Q. I am hoping that you can shed some light on my situation. I’m an athletic 48-year-old female and have been taking both trazodone and Celexa for years.
About a year after I began taking these medications I noticed that my eyesight was beginning to change. Now I find that my vision is fuzzy and blurry. Someone told me it might be the trazodone. Is that possible?
I also feel as if I am kind of drugged, as if I am going through my day in a kind of drug-induced haze. I have almost forgotten what it feels like to feel “good.”
Can you shed some light on my situation and tell me about side effects of trazodone and Celexa? I eat healthy, am very active and on the slim side. Some days it is difficult to function. I wonder if menopause is part of my problem or if it is my medicine. Please help!
A. The first thing that concerns us is the combination of trazodone and citalopram (Celexa). These two antidepressants might increase your risk for something called serotonin syndrome. This could make it hard to function and might even be confused with menopausal symptoms. The combination of these two drugs may also deplete your body of sodium, which could also leave you feeling fatigued, confused and irritable.
Signs of Serotonin Syndrome:
Anxiety
Agitation
Muscle twitches
Nausea
Sweating
Confusion
Convulsions
Coma
Trazodone is increasingly being prescribed off label as a sleeping pill. That’s because it is a sedating antidepressant. So, doctors are employing a side effect of the medication to help people fall asleep. It may work well for many, but others may experience a morning “hangover” effect that makes it hard to start the day. The blurry vision you are experiencing could be caused by trazodone. Other adverse effects of trazodone include:
Trazodone Side Effects:
• Dry mouth
• Blurred vision, irritated eyes
• Dizziness, confusion, unsteadiness, fatigue
• Headache
• Nausea, digestive distress, constipation
• Fluid retention
• Muscle aches and pains
• Nasal congestion
• Sexual side effects
• Low sodium levels
• Heart rhythm changes
• Suicidal thoughts
• Skin rash
• Withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation
Citalopram (Celexa) Side Effects
• Dry mouth
• Nausea, digestive upset, diarrhea, heartburn
• Fatigue, tiredness
• Sexual side effects, lower libido
• Anxiety
• Loss of appetite
• Withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation
• Irregular heart rhythms
No one should ever stop either trazodone or citalopram suddenly. The symptoms of withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant and may last for several days or weeks. To learn more about this problem and how to cope with it, check this link.
You may also want to check out our guides:
Our Guide to Dealing with Depression is $2. We have a number of non-drug approaches to depression in this guide that might help. Taking two antidepressants simultaneously is not uncommon, but these “experiments” can sometimes produce unexpected side effects.
You may also find our Guide to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep helpful. People who use trazodone to combat insomnia are also participating in an experiment since the FDA has never approved this medication for such a use.
You should not have to feel so bad and also suffer with blurry vision. Please discuss these symptoms with your physician. There are other ways to combat depression and insomnia!
