Stopping Citalopram (Celexa) Cold Turkey: What Happens

Stopping citalopram cold turkey usually causes withdrawal symptoms within 1 to 3 days. The most common are dizziness, brain zaps, nausea, irritability, insomnia, and waves of anxiety. A 2019 systematic review by Davies and Read found that 56% of people who stop antidepressants get withdrawal symptoms, and 46% of those rate them as severe.

If you have already stopped Celexa, you still have good options, and what you do in the first 2 weeks matters most. This guide covers the citalopram (Celexa) withdrawal timeline, why even 10 mg or 20 mg can cause symptoms, how to tell withdrawal from relapse, when going back on the drug makes sense, and how to stop slowly instead.

Citalopram (Celexa) withdrawal symptoms after stopping cold turkey

Citalopram withdrawal symptoms after an abrupt stop fall into 3 groups: physical, sensory, and emotional. The FDA label for Celexa lists dizziness, electric shock sensations, irritability, agitation, anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, insomnia, and emotional lability as reported discontinuation symptoms. The label advises a gradual dose reduction rather than an abrupt stop.

Celexa withdrawal symptom	When it usually starts after the last dose	How long it tends to last
Dizziness, lightheadedness, unsteady walking	Day 1 to 3	1 to 4 weeks, sometimes longer
Brain zaps (electric shock sensations)	Day 2 to 5	Weeks, worse with eye movement
Nausea, flu-like aches, sweating	Day 1 to 4	1 to 2 weeks
Insomnia and vivid dreams	Day 2 to 5	1 to 4 weeks
Irritability, crying spells, anger	Day 3 to 7	Weeks, often in waves
Anxiety, dread, panic	Day 3 to 10	Weeks to months for some people

The timeline in the table is typical, not fixed. People who took citalopram for years tend to get stronger and longer symptoms than people who took it for a few months. Symptoms often come in waves, with good days followed by bad ones, rather than a steady improvement.

Most people notice the physical symptoms first. Brain zaps are the most distinctive: a brief buzz or jolt in the head, often triggered by moving the eyes or turning the head. Emotional symptoms such as irritability and sudden crying tend to arrive a few days later.

Bottom line: stopping citalopram cold turkey produces dizziness and brain zaps within days for many people, and emotional symptoms often follow within the first week.

Why stopping citalopram suddenly causes withdrawal symptoms

Antidepressant withdrawal is the set of physical and emotional symptoms that appear when the brain loses a drug it has adapted to. It is not addiction and it is not a sign of weakness. After months on citalopram, the brain adjusts its serotonin receptors and signaling to expect the drug.

Citalopram has an elimination half-life of about 35 hours, according to the FDA label for Celexa. That means roughly half the drug is gone in 1.5 days, and almost all of it is gone within a week. The brain's adaptations take much longer than a week to reverse, so there is a gap where the drug is gone and the brain is still set up for it.

The size of the dose change matters too. A 2019 Lancet Psychiatry paper by Horowitz and Taylor showed that the effect of SSRIs on the serotonin transporter is hyperbolic. Low doses still occupy most of the transporter, so the last step from a low dose to zero is the biggest change in effect of all.

A 2015 systematic review by Fava and colleagues found withdrawal symptoms after stopping every SSRI studied, with symptoms usually starting within a few days and lasting weeks in many cases. Citalopram leaves the body faster than fluoxetine, which helps explain why stopping it abruptly is felt so quickly.

Bottom line: citalopram withdrawal happens because the drug clears in about a week while the brain's adaptations take months to reverse.

Does stopping citalopram 10 mg or 20 mg cold turkey cause withdrawal?

Yes. Stopping citalopram at 10 mg or 20 mg cold turkey causes withdrawal symptoms for many people. A low dose sounds safe to drop, but the hyperbolic dose curve means 10 mg of citalopram still has a large effect on the serotonin transporter. Going from 10 mg to zero removes most of that effect at once.

Many prescribers suggest that 20 mg is a starting dose and that stopping from it is easy. Patient reports on forums such as The Withdrawal Project from Inner Compass Initiative describe the opposite for a large share of people: the low doses are where the hardest symptoms appear. Duration on the drug matters more than the dose number. Someone who took 20 mg for 6 years usually has a harder time than someone who took 40 mg for 3 months.

Skipping doses or taking citalopram every other day is a version of stopping cold turkey. With a 35-hour half-life, blood levels swing up and down between doses, and many people feel withdrawal on the off days. It is not a gentler method.

Bottom line: 10 mg and 20 mg of citalopram are not too small to cause withdrawal, and every-other-day dosing does not prevent it.

Is it Celexa withdrawal or is my depression coming back?

Citalopram withdrawal and depression relapse feel different in timing and type. Withdrawal starts within days of the last dose and brings symptoms you did not have before, such as brain zaps, dizziness, and flu-like aches. Relapse usually builds over weeks to months and looks like the original depression or anxiety.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists guidance on stopping antidepressants notes that withdrawal symptoms can be mistaken for relapse. That mistake has consequences: some people are told their illness has returned and are put back on a full dose, or on a new drug, when the problem was the speed of stopping.

A useful test is the response to a small reinstatement. Withdrawal symptoms often ease within days of taking a small dose again. Depression returning on its own usually does not lift that fast. Keeping a daily record of symptoms in a symptom journal makes this pattern much easier to see and to show a prescriber.

Bottom line: new physical symptoms that start within days of stopping Celexa point to withdrawal, while a slow return of old symptoms over weeks points to relapse.

