Celexa (Citalopram) 20mg, 40mg, 10mg

Since patients may need to take a medication in differing doses, the medication may be produced in pills that contain a differing amount of the active ingredient. This is true in the case of Celexa (Citalopram). If you are taking this medication for depression, anxiety, or a related reason, it is very important to use it as directed. This will involve reading the label to determine proper dosage. For example, many Celexa users will take one Citalopram 20mg pill per day as treatment.

Complications may occur if the pharmacy has pills in a different form. An example would be if you are prescribed 20mg of Citalopram per day, but your pharmacy only has Citalopram 10mg in stock. Then you may have to take two per day to start your dosage right away. If your refill is performed using Citalopram 20mg pills, you will need to be sure to cut back to just one per day to maintain the same dose. This is why it is important to read the label on your prescription carefully.

Some patients need to be on a stronger dose after having used Citalopram for an extended amount of time. If this is the case, you may be given Citalopram 40mg pills. Again, if the pharmacy does not have these in stock, you may simply receive Citalopram 20mg pills and just have to take two per day.

The varying doses are also good for when you need to come off of the medication. In order to avoid Celexa withdrawal symptoms, a patient who was taking 40mg per day cannot simply stop taking the medicine, even if switching to something else. Cutting back to 20mg per day and perhaps even 10 will reduce the side effects of coming off of the drug. This process may take several days to ensure that you do not experience withdrawal symptoms.

It is not advised that you use alcohol while on this medication. It will increase the effects dramatically. The higher dose you take, the more likely you are to react adversely to introducing alcohol.

There is also the possibility of overdose with this medication. A person would have to consume over 200mg along with alcohol to be in any mortal danger, however, side effects of even a small overdose (accidentally double dosing) can be very uncomfortable, so be sure to use this medication properly. Perhaps set an alarm to remind yourself to take it on schedule.