Yes, citalopram causes increased sweating. It is listed as one of the most common side effects in the drug’s FDA-approved prescribing information, occurring in roughly 5% of people taking it for depression compared to less than 1% on placebo. The effect is dose-dependent: higher doses produce more sweating in more people.
How Common Sweating Is at Different Doses
Clinical trial data from the FDA label show a clear relationship between dose and sweating. At 10 mg per day, about 3% of participants reported increased sweating. At 20 mg per day, that figure jumped to 8%. For comparison, fewer than 1% of people taking a placebo reported the same symptom. A separate trial testing citalopram at 10, 20, and 30 mg daily found that “abnormal sweating” was reported by 20 to 25% of people on the drug, compared to about 10% on placebo.
This pattern holds for other side effects too. Fatigue, insomnia, and yawning all tend to worsen as the dose goes up. So if you started at a lower dose and recently increased, the sweating you’re noticing is a predictable response to that change.
Why SSRIs Make You Sweat
Citalopram works by increasing serotonin levels in the brain, but serotonin doesn’t just affect mood. It also influences the body’s internal thermostat. SSRIs like citalopram appear to trigger sweating through two pathways: they can block certain receptors involved in regulating body temperature, and they can increase the release of noradrenaline, a chemical that activates sweat glands. The result is sweating that feels out of proportion to your activity level or the temperature around you.
Night Sweats Are Especially Common
Many people on SSRIs notice the sweating most at night. A study in a primary care population found that SSRIs are consistently associated with night sweats, and the researchers concluded the link is likely causal rather than coincidental. Night sweats from citalopram can range from mild dampness to soaking through sheets, and they can disrupt sleep quality even when they don’t fully wake you up.
If you’re waking up damp or changing clothes at night, the medication is a more likely explanation than menopause, infection, or other causes your mind might jump to, especially if the timing lines up with when you started or increased your dose.
When Sweating Typically Starts and Whether It Fades
Sweating from citalopram usually begins within the first few weeks of starting the medication or adjusting the dose. For some people, it eases as the body adapts. The Mayo Clinic categorizes increased sweating as a side effect that “may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine.” That said, not everyone is that lucky. For a subset of people, the sweating persists for as long as they take the drug.
There’s no reliable way to predict which group you’ll fall into. If the sweating hasn’t improved after six to eight weeks on a stable dose, it’s unlikely to resolve on its own.
What You Can Do About It
The most straightforward fix is a dose reduction, if your prescriber agrees it’s appropriate. Since sweating scales with dose, even a small decrease can make a noticeable difference. Beyond that, the options generally follow a progression:
- Dose reduction: Lowering the dose while still maintaining the antidepressant effect is the first strategy clinicians typically try.
- Switching medications: If the sweating is severe and dose reduction isn’t possible, switching to a different antidepressant that causes less sweating is an option. Not all antidepressants carry the same risk.
- Add-on medication: In cases where citalopram is working well for your mood and you don’t want to change it, your prescriber may add a second medication specifically to reduce sweating. Research has found that certain drugs originally designed for other purposes can effectively block antidepressant-induced sweating. There is also evidence that alpha-adrenergic blockers can reduce night sweats in people taking SSRIs.
On your own, practical measures help at the margins. Wearing moisture-wicking fabrics, keeping your bedroom cool, staying well hydrated, and using clinical-strength antiperspirant on areas beyond your underarms (like your forehead, chest, or back) can reduce discomfort. These won’t eliminate the sweating, but they make it more manageable while you and your prescriber decide on a longer-term plan.
When Sweating Signals Something More Serious
Ordinary citalopram-related sweating is uncomfortable but not dangerous. However, heavy sweating combined with other specific symptoms can signal serotonin syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition caused by too much serotonin activity. This is most likely when you’ve just started citalopram, increased your dose, or added another medication that also raises serotonin levels.
The distinguishing signs are sweating paired with a rapid heart rate, agitation or confusion, muscle twitching or rigidity, fever, diarrhea, and dilated pupils. These symptoms typically appear within hours of a dose change. Isolated sweating, even if it’s heavy, without these other symptoms is almost certainly just a routine side effect. But if you notice several of these signs together, especially confusion, high fever, or muscle rigidity, that requires emergency medical attention.