I stopped my Celexa 5 days ago and the brain zaps are getting worse. What should I do?

If you stopped citalopram within the last 2 weeks and the symptoms are hard to live with, reinstating a dose is the most effective step. The FDA label for Celexa says that if intolerable symptoms occur after stopping, resuming the previous dose may be considered, followed by a more gradual reduction. Many people feel better within a few days of restarting.

Here is the practical order of steps that patients and deprescribing clinicians commonly follow:

1. Call your prescriber or pharmacist and tell them you stopped suddenly and how long ago.
2. Ask about restarting citalopram, often at the previous dose or a smaller one, rather than waiting it out.
3. Write down your symptoms each day so you can tell whether the restart is working.
4. Once stable for several weeks, plan a slow taper instead of a second abrupt stop.

Get urgent care if you have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, confusion, a fainting episode, or symptoms that make it unsafe to drive or care for yourself. Those are not things to wait out at home.

Bottom line: within the first 2 weeks after stopping citalopram, restarting a dose is usually the fastest way to stop withdrawal, and it should be followed by a slower taper.

Is it too late to go back on citalopram if I stopped 2 months ago?

Going back on citalopram after 2 months is still possible, but the response is less predictable than an early reinstatement. Within the first few weeks, a restart usually calms withdrawal quickly. After a month or more, the brain has started to readjust, and some people react strongly to even a small dose.

For that reason, people who reinstate late often start with a fraction of their old dose and increase only if needed. The guide on reinstating after a failed cold turkey covers this process in more detail, including how to tell whether a late reinstatement is working.

Many people at 2 months out are already improving and choose not to reinstate. That is a reasonable choice if symptoms are getting milder week by week. Reinstatement makes more sense if symptoms are flat or getting worse, or if they are stopping you from working or sleeping.

NICE guideline NG222 recognizes that withdrawal symptoms can last for months in some people. Feeling unwell at 2 months does not mean something has gone wrong with your brain permanently.

Bottom line: reinstating citalopram after 2 months is not too late, but it calls for a smaller starting amount and careful tracking.

How to stop citalopram (Celexa) safely instead of cold turkey

The safest way to stop citalopram is a gradual taper that cuts a small percentage of the current dose, waits for stability, and slows down as the dose gets lower. Horowitz and Taylor's 2019 paper supports this approach, often called hyperbolic tapering, because each cut then produces a similar change in effect on the brain.

Way of stopping Celexa	Typical speed	Main risk	Best for
Cold turkey	Overnight	Brain zaps, dizziness, mood crashes within days	Medical emergencies only, such as a serious reaction
Fast linear taper	Equal cuts over 2 to 4 weeks	Hardest symptoms at the lowest doses	People on citalopram for only a few weeks
Hyperbolic taper	5% to 10% of the current dose every 2 to 4 weeks	Takes months	Anyone on Celexa for months or years

Very small doses often need a liquid form of citalopram, which exists, or a pharmacy-made preparation. Tablet splitting works for the early steps. The Canadian Deprescribing Network and the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines both describe slow, proportional reductions as the standard approach.

A planning tool helps. The taper planner shows how a percentage-based cut changes the effect at each step, and the tapering plan worksheet helps you write the plan down to bring to an appointment. If your prescriber will not support a slow taper, the deprescriber directory lists clinicians who do.

Bottom line: a hyperbolic citalopram taper over months is slower than cold turkey but avoids most of the severe withdrawal that an abrupt stop causes.

Frequently asked questions

Can you stop citalopram cold turkey?

You can physically stop, but stopping citalopram cold turkey causes withdrawal symptoms for many people within 1 to 3 days. The FDA label for Celexa recommends a gradual dose reduction instead. A slow taper over weeks to months avoids most of these symptoms.

What happens if you suddenly stop taking Celexa?

Most people get dizziness, brain zaps, nausea, insomnia, irritability, and anxiety within the first week. Symptoms often come in waves. They last 1 to 4 weeks for many people and several months for some, especially after years on the drug.

How long does citalopram withdrawal last after stopping cold turkey?

For many people, the worst symptoms last 1 to 4 weeks. People who took citalopram for years can have symptoms that come and go for several months. The Davies and Read 2019 review found that withdrawal often lasts longer than older guidelines claimed.

Is it safe to stop citalopram 10 mg cold turkey?

Stopping 10 mg of citalopram abruptly still causes withdrawal for many people, because low doses keep a large effect on the serotonin transporter. Reducing gradually from 10 mg, using smaller steps near the end, is safer.

Should I go back on Celexa if the withdrawal is too bad?

If you stopped within the last few weeks and the symptoms are severe, restarting Celexa (citalopram) usually relieves them within days. Talk to your prescriber, then plan a slower taper once you feel stable again.

Coming off Celexa without the crash

Stopping citalopram cold turkey is common, and it often goes badly because the drug leaves the body within a week while the brain needs months to adjust. If you have just stopped, reinstating early is usually the fastest relief. If you are still taking Celexa, a slow, percentage-based taper is the safer route. The same principles apply to related SSRIs such as Lexapro and Zoloft, and the full citalopram (Celexa) withdrawal guide covers the longer taper in depth.

taper.community is a free peer community and resource library for people coming off psychiatric drugs, focused on slow, hyperbolic tapers and honest information about withdrawal. You can ask questions and compare notes with others tapering citalopram in the forums.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Do not stop, start, or change any medication without talking to a qualified healthcare provider. If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, contact emergency services or a crisis line right away.