What can I expect if I abruptly stop taking my citalopram?

Should be reasonably quick actually.

My non medical answer is I’ve never taken that drug, but I one time took an SSRI and I knew I was taking the drug right away. It was not a good drug for me. Still, my point is it didn’t take long at all for me to feel effects from the drug. Most of my friends who have taken antidepressants feel the effects very quickly. Good and bad.

Do you remember how long it took the first time you started taking it? I would guess it wouldn’t be much different this time. Maybe a little faster. That’s just a guess on my part. I looked up the half life and it’s 36 hours according to Wikipedia, so it’s probably completely out of your system now, and probably doesn’t take very long to build up and stabilize when you start taking it.

Next time, if you know you might have to go a few days without a new prescription, you might want to cut your dose in half if that’s possible for a couple of days (so you can have 4 half dose days rather than 2 completely without) to get you through. I don’t know if it’s a pill you can split? I don’t know what it looks like. I realize you might not have known you were going to have to do without, I don’t know your specific circumstance.

About another 7–10 days of a lousy feeling depending on how long you had been taking it.

In my case, the light-headedness is what lasted a bit longer. It was not too bad though.

^^She’s hoping to start back on the drug tomorrow.

In an ideal world, no one should stop taking a prescribed med without consulting the physician who prescribed it, or at least , without the opinion of another qualified physician. Side effects of sudden stops from certain drugs can range from mild to severe.
Bottom line is that if you were prescribed something. Take it. If you have problems monetarily keeping up, or don’t fully understand the drug or its side effects, talk to the DR who prescribed it for you more thoroughly.
Stopping drugs like steroids, depression drugs, cardiac drugs etc, without consulting a Dr who understands the drug, and the ‘situation ’ regarding the discontinuation of the med is unadvised.
Most importantly, DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE LESS THAN 48 HRS OF ANY DRUG PRESCRIBED LONG TERM. Sometimes it is difficult to get your prescribed drug for a variety of reasons. If you know you will run out in X amount of days, and can’t do without for Y, then plan as best you can. I personally try and keep at least a week or so of any meds I am prescribed. Then I have a week to get it filled. Sometimes my prescription has expired, or there was a change with my address, etc. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Good luck. Peace and love.

From what I understand, some of the conditions that originally indicated the drug to your doctor may become worse if you suddenly stop.. Also, you may experience symptoms such as mood swings, headache, tiredness, sleep changes, and brief feelings similar to electric shock. Under optimal conditions, the doctor would reduce your dosage gradually

In the future, is it possible to get samples from the doctor to keep it going until you can get a refill?

I think the OP’s main concern is how long to feel better once she starts the drug again. Maybe I misunderstood.

You are correct @JLeslie. It takes at least four weeks to feel the effects of the drug when you start taking it. I’m assuming it won’t take that long if I just miss a week after taking it as prescribed for over a year, but I’m not sure.

I think you’ll recognize the positive effects sooner. The first time I think people are more likely to be wondering, “am I feeling better? Is it the medicine? Is it just a good day?” This time you’ll be going back to your “normal” that you have had while you have been on the meds. So, even if the blood levels are exactly the same as the first time, I think your experience will be different. Better.