Lexapro withdrawal help

I am doing great! I do cry, but not any more than before. I am happier without the drugs. No more dizziness at all. I am eating more and gaining weight! I definitely didnt need to gain any. I sometimes feel that I am eating so much to fill some sort of void. Guess thats for the psych doc to figure out. I have more energy and can actually sleep 5 hours and go all day feeling good. While on lexapro I would sleep 10 hours and still need more sleep, and tired all day. Glad I am off. Blessings to the others out there who are trying to get off.

Well done to get off this ADDICTIVE drug. The docs never tell u how hard they are to come off them when they dish them out.I needed them in 2003 not in 2013! I went cold turkey a month ago and the fright of my life how i felt the next day when the drug left my body i thourght i would end up in a mental hospital for the rest of my life. The body deflated itself which was nice but i felt unreal not in the real world and there was a feeling of an axe stuck in my head.I took 10mg again ,there was a massive brain jolt that went into my head and i noticed how the anxiety symptoms i became used to came back ie. overactive brain activity,tinnitus,overactive heart rate etc.i remember feeling more relaxed in the body when i was off the drug that day but was scared of how i was feeling.Knowing how i felt the best way in my body for 10 years has made be try more to come of it. Can this drug cause the symptoms we are scared of ie flight or fight? I think the worse part of coming off is patience to taper and worrying about not sleeping properly.nightimes i fear the most.

Do we take these meds to think/worry less?

I think CBT will be needed for us worriers with the what ifs and for me not to drink alcohol to stop me thinking during the day and sleeping at night?

Paul

thank you for the encouragement. I have been taking lexapro for the last couple of months and am suppossed to be taken off it in March this year when it will be a year. I will certainly try to brave it through!

I too stopped cold turkey...saw dr last week...she gave me 10mg about 2 yrs ago to "take the edge off" and ease anxiety - I was in a horribly stressful job.   She upped it to 20mg last year.  Now that I have a great stress free job (busy but not stressful) she advised last week to drop to 10mg first and see how I do...I did 10mg for 4 days then just quit taking it.   I've had some mild dizziness when I get up too fast a little achy, but so far that's it.   I too gained 35 lbs on this stuff and I work out with weights and cardio almost daily.   I was eating a low fat low carb bodybuilding diet over last 3 months and lost 16 inches, but only 8 lbs.  It's all in my middle section like I'm bloated which I've never had before.   Dr said it does cause weight gain and its in the mid section...said why I couldn't lose much weight.   I still have tons of energy for weight training, intense cardio, sleeping great finally, my career and now have time for friends/family.   One good withdrawal side effect has been not much of an appetite.   I put reminders on my phone and laptop to eat a few bites every 2 1/2 to 3 hours...not a full meal.   So far I feel amazing!   I know that each med reacts different with everyone...my horrible one was 12 yrs ago when my mother passed away...they gave me Effexor XR.  I had brain zaps which I could hear and smell after...like burning!...felt like I had the flu for two weeks.   

Whether you do the tapering off or cold turkey, you're going to have some form of withdrawal side effects...just know that it does and will fade away.  Just have to power through it, drink plenty of water,take vitamins, exercise (not saying you have to do what I do...go for a walk!) and get the rest you need.   I had read somewhere that Benadryl helps...I've taken a couple of times and it did work for me.  Good luck to everyone!

I started taking Lexapro (escitalopram) 10 mg 3 and a half months ago. The doctor gave it to me for anxiety related to exhaustion (burned myself out doing uni and working full time at the same time). I didn't feel depressed before I started taking it, however the lexapro completely removed my ability to feel any emotion, including happiness and excitement, which led to me feeling completely apathetic, and having no motivation to do anything. I did a quick taper (with the support and recommendation of my doctor), going from 10mg, to 5mg for 5 days and then 2.5mg for 2 days before stopping completely. The first 4 days I just had the brain zaps with dizziness which weren't too bad. The next 4 days I had incessant brain zaps, including tingling in my face which was a bit disconcerting, plus nausea, sweats and major irritability. The symptoms were all worse in the evening. I had to take one day off work, but in general it was all bearable. I am now two weeks free of the medication, and am only having intermittent brain zaps, some trouble sleeping (not full insomnia though), and some fatigue and body aches in the evenings, but the symptoms are all getting noticeably better by the day. I also have really low iron which is going to take a while to fix, so that will be contributing to the fatigue. I'm definitely feeling better mentally, I love being able to laugh and cry again, and am actually feeling motivated and excited about things again. 

