citalopram withdrawal

[joanne]

Hi ALL

Any advice would be welcome .I am 5 1/2 months pregnant I was on Citalopram 40mg for post natal depression mainly severe anxiety,panic attcaks.I was not planning to get pregnant as my daughter is only 17 mths old now,anyway gp told me to stay on citalopram as I was already about 7 weeks when I found out,anyway I was worried about the effects of baby and had been feeling really well for some time so appx 6-8 weeks a go I reduced dose to 20 mg and had been feeling fine until a few days ago ,started feeling really faint,sick,felt as if my heart was missing the odd beat which has worried me as just after I had my daughter I had a panic attack and doctor asked how long I had had an ectopice heartbeat,I think I HAVE BEEN worrying ABOUT IT AND YESTERDAY STARTED TO FEEL really anxiousand today feel really PANICKY AND CANT STOP CRYING MY IN LAWS WILL BE ARRIVING SOON AND I Could do with it not being christmas tomorrow as I do not want to let kids down.I do not know if what I am feeling is the side effects of coming off the tablets or that I need the higher dose I do not know whether to go back to 40mg tomorrow and hope things improve in a week or two.any advice please

Jo

[annag]

Did the doctor say it was ok to take this drug in pregnancy?, It sounds like he did so it probably is ok. You could try ringing NHS direct to put your mind at ease. When I was pregnant this time round one day I felt really dizzy and had to leave work. The doctor said the baby was lieing on an artery which causes dizzyness obviously the blood isnt pumping as it should. After a few days it cleared up and I was fine after that. Whats the heart beat thing mean that you mention ? Sorry I'm not up on that medical term.Hope this helps.

[Vonda]

I am not medically trained but I am taking citalopram. It sounds to me like you might have reduced your dose too fast. The gp started to reduce me off but much slower. I took 30mg one day and then 20mg the next and then back up to 30mg. I alternated like that for a month. Then I took 20mg for a month, then 20mg, 10mg for a month and so on. It was reduced very gradually. I did ok till I got down to 10mg every day. Then I went downhill and had to be put back up again.

The doctor told me that if you try to come off this too fast you can actually get worse, so it might be worth going back to your gp and see what they suggest.

I also agree with annag - I would ring nhs direct and ask them what they think.

Don't forget though, even if you up the dose again, it will take a little while before you feel better.

All that aside, with you being pregnant, I would go back to the doctor for a checkup just to be on the safe side. It probably is just caused by your meds, but you might feel better if you hear it from your doctor.

I hope that this helps

Vonda

[wendabell]

welcome hunny and please ring nhs direct like the others have advised.Dont stay like this over christmas please.
Let us know how you get on keep in touch.