Hello - I had a relatively mild stroke in April 2023 - was doing ok with recovery but then got really depressed (I had come off HRT just before the stroke) - was offered anti-depressants by the doctor but I refused always having been very wary of them. I was finally persuaded by my family to try them in December 2023. That was the worst decision of my life. It took months for my body to adjust - horrible side effects. Finally it settled down - I decided to come off them in November. I titrated down to half (10mg) for 6 weeks, then 10mg alternate days for 2 weeks - spoke to the doctor (and a friend of mine who is a psychiatric nurse) and they said I should be ok to stop. I cannot describe how I feel - it has robbed me of all my strength and made me sooo tired - it is nearly 3 months now since I came off and I am no better - I do some yoga every morning (mostly stretches) and I go for a short walk up the hill behind our house. Then I am finished for the day. This has set me back to the stroke, only worse as I was never this weak and it is weakness in all my muscles - not just the stroke side. I am also so irritable. My first grandson was born 7 months ago and I want to spend more time with him but it has even robbed me of driving - I was back to driving until I stopped this tablet. I donât know how long this is going to last.
Hi @MrsC & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear how much you are struggling. I donât have any experience of citalopram but I wonder if you have been back to your GP to discuss this? It may be that something else is going on that is causing this & coming off citalopram is coincidental. It could also be that you perhaps werenât ready to come off them yet
Are you taking statins afywr your Stroke? They can cause muscle aches & weakness. Your GP should be able to check this for you. They can also do.some bloods to check yoy are not deficient in anything else either.
Hope yoy manage to get it sorted.
Best wishes
Ann
Hi Mrs C so sorry to hear of your stroke and the struggles you are facing at the moment. Welcome to our community, I hope you will find this a useful place to be.
I have no personal experience of using Citalopram but my first port of call would be to make an appointment to see your GP. Hopefully you will be able to get this problem sorted and get back back on your road to recovery following your stroke.
Regards Sue
e
Hi @MrsC
Welcome to the Online Community, Iâm sorry to hear about your stroke and the difficulties youâre going through at the moment.
As others have suggested I would definitely make an appointment to speak with your GP about all of this.
I did find the below post on here about tapering off this medication which you may helpful to read through.
If you need anything whilst youâre using the Online Community, please donât hesiate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
Thank you for your welcome and comments. Unfortunately I donât think the GP can help (if I could even get to see/speak to him) - their only recourse is more medication which I am not willing to take. Citalopram is an SSSRI and so messes with serotonin which plays a massive role in muscle strength, blood sugar and many other areas of the body. I think I came off the citalopram too quickly - I have seen on forums for antidepressants that some people take up to a year to come off. Some people have few withdrawal symptoms but for others it can be severe and can take many months to go. I am obviously one of the severe ones 
.
Sharon
Thank you - I have seen that post.
Sharon
The link to the Citalopram in your response to Sharon @MrsC takes you back to her post.
I am not sure if you meant to link it to another article - perhaps this one?
Thanks 
Hello Sharon @MrsC
Welcome to the community where I hope you will find answers to the questions you have and the help you seek.
I note you have had some responses already and you seem to know how to navigate your way around this forum.
I expect your search using the keyword âCitalopramâ yielded the various articles posted on this forum.
I see from doing the search that one of our experienced and regular contributors Rupert @Rups has contributed significantly on this subject and so maybe Rupert might be able to shed more light on the subject for you.
Wishing you all the best.
I would personally advise you to carry on walking up that hill and build up your strength and muscles - start slow and build up.
When muscles have not been used for some time and then you start using them they ache - this is natural. I get that all the time i.e. when I donât do anything and then suddenly do âheavyâ exercise.
So coming off the citalopram might just be a coincidence - all your aches are down to you rebuilding your muscles.
Yoga
Short walk up the hill
Yogic breathing
Plenty of fluids - drink water
Ok. Thatâs my lot for now.
Namaste|
Thank you ManjiB - I wish that coming off the Citalopram was a coincidence but Iâm afraid not. Before I had the stroke I was doing a very strong vinyasa flow yoga - although I was affected on the left side I was as still very strong on my right side - before I came off the Citalopram I had built up back to doing reasonably long walks and some flow yoga but when I came off the Citalopram I lost all my muscle strength - it didnât happen when I titrated down to 10mg but when I came off it completely. I will keep doing what yoga I can and meditation and also the walks. I am not suffering aches and pains - just extremely weak. Thank you for your advice anyway
I believe it takes six months for an SRRI to fully integrate with the brain and body, so I would expect at least six months before your brain and body get used to doing without it. Citalopram can cause muscle weakness as a side-effect but itâs not muscle atrophy as far as I know. Once stopped, that particular side-effect will pass. My muscle strength didnât change while on Citalopram, but it did change after the stroke. I would say that if one has a dislike of a particular medication, or wary response to it, it can psychologically make things worse. I experienced this with Gabapentin, I was against taking it, so the first week I tried it, I felt terrible, so I stopped. Then, I thought Iâd just do the prescription and to hell with it, it was easier that way and I didnât get any benefits nor adverse effects. The mind is an odd ball of a thing. Why were you prescribed Citalopram? For anxiety, panic or depression?
