Hi all,

I am new to this forum.

First I want to say thank you for creating this place and

Hello to all the people sharing their good and bad moments of tapering.

As you can see in my signature, I tapered of celexa for quiet a long while.........

since 2025, in autumn I managed the step to 0mg......still having WD symptoms

Thought I would be fine, but no....... thatś why I finally made the move to join.

I have brain fog, more or less........ I am still waiting for recovery,

thatś why I will go on with more detailed descriptions gradually.

Story will be continued soon......

Best regards

Glimmery

Edited September 12Sep 12 by SarahMc

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawal syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

16 hours ago, Glimmery said:

As you can see in my signature, I tapered of celexa for quiet a long while.........

since 2025, in autumn I managed the step to 0mg......still having WD symptoms

Thought I would be fine, but no....... thatś why I finally made the move to join.

I have brain fog, more or less........ I am still waiting for recovery,

thatś why I will go on with more detailed descriptions gradually.

I'm sorry you're still struggling with withdrawal symptoms about a year after finishing your taper. To be honest, I'm not surprised given all of the attempts to get off the drug described in your signature. From what we see in the community, every failed attempt to get off a drug can cause little injuries to the nervous system that make future attempts more difficult and withdrawal symptoms potentially worse.

But that doesn't mean you won't heal! Time and patience will get you there. Glad to have you join the forum, and we'll wait until you feel up to telling us more about what you're going through 😊.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Hey @Glimmery Welcome to the forum. Glad you found us and we will look forward to your progress updates. Chippy

@SarahMc and @Chippy Hello :) and Thank you very much for your nice welcoming!

@SarahMc Hello :)

I have read and I am aware of the guidelines of this forum.

Thank you very much for your Encouragement. As I have been a silent reader of SA for years and did a lot of research on the topics antidepressants, tapering and WD, I could already apply a lot of stuff that helped with WD.

- I drink at least 2 liters of water a day. Sometimes even up to 3 liters, as I am very thirsty most of the time. I have this since on SSRIs, I drink plenty of water and still feel very thirty.

 

-I try to eat organic groceries most of the time and cut out sugar, as I recognized it worsened the WD symptoms. Since a few weeks I am on Keto diet, which seems to work. Only in the time of the "Keto Flu" I felt a little worse. I know that Keto is not for everyone and every period during WD, but I could hardly tolerate any carbohydrates anymore. I use to love bread and ate a lot of it, but now, even if I only eat a slice of bread, I feel really full, it worsens the water (oedema) in my body and I lose my appetite. It feels like as if carbohydrates stay in my stomach and I can not digest them anymore. I eat a lot of greens, olive oil, fat in general.........Keto has improved my appetite. Which is good.

 

-I cut out caffeine and alcohol during the tapering process.

I drink, I know it still has a little caffeine, but I can tolerate it very well .

 

-I avoid Supplements if possible. If I need to supplement (had a diagnosed shortness of iron and Vitamin D), I try one at a time, at a very low dose and see what happens.

 

- I tried Fish Oil and Magnesium. Fish Oil is fine and did a difference in the beginning. Now I feel it doesn't work anymore, so I stopped taking it. Magnesium gave me bad headaches, even at low amounts.

 

- Daily walks did help me and where one of the best coping strategies during WD. But as I also got long covid and shortness of breathing, I am often to fatigue to go for walks anymore. :(

Still I try to walk and to go outside as much as possible, sitting on a bench at least and catching fresh air.

But I feel all I did and do is still not enough to get the longed relief from WD symptoms. :(

My worst symptoms right now are daily stomach ache, brain fog, memory loss of certain words, trouble articulating, being in a horrible freeze mode and a swollen body and face. I gained weight on the SSRIs and lost some of the weight already, but still have a around 10 to 16 pounds to go.

Even if there are many more things to say, I tried to describe everything as detailed as I could, as it could be interesting and hopefully useful for some of the people also suffering from WD.

Posts from people suffering WD helped me a lot. Thank you.

Anybody here is very welcome, to add their advice and suggestions.

Thanks for reading and Take care everybody and especially everybody in WD process and hopefully progress,

Glimmery

@Chippy Are you the same Chippy as the one on SA? I think I saw and have been reading some of your posts on SA :).

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Glimmery

I am sick very often since tapering and WD. I had plenty of colds and almost got every sickness, especially colds, around, which is unusual for me.

I can't get ride of the suspicion, that almost all of the sicknesses I caught during WD are connected to taking SSRIs or WD symptoms……… even long Covid.

Has anyone had similar experiences with sicknesses?

"To be honest, I'm not surprised given all of the attempts to get off the drug described in your signature. From what we see in the community, every failed attempt to get off a drug can cause little injuries to the nervous system that make future attempts more difficult and withdrawal symptoms potentially worse."

