Celexa Cold Turkey Withdrawal - I'm in hell

[nhagerty74]

I started Celexa for "mild" anxiety and stress back in November.  It gave me increased nervousness and anxiety from the start, but I decided to "tough it out" like so many people told me I should do and give it a chance to work.  I only took it for 2 months.  The anxiety that the drug caused seemed like it started to get better and then just hit me with panic attacks and crying spells that I did not have before taking this drug.  I started on 20mg and only tolerated that for a few days and then dropped to 10mg for the remainder of the time I was on it.  I only took 5mg for about the last few days I was on it.  Anyways, my Dr. told me to just stop taking it, no taper.... and I was out of the med at that point also.  That was 3 weeks ago.  About 5 days after stopping, all hell broke loose in my mind/body.  Here is what I'm experiencing:  CONSTANT ANXIETY and nervousness, uncontrollable crying and feeling depressed, dry mouth, no appetite, diarrhea, can't concentrate.  I also had a cold right after I stopped it, but that went away.  I have xanax that was given to me to help while I "adjusted" to the drug in the first place.  I went to the ER yesterday morning because I couldn't take it anymore and they did nothing for me.  The Dr. told me that there was no magic pill that was going to fix this at this point and that I should take .5mg xanax 3 times a day for now.  The anxiety and crying are so bad in the morning sometimes that I can barely function and get out of bed.  I had a couple of days where I thought I felt some improvement, but it was short lived.  A pyschiatrist at the hospital told the Dr. I dealt with he believes since I didn't tolerate the drug well to begin with, then quit cold turkey, and also I take Protonix which they said made the drug stay in me longer than normal is causing this, but offered no solution/time frame.  I'm very sensitive to most drugs I've ever taken also.  I don't want another to put another antidepressant in my body.  Will this end?  I'm so scared of how I feel right now.   I feel extremely hopeless.

[nhagerty74]

I'm pretty sure the benzos are making me worse and I can't just quit after 3 months on them.  I want my life back!!!!  I'm sick of crying and having panic attacks everyday.  I'm losing my mind.

[nhagerty74]

Thank you for your thoughts and encouragement.  I'm hanging on by a thread but still hanging nonetheless.

[mojave]

     Hi.  I am praying for you.  I hope you are hanging in there.  Please know that the terrible withdrawal symptoms you are experiencing are 'only' withdrawal symptoms.  It is not you.   It is the drug and its after-affects that are doing havoc to your brain.in addition to the damage it already caused to your system while you were taking it.   Celexa is notorious for having  some of the very worst withdrawal symptoms.  Even those who have been on it for 1 week suffer terrible withdrawal symptoms.  It is very important to taper off the drug very slowly.  Drs do not seem to mention or warn how hard it is to get off of antidepressants.  But in the real world, there are many forums (go to drugs.com click forums) dedicated to this discussion,  these withdrawal symptoms are so terrifying that they have even lead to suicide.  PLEASE REMEMBER these symptoms will pass and you have many wonderful days ahead of you.
       For immediate short term relief you might want to try taking a warm bath with 3 cups of epsom salts (available at grocery stores) added to the bath water.  Epsom salts are derived of Magnesium which is naturally depleted by stress.  The Magnesium in the bath will be absorbed through your skin and temporarily offer stress relief.  You can also just soak your feet in an Epsom salt "bath" for relief

  For a more inclusive healing I recommend that you hook-up with a Naturopathic or Holistic Dr.  They can help you support the rebalancing of your neurotransmitters which always are interferred with when we take antidepressants.  All Antidepressants alter brain functions...either inhibiting or accelerating the natural activities of our brain chemicals.  It takes time and nutrient support to rebalance and nurture your brain back to optimal health.  Our brains ultimately get stressed as we get stressed, but the healing cannot occur by taking the unnatural Pharmaceutical chemicals that the main stream Drs have been taught to prescribe. Those do more harm setting our system further out of whack.   What does help us  is to regain our homeostasis, our natural balance, by supplementing with the natural nutrients that our bodies need and recognize.  Replenishing those minerals, etc,  that have been depleted as a result of our reactions to overwhelming  stress  will heal us.
         I  have been on at least 5 different antidepressants over the last 15 yrs.  I began taking each one hoping it would be different from the last.  None of them gave me better health.  One did nothing and the rest made matters worse.  I finally tapered off my last ( and it is the last) antidepressant (lexapro)  with the help of a Holistic Dr who took tests to see what nutrients were out of balance in my system.  In my case, it was Magnesium (research has revealed that up to 50% of those who are depressed are lacking in Mg) and vitamin B-9 (folic acid) which is also commonly deficient  as many of us cannot absorb B-9 unless we take it in the form of Folate rather than folic -acid. If you are interested http://www.methyl.com has info on that. Both of these nutrients support brain health.
      I pray and hope you receive some holistic guidance to support and heal your mental and physical health.  Please know that others have gone, and are going  through the same dreadful trauma you are experiencing.  Please REMEMBER  this is only a temporary bad and awful experience which you will recover from. The best is yet to come.

        You are in my prayers.  I hope you will keep letting us know what you are experiencing.  We all benefit from the sharing.

         mojave

[nhagerty74]

I hope the new doc Can help me....none of this even makes sense to me and I can't see any light at the end of this tunnel.  I went to the doctor for mild stress a few months ago.....how did I end up here thinking about dying?  please pray for me.

[nursegirl6572]

Well, it's not easy to sort out a cause, but yes, benzos absolutely can cause or contribute to depressive symptoms.  It's hard to say though, because severe anxiety most definitely will cause a secondary depression as well.

My only concern about you trying to reduce or come off the benzos right now is that it will exacerbate the anxiety and panic.  I think maybe it's best to deal with one thing at a time.  I feel for you...I know you feel like this is hopeless, but it isn't.  Hopefully this new doc will be able to shed some light on this for you.

Fingers crossed.

And, don't worry about the posts...my goodness, we're here to help.  Even if all we can do right now is support you...you've got it.  Keep posting and letting us know what's going on.

Prayers for you.

[birdie0907]

Depression and anxiety go hand in hand feeding off each other. I wouldn't think Ativan could make you depressed but someone else can comment on that.