dizzy and lightheaded from Lexapro withdrawal

Hi, I am very sorry to hear about your situation. I have been through the same myself few years ago. I was taking Lexapro for a year and then my doctor and I decided I no longer needed it. I was taking 10 mg and then started to go on lower doses. After few weeks I was completely off Lexapro and the withdrawal symptoms started to appear. After three weeks of terrible migraines the doctor put me back on Lexapro. The pain was gone, but I didnt want to stay on Lexapro all my life. Then we tried to reduce the dosage again, this time more gradually. It took about three months until I was finally off Lexapro. The withdrawal symptoms were back, but in a much milder form. I only experienced sweating for few days and that was it! You should talk to your doctor about your withdrawal symptoms. There has to be a way for you not to suffer so much because of Lexapro.

Hi.I am on my 8th day with no lexapro.For the past several days I have had headaches,dizziness,nausia and confussion.I quit cold turkey.I have not yet experienced the brain zaps Ive heard about.But I do feel like I have the flu.This is terrible.I wish my doctor would have told me all of this before I decided to take this medication.But I just keep telling myself that it will eventually stop.It is so nice to know that others are going through the same thing.

i ran out of lexapro about 3 weeks ago and didn't re-order. felt fine for a week and sort of forgot about it. then the tragic death of a pet sent me into the worst depression i've ever experienced. occurred to me several days ago that i was feeling worse than i should have been even with the intense grief. did some reading and yes, am experiencing all the horrible side effects so many others have described.

i'm a hardworking professional overseeing several dozen staff members. have been terrified of stopping meds, afraid i wouldn't be able to cope with the withdrawal. now three weeks into it i am just going to soldier through it one day at a time, knowing it WILL get better at some point, hopefully soon.

i've found that choline-inositol, in gelcaps, is a tremendous help with the anxiety and irritibility. i've been taking up to 4,000 mg a day and hear that it's safe to go at as high as twice that much -- or more. i'm also investigating TrueHope in hopes of getting off other psych meds while doing something more healthy in terms of nutritional support.

best wishes and positive hopes for all of us!

After two years of taking 20 mg Lexapro, I suffered from severe tachycardia (over 150 bpm) and high blood pressure. So, I decided to taper off very slowly - from 20 mg to 10 mg over a period of 2 months. The tachycardia and blood pressure problems are gone, but I have not slept for more than 2-3 hours a night and have brain zaps every day. Frankly, Lexapro caused more problems than it addressed and has left me very grumpy for months after reducing dosage. I hope this misery ends soon and I can eventually get off the damn stuff. Lexapro sucks!

HI,MY NAME IS MONICA AND I TO AM TAPERING OFF LEXAPRO.MY DOCTOR TOLD ME TO TAKE MY USUAL  DOSE 10MG EVERY OTHER DAY FOR A WEEK THEN I WOULD BE DONE.BUT,I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT I WAS GOING TO BE DONE SO FAST.NOW TWO DAYS WITHOUT THE LEXAPRO I'M FEELING WEIRD DIZZY AND ALMOST LIKE I'M FLOATING.I HAVE HEARD IT TAKES AWHILE TO GET OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM.I'M GOING TO TRY AND TAKE EACH DAY AT A TIME AS YOU SHOULD DO AND KNOW EVENTUALLY IT WILL GO AWAY.BUT,WHAT HAS HELPED ME WITH THESE STRANGE FEELINGS IS 2.5 OF ADAVAN WHICH IS A VERY LOW DOSE.ALMOST NOT ENOUGH TO TOUCH YOU BUT,ENOUGH TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF FOR A LIITLE WHILE.SO KEEP FIGHTING AND WE WILL GET THREW THIS.GOOD LUCK TO YOU.KEEP US POSTED..

Hi I'm Anna. I took Lexapro for about 6 months due to Panic Disorder and gained 15 pounds while on the medication. I didn't like this at all so my doctor and I decided that I could taper off of the medication. A month ago, I went down to 8 mg, then 5, and now I am on 3 mg. Everything was perfectly fine and I felt great until yesterday. I feel very, very dizzy. Everything around me seems as if it's spinning and my eyes feel very blurry. It's a horrible feeling. Has anyone else experienced the extreme dizziness?

Hi Anna! I just stopped 10mg Lexapro on a whim 6 days ago. I too have been very dizzy and a bit edgy. I feel like I have just spent the last year out at sea and now I am on land and have 'land sickness' dizzy and queezy feelings. Have your symptoms gone away?

Dear AliVerWes: I too stopped taking Lexapro several days ago. I have felt these same symptoms of dizziness. I thought it was vertigo from Meniere's Disease (I have suffered from this occasionally for 5 years). Although I am relieved that this is not my Meniere's acting up, I hate that it is a withdrawal symptom that I will have to endure. How long does this typically last? I am not going back to the Lexapro because I no longer need it.

