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What Causes Panic Attacks At Night After Withdrawing From Citalopram?

Posted on Sat, 11 Oct 2014

Question: i stopped taking prozac 4 days ago. was only on it for 3 weeks but it was giving me worse anxiety than ive ever had and before that i was on citalopram about 3 years and it started giving me worse anxiety too so i just quit it all. ive left 2 messages for
dr to call me and she still hasnt. ive feel like i have the flu and have been lightheaded and wake up about every hr at night with panic attack. are these withdrawl symptoms and if so how long will it last. is there something over the counter to help with the nausea ? i was on 20 mg of citalopram then went down to 10mg for a week b4 i switched over to prozac and started at 20 mg and went down to 10 mg 3 days before i quit. any advice to make me feel better would be greatly appreciated!

Answered by Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, its most likely withdrawl.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome

I appreciate your concern.

Yes these are most likely withdrawl symptoms.

Discontinuing an antidepressant like prozac usually involves reducing your dose in increments, allowing two to six weeks or longer between dose reductions. You should continue the 10 mg for two more weeks before stopping or reducing the dose again.

Depending on how you respond to each dose reduction, you may want to taper more gradually using smaller dose reductions, longer intervals between dose reductions, or both.

If you experience discontinuation symptoms after a particular dose reduction, you may want to add back half the dose — or all of it — and continue from there with smaller dose reductions. There are no hard and fast rules for getting off antidepressants, other than that the approach should be individualized! Some people can taper off an antidepressant in a matter of weeks, while others may take months depending upon the withdrawl effects they experience.

For nausea these over the coounter medications can help dimenhydrinate and meclizine hydrochloride.

Let me know if you have any query

wishing you best of health

Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (1 hour later)

MY dr finally called back and said i should not have withdrawl symptoms and that the pills couldnt make myanciety worse just better. she is a nurse practioner at a womens clinic. she pretty much made me feel like i was goin crazy.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Antidepressant withdrawal

Detailed Answer:
hello again,

Usually in antidepressant withdrawal

•You suddenly develop symptoms days after stopping an antidepressant.
•Symptoms rapidly go away when you start taking the antidepressant again

Prozac is an SSRI ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) ,
Fluctuation of serotonin levels in brain due to improper tapering can lead to a variety of withdrawal symptoms including anxiety.

As mentioned in the previous answer, i would advise you to continue the 10 mg for atleast 2 weeks before the next dose reduction.

You may let me know about your progress.

Let me know if you have any query

thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (3 hours later)

are there any over the counter meds for anxiety. ive heard benedryl helps

Answered by Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, benedryl can be helpful in the short term

Detailed Answer:
hello,

hope you are feeling better,

Yes, Benedryl ( Diphenhydramine ) is an over the counter medication but is more helpful if the anxiety is associated with insomnia.

You may take benedryl 50 mg , 30 minutes before bedtime, but you should not use it continuosly and seek the help of your doctor to give you a prescription of a benzodiazepine or change your antidepressant to a more tolerable one.

Let me know if you have any other questions or clarifications

I will be more than glad to address them.

thanks.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari