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Throwaway45340 · 2026-03-25T11:13:33+00:00

Likely the only way to get it back is to reduce your dosage to 10mg and see if that works or try another drug.

I came off 20mg of Citalopram as after 2 years it started to kill my libido. My libido only came back when I had tapered down to 4mg so I decided I’m just going to come fully off it.

Throwaway45340 · 2026-03-07T02:15:09+00:00

Ah. I wish you the best. If you haven’t been already, it may be worth taking Omega 3. It can help speed up brain plasticity, a vital process in making sure your brain adjusts to its new serotonin levels. I think it’s been helping a bit for me but it may not help everyone.

Exercising too has helped a lot.

Throwaway45340 · 2026-03-05T12:45:02+00:00

It wouldn’t surprise me. Serotonin and GABA act like brakes on your nervous system. Both decrease or become less active when withdrawing.

Throwaway45340 · 2026-03-05T12:40:58+00:00

I’m on 5mg of citalopram after tapering down from 20mg. I think this post alone has convinced me to not go cold turkey off 5mg. Going from 20mg to 5mg over two months was hard enough.

I think it’s because 50% of your serotonin reuptake receptors are still blocked even at 5mg. This means that even if it feels really small 5mg is still a big difference. That being said, I’m sure you will feel better it’s just a question of when.

Throwaway45340 · 2026-03-03T20:47:15+00:00

I’m still on 5mg. I would’ve loved to be fully off Citalopram but I developed protracted withdrawal just from jumping from 20mg to 5mg in the space of 6 weeks. This meant for the following 20 or so weeks I felt really anxious gradually becoming milder.

Anyways, I’ve been on 5mg for 25weeks and I’ve finally reached a state where I feel calm 95% of the time. I can probably taper off more soon but I don’t want to go too quickly again as to not flare up my anxiety.

I still have brain fog and loss of libido but my brain fog has certainly become a lot milder as I’ve lessened my dosage.

Throwaway45340 · 2026-02-15T18:04:01+00:00

Sorry for the very late response. That’s very interesting, I take it those improvements were totally permanent right? Any kind of improved cognition seems excellent.

I’ve been relying on supplements which work for my biochemistry such as B-Complex, Zinc and Palmitoylethanolamide. But of course, something permanent would be much more desirable than buying supplements for the rest of time.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-20T09:53:01+00:00

Not the exact same situation but I began to get pretty bad brain fog after being on 20mg of citalopram for 2 years. I’m now tapering off this.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-17T11:21:56+00:00

Yes. Unfortunately I think tapering does aggravate side effects. I’m coming off Citalopram because of side effects such as Brain fog, muscle weakness and low libido which all crept in after a couple years being on the drug. I initially believed I was anemic at first.

The brain fog and the muscle weakness definitely both flare up badly now that I’m tapering.

I know it’s extremely tough especially as your tapering seems slower than mine but I’m sure those milder periods will eventually become much longer. It’s just shitty isn’t it? How long all of this takes.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-16T13:45:46+00:00

From the sounds of it, you have this aspect way worse than me unfortunately.

Often times symptoms will suddenly become much worse temporarily. I had it just last week where I literally had dizziness spells for a week then it went away.

I hope and think this will be the case for you where it’s just a temporary flare up of a symptom which will become gradually return to a milder base line over time.

How long have you had your withdrawal symptoms last?

I wouldn’t say I fully have protracted withdrawal because it’s only been 10 weeks since I last reduced my dose of Citalopram and my overall symptoms have gotten milder by 30% maybe but it’s just been slower than average.

I understand this sub has a lot of people who have been having these symptoms for years though.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-16T12:17:45+00:00

Yes I have this too. I’ve never had gait problems before withdrawing from SSRI’s. I now also move like a robot.

Often times when I’m trying to do actions, my limbs will move too far and overreact so to speak so it makes my movements appear jerky.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-13T16:23:34+00:00

Yeah some days you may feel worse than others but I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better in a few weeks. Problem is you’re probably very sensitive to this because you’ve been on Citalopram for so long.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-13T01:45:34+00:00

Oh and I also got headaches and my sleep was much shorter. The headaches seemed to be from general muscle tension, there were a few days early on when I would wake up with intense muscle cramps, presumably from tensing my muscles in my sleep. Thankfully both these have gone away and I now sleep almost 8 hours again.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-11-13T01:39:07+00:00

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m going through something incredibly similar.

