How do I come off citalopram. Ive been on them for over 2 years. I now feel I can cope better with life. I get a few side affects from the medication which I dont like. Last week I took the tablets every other day. I didnt get any side effects from that, in fact I felt a bit more alert. The tablets made me feel sleepy and confused when I was on them.
How long should I alternate the days and should I see my gp.
It is best to do this with the supervision of your GP, but I;m glad you are taking it slowly.
I've been on and off citalopram loads of times. What dose are you taking?
My usual dose is 20mg. I spend two weeks alternating between 20mg and 10mg, then take 10mg a day for two weeks. Then take 10mg every other day for a week, then stop. I do experience a bit of dizziness as my body is asking where the rest is, but it doesn't last!
Good luck with it! X
Thanks for that. Im on 20mg at the moment. Might ask the gp to give me 10mg then.
Yeh, or just cut them in half?
If you feel you are ready to come off your medication I concur with the replies you have received.
I would still have a chat with the GP.
Sound like your ready to come off the citalopram, but a quick chat with your GP might be good. Though you sound like your doing exactly what they would do.
I am just getting to the stage with citalopram that is really working for me, but on 40mg as 20mg was no good.
You need to be stable and well for 6 months before you come off it and it should always be under gp / dr supervision. I take it and wouldn't consider coming off it without a good chat / emergency plan with gp for if I don't feel well. If it was heart medication or something similar you wouldn't dream of taking yourself off it without medical supervision so what's the difference? Good luck and I hope you feel well.
Also, some medications, although probably not citalopram are formulated in a way which makes dividing them in any way ineffective and/or unsafe - which is another reason for medical supervision.
Ann
chat to your gp. depends on the dose on how you come off. self medicating with regards to this is tricky, easy to mess up especially if you aren't ready. you may think you are but if its been two years what's another few months or so? please talk to your gp.
You have just answered your own question, you should be doing this with your gp, they are heavy drugs, that should never be done lightly, or you could enduce, a down ward spiral, which will leave you back to square one!!
kind thoughts
Hi - like yourself I have been coping quite well recently and have successfully stopped taking citalopram last Saturday - well so far so good anyway - I know its early days!. I also was taking 20mg a day for the last couple of years - I never returned to see my GP throughout that time and always just phoned the surgery for repeat prescriptions. I remember feeling very anxious about becoming addicted to the medication and remember discussing this with my GP at the time - he basically advised me that the dosage is easily increased/decreased as necessary and that to stop taking them should be a gradual process to reduce the chance of side effects. I stopped by first of all taking 20 mg on alternate days and after a couple of weeks I then called the surgery to request 10 mg tablets - I took this dosage every day for about 1 month and then on alternate days for 2 weeks and finally stopped taking them last Saturday - so far I have had no severe side effects - slight light headedness now and again but nothing too severe. Over the last 6 months I have done various courses - counselling, CBT and currently I am participating in a wellness recovery action planning group - I think all of these courses have helped and would really recommend them as a support and coping strategy. Good luck and good to hear things are improving for you - we can only but try!
Thanks for this. I am taking 20mg alternate days. I am talking to the gp tonight just to check everything and to ask for 10mg for my next repeat in a few weeks. Sounds like I will do the same as you. Thanks
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