Menifee, CA
A 35-year-old female asked:
On 20mg for celexa (citalopram) 11 days and have decided not to continue after further research. dr says i can just stop, pharmacist says to taper. who is right?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Charles Turckanswered
Pharmacology 19 years experience
Would taper: Every patient is different, and there's no predicting until you try - so either of the two of them could be right. But the safest, most conservative bet is going to be to taper. You may try cutting the pills in half for half the dose each day for several days, then, going to every other day for a gentle tapering rather than stopping outright. That's just one of a couple possible strategies.
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1.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
1 comment
Dr. Charles Turck commented
Pharmacology 19 years experience
Provided original answer
At 11 days, the drug wouldn't likely have had time to work yet for depression or anxiety. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that stopping it cold turkey would be bereft of side effects (themselves not all or even mostly necessarily related to therapeutic effect), which is why I suggest tapering.
Apr 25, 2016
Last updated May 8, 2016
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