Stopping citalopram cold turkey?

[oitnb]

So I've been taking celexa aka citalopram 20 mg for one month now. I really just want to stop taking it.

 

I haven't had any side effects, that's not the reason I want to stop. I want to stop because I feel it's not necessary for me to take this drug anymore. A month ago I had some pretty bad anxiety, but looking back in hindsight I know the anxiety was just from the horrible, abusive relationship I was in.

 

I am just going to stop cold turkey, and I'm curious about other people who have stopped cold turkey and what the side effects could be.

[alli]

Why don't you just call your doctor and ask if you can do that?! You really shouldn't just stop taking a drug if your doctor didn't tell you to do so; the same way you wouldn't start taking a prescription medication without a doctor telling you to. Don't ever try that with corticosteroids. Bad things can happen.

[alli]

Here is a link where people talk about the side effects they experience when stopping celexa:

 

link removed

 

Surely if you really don't want to take it anymore, your doctor can tell you whether or not it is ok to stop cold turkey or how you can taper down the dose to eventually stop using it.

 

Also consider that perhaps you are feeling better because the drug is actually working; not because you don't need it.

[ParisPaulette]

When it comes to prescription drugs my advice is always consult your physician or at least another doctor about it. No one on here is really qualified medically or possibly legally to answer the question you're asking unless they're a doctor. And most would likely stay away from recommending something to a person they haven't actually seen in their office. However your doctor can answer the questions you have or if you want a second medical opinion or even a third you can get those from other physicians and quite possibly your pharmacist too.

[Moontiger]

Discuss this with your doctor/therapist first. With anti-depressants, sometimes people taken get to a point where they feel good and think they no longer need them. Maybe your body has adjusted to the drugs and that's what's helping you feel good right now? I cannot say since I'm not a doctor. If I were getting off a drug like this I would do a gradual decrease in the amount I was taking. Your less likely to feel side effects that way.

[Seraphim]

Call your dr going cold turkey off an SSRI is actually dangerous.

[shes2smart]

Bad idea.

 

Unless you like the idea of your brain chemistry going haywire and making you feel like crap for about a week.

 

Even the slow taper off will likely give you some symptoms. My taper off Lexapro (chemically related to Celexa) was hellish - brain zaps, headaches, racing heartbeat....and that was following my doc's instructions.

[Seraphim]

Bad idea.

 

Unless you like the idea of your brain chemistry going haywire and making you feel like crap for about a week.

 

Even the slow taper off will likely give you some symptoms. My taper off Lexapro (chemically related to Celexa) was hellish - brain zaps, headaches, racing heartbeat....and that was following my doc's instructions.

Yup! You can also become homicidal or suicidal cold turkeying off these medications.

[redrose85]

Please consult your dr about getting off the meds before you make any changes.

[oitnb]

Okay guys I just wanted to give an update. I did (stupidly) stop cold turkey, and was fine day 1 but by the night of day 2 I was uncharacteristically sad and down so I went back on them. I'm going to talk to my doctor about how I should go about slowly tapering off.

[Blackey]

DO NOT stop cold turkey. stopping might potentially cause pretty severe withdrawal symptoms... some of them might be pretty severe...like depression, anxiety, dizziness, tremors any many more (cant recall all of them, just google)

I am a nursing student, currently in the field of mental health, so i have some knowledge about these type of medications.

Call your physician and ask him to taper you off these medications, it is much safer.