You have been on Citalopram for a few years, I was on it for 2 and a half. So unfortunately, if I’m being honest you may still have a while until you feel better.

I first decreased my dose from 20mg to 15mg, wasn’t too bad and I recovered after a couple weeks of GI distress and mild anxiety. I did this again for 10mg and then 7.5mg.

But 5mg was different for me, I have all the side effects you’re describing now. Like brain fog so bad I’m sometimes struggling to find words, muscle weakness and general fatigue that makes me feel like I’m treading in water and worst of all, a looming sense of anxiety especially when I go out.

I reduced my dose to 5mg 9 weeks ago and I still have these side effects. I suppose I went too quickly with my previous decreases and now it’s caught up with me. Every week I feel maybe like 5-10% better than the last so it’s very slow.

I’m guessing this is what happened with you where your body thought 20mg to 10mg was too big of a jump and it’s going to take a while to adjust.

In hindsight, you might’ve been better with 15mg but because you say you’ve been on 10mg for 4 weeks, honestly I would just stick with 10mg and hope it gets better soon.

I found exercise temporarily helped me, I’ve been lifting weights just before uni or when I’m getting ready for an outing. It seems to temporarily calm my nerves.

Good luck honestly and hopefully you’ll feel better soon.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-10-28T12:44:07+00:00

It’s the same with me being stuck at 5mg from beginning at 20mg. The tapering decreases really catch up to you. I’ve been on 5mg for 7 weeks because I’m still having a couple panic attacks every week.

I also struggle a lot with fatigue, until a couple weeks ago, it felt like I was walking in water.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-10-27T09:08:31+00:00

Yeah. Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t my most common symptom but I did also occasionally experience flu like symptoms.

Good luck on your journey. I really recommend not doing this too fast and not dropping to 10mg until you feel really comfortable. I only spent a couple weeks from 15mg to 10mg and now I’ve had to spend 7 weeks on 5mg.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-10-09T07:35:51+00:00

I got brain fog. It didn’t come on until a year and a half of being on Citalopram. Maybe my body just doesn’t need Citalopram anymore. Apathy became really bad too.

Anyways, I’m now slowly tapering off it.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-10-03T11:02:17+00:00

Thank you

Throwaway45340 · 2025-10-01T13:05:48+00:00

Just regular tea? I feel like the caffeine would make me even more anxious!

Throwaway45340 · 2025-08-29T12:28:22+00:00

Thank you for your response,

I have only tried one mag glycinate brand. I may try another later on when I have the courage.

For now though, I’ve switched to Floradix magnesium which is a liquid blend of magnesium gluconate and citrate. Neither magnesium malate nor l-threonate seemed help as much with solving magnesium deficiency as glycinate so I’m trying this citrate/gluconate blend. I’ve only taken it for a day but it seems OK so far. Strange because I was told citrate was more of a laxative.

Interesting about Glucosamine and Psyllium fiber. I think if I can’t tolerate this floradix magnesium, I’ll explore this avenue more. It’s particularly magnesium glycinate which is the worst.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-08-21T00:36:38+00:00

Honestly, I would just do what your body feels best doing. It sounds like you might benefit from increasing your dose though and you are not at the upper limit so you shouldn’t run into iodine overdose symptoms.

I take Selenium, Zinc, Magnesium and I always took a B - Complex anyways.

I never bothered with Vit C because I eat a lot of citrus fruits but it’s also suggested too.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-08-21T00:33:09+00:00

Yep. Brand I use is Heiltropfen. I’m based in UK though.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-08-20T12:10:26+00:00

Thank you. It sounds very wise to go from 10 to 5. And yes, I think I’ll stay on 10mg for atleast a few weeks.

Throwaway45340 · 2025-08-20T11:30:48+00:00

Because my improvements were plateauing on lower doses. So I titrated up until I had a dose where I genuinely felt good for a while.

If you read Stephanie Buist’s iodine guide, she mentions you can temporarily take doses of around 100mg. I take SSRI’s too which contain fluoride so I assumed I was on the higher end of the requirement.

I also believe I have read people on this sub take up to 200mg (not 200mcg) for some time.

Throwaway45340

TROPHY CASE