What Causes Vomiting, Headaches And Dizziness Post Celexa Withdrawal?

Posted on Fri, 27 Feb 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 Answered on

Tue, 17 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been taking 20mg of Celexa for about 10 years. my doctor wants me to wean off by taking 10mg daily for a week then stop completely. I am having severe vomiting headaches and dizziness. o need a better way to wean off

Answered by Dr. Manisha Gopal (27 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
reduce 2.5mg at a time and keep for 20-30 days

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

You are having significant withdrawal effects...perhaps you should go slow and give sufficient time to your body to adjust to a low dose before moving ahead again.

You should ideally start tapering like this-- take 17.5mg and continue it for 20-30days . If everything is ok, reduce further by another 2.5mg and keep it so for another month and let neurons adjust...when stable, keep on reducing by 2.5mg each time.

dont rush, you have been taking this drug from past 10yrs, doing fast withdrawal like what you are doing right now will make condition worse and make you prone for depression again.

take enough water and salad all day long.

Good luck.
Dr. Manisha Gopal
MD Neuropsychiatry

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar