Citalopram Side Effects And Withdrawal

I was on Citalopram from August 2017 to June 2018. I decided to taper off of them because I didn’t like how I felt on them. I have had a pill for just over 5 weeks now.

While on the medicine, I was definitely less panicked. However, I had a pretty constant feeling of being out of it, like being drugged or spaced out. I had this before I started the medicine so I was hoping it would help. The other really bad symptom I had was this weird dizziness and vertigo. I was dizzy before I started, but a few weeks in I remember I had rapid feeling in my head before bed like my head was moving. This turned into an awful vertigo sensation that hits hard when I lay down. It feels like I’m spinning or my body parts are moving or being pulled, and makes it hard to sleep sometimes.

Anyway, I came off because I thought I’d feel better without the medicine. Wrong! The symptoms are still there and a little worse, and I’ve felt more panicked. While I can totally deal with the anxiety, this dang dizzy feeling is driving me insane. Anyone else have anything similar to this? Is it only withdrawal? I’ve heard that it can take 3 months to get over withdrawal, I just get less hopeful that it’ll go away the longer it persists, especially since I’ve been not well for over a year. I will add that my balance has also been wonky, last night was the worst as I almost fell on the stairs twice.

One last weird thing that has been happening to me is that my brain seems super aware of my movements, or at least that’s how I would explain it. Like when I lay down, the movements my body makes while breathing will make me feel like I’m moving/off balance and will sometimes startle me as I’m trying to drift off.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

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Hi Jeff,

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. It's ironic how so many of these medications which are marketed to help people actually end up causing worse symptoms than before; often potentiating the need to be on more medication...

According to NIH.gov, the following symptoms are known side effects of Citalopram, including but not limited to: Lightheadedness, dizziness or fainting, blurred vision, agitation, poor coordination, convulsions (seizures), difficulty with concentrating, unusual or sudden body or facial movements or postures, unusual tiredness or weakness, stupor, muscle twitching or jerking, seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there...

You can also view a more complete list of side effects at:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0044531/#DDIC600423.side_effects_section

Hope this insight helps!

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I have the exact symtoms to a T. Every little thing is the same. I don't even use those tablets. I am on Prozac and more than a year ago I got hospitalized for it. The dr said that I have hypertension.

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