reply to Cate - celexa withdrawal

[Guest guest]

>

> How does one withdraw safely from Celexa? Is it OK to cut the dose in

half, ie, from 40mg to 20mg daily, and then to 20mg every other day?

>

Cate ...............it is not OK to cut the dose of Celexa (citalopram)

by 50% nor indeed is it ok to cut the dose of any SSRI by a similar %

ammount.

Neither is it ok to go on from there and do a skip every other day. Some

of these drugs have a very short half life & the shorter it is the more

likely one would suffer rapid withdrawal symptoms by yo-yoing on /off

dose by doing an every other day skip.

If a person plans to withdraw then a gradual tapering is best with step

cuts of as little as 5 to 10% (of current dose) and no progressing to a

lower step until one has stabilised at the previous level.

There is no hard and fast rule .............but slow & gradual seems to

work best

> Is Celexa worse for the elderly? More so than any other SSRI?

In what regard do you mean worse?

[Guest guest]

>

> How does one withdraw safely from Celexa? Is it OK to cut the dose in

half, ie, from 40mg to 20mg daily, and then to 20mg every other day?

>

Cate ...............it is not OK to cut the dose of Celexa (citalopram)

by 50% nor indeed is it ok to cut the dose of any SSRI by a similar %

ammount.

Neither is it ok to go on from there and do a skip every other day. Some

of these drugs have a very short half life & the shorter it is the more

likely one would suffer rapid withdrawal symptoms by yo-yoing on /off

dose by doing an every other day skip.

If a person plans to withdraw then a gradual tapering is best with step

cuts of as little as 5 to 10% (of current dose) and no progressing to a

lower step until one has stabilised at the previous level.

There is no hard and fast rule .............but slow & gradual seems to

work best

> Is Celexa worse for the elderly? More so than any other SSRI?

In what regard do you mean worse?

[Guest guest]

>

> How does one withdraw safely from Celexa? Is it OK to cut the dose in

half, ie, from 40mg to 20mg daily, and then to 20mg every other day?

>

Cate ...............it is not OK to cut the dose of Celexa (citalopram)

by 50% nor indeed is it ok to cut the dose of any SSRI by a similar %

ammount.

Neither is it ok to go on from there and do a skip every other day. Some

of these drugs have a very short half life & the shorter it is the more

likely one would suffer rapid withdrawal symptoms by yo-yoing on /off

dose by doing an every other day skip.

If a person plans to withdraw then a gradual tapering is best with step

cuts of as little as 5 to 10% (of current dose) and no progressing to a

lower step until one has stabilised at the previous level.

There is no hard and fast rule .............but slow & gradual seems to

work best

> Is Celexa worse for the elderly? More so than any other SSRI?

In what regard do you mean worse?

[Guest guest]

>

> How does one withdraw safely from Celexa? Is it OK to cut the dose in

half, ie, from 40mg to 20mg daily, and then to 20mg every other day?

>

Cate ...............it is not OK to cut the dose of Celexa (citalopram)

by 50% nor indeed is it ok to cut the dose of any SSRI by a similar %

ammount.

Neither is it ok to go on from there and do a skip every other day. Some

of these drugs have a very short half life & the shorter it is the more

likely one would suffer rapid withdrawal symptoms by yo-yoing on /off

dose by doing an every other day skip.

If a person plans to withdraw then a gradual tapering is best with step

cuts of as little as 5 to 10% (of current dose) and no progressing to a

lower step until one has stabilised at the previous level.

There is no hard and fast rule .............but slow & gradual seems to

work best

> Is Celexa worse for the elderly? More so than any other SSRI?

In what regard do you mean worse?