This is in reply; I have now been off the Lexapro cold turkey for two weeks. I am not a doctor but these are my observations and thoughts. What Lexapro helped numb in me is what would trigger my dizzy spells while coming off of the drug. So I just accepted that after working 10 hours my body was just being stressed and the Lexapro used to help me keep trucking though 10 hour days. As well I would get anxious when people would walk in the lab so I started noticing I would get dizzy when I would hear the door open. As well when I would be working alone at night I did get a hand full of visual hallucinations and again I related this to the Lexapro usually taking care of this anxiety inducing feeling. Once I accepted the side affects as my own they stopped. It has been two weeks after quitting cold turkey (not recommended) and I am feeling 75% better. However the grey fog is still there. Meditation a few times a week and a couple group yoga classes has been my key to success out of this as well as talking it over with my family and friends. But if you don't have that support or feel comfortable discussing this there are tons of behavioral therapists. The only reason I got on Lexapro about a year ago was because I was having elevated anxiety due to too much synthroid. As well turns out my medicine for allergies, Singulair, can cause depression in some people. Who would have thought? Singulair I need as I have tried MANY allergy meds and live in an old moldy building (i hope to move soon). The synthroid I NEED because I am hypothyroid so I just take a lot less (less than what the doc recommends) but my anxiety is very minimal now. I hope this helps others.

Hi everyone,

I have been taking Lexapro for a little bit over two months (10mg daily) for depression caused by nicotine withdrawal after I quit smoking cold turkey 6 months ago. I have been fine wiht it and it did help with depression but I have gained 15+ pounds since I started taking it and recently have been confused about my feelings, not knowing if what I feel or think is really true or only an effect of the Lexapro. I did overcome my fear of bees which is remarkable LOL I use to yell, freak out and run everytime I hear or seen a bee and now I can stay still even if a bee is ON ME and just calmly try to make the bee go away ... my husband is amazed by it and so am I.

Anyway, I don't want to take this pill forever because of all the stories I've read and I really want to have a baby (our third and last) but don't want to take any meds while pregnant. I am terrified and scared of all the withdrawal symptoms people talk about but I am determined to quit and find out if I can live without it so I can move forward. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to talk about a plan to tamper off this med and hopefully he'll work with me.

I've read is very important to have a support base when trying to quit Lexapro and even tho I have all the support I can get from my family I would also like to have the support of people like you that are going through the same thing as me, that way we can support each other during the process. I am glad I found this site and just like I am looking for help and support I am also offering the same in return :)

Thanks!

 

Hi my name is Rebecca....i have been on lexapro 20mg for 5 years too long.I decided i was going to taper off of it before my insurance ran out.I started doing research and reading all the scary stories and I too became scared to death to come off of it.I kept putting it off until my insurance ran out....so armed with 4 pills i cut them in half and took 10 mg for 7 days and then with the last half i took 5mg for 2 days.then i refused to go pay out of pocket to continue tapering.Today is my 3rd day off and so far it hasnt been to bad . I have had vertigo,weird dreams a small anxiety attack but i refuse to give up.I WILL NOT TAKE ANOTHER DOSE NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. I did want to specify one thing and that is that everyones body and tolerance is different so you will never know how your brain and body is going to react when you come off of lexapro or any other ssri. You could have very mild/moderate withdrawal to very severe....just to give you a little hope here most of us do have mild to moderate. Im only on day 3 and i know that it can get worse but i am a fighter...lots of prayer has gotten me thru this so far and lots more prayer will get me thru the rest...

                                                                                        God Bless

Hi All,

I was prescribed Lexapro back in 2007 by my doctor for chronic symptoms of Anxiety (depression can be an onset to the anxiety) and I was on it for about 2 years. Under the Dr's guidance I slowly weaned myself off from 10ml each day to 5mil and then every couple of days until nothing. Last year, I had minor relationship traumas and relapsed and the Doctor decided to put me back on them. A year has passed and my life is back in great shape, through a well managed lifestyle choice and keeping things simple and finding the right environment that suits.  I took things into my own hands this time and applied the same process of weaning off the medication and this time, I cut it a little short by a week. I have experienced the withdrawals that most of you have, particularly the feeling of brain zaps, strange head dizziness and for about 2 weeks, I sweated so badly at night, it left me exhausted and feeling sick. Now the zaps are mild and the sweating is at a minimum but I am still waiting for the process to shift to no symptoms. It has been over a month now. I chose to come off because I believe I have beaten the depression element of the anxiety and manage my life the best I can to eliminate triggers that may cause me to wind anxious. Even the most normal of people have a bad day (stress etc.) however mine only seems to occur at PMT now where I can't control things so it would be nice to rid the demonic Lexapro withdrawals.

Would I recommend Lexapro for those who need a break in the feeling of head chaos and erratic thoughts...YES... Would I say coming off them is great, NOPE, the worst feeling ever not having a clear head in job that I require full alert concentration. I believe the process should be slow weaning off and I just didn't want to fill another script or spend another dollar on it.

Thanks for sharing your like-minded stories, I can breath a sigh of relief that I am not alone :)

Just a few days off Lexapro 20mg after taking it for 3 years (I'm unemployed and can no longer afford it) and I'm starting to get dizzy spells and that floating feeling. I'm glad I found this thread so I know it's not just me! I'm also perpetually on the verge of tears. No sweats thankfully, but the dizziness is extremely bothersome.

I am coming off Lexapro (which my doc swore wouldn't cause weight gain...and 20lbs later) VERY dizzy.  I weaned off of it, from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5 and still got sick.  Day 2 was worse than day 1.  Nausea, vertigo, zings in my brain and down my legs, rubberbandy legs, etc.  This is rough.  Day 3 is very dizzy. I am craving greasy foods like I am hungover.   Glad I found this, just wish I had prior to taking Lexapro.