That is an important point.

Ohhhh dear...........

I was already in the process and 5 or 6 months off,

I should have stayed off of those drugs in 2020, I guess?

On 9/12/2026 at 2:27 PM, SarahMc said:

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawal syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

I'm sorry you're still struggling with withdrawal symptoms about a year after finishing your taper. To be honest, I'm not surprised given all of the attempts to get off the drug described in your signature. From what we see in the community, every failed attempt to get off a drug can cause little injuries to the nervous system that make future attempts more difficult and withdrawal symptoms potentially worse.

But that doesn't mean you won't heal! Time and patience will get you there. Glad to have you join the forum, and we'll wait until you feel up to telling us more about what you're going through 😊.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

On 9/11/2026 at 10:32 PM, Glimmery said:

Hi all,

I am new to this forum.

First I want to say thank you for creating this place and

Hello to all the people sharing their good and bad moments of tapering.

As you can see in my signature, I tapered of celexa for quiet a long while.........

since 2025, in autumn I managed the step to 0mg......still having WD symptoms

Thought I would be fine, but no....... thatś why I finally made the move to join.

I have brain fog, more or less........ I am still waiting for recovery,

thatś why I will go on with more detailed descriptions gradually.

Story will be continued soon......

Best regards

Glimmery

warm welcome to the forum! sorry to hear that youre still having symptoms... the brain fog is just awful isnt it? im still struggling with it myself but hopefully itll go away in time. im sure that youll find plenty of help and support here so its good that youve found this community!

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Some0n3

@Some0n3 Thank you very much for your warm welcoming.

What do you do that helps you with the brain fog?

For me the worst symptom at moment is the freeze mode......

but it often comes together with the foggy head,

can't think, thinking everything's awful, can't move.....

can't think, can't move......

everything takes so much longer during brain fog......

you have to be really patient with yourself :)

Sometimes I have these islands, when I feel good and almost normal.

I realize feeling normal, when I don't feel everything I did in my life was wrong.

Sometimes I hardly remember anything.

Most of the time the memories I have are connected to the times before I took celexa or

to the first few years of taking celexa. Remembering being always uncertain, moody,

tired and sleeping whenever I could.

The prime time celexa years memories are vague and blur into one another.

Take care and hope you get good relief from WD soon

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Glimmery

I posted the same thing twice..... How can I delete a post?

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Glimmery
posting twice

41 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

@Some0n3 Thank you very much for your warm welcoming.

What do you do that helps you with the brain fog?

For me the worst symptom at moment is the freeze mode......

but it often comes together with the foggy head,

can't think, thinking everything's awful, can't move.....

can't think, can't move......

everything takes so much longer during brain fog......

you have to be really patient with yourself :)

Sometimes I have these islands, when I feel good and almost normal.

I realize feeling normal, when I don't feel everything I did in my life was wrong.

Sometimes I hardly remember anything.

Most of the time the memories I have are connected to the times before I took celexa or

to the first few years of taking celexa. Remembering being always uncertain, moody,

tired and sleeping whenever I could.

The prime time celexa years memories are vague and blur into one another.

Take care and hope you get good relief from WD soon

I havent really found anything that eases it for me and ive been having it every second of the day for close to two years now. It changes in strength at times but its never mild. What i found helps coping with it though is just accepting the fact that its there and not trying to fight it. Doing things you like can also take your mind off of it. Its really great if youre having periods of feeling better, surely a good sign! Thank you, i hope you get good relief from your WD soon as well!

10 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

I havent really found anything that eases it for me and ive been having it every second of the day for close to two years now. It changes in strength at times but its never mild. What i found helps coping with it though is just accepting the fact that its there and not trying to fight it. Doing things you like can also take your mind off of it. Its really great if youre having periods of feeling better, surely a good sign! Thank you, i hope you get good relief from your WD soon as well!

Acceptances that often is key, also for me...... but hard and hard to remember on some days 😅😅.......... sorry at the moment I am not ok with the WD situation and I want things to be good again.

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Glimmery

9 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Acceptances that often is key, also for me...... but hard and hard to remember on some days 😅😅.......... sorry at the moment I am not ok with the WD situation and I want things to be good again.

I think that its normal to have days where acceptance is hard. I also think that letting negative emotions out at times is good too as long as you dont let them consume you. Its totally ok to not be ok with the WD situation. Accepting doesnt mean that youre okay with it, it means that you dont fight it or try to run from it. Hang in there, Im sure that brighter days are ahead!

1 hour ago, Glimmery said:

I posted the same thing twice..... How can I delete a post?