Hello - thank you for the info and Iâm glad to hear itâs not muscle atrophy. My muscle strength did change when I first went on it but at the time I didnât know it was because of Citalopram - after a few months it was better - the withdrawal is much worse. I was depressed but that was because I was no longer on HRT - I tried to get back on it but my doctor at the time didnât want to know. I was persuaded by members of my family to go on to antidepressants - I really didnât know anything much about them and was told by my husband not to read the leaflet - if I had I would never have taken them. I am now back on HRT hence coming off Citalopram but it has been a nightmare. Muscle weakness has not been the only withdrawal effect - suicidal thoughts, extreme tiredness etc. I thought I would have noticed some improvement as I have been off them now nearly 3 months but not so far. I have now become an expert on serotonin!!
Sharon
I was on citalopram a few years ago. I had nasty side effects for a while, then they settled. I eventually came off it as I felt better.
Due to my stroke I had to go back to taking SSRIs. Sertraline was recommended to me as a âcleanerâ medication, itâs also more expensive, which is why citalopram is recommended first. I had to ask specifically for sertraline.
I had nasty side effects for about a week, as expected, but now I feel a lot better mentally and I wouldnât know im taking anything.
My partner was on citalopram and was having a terrible time, she asked to switch to sertraline which her GP agreed would be worth trying. Since going on it, she has felt much better.
I know you arenât exactly excited about SSRIs but I recommend at least trying sertraline, to see if it helps you balance out again since coming off citalopram.
I have tried sertraline, sadly it was sertraline that kicked off my panic attacks many years ago. My GP offered sertraline but I declined and went for Citralopram which is typically used for panic disorder. I am back on it now since having a rough patch where the panics were affecting me every few days. It is important to find a med that the brain can tolerate.
I am never going on any antidepressant/antipsychotic drugs ever again. Didnât want it in the first place which is what makes the withdrawal even harder to take. I am nearly 6 months down the road after stopping and it is worse than ever. My body is so weak, so many symptoms, headaches, nausea etc etc - I struggle through every day - any weakness I had from the stroke is exacerbated 10 times but the weakness is throughout my whole body.
Thank god I found surviving antidepressants.org (which I think was from someone on here so thank you) or I would think I was seriously ill and may have even committed suicide.
I am trying to take a leaf out of the book of someone who is now recovered and that is I am just trying to survive a day at a time.
The problem is I donât look ill so people donât understand. Doctors do not recognise antidepressant withdrawal syndrome and certainly do not know how to advise people coming off them - not even psychiatrists who prescribe these drugs all the time.
If you want to know please check out this video https://youtu.be/jeD9-_Ydp3M?si=FuaxJTEq2-cD-85l by Mark Horowitz.
These drugs should be banned 
Sharon - thank you for sharing your experience with us and for coming back to give us an update on how you are getting on.
I am so sorry that the antidepressant/antipsychotic drugs have made your life so difficult and worse still that the difficulties of being a stroke survivor, which are bad enough to start with have been multiplied 10 times.
I am so pleased you have found the courage and strength to address these issues and not give up. It is wonderful for someone like me to learn there are people like you out there willing to fight and keep on fighting to survive 
Surviving one day at a time is a good start and I really hope you will soon find things easier.
I find you a truly inspirational person and I thank you for taking time to share with and possibly forewarn others so they can be prepared to better handle the situation should they be unfortunate enough to find themselves in a similar situation.
I havenât had a chance to watch the David Horowitz video, but I will watch it as soon as I can. I am sure I have heard of him from somewhere.
I wish you all the best and do carry on enjoying your morning cider vinegar tonic
Namaste|
Dear @ManjiB
Thank you so much for your really kind words. I donât feel very inspirational - just really tired and ill but as you say surviving one day at a time. It does help to have nice people say nice things so thank you.
Namaste 
Hey Sharon - I have watched that video with Dr. Horowitz and itâs quite an eye opener. I was aware of some drugs being addictive and also drugs that have irreversible side effects but didnât realise how the âaddictionâ works.
You are on the right path to overcome this terrible coming off the medications process and you are on the ball knowing what has happened, why and now what you can do about it.
I note Mark Horowitz looks OK and I believe he has been through this and so if he can do it, I am sure you will do it.
If I may make a suggestion, your body and mind have been through a lot and maybe you do this already e.g. with your cider vinegar, but if there are other health promoting foods, perhaps you can add these to your diet and use them to heal your body.
Also, with regard to strength, some muscle toning exercises and breathing exercises.
I expect you are doing these things already anyway. Wishing you all the best and do keep in touch.
Enjoy the sun, but stay out of the sun during the 11am - 3 pm timeslot 