I took Celexa a number of years ago and got such a bad tremor that I couldn't hold a glass of water without spilling it. Reading an article in the NYT about Serotonin syndrome with my history of lithium toxicity made me wonder if these two events were related, but I digress. I wasn't on it long enough to see if it was helpful, but the only anti-depressant I can take without real problems and has worked for me is Wellbutrin, all the SSRI's have had problmes for me and/or haven't helped.

Of course Coffee with an Ativan remains my all time favorite anti-depressant :).

I'd like to suggest that if your friend decides to go off Celexa that she talk to her doctor as you suggested, but that she also do some research--not just on the Celexa site, but among people who have come off, with varying degress of success, from any SSRI. Most psychiatrists will titrate their patients off way too quickly, leaving many people with horrible flu-like symptoms. Not everyone reacts this way, but it is not at all unusual and possible with all the SSRI's as well as the SNRI's. I had to get off of both Zoloft and Effexor in minute doses--my doctor thought I was being ridiculous. Effexor was expecially difficult for me. Since researching coming off of meds in general I've come across hundreds of anecdotal experiences with people having exceptional difficulties with just about every SSRI and SNRI. Prozac is probably the only exception as it has an extremely long half life. The thing to be wary of as well is that the depressive symptoms can be excacerbated upon withdrawal or in cases where the drug was given for a reason other than depression, depression can begin with withdrawal...this will pass.

I wish your friend the best of luck. I never had a good experience on any anti-depressant...whether it was for depression or anxiety. I don't have experience with Celexa or Cymbalta...but I've been on everything else as far as I know. Sometimes I switched from one to another with no break, so I did not always have withdrawal syndrome.

My family member is so hyper-sensitive to antidepressant use; that when she had a brain MRI in 2006; the hospital placed a band on her wrist(as an alert, like they do for allergic reaction)that said:

NO SSRI's.

I was on Celexa for about 4 days (while in a psych hospital) and was prescribed the medication to alleviate my depression while I began taking Lamictal. I started out at a low dosage (5mg - had to cut the 10mg in half). The primary psychiatrist assigned to me said it was important to increase the dosage slowly (every couple of days) as it could cause anxiety and agitation and it could trigger a manic episode. I experienced extreme anxiety first-hand when the weekend on-call psychiatrist jacked up the dosage to 20mg. I know one other person (depression only) who's taking Celexa and having a lot of success with it. But I believe they ramped up this person to a therapeutic level slowly as well.



I am always surprised how many people seem to be started on new medications at such high dosages. What with the plethora of adverse side-effects all pych meds have, you would think that a Dr. would be cautious.

RE:talking to your psychiatrist for stopping drugs.
I never have, as the psychiatrist views me as ill/sick, and the drugs magically fix this illness. There is no motivation for the psych doc to get you off, or on a lowered dose of "X" drug. Just know the facts that if you have been taking meds/drugs your brain has become accustomed to that drug and has compensated for it.If an abrupt withdrawl of the regular drug happens, the body/brain still is producing the anti-drug compensation, (this compensation will take some time to normalize) You will likely feel crazy ,when just off the drug/med, due to two things 1) the bodies chemical compensation still turned on and 2)the newness of having a fully working brain again.

I was prescribed Celexa over a year ago for anxiety/insomnia and it nearly ruined my life, and I would say I am still recovering from it. I started on a very low dose, did not mix it with any other substances and took it exactly as directed.

My hell started with panic attacks and ended with suicidal gestures and erratic behavior that alienated me from my family and friends. I had to drop out of school because of the severity of my reaction.

Of course all of this was blamed on "underlying" problems that had somehow never managed to manifest themselves without 4 weeks of 20 mg of Celexa per day.

Celexa almost took my life. Everyone around me -"pro Meds" folk and anti-pharma hippies included- know that. It is my opinion that the SSRIs are more or less created equal. Certainly we have heard about Paxil and Prozac more often, perhaps because they have been around longer or marketed to consumers for a wider range of diagnoses.

I don't think there are SSRIs that one can say with complete confidence are "safer" than all the others. It's pretty much always a crapshoot, isn't it?

I avoided Celexa. When I entered the psych hospital in October, the psych who admitted me prescribed Celexa for my depression. (An SSRI, I noted.) I avoided taking the med for the first three days of my stay at the hospital because I knew that my "assigned" dr. would switch me to something else and I didn't need to feel shitty because of switching from one med to another. So my assigned dr. put me on Effexor. He explained that it's an SNRI and works differently.

Shit - Celexa and Effexor are NOT two very good choices to pick from.

Celexa was my very first psychiatric med, given me by my family doctor five years ago for a pretty serious depression. It had a dramatic effect almost immediately, to everyone's surprise: in particular, colors had a shimmery halo not unlike the aura around the "ghosts" in Star Wars. It was several months later before my psychiatrically-aware, bipolar girlfriend figured out it was making me cycle like crazy (one day, can't get out of bed, next day, asshole man!) and I started lithium for Bipolar II. (Tapered off Celexa over two weeks.) Antidepressants can make bipolars really sick.

EVERYONE starting treatment for depression should be aware there is a small, but nonzero chance they are not just depressed, but bipolar, and should keep a mood chart. In either case, a mood chart is a great way to watch and promote your own progress. Yeah, I never feel like doing it when I'm depressed either, so I get a friend to call me and ask me how I am & keep track.

By the way, it has taken time, and yes I'm on a bunch of drugs, but I feel really good. And I think my shrink is great.

I'm not entirely sure that Keith has the picture right. "Antidepressants can make bipolars really sick." How about this for an idea? Antidepressants can make you manic and even psychotic; antidepressants can make you really sick. Remember what does it mean to say someone is "bipolar" -- we don't have a genetic or biological test to determine that diagnosis -- it's based on symptoms and a checklist and the symptoms could be drug induced. It's far from "one" clearly defined condition. Let's not forget that. But did the doc really think about taking Keith carefully off the drug (not just over two weeks!) and letting him recover? No, it was abrupt withdrawal and administering another cocktail to medicate the adverse effects and the withdrawal symptoms. What are we really witnessing here? Iatrogenesis and, if you don't know what that means, look it up and read Limits of Medicine, by Ivan Ilich.

I have to respond to Sara's post. I have to say that I have never been diagnosed from an internet post before. 'Iatrogenesis'? I have a history of depression and hypomania going back 20 years before my Celexa experience & bipolar diagnosis. My GP did not pick it up & in my depressed state I wasn't exactly brilliantly aware. And my subsequent treatment was by a psychiatrist, who did not put me on a 'cocktail'. That has evolved over time. I suffered no ill effects of tapering the Celexa over two weeks according to my psychiatrist's instructions. However, everyone should follow their own doctor's instructions which will depend on their dose, weight, metabolism, etc.

I have to respond because Sara obscured my points, which are (1) take care during initial treatment by an antidepressant and (2) my anecdotal successful treatment by a psychiatrist. Positive outcomes from medication and an experienced medical professional are possible. As with any health issue, attitude/therapy, exercise, diet, light, can also be instrumental.