You cant delete posts in this forum as far as im aware

25 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

I think that its normal to have days where acceptance is hard. I also think that letting negative emotions out at times is good too as long as you dont let them consume you. Its totally ok to not be ok with the WD situation. Accepting doesnt mean that youre okay with it, it means that you dont fight it or try to run from it. Hang in there, Im sure that brighter days are ahead!

"Its totally ok to not be ok with the WD situation" So true 😂....... acceptance, I know...... yeah acceptances means accepting things you can't change, even if you don't like them........ I can accept that I don't want to accept WD 😂

9 hours ago, Glimmery said:

"Its totally ok to not be ok with the WD situation" So true 😂....... acceptance, I know...... yeah acceptances means accepting things you can't change, even if you don't like them........ I can accept that I don't want to accept WD 😂

Keep hanging in there and im sure youll do fine! Acceptance takes time and effort. we all have days sometimes where it feels much harder to accomplish.

Edited September 14Sep 14 by Some0n3

Welcome to the forum.

14 hours ago, Glimmery said:

@Chippy Are you the same Chippy as the one on SA? I think I saw and have been reading some of your posts on SA :).

Yes, @Chippy and I started this forum because SA went read-only.

14 hours ago, Glimmery said:

@Chippy Are you the same Chippy as the one on SA? I think I saw and have been reading some of your posts on SA :).

1 minute ago, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, @Chippy and I started this forum because SA went read-only.

Yep the very same lol :)

6 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

Keep hanging in there and im sure youll do fine! Acceptance takes time and effort. we all have days sometimes where it feels much harder to accomplish.

Thanks for your encouragement. My main issue at the moment is I need to do family stuff, also for a funeral that I have to organize all by myself, which puts a of pressure on me and I am not able to do all the things I have to. I just want to curl up........

@Luke

and

@Chippy

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STARTING THIS FORUM 🙂,

we need this after SA turned into read only......

I was a silent reader of SA for years.

The moment I wanted to join and post I read it turned into read only 'lol'

1 minute ago, Glimmery said:

@Luke

and

@Chippy

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STARTING THIS FORUM 🙂,

we need this after SA turned into read only......

I was a silent reader of SA for years.

The moment I wanted to join and post I read it turned into read only 'lol'

Pleasure. Glad you’re here :)

8 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Thanks for your encouragement. My main issue at the moment is I need to do family stuff, also for a funeral that I have to organize all by myself, which puts a of pressure on me and I am not able to do all the things I have to. I just want to curl up........

I am also very slowly and make more mistakes than usually......

2 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Thanks for your encouragement. My main issue at the moment is I need to do family stuff, also for a funeral that I have to organize all by myself, which puts a of pressure on me and I am not able to do all the things I have to. I just want to curl up........

i can understand how that would stress you out. in my opinion you should try taking it one day at a time if possible and to be kind to yourself even if you do make mistakes. do what you can and dont beat yourself up over stuff youre unable to do!

52 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

i can understand how that would stress you out. in my opinion you should try taking it one day at a time if possible and to be kind to yourself even if you do make mistakes. do what you can and dont beat yourself up over stuff youre unable to do!

Thank you. I did it like this since reaching zero and it worked more or less...... But since about a week I can not do it anymore. Family and personal issues have added up in the past month..... Some days pass and I can not even make ONE important short phone call necessary. I tried , but I do not even feel like doing something today, doing even a tiny phone call is impossible. I made a slow taper to prevent this situation, but today I fell like WD is getting worse. I am in a huge wave, I guess. Mainly I was doom scrolling the hole day, even if I don't like doom scrolling. I am sorry I don't want to discourage anybody and I know that this will pass. But there is much going on what needs to be done. At the moment I can't deal with the pressure and I don't have any support with it. And if I had no pressure I would be fine with just resting.

33 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Thank you. I did it like this since reaching zero and it worked more or less...... But since about a week I can not do it anymore. Family and personal issues have added up in the past month..... Some days pass and I can not even make ONE important short phone call necessary. I tried , but I do not even feel like doing something today, doing even a tiny phone call is impossible. I made a slow taper to prevent this situation, but today I fell like WD is getting worse. I am in a huge wave, I guess. Mainly I was doom scrolling the hole day, even if I don't like doom scrolling. I am sorry I don't want to discourage anybody and I know that this will pass. But there is much going on what needs to be done. At the moment I can't deal with the pressure and I don't have any support with it. And if I had no pressure I would be fine with just resting.

im sorry to hear that.. i have days like those too where i just basically do nothing and thats okay! sometimes just existing is enough. its a tough one to have so many obligations while in WD though. you dont have to apologize at all! if writing on here helps then keep doing so!

Thanks again for your words. @Some0n3

Sometimes writing feels to much. Do you know these days?

Edited September 14Sep 14 by Glimmery