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AJ

Tapering: Celexa

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5 posts

2nd Celexa Update - Feeling Poor, but hopeful

July 15, 2026··
taper update
I feel like I'm slowly coming out of a long, wiggly wave. It's been a difficult few months of stress and anxiety. It's hard to separate out what is withdrawal and what has been exacerbated by an ongoing stressful situation with a family member living in my house; I have no doubt that this situation, which will hopefully be resolved in a couple of months, has been putting a lot of strain on my already sensitive system. A lot has happened but I'll try to keep it brief. I seemed ok with 2.5% drops down to 3.4mg, but dropping below that has been rough. I tried a couple of times and my health anxiety and other symptoms were so bad I increased the dose (e.g. heart palpitations and chest pain -- I ended up having an ecg, which was normal, and helped ease some anxiety). I didn't want to stop tapering, so I began crawling along doing 0.5% reductions every week or so. (3.38mg, 3.36mg, 3.34mg, 3.32mg, 3.3mg, held for a couple of weeks. Then 3.28mg, 3.26mg) Physically, this seems to be going well. All of my concerning symptoms have eased up considerably. I do notice mild brain zaps and "whooshes" a day after a reduction, an occasional palpitation, but they are minimal and tolerable and get better in a few days. It feels like the years before my nervous breakdown/nervous system sensitisation, when I'd run out of medication and feel a bit weird after a few days but it wasn't too bothersome. The anxiety is another story. I'm not sure whether my anxiety is directly withdrawal related or I have developed an anxiety problem partially independent of it. It seems like my anxiety was triggered by withdrawal, and is worsened by being sensitised, and is worse when withdrawal is worse, BUT... I'm wondering if it has grown into a beast of its own. I did originally have anxiety issues, which is why I started citalopram in the first place. I have a lot of old "stuff" from childhood onwards that I thought I had largely resolved, but I'm realising I haven't. Maybe some of the anxiety is due to not having as much of a blunting effect from the drug now. The difficulty is it's making it hard to know whether I'm tapering too fast. Because physically, I feel pretty good and am thinking of trying some 1% reductions. But the anxiety issues are impacting my functioning and impacting my family (two young children and husband). I'm seeking professional support from a somatic therapist (first appointment tomorrow) and am contacting hypnotherapists for help with my old stuff. I'm also working at managing the anxiety -- getting to know the patterns, symptoms, how my brain kicks into gear trying to find things to worry about, etc. I will see if I can improve my anxiety while continuing to taper. I don't mind doing it slowly as long as I'm doing it.

AJ’s taper progress

Dose (mg)
Mood (/10)

Celexa — 3.6mg — 15+ years — actively tapering | without clinician

4 Replies

Based Psychiatrist
Based PsychiatristStaff1mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Thanks for the update! Having family members living at your house is stressful for me as well. Hopefully this resolves. As for the tapering you have a good grasp! Dont hesitate to pause between tapers. Even a 1% cut may require a hold longer than a week if youre feeling symptoms. Better to go slow without feeling poorly. Happy youre looking into a therapist. Soon well be adding a list of qualified taper therapists here so i hope to be able to help on that front sooner rather than later. All the best!!

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

Catina
CatinaStaff1mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Hi AJ, you sound like you have a lot on your plate! It's hard dealing with tapering and going through withdrawal when you have outside stressors. Reductions can get a bit more difficult the closer we get to the end, so perhaps you're tapering a bit too fast. Frequent reductions - though small - still have a large effect on our brain. All the cuts can add up quickly if we're not giving our body enough time to adjust in between. There's no shame in holding your dose for awhile. In fact, holding is an important part of the tapering process. Many people find that a nice long hold is exactly what their body needs and makes any future reductions easier to manage. I feel for you with the anxiety since it's something I battle with myself. I'm glad you're getting some help with it. Here is some information that I hope will help in addition to your other treatment: https://taper.community/thread/cbf196f2-7a92-460e-b78c-419887d02db2 https://taper.community/thread/31d4a5cb-737e-4eec-8449-1894a8a9747c https://taper.community/thread/ebf43c1f-a3a0-423b-9ac2-537b3183ce70 https://taper.community/resources/blog/grounding-techniques-for-withdrawal-panic https://taper.community/thread/edb83f43-a1eb-443d-9810-9c64f62b84e4 https://taper.community/thread/6a4dee39-747d-43e9-a463-bf445a3ee62b https://taper.community/resources/blog/managing-anxiety-during-medication-tapering I think if you slow things down a bit with your taper and learn to manage your anxiety, then you'll be feeling better! Reach out anytime, you're never alone! Catina ❤️

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

A
AJ27d ago
NavigatorCelexa · active
Thank you both for your replies and the resources. I think it would be a good idea to hold for a while, with so much going on and trying to work on my health at the same time. I was determined not to be stuck at 3.4mg after a few failed attempts to go lower, so now that I've achieved that it might be time for a rest 😴 I'm trying to reframe holding my dose as part of the process and not failure.

Celexa — 3.6mg — 15+ years — actively tapering | without clinician

Catina
CatinaStaff27d ago
Community AnchorEffexor
You're very welcome! I'm glad you're going to hold. It's hard because we desperately want to be free of the drug, but our body is going to dictate how fast we go. Holding is a very important part of the process, so definitely keep that in mind! You haven't failed; you're giving your body what it needs right now....and that is perfectly okay! Sending you some healing vibes and peaceful thoughts! 💝

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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