I have taken supplements through the process which I would suggest to help support your body through the withdrawals. I took B vitamins with breakfast and lunch, fish oils at quite a high dose three times a day, and a nervous system support called Nevaton which is available from MediHerb (practitioner range only), that has a small dose of St John's Wort included. I also drank a LOT of Powerade to make sure I stayed really well hydrated throughout. 

I feel like doing the quick taper was the best way to get off the meds for me personally, it was easier to suffer through a week and a half of feeling c**p, rather than dragging it out over a long period of time. Definitely only do the quick taper with the support of and in consultation with your doctor. 

Good luck to everyone doing this, and remember you WILL feel better, even if it sucks right now.

I notice the withdrawals stop when I take strattera

I am at three weeks since quitting Lexapro cold turkey. I was on 20 mg of Escitalopramfor two years and gained almost 40 pounds with no change in eating habits. I have had flu like symptoms since quitting, but today I woke up feling fine! I'm so glad I stuck it out, I almost went back. It DOES get better!

 

I didn't realize how bad getting off Lexapro makes you feel until my gyn. tried putting me on another antidepressive and I started feeling all the withdrawals.  I have been working on tapering from 20mg since August, 2012.  Got down to 1/4 of a 5mg tablet (1.25mg) and did that for several weeks. I was doing alright until I stopped. This has been the worse feeling. I have feelings that don't even feel human. My whole body feels like it is on fire and I have these buring headaches. I also felt like I had the flu.  I even went to the emergency room last week because I thought I was having a heart attack. When I went to the Dr. for the flu, he said I was feeling like this because of the tapering of Lexapro. I am now back at the 1.25mgs and I still feel like I have the flu. I am comtemplating just going back on the full dose.

It should be illegal for pharmaceutical companies to sell something like this that you can't get off of. They must do it for the resales!!!

Dont go back on it! You probably do have a cold or something. Those feelings WILL go away! I went from 1/4 of a dose for 2 weeks down to 1/8 of a pill for 2 weeks and the just took an 1/8 of a pill whenever I felt "off"...like every 3rd day or so for a couple of weeks. It took me 6 weeks to get off. Dont stop after your 1/4 dose...taper with an 8th of a dose and then take a little bit of a pill whenever you feel weird for a couple of weeks. Dont give up. Those feelings will go away. I am lexapro free since mid december. I was on it or 10 yrs. I feel great, human again!

Yes i take these tablets to worry less so i agree re cbt help. Have been off cipralex now 2 weeks.my body is relaxed but my brain still seems overactive and the nerves in my brain seem raw.hate that feeking. Anyone had the raw nerve feeling in the brain.Even a beer hurts the nerves. Paul

I had only been on lexapro 10 mg for a few days (3) when i started feeling awful, drizzy, uninterested in anything and having not so good thoughts. So after a few days i stopped taking them ended up in hospital was told to see my regular physican, which i did and he put me on 5 mg saying that it would ease withdrawl systems, well that didn't work out so good either i ended up back at the hospital where they gave me xanax and benedryl to ease the systems. I was told to stop taking lexapro all together. I have been off of it now for a day and a half and i am still feeling drizzy, arms and legs feeling weak, I feel myself zoning out from time to time, please tell me that these side effects will end soon. I felt better without lexapro.

The withdrawal side effects do do away. It's different for everyone. I am two months off Lexapro. I was on 20mg for a year. I eased off it and still had many bad side effects. I toughed it out because I hated being on meds. It des get better. It helped me to talk with a counselor who works with people withdrawing from meds. My doctor recommneded one for me and it did help to talk about Helps to know you ar enot going crazy! Hang in there. It will get better,

Starting on 10-8-10 I went through eight months of hell going from 40 to 10 mg of Lexapro daily. I had gradually upped my dosage over several years of very stressful family and work events and in hindsight would not suggest that anyone do the same. My doctor had me switch to another antidepressant and taper off the Lexapro in just two weeks. Turns out I had an adverse reaction to the new antidepressant so stopped it within a few days, and the 'fun' from the Lexapro withdrawal began after about a week.

