Fluoxetine to Citalopram

1. Matt_1 23 February 2012 at 16:21PM
   • 6 replies
   • Rate this discussion. This discussion has been recommended 0 times.

   Hi all,

   I've been on Fluoxetine for 18 months for anxiety, including OCD, and depression but although it's made about a 40% improvement, it feels like the effects have worn off a bit in recent months. I'm considering switching to Citalopram to see if this drug will work better. Has anyone else on here switched from Fluoxetine to Citalopram or another anti-depressant to Citalopram and noticed any changes?

   Any responses/thoughts would be great!

   Thanks

   Matt

   • Reply to this discussion
   • Follow this discussion
   • Report
2. beth3070 25 February 2012 at 23:20PM

   Hi Matt

   sorry you are not feeling good. i'm also in a bad way. you are not going to want to hear my reply. the problem is with these forums is you can't really take notice of what others say as everyone is different. but here goes. I was on Fluxotine for about 8 years and felt 60%-80% good most of the time. this began to wear off about a year ago until i hit rock bottom just after christmas. My doc changed me to sertraline, which i was on for 7 weeks. it did nothing and I slowly got worse. he then changed me to citalopram which i have been taking for 13 days and i am at the end of my teather. i have had 4 sessions of CBT which was awful and i ended up walking out on the poor guy. it has now been recommended that i see a psychiatrist. I am making my poor husband ill as he is so worried about me and i have totally isolated my self from friends and family, which is making me worse. Sorry for such a negative answer. Have you had any CBT. if you get the right therapist i think it could be good but I'm in too much of an anxious state right now to even take in what they are trying to say to me. Go see your doc, make him help you. I've heard wonderful things about sertraline so i was gutted when it did nothing for me. I also know people who took citalopram and had great results. x

   • Report
3. chezza 1 26 February 2012 at 20:02PM

   hi i was on citalapram for 11 years i felt great,but i moved and went to a new doc and she advised for me to come of them.within 18 months i was crackers again then in march 2011 i had no choice in going to my new doc again who put me back on them again it took 14 days for them to get into my system but the 14 days were hell.am 12 months on and feel great,i hope you get better soon.

   • Report
4. beth3070 26 February 2012 at 23:50PM

   Hi Chessa

   great to get your update. its good to know you went through two weeks of hell (if you know what i mean) I've now done my two weeks so lets hope i wake up tomorrow feeling slightly lifted. This has been the worst two weeks of my life i have honestly felt possessed by the devil. I'm worn out with it. Keep up the good work

   • Report
5. Matt_1 27 February 2012 at 00:20AM

   Hi Beth and Chessa,

   Good to hear your replies and hope the Citalopram will work for both of you.

   I went to my doctors last week and decided to stay on the Fluoxetine, but raised my dose to 60mg to see how i get on with it. I think alot of the SSRI's are very similar so i didn't really fancy chopping and changing to a different medication.

   Beth - yeah i did try CBT before with two different NHS therapists, but neither of them seemed very professional or at least it didn't work very well for me. I haven't ruled out trying CBT again though as medication on its own can't solve everything.

   Wish you all the best.

   • Report
6. beth3070 27 February 2012 at 00:29AM

   hi Matt

   I know what you mean about the CBT, my experience was that the guy wasn't very professional either, it felt like a wast of time sitting there. If i could just get calmer on the citalopram then i will be in a fit state to continue with my TA therapy (Transactional Analysis). Its bloody hard isn't it. some peoples lives seem so straightforward and simple why do i make things so hard for my self. i think you did right to just up the dose of the flux as i've really mucked my system around by swopping and changing. best of luck and find someone good to talk to

   • Report
7. Matt_1 27 February 2012 at 00:39AM

   Thanks Beth, hope your TA therapy goes well. Yeah it is hard but hopefully we'll all get better soon.

   • Report