citalopram

[RayannAbbey]

what is 10mg of citalopram equivalent to with sertraline? Thanks in advance

[blackcat64013]

Hi, Thank you for your post.

To the best of my knowledge each medication works slightly differently, even if they are in the same class of drug.

Your doctor is best placed to advise on switching to a different medication.

The decision to switch should be made with you, considering your symptoms and side effects. Its really risk versus rewards in changing.

I hope this helps 🦘

[RayannAbbey in reply to blackcat64013]

thank you. Been on citalopram for 10 days and so teary today.

[blackcat64013 in reply to RayannAbbey]

Some days are better than others.🤔 If you feel overall much worse and this continues, you don't need to wait the usual 4-6 weeks before switching. Call the doctor for a meds review.

All the best 🦘

[RayannAbbey in reply to blackcat64013]

thank you

[Gnugoo]

blackcat has it right - your first port of call would be back with your GP who has the capacity (if I recall correctly) to increase your dosage to at least 30mg before needing to refer you to a consultant psychiatrist. The GP would naturally only increase the dosage in increments after a period of perhaps a couple of weeks, to ensure no adverse reaction - even if starting on a dose lower than the Sertraline equivalent which (I guess) you were on before.

If Sertraline was your previous medication I understand your curiosity. I found the following research on PubMed (for Citalopram, read Escitalopram):

Results: We included 83 studies (14 131 participants). In the primary analysis, fluoxetine 40mg/day was equivalent to paroxetine dosage of 34.0mg/day, agomelatine 53.2mg/day, amitriptyline, 122.3mg/day, bupropion 348.5mg/day, clomipramine 116.1mg/day, desipramine 196.3mg/day, dothiepin 154.8mg/day, doxepin 140.1mg/day, escitalopram 18.0mg/day, fluvoxamine 143.3mg/day, imipramine 137.2mg/day, lofepramine 250.2mg/day, maprotiline 118.0mg/day, mianserin, 101.1mg/day, mirtazapine 50.9mg/day, moclobemide 575.2mg/day, nefazodone 535.2mg/day, nortriptyline 100.9mg/day, reboxetine 11.5mg/day, sertraline 98.5mg/day, trazodone 401.4mg/day, and venlafaxine 149.4mg/day. Sensitivity analyses corroborated the results except for doxepin.

So, if I read this awkward bundle of text correctly, your 10mg Citalopram would be roughly equivalent to 55mg Sertraline. I have no experience of Sertraline, but did take 150mg Venlafaxine daily for a few years and, when the weird effects of Venlafaxine became to difficult to manage, my GP put me on to 20mg Citalopram daily - which suggests the above equivalences are about right at least in my experience.

Keep open the lines of communication with your GP (even when things start to look brighter, keep them posted!) And best of luck on your journey. Always happy to share what helped me - but in case you've heard it all before, I won't bore you with it here. 😀👍

[RayannAbbey in reply to Gnugoo]

thank you so much for your response.

[RayannAbbey in reply to Gnugoo]

I spoke to my dr today and she said 20mg of citalopram is on par with 50mg sertraline. Hope she’s right otherwise I’m going to be seriously sick tomorrow as I could only tolerate 50mg sertraline. Thanks again.