After a month or two of life being completely disrupted, seeing four new doctors who didn't know what to do, and calling all over the Western US looking for a place that knew how to help me, (even the Betty Ford Clinic and other high end places don't know what to do with this) in desperation I thought of acupuncture and found one who I then worked with for months. His treatment gave me about 1 1/2 days of partial relief and then the hell was back. Within a month he had me go back on the hated Lexapro, starting at one mg a day using the liquid form, and gradually going up trying to find the lowest dosage that would eliminate the side effects. However, after a month or so of this I jumped to 10 mg daily and finally started feeling some relief. It took another 3-4 months of never knowing what a day would be like before I was even close to normal. I am still on 10 mg and don't know if I'll ever be able to go off completely.

To find more information about it Google "SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome" and "SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome" as those are the medical terms and you will find information about what the side effects are. I thought I was going crazy until I read the article in Wikipedia. Turns out that your brain changes when you're on the medication and it has to reset itself before all the side effects go away, which can take up to a year or more. My doctor later apologized and said he wasn't thinking about how high my dosage had been, . . .

I has 90+% of the side effects described. In my desperation and in searching on the internet I did find and try a program called The Road Back for a month or so. Their over the counter products did help, mainly the fish oil, biotin, and a tart cherry supplement. On days when I didn't take the fish oil I could tell the difference. They were also very helpful in talking with me about what I was going through. It truly was a crisis and if I had still been working I would have had to stop. Life as I knew it changed for almost a year.

My suggestion for those who are just starting this withdrawal is to go back on your full dose, work with a doctor and get a prescription for the liquid form of Lexapro. Then taper off very gradually, one mg at a time for a week or two. It could take up to six months to get off comfortably, depending on how high your dosage is to start. I do not recommend going off cold turkey.

Best of luck to everyone going through this adventure.

I started taking lexapro for General Anxiety probably about 7 years ago.  I can't even remember.  Mother of young son and very stressed.  My regular doctor prescribed it.  Never been to therapy for anxiety.  it truly helped me to live my life.  Tried new things.  Wasn't afraid.  Made me realize how stupid my anxiety had been.  So I stayed it do.  I do think it kills your libido.  I gained some weight but not sure I can blame lexapro.

so this year I started to develop some GI problems.  And I started to realize I was always tired.  Not much of a go getter.  Started to think the lexapro had numbed me too much over the years.  So I started reading about it.  I was being put on Prilosec to stop some bad heartburn which I never had before.  Learned this could have been caused by many years on lexapro.  Started thinking my son is More independent now, I have matured, maybe I do not need the lexapro anymore?.

so I read a lot of these forums, and started to ween myself.  For two weeks I took half my dose.  yes there were the brain zaps, headaches, sleepless nights, night sweats etc...I want to throw in here that I am 45 and could have hormone issues as well.n I started taking vitamins that were recommended.  B complex, fish oil,  multivitamin.  I went down another half dose to .25 for a week.  Then I went away a weekend and forgot meds. So I figured upon return home I would just go ahead and stop.

i have done this with no doctors supervision.  Probably not smart but I don't think my doctor really pays much attention anyways..

so i am into week 3 with no lexapro.  I am a bit irritable and emotional.  And I have developed what I think is Restless leg syndrome.  Sometimes sitting at my desk I want to kick and scream and throw a tantrum.  I know in my head this is just all withdrawal and it will go away soon.   I when I become unrational I think I can have the mental strength to get through it.  I have had a great group of girlfriends to vent to.  And I ask them to let me know if I become unbearable and neEd to go back on my meds.  I really hope I don't.

i think I have more energy now.  Can't say libido is back, but I can achieve orgasm which has been difficult .  Headaches are waning.  Brain zaps gone.  Irritability still sets in about every afternoon.  Find myself with shorter patience with my son and husband and dogs.  I do recognize this as pre-lexapro behavior  I am trying to curtail.

Anyways will let you know what happens...