I suggest you discuss this with your doctor. Long term use of SSRI drugs like Celexa can mess up your dopamine system.

Are you having any muscle cramps, neck or jaw spasms, restless legs? These side effects are called extrapyramidal side effects and involve abberations in dopamine.

Low dopamine in the brain can cause poor learning response, lack of motivation like you describe, since dopamine is a reinforcement neurotransmitter.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2674976/

Sometimes doctors add in Wellbutrin (which is not an SSRI but a dopamine acting drug) to a SSRI regimen. However, it may be decided by your doctor to wean you off the Celexa...if so I think it would have to be a very slow taper because of the length of time you have been using it.

In any event, you need to discuss this with your doctor.

Hi there,
I have experience with Citalopram over a number of years. It turned me into a mindless zombie who sat, gained weight and couldn't string 2 words together. My family stopped calling and it was only the breakdown of a 14 year relationship that snapped me out of it, made me sling them out and change to a more suitable AD.

I got better verbally (although I have non-related cognitive/memory problems), and fixed the relationships with family snd my Ex.

Dave.

Thank you everyone for your detailed responses. I really appreciate it. I have been taking this medication for quite some time but I guess I haven't realized how numb its made me feel. I feel like I have just discovered recently that what I'm going through doesn't seem normal. At first I just thought it was my personality, cause I've always been calm and quite. But I'm starting to think it's just not normal compared to my classmates, friends and family.

I do go to yearly check ups with my doctor and I have always told him it was working well for me because really I thought it was. It wasn't until recently I started to realize how flat I was compared to the people around me.

EnglishDave - I to have trouble talking, I stutter a lot and it is nearly impossible for me to tell a story that is longer then 1 minute. My brain just gets lost, anxious and scattered and can't put it together. It's very frustrating, and I've always thought it was a confidence issue. Some weeks I feel great and other weeks I feel like I can't even get out a word. It probably started 5 years ago and I have been fighting it ever since. I'm not sure if it's the Celexa or just social anxiety. I've constantly tried to develop it and put myself in uncomfortable situations (speeches, talking to anybody) to develop my speech but nothing ever seems to get me out of the hole I'm in.

I recently started to see a therapist so I will defiantly ask him about it. Again, I'd like to thank you all for taking your time to give me advice and being so welcoming. It's nice to know that their are people out their that want to help others!

Liveinthepresent,
I also think with Celexa that a regular ECG/EKG is usually done to monitor your heart rate. I think that is only done for high doses though. [They did that for my son too on another medication called Orap. They took a baseline one before starting the med and then he was to have regular ones after that. Didn't end up needing it though as he couldn't tolerate the med.. ]

Don't worry about being different from your classmates too much though.

If you're generally a calm and quiet person, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being like that! However, if you're feeling flat, fatigued and finding no joy in anything and just generally blah... worry about that.

My son, my daughter and I have social anxiety issues. It's no fun when you're having to deal with crowds and classes etc.. If you have diagnosed condition/s then you can get accommodations at college/uni for certain types of assessments such as having to stand in front of a class and talk for 10 minutes etc.. My daughter's battled with that terribly lately. The doctors prescribed her some Propranolol on an 'as needed' basis, but it doesn't help so much.

Anyway, sorry to ramble.
You take care of yourself.

Liveinthepresent,
Definitely talk to your Therapist regarding your concern about Anxiety issues. You CAN have both at the same time - I did, as my long-standing Panic Attacks were the only things that turned any emotion on.
If you are getting increased heart rate, a feeling you are sweating (or sweating), tension in muscles, a 'wash' of greying or blackness in, or around your vision and/or the feeling that you really want to remove yourself from your current situation then you are likely to have Anxiety issues. This is not a comprehensive list. Anyone else want to add further?
Nowadays, with the condition better understood, Therapy may be helpful, and as Lara said there is help for you at College - and the RIGHT meds can help.

Dave.

My anxiety, which is relatively infrequent, often involves panic attacks.

For me, a combination of deep breathing exercises (bringing my blood CO2 level back to normal) and using CBT methods helps with them.

Dear liveinthepresent,

I don't know if you are still around NT or not?

After reading this thread, I'd like to add:

1) A high dose of any AD may cause someone to feel "numb" or apathetic, even depersonalized and/or dissociated. It also may not cause these symptoms.

2) If you are on Celexa (citalopram) and wish to continue it's use, please check in with your prescribing doctor about the dose. Celexa used to be utilized at up to 40 mg. This is rarely the case now, as Celexa has been linked to exacerbating heart issues in some people. 20 mg is now the top/highest dose. The elderly are often treated with only 10 mg.
Pharmacists now often recommend Celexa never be combined with another drug which may also have adverse effects upon the heart.

Citalopram is generally one of the more sedating SSRI meds and is often used with co-occurring anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, PTSD and chronic pain.

I hope you have already found helpful answers and are feeling better!

To Our Healing,
DejaVu