Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with GoogleGet your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
Can Celexa Be Substituted With Cymbalta Due To Side Effects From The Latter?
My husband has been taking Cymbalta 30 mg for about a month now and was doing pretty good with it. But now is not agreeing with him. Should he ask for a lesser dose than that or go back to taking Celexa (Citalopram) that he was taking prior to this and if so, can he just stop taking the Cymbalta and start taking the Citalopram again. He is feeling very tired, sometimes like he might pass out, difficulty swallowing, etc. etc. - all of the terrible side effects at once.
Mon, 6 Jan 2014
Greetings !
Well he can substitute Cymbalta with celexa but not immediately as stopping Cymbalta abruptly may bring in withdrawal symptoms thereby worsening his condition even more so better will be to taper down the dose of Cymbalta to 20 mg / day and continue this for 1 week and then replace Cymbalta with 10 mg celexa followed by increasing the dose of celexa to 20 mg / day after 1 week. He can go up to 40 mg / day dose of celexa.
Now there is an alternative that he can use in place of celexa and that is Lexapro which has almost similar properties and mechanism of action as celexa but it has superior efficacy and lesser side effects, so you may consider using Lexapro at dose of 10 mg to replace Cymbalta 20 mg / day instead of celexa of the same dose.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Well he can substitute Cymbalta with celexa but not immediately as stopping Cymbalta abruptly may bring in withdrawal symptoms thereby worsening his condition even more so better will be to taper down the dose of Cymbalta to 20 mg / day and continue this for 1 week and then replace Cymbalta with 10 mg celexa followed by increasing the dose of celexa to 20 mg / day after 1 week. He can go up to 40 mg / day dose of celexa.
Now there is an alternative that he can use in place of celexa and that is Lexapro which has almost similar properties and mechanism of action as celexa but it has superior efficacy and lesser side effects, so you may consider using Lexapro at dose of 10 mg to replace Cymbalta 20 mg / day instead of celexa of the same dose.
I hope this helps.
Regards
I find this answer helpful
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
Related questions you may be interested in
Recent questions on Lexapro
Loading Online Doctors....