SSRI Withdrawal

[chernij]

Citalopram is a truly horrid drug. Gp's should be ashamed of themselves for prescribing it when they know full well of the horrendous side effects it can have and withdrawel issues . It's dished out like smarties and those who have not taken the wretched stuff can never know how it feels to lose your 'self' to this s***...yet how many GPs have ever taken this poison?

Agreed. It was the second SSRI I tried but had to get off it after 3 weeks. Horrid side-effects. Luckily withdrawal wasn't too bad for me as I went on to another straight after.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

...the longer one is on citalopram for and the higher the dose the worse things get... it's a masking drug, it shields from reality, 'waking up' from it to realize your reality can be truly frightening. Slowly does it...docs make stupid suggestions like cut it 10 mg a week!!! W T F??? that's dangerous.....take it way slower...cut it 1mg a week...and when the tears come, when the anxiety comes, when the dizziness etc comes tell yourself it's the pills, it's not me , I am ok...tell yopurself you are a victim of this drug, fight it and win, little steps...one day at a time smell the flowers taste the wine.

 

[PK99]

Citalopram is a truly horrid drug. Gp's should be ashamed of themselves for prescribing it when they know full well of the horrendous side effects it can have and withdrawel issues . It's dished out like smarties and those who have not taken the wretched stuff can never know how it feels to lose your 'self' to this s***...yet how many GPs have ever taken this poison?

A word of caution, it is unwise to be so dogmatic about anything mental health related. All you can speak about is your own experience of the drug, you would do a disservice to others by scaring them off something that my be useful to them.

My experience of citalopram was the polar opposite of yours, and many other patients i spoke to at the Priory also had positive experiences.

 

[Hip Priest]

Cheers for the advice all. I guess slow and steady wins the race. I've not tried Citalopram, but Merseyside pop band The Wombats actually realised a song about it.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti1W7Zu8j9k

 

[mrandmrspoves]

A word of caution, it is unwise to be so dogmatic about anything mental health related. All you can speak about is your own experience of the drug, you would do a disservice to others by scaring them off something that my be useful to them.

My experience of citalopram was the polar opposite of yours, and many other patients i spoke to at the Priory also had positive experiences.

Absolutely agree with you. Citalopram is a useful medication for SOME people and many people would have a hellish life without it and the increasing number of alternative anti-depressants.
Yes side effects can be horrid - but not when compared with the medicines I was working with as a psychiatric nurse 30 years ago!

BOAB is right to be critical of doctors for over prescribing, but unfortunately they do not have many options - try getting to see a counselor on the NHS and you will probably have to wait over 6 months.....and a lot can happen to a person suffering depression in 6 months.

 

[Hip Priest]

Absolutely agree with you. Citalopram is a useful medication for SOME people and many people would have a hellish life without it and the increasing number of alternative anti-depressants.

Would echo that. I found Seroxat really helpful at the time. I was 21 when I developed panic disorder, and I quickly became housebound. The medication helped me back on my feet. 30 years ago I'd probably have been given valium. 60 years ago I'd have been put in an asylum.

I just wish it was easier to come off!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Point taken

My experience has been horrendous, it's my opinion/view based on my experiences.

I think many people suffering from mild depression are given this stuff as a matter of course, when other treatments should be explored first. There are cases where the condition is so severe that getting an ssri into the system can be a life saver. Personally this was the case. However my experience was that citalopram took too long to get onto as well. My experience of fluorextine was more positive, both going on and off. Mirtazapine is a maoi and had a totally different effect, as did lustral, venlafaxine, paroxetine, and another rhorrid blue and white one that made me puke.

Getting off citalopram (I was on 60mg) (and Diazipan) was so tough...the gp even told me to take mirtazapine at the same time as citalopram in an attempt to reduce the witdrawels of citalopram...madness imho.

Anyway...my experiences tell me that taking the decision to get off this stuff is the best thing in the long run, just do it very slowly....

 

[chernij]

A word of caution, it is unwise to be so dogmatic about anything mental health related. All you can speak about is your own experience of the drug, you would do a disservice to others by scaring them off something that my be useful to them.

My experience of citalopram was the polar opposite of yours, and many other patients i spoke to at the Priory also had positive experiences.

Fair play. Apologies for my additional comments, I meant it to simply be sharing my experiences. I think unfortunately a lot of SSRIs are over-prescribed in the UK; CBT/counselling should be the first-line option but unfortunately the resources simply aren't there for everyone to have one-to-one sessions quickly. Waiting-lists are ridiculously long.

 

[coffeejo]

I think unfortunately a lot of SSRIs are over-prescribed in the UK; counselling should be the first-line option but unfortunately the resources simply aren't there for everyone to have one-to-one sessions quickly. Waiting-lists are ridiculously long.

FTFY

 

[PK99]

CBT/counselling should be the first-line option but unfortunately the resources simply aren't there for everyone to have one-to-one sessions quickly. Waiting-lists are ridiculously long.

The Priory model uses both in tandem:
Meds to facilitate clear thinking combined with psycho-education to help understand the illness, symptoms and processes with talking therapy (normally CBT in the first instance) to delve into personal issues and processes.

 

[chernij]

FTFY

You say CBT second-line? Or not at all?

The Priory model uses both in tandem:
Meds to facilitate clear thinking combined with psycho-education to help understand the illness, symptoms and processes with talking therapy (normally CBT in the first instance) to delve into personal issues and processes.

I hear what you're saying. I wasn't aware of the Priory model, but I understand where it comes from.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I did a full years counselling (one on one and group based), CBT and person centred mostly with some psycho dynamic (Freudian stuff).
The thing is that the CBT etc all sounds great while they are talking with you about it etc....it's applying it every day that's tough to keep on top of once you leave the course/clinic whatever...especially when your mind is being scrambled by high doses chemicals like citalopram.

The NHS counselling I got was a joke. All it did was open up old wounds and leave me to stew on them...the total opposite of what it was supposed to do. I wish I had never bothered with the NHS counselling.

Couple of things I have found for myself that worked better for me were The linden method (more to do with controlling serious panic attacks) and Budhist ideas about how to change my mind and how it thinks and deals with life....and more than anything distract distract distract which is where cycling has been good.

 

[coffeejo]

You say CBT second-line? Or not at all?

Like all the different meds, it's only one option of many. Works for some, not for others.

The current attitude in (some) NHS mental health services seems to be a one-size-fits-all model where CBT is offered as the default but IME, it deals with the symptoms not the cause. For many people it's nothing more than a short term fix: the equivalent of constantly pumping up a deflating tyre instead of taking the tube out to mend the puncture.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I found much of what is written in a book called Buddha's Brain useful.

 

[chernij]

Like all the different meds, it's only one option of many. Works for some, not for others.

The current attitude in (some) NHS mental health services seems to be a one-size-fits-all model where CBT is offered as the default but IME, it deals with the symptoms not the cause. For many people it's nothing more than a short term fix: the equivalent of constantly pumping up a deflating tyre instead of taking the tube out to mend the puncture.

Good point - I think in an ideal world it would be CBT in conjunction with meds but unfortunately this isn't always the case. I find it interesting the extremities in views between psychologists and psychiatrists (very generally).