Dr. Aly (child & adolescent psychiatrist) discusses the medication CITALOPRAM (Celexa) so that you can be better informed when deciding whether or not to start this medication.
So celexa was first approved for medical use in the united states in 1998 and by 2018 it was the 35th most commonly prescribed medication in the united states with more than 22 million prescriptions welcome back street talkers today i’m going to talk about the medication selexa so that you can be better informed when deciding whether or not to start this medication
But first make sure you hit that subscribe button so that you can be the first to know when new content comes out so citalopram is the generic name and selexa is the brand name the generic medication has the same chemical formula but it may or may not be exactly the same strength as the brand name medication also some of the brand medications might contain various
Dyes or other components that can cause allergic reactions so it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether or not it’s important to use the generic or the brand version of the medication that you’re being prescribed so how does this medication work slux is considered to be a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or ssri for short
And on a basic level it works by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin in certain parts of the brain in adults selexa is fda approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder it does not have an fda approval for the use in kids however it’s often used off label and can treat several other conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder social anxiety panic disorder and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder the typical dose range for this medication is between 20 to 40 milligrams daily and an interesting fact about this medication is that its maximum daily dosage was reduced to 40 milligrams daily by the fda in august 2011 due to data suggesting that it can cause qtc
Prolongation or abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart it doses greater than 40 milligrams daily so generally doses above 20 milligrams daily are not recommended in those 60 or older and an ekg should be obtained in patients on doses greater than 40 milligrams per day or those with known cardiac disease regardless if i’m using this medication in
Kids i’ll often start at low doses to help reduce the risk of potential side effects and my approach is always to start low and go slow meaning that we start at a low dose and increase the dose gradually and slowly over time with the goal of finding the lowest effective dose celexa comes in tablet and liquid form and it is usually only taken once daily by most
People once this medication has started it usually takes a couple weeks before you start noticing a difference and in many people it can take a whole one to two months before it reaches its full effect at the prescribed dose and because of this delay i often recommend starting therapy during this time because the benefits of therapy can be seen right away and
The goal of treatment with this medication is complete remission of current symptoms as well as the prevention of future episodes now let’s talk about potential side effects it’s important to realize that many side effects are often dose dependent meaning that the likelihood of getting them increases as the dose increases some are also time dependent meaning that
They begin immediately upon starting the medication or whenever we make a change to the dose of the medication but what we typically see is that the side effects will go away with time as your body gets adjusted to the medication so the common but usually more mild side effects of celexa includes nausea dry mouth somnolence or insomnia increased sweating tremor
Diarrhea ejaculation disorder dyspepsia fatigue upper respiratory tract infection and rhinitis the more serious but less common side effects could include increased suicidal thoughts or actions and those under the age of 25 years old serotonin syndrome increased chances of bleeding manic episodes seizures or low levels of sodium in the blood if you or your child
Are experiencing any of these side effects or any others that weren’t discussed please talk to your physician so that they can work with you on determining the appropriate next step of action it’s also important to realize that taking multiple medications at the same time may cause one medication to not work as well or it can lead to an increased likelihood of
Potential side effects so you should always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a new medication and make sure your doctor has an up-to-date list of all the medications that you’re taking and this includes not only the ones that are prescribed to you but also the ones that you may have purchased over the counter or on the internet when someone is put
On selexa it’s ultimately unknown exactly how long they will need to be on the medication for however research suggests that once someone’s symptoms are returned to baseline and they’re back to feeling normal again they should continue the medication at the current dose for another six to twelve months to help prevent relapse or recurrence of symptoms deciding
To come off of celexa please do not stop taking this medication without talking to your doctor first because they can help work with you to come up with a plan on how to stop the medication and my approach is to always gradually reduce the dose rather than abruptly stopping the medication whenever possible and the main reason is because doing so can help prevent
Uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and these symptoms can include things such as trouble sleeping nervousness irritability dizziness and flu-like symptoms so make sure to let your doctor know if these symptoms start to occur when you try to come off of the medication because they’re are different approaches that we can take to help reduce the likelihood of these
Unwanted effects from occurring now head on over to the next video to find out more ways that you can help your child live their best life
Transcribed from video
Citalopram (Celexa) Review For Anxiety & Depression | Dr. Aly By Straight Talk Psychiatry
