Experiences weaning off anti-depressants

[Into The Light]

i'm not stopping my medication but i just got curious about people's experiences discontinuing their anti-depressants. i forgot to take my dose this morning and i feel sick and tired. i'm not sure if it's because i forgot my dose or if maybe i'm just getting run down a bit. in any case, it got me wondering. has anyone here weaned off their anti-depressants and how bad was it?

another question that comes to mind, does anyone know if the length of time you are on an anti-depressant affects the severity of withdrawal symptoms?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It depends more on the specific medication and even more specifically the half-life of the medication. With most SSRIs, it's a bad idea to discontinue the medication abruptly.

What medication were you taking and why do you want to stop taking it?

 

[Into The Light]

i'm taking celexa. i am not coming off it yet, nor do i want to for the moment. i missed a dose today (forgot about it) and am feeling ill, and was wondering if that had anything to do with it. it just got me thinking about the future when it does become time to stop, will it be bad or will it be ok.

 

[Retired]

Source

Pharmacokinetics of Celexa ( citalopram )

The single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of citalopram are linear and dose-proportional in a dose range of 10-60 mg/day. Biotransformation of citalopram is mainly hepatic, with a mean terminal half-life of about 35 hours.

With once daily dosing, steady state plasma concentrations are achieved within approximately one week. At steady state, the extent of accumulation of citalo-pram in plasma, based on the half-life, is expected to be 2.5 times the plasma concentrations observed after a single dose. The tablet and oral solution dosage forms of citalopram HBr are bio-equivalent.

My understanding would be that one missed dose would have minimal effect on blood concentrations, and the liklihood of your feeling uneasy might be attributed to some other factor.

I would expect that based on a half like of 35 hours, that your physician might recommend tapering over a two week period when and if the medication would be withdrawn.

Have you been advised of potential drug-drug interactions with Celexa? The source I cited, RX-List contains what appears to be a product monograph (U.S. version) containing a link to drug interactions, which should be read by anyone taking this medication.

 

[Into The Light]

since my post i seem to have a low-grade fever so i guess it isn't due to missing my dose i just hope a good night's rest is all i need :crossfingers:

thanks for the :rx: info steve, good to know for in the future.

re: drug-drug interactions: i am very careful to check with my pharmacist on that, the only other drug i would be taking would be a painkiller like advil or tylenol, and i got the ok on those the first time i wanted to take them after i started taking celexa. i try to be conservative in what i take, i figure the less i can get by with, the better for my body.

 

[Retired]

LB,

You posted your reply while I was editing my post adding info on drug interactions, which you may wish to check out.

i seem to have a low-grade fever

:rx: Chicken Soup is therapeutic!

 

[Into The Light]

:lol: yes that it is!