I was put on Celexa and have been on it for just over two weeks. At any rate, it does not help me at all with my ADHD problems, so my doctor wrote me a prescription for something else.

Anyway, what's the best way of getting off this medication? The pills are scored in the middle, which leads me to believe they can be broken up. Should I take a half tablet for a few days and then stop? Or should I take 3/4 a tab for a few days, then a 1/2 tab for a few days, then a 1/4 for a few days and then stop?

I suggest asking the doctor.

yeah, that might be a good idea. Its sort of a pain to get in contact with him, though. I guess I should leave a message.

Verrry slowly...

Discontinuation syndrome can be real b**ch. When I tried Celexa, I experienced a bit of discomfort, but no where near what Effexor and Cymbalta caused me.

I'm rather surprised that your doc didn't mention how to pull back from your meds, but I backed off of my dosage by the easiest increment to accommodate.

You didn't mention your exact dosages, but for example, if you have been taking two tablets, try taking 1 and a half for a week or so and see how it treats you. If you didn't get any nasty effects (believe me you'll know it when/if they hit) drop another half tablet.

The key is to take a very gentle "glide slope" when decreasing the meds; if you rush it you will most likely not like the backlash.

Me, the first time I came off of an extended dosage, I thought "How bad could it be?" well, I found out... I have a high tolerance for pain, but a very low tolerance for discomfort and it sucked.

I offer this as useful knowledge based on my experiences; I am no Phd (but I wouldn't mind the pay...) I would strongly suggest you contact your provider even as a telephone consult, and ask him the best way to discontinue the Celexa.

Take care,
ESM

I take one 20mg tab a day.

I'm not so sure that 2 weeks on Celexa is going to cause a severe reaction. I was on Celexa for 6 months and I tried stopping abruptly and had unbelievably horrible symptoms of SSRI cessation syndrome (or whatever the name is). I think my symptoms were as bad as anyone withdrawing from an opiate except they lasted longer than 3 days. I wasn't sure if I was having a heart attack, the flu, or just dying. I finally realized what was happening (actually my wife did) and I took 20 mg and was fine again.

I've been on a gradual reduction of dosage from 20 to 10. I'm going to try 5 mg soon for a few weeks and then quit. Unfortunately, this all came about at the same time I was diagnosed with ADHD so now I'm in a holding pattern until I can get situated with my ADHD medication. Then I want nothing to do with SSRIs if I can help it. In fact, I'll be hesitant to ever try anything like Strattera that takes days or weeks to take effect as this has been a bad experience. Long-acting means long-quitting to me.

On another note, it took me over 2 weeks to see any change with Celexa. What it did for me was take the edge off my temper so my fuse wasn't quite so short. It did nothing for any other ADHD symptoms. Now that I've been diagnosed, I think that proper ADHD medication and control will keep my temper in check. It seems that Adderall has definitely helped in that respect although it has not helped a lot with my focus. It has helped in calming me down, though.

As others advise, talk to your doctor.


You may be panicking and jumping to assumptions in anxiety when there is no risk of withdrawals Sxs.

Honestly, I have never had [nor read/heard of] a WD syndromefor Celexa (citalopram).

Based on what others say -- Effexor and Paxil seem to have the worst 'reputations' for WD syndromes.

They have incredibly short half lives, that Celexa does not, IIRC.

Short half life is a factor in terrible withdrawal, BTW.

I have a URL link to a withdrawal protocol for that which can apparently help, if anyone has problems getting off those two. (Most Doctors don't know about it.)

Yeah, I'm just going to go off gradually and talk to my doctor about it.

As others have said: Talk to you doctor.

You should have no problem at all getting off an SSRI considering you've only been on it for 2 weeks. Don't reduce the dose too slowly or it'll just make things a little worse, nothing THAT bad though.

Stay away from effexor if you're worried about withdrawal. It effects serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine which makes it much worse to come off. Really short half life also.