coming off my citalopram.........update!

[vixta]

I am being weened off my citalopram because of my pregnancy and i am finding things hard!
I used to take 20 mg per day now i have been slowly reduced down to 10mg every other day. I feel so dizzy all of the time but i dont know whether its my pregnancy makin me dizzy or the withdrawal symptoms from the tablets.
I am so snappy towards my kids and my bf and he said i am doing his head in!!! i just cant help it though.... are there any other pregnant moms out there in the same situation as me ... i would like to hear the way you cope with coming off the tablets aswell as being pregnant x x x x x x x

i am officially back on 20mg a day now, i went through a real rough time and spent 4 days in bed, didnt wanna do anything not even wash! i had to see my gp and she said i need 20mg. i feel bad for baby but i know i need the pills else i would be a right looney!

 

[Cateyes]

What Kind of medicine is it that you are being weaned off of. I just got out of rehab last moth getting off all narcotic pain meds that the doctors had me on. I got very sick with withdrawal. Good luck!! {{{hugs}}}

 

[hopeforamirac]

I came off citalopram a few years ago and wasnt pregnant but remember how horrible the side affects are.
Maybe mention it to your doctor and see if he can sugest anything to help.
I wish you all the best stay strong hunny

 

[vixta]

What Kind of medicine is it that you are being weaned off of. I just got out of rehab last moth getting off all narcotic pain meds that the doctors had me on. I got very sick with withdrawal. Good luck!! {{{hugs}}}

citalopram is an antidepressant that helps people with anxiety and panic attacks too x x

 

[vixta]

I am being weened off my citalopram because of my pregnancy and i am finding things hard!
I used to take 20 mg per day now i have been slowly reduced down to 10mg every other day. I feel so dizzy all of the time but i dont know whether its my pregnancy makin me dizzy or the withdrawal symptoms from the tablets.
I am so snappy towards my kids and my bf and he said i am doing his head in!!! i just cant help it though.... are there any other pregnant moms out there in the same situation as me ... i would like to hear the way you cope with coming off the tablets aswell as being pregnant x x x x x x x

in 1 more week i have to stop the pills completely!

 

[ethan amelia]

hi i cam off 40mg citalopram when i found out i was pregnant. my doctor just took me off them straight away but iv been ok. My dpesression is there and iv spoken to my midwife about it today and shes advised me see my GP agaion fro advice.
I didnt really get any side effects but my MS was so bad that i probably didnt ntice!lol xx

 

[AlwaysPraying]

I hear the side effects from coming off are tough! My doctor recommended citalopram to me because we are trying to get pregnant! I'm frustrated hearing so many different opinions, I don't know what's right or wrong. I hear that if possible to be off by the third tri, I've also heard it's ok throughout pregnancy. What are your doctors saying?

 

[ethan amelia]

my doctor said there was a a lack of information relating to effects in preganancy so to be cautious i should come off straight away ( i wasnt even weened just went from 40mg to nothing! iv since been told this was a bad idea!)
x

 

[eeyore83]

It's so funny how medical opinions differ across the profession. My doctor told me there was more risk if you stop taking meds and have to struggle with depression/anxiety/panic attacks. I can't function without my meds. I end up in bed crying all day, and thinking of different ways to do myself in DH rushed me to the dr's last time I tried to stop taking them as I started saying I was having a hard time not jumping in front of the subway in the morning. I can't imagine trying to deal with that PLUS hormones. My dr said Paxil (paroxetine) was the only one that's really had any strong link to problems with the baby.

 

[ALY]

When i fell preg with sam the dr took me off them straight away due to lack of information on how the tablets affect baby xx

i was fine yes i was still depressed but no side effects and id been on them 10months xxxx

 

[vixta]

my doctor said there was a a lack of information relating to effects in preganancy so to be cautious i should come off straight away ( i wasnt even weened just went from 40mg to nothing! iv since been told this was a bad idea!)
x

that is really bad that you were taken from 40mg to nothing! i cannot believe that a gp would do that!!!!
My gp said no way can you just stop taking them, she said that they are safe in early pregnancy but when you get into the second trimester they arent considered safe. the side effects are horrendous i have severe dizziness and i can be ok one minute then the next i will be at the window with it open tryin hard to catch my breath as i am having a panic attack!
All of this whilst coping with early pregnany too !!!!!

 

[marie-louise]

Hello,

I was on 40mg citalopram before my first pg in may and stopped when i got my bfp, I was not feeling too bad but then I had my mmc, I was tempted to go back on but didn't want to go back on as ttc. Yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown and went to the docs in full panic mode and he said there is no way I should be on them when pregnant, he said the risks dont outweigh the benefits and he told me to go home and have a wee glass of wine instead!!! It would take the edge off without the risk! (I didn't, as i'm sure you girlies understand, I just needed to sleep after that!) Anyway, that's just my story!

 

[Minstermind]

While I definitely think there are situations where antidepressants are very useful and needed for that time, I sincerely hope that those of you struggling with this can reach a place of healing and inner transformation so that you get to a place where you don't need the meds. Whether you're pregnant or not. It's just not on going through your lives feeling so depressed and I too was in that place once so that's why I understand it and my heart really goes out to you who have been or are struggling with depression. It's not a nice place to be and wouldn't want to go through it with the hormones of pregnancy, either. I wish you the best with dealing with what sounds like awful side effects as well as adapting to a life without the meds!

 

[vixta]

Sometimes i just tell myself to snap out of it and pull myself together but its not that easy! Today i have felt ok but i cant say how i will feel tommorrow........one day at a time!
At the end of the day i will do whats best for the baby x

 

[JLT]

The midwife asked me to try to come off them. Well I reduced the dose from 20 to 10mg but By the end of this week, I'm shattered emotionally and I'm just not gonna do this to myself.

I have tried other treatments in the past, nothing has worked successfully except the citalopram.

Surely it is better for bean if I am on the citalopram and am happy, not stressed, anxious and depressed than being off the tablets and being all of those things???

 

[vixta]

obviously its better for you to be happy and not stressed out but i just havent a clue if the medical effects of citalopram would harm the baby ???

 

[Cateyes]

Man I do not trust doctors. They really screwed my up the past year being on narctotic pain pills! The pain pills made me feel more pain! An Oxymoron I tell ya!

 

[vixta]

they certainly dont seem to know one way or the other about the effects of citalopram..... all of their opinions differ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cateyes]

they certainly dont seem to know one way or the other about the effects of citalopram..... all of their opinions differ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amen. The people I would ask about the side affects are the pharmasists that you get your meds from. They should know.

 

[JLT]

From what I've read there seems to be evidence to suggest that being stressed and depressed during pregnancy is harmful to the baby.

I have also read that citalopram can harm an unborn baby, but what I have read what more emotive than based on actual research.

I found more evidence to suggest that being stressed/depressed is harmful to baby than I have evidence for citalopram being harmful.

Obviously it does concern me, I genuinely do NOT want to put anything in my body that would harm my baby. But I think the safest solution for me and bean is to be happy and healthy, rather than miserable, unable to cope with my feelings and, for me, at high risk of PND.