest here, but it sounds like you might want to do something slower. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/Welcome to the forum!  Things will get much much better than they are now, promise.

[flower]

Faith ..there are several here trying to come off Celexa..You are not alone. Celexa comes in a liquid to go slower.It's amazing the problems it causes.WD I mean...There's lots of help here.

 

I was wondering..Did you stabilize at all after 2-3 weeks of each taper?

[tezza]

Hi Faith and welcome! I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

I agree with Narcissus. Try to get stabilized on a small dose and taper off that later, very slowly.

 

You've come to a good place and we're glad you're here but sorry you need to be.

[Faith]

Thank you all for your support!  I am thankful that a site like this exists.  I did decide to reinstate at 10mg last night, as per some advice.  To answer the question below I did stabilize, or I thought I did, but the lower the dose got the hard it became.  I always experience the worst of the symptoms 1 week after the decrease but then it seemed to level out.

 

Faith ..there are several here trying to come off Celexa..You are not alone. Celexa comes in a liquid to go slower.It's amazing the problems it causes.WD I mean...There's lots of help here.I was wondering..Did you stabilize at all after 2-3 weeks of each taper?

 

[Faith]

Narcissus -  my husband had even tried to get me to see the big picture when we talked about tapering down from 10mg to 5mg and then to nothing. He even said to me, "that is 50% you are cutting it back to".  But I am stubborn and thought I could do it.  I am going to go down 10% this next time for sure.  I tried to call my prescribing doctor this morning and have not heard back.  Without sounding like a complete jerk, and while my DR is aware of my tapering, I have had little to no advice on how to do it or what symptoms I would/could potentially encounter.  Anyway I left a message for him to see if he could change my dosing with the pharmacy to liquid so I could taper down even slower.  If anyone has connections with a great doctor in the KC area who can walk me through this let me know.

 

 

 

Please try the reinstatement of 5 mgs and let us know how you feel, then we can talk about how to taper in a way that's less upsetting for your nervous system.  You can read up on the 10% method we generally suggest here, but it sounds like you might want to do something slower. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/Welcome to the forum!  Things will get much much better than they are now, promise.

[Francis]

I don't know what it is about 5mg of celexa thats so tricky... but thats what completely knocked me for a loop too!  Getting down to 5mg was fairly uneventful for me... general withdrawal, but not complete hell.  My Dr didnt think I "needed" the liquid celexa to taper more slowly, so when I couldnt cut the 5mg any smaller, I just stopped... and hell ensued.  Once I got the liquid, getting from 5mg to 0 was very slow and difficult.  But Im finally off of it.  4 weeks of being on no celexa has had its ups and downs, but Im SO relieved to be functioning and off of the medication!  

 

You Can Do It Too!!! 

 

I also have had my "macho" moments when I feel like I can power through a large drop... but the best thing I ever did was hold at .6mg for around 2 months and actually witness my body start to stabilize.  Because of that experience, I have faith that, given enough time, I will stabilize again.  (Ive had plenty of hopeless moments too... probably a few times a day.)

 

I can't say that Ive learned patience from this experience, but Ive certainly learned that I CAN be patient when absolutely forced (not my strong suit!)

 

The liquid celexa really saved me.  

 

This is a horrible situation to be in and have to push through.  Im not done with the process, but I can certainly say that it gets better!

 

Good luck with stabilizing and maybe getting some liquid celexa if thats what you want.  

[Jemima]

How are you doing on 10 milligrams?

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