Lexapro withdrawal help

:? I'm doing some weanin myself in Jan 07 My doc pers. 20mg i've been on for six months i'm now trying to wean myself off i just called my doc today to lower doseage from what ive read it's not good to just stop takng them. When i take Lexpro I'm oversleeping all the time I have jolts of happiness then major sadness I'm contantly eating it's like i'm never full. When i wake up i feel tense and my body is weight down and my mind is really cloudly esspecially if I slept to long. My sex drive is very low. I aslo feel like I'm going retarded, I feel like I can't commucatie with others as well I as I use to and I become over friendly or very denfensive. My family constantly ask what wrong and I'll be fine. I sit on idle thinking alot. My head hurts alot. It's really weird. I wasn't like this as much before I took This medication and It's expensive without insurance so I really just want to be free of the affect. I'm also a Recovering Addict. Is Lexapro Narcothic?

I started Lexapro in Nov of 2005. I started on 5 mg for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and it worked well for me. Well in December of 2006 I decided I would wean myself off which was not a good idea. I felt my anxiety coming on again, I was alway jittery, I felt as though I was in a fog and always felt I was floating when I walked. So I decided to go back Lexapro 5 mg, well that time it did work so well and my doctor upped my dose to 10 mg, which worked well. Well this time I decided to try to wean myself off because I wanted to get pregnant within the next few months. I am also a RN who just started the night shift and I feel as though this was not a good time to try to cut down. I cut down from 10 mg to 5 mg for the past three weeks and again I always feel jittery, tired, anxious and like I can't think straight like I am in a fog. I feel hypoglycemic. I don't want to be on this forever especially when I decide to get pregnant, any suggestions?

so i just quit lexapro 10mg cold turkey for the second time, man i forgot how horrible it is, but i developed an allergy to it over time, so I had no choice. I have those brain zaps, inability to feel good, and cannot stand for long periods of time without feeling like I will fall over. My entire nervous system is shot, the slightest noise goes through me and makes me feel so uncomfortable. By day 3 I went through the flu like symptoms, the chills , sweats, wanting to vomit, etc. I have been in bed now for days, I am just wondering when all this will subside. 8-|
Does anyone have any suggestions on what can help by natural means or even supplements?
thanks

Lexapro helped my anxiety level, but after nearly 2 years on it, I've decided to wean down, planning to get pregnant in a few months. It's been AWFUL! I honestly feel upset with the doctors that don't bring this up before they prescribe it. The brain zaps are terrible. I also have been sick twice since weaning off. I feel exhausted and like I'm losing my mind. Just read in Glamour that quitting cold turkey causes 20% of patients to have delirium. Good luck to all! I've been weaning down for a month. Now only taking 5 mg when the brain zaps are intolerable. That gap seems to be widening, but this is crazy. I feel like a drug addict.

well this is purely based on my own experience and so it has little credibility. A little background info: 15 years old, male, been taking 40mg for 4 months, but lexapro in general for 1 and a half years, I have bipolar so I take depakote aswell. Anyways I ran out of lexapro and after desperately seeking it I had to go 3 days without it. I kinda had this "epiphany" recently, and but instead of my good mood going down, it went up. I told my psychiatrist and he said, "okay go ahead and stop taking it" so now its been 2 weeks cold turkey and I haven't felt any noticeable side effects except it decreased the time it takes for me to ejaculate by 20% lol.

I started taking 10mg of Lexapro due to postpartum about 8 mo. ago. I did not have negative thoughts of my baby but of my self and surroundings. Being very social I devolped high anxiety. It has helped. So, I didn't refill my perscription and it has been 5 days, I figured since I had gone this long I would see about getting off it. I am sooo tired. Taking 1-2 naps a day, and still feeling like I have not slept. I don't get much sleep as it is with my 10 mo. old son. I have had a none stop headache and I am very irratable. Today has been the worst, I feel very edgy and lost. Like I don't know what to do with myself. I feel very ugly, tired, cranky, my body is sore and I feel like crying but can't......Help! Does anyone have any advice? I think I am going to stay off it do to sexual lackluster and mild weight gain.

I have found GABA has been helping me with increased anxiety and runaway thoughts...get the sublingual type, it helps right away....This withdrawal stuff has been hell on earth and I am glad I have found somewhere to go to see that I am not alone. It has taken me 8 months of weaning from 20mg, I went to 2.5 and had to stay there for 2 months, just couldn't deal with all the symptoms...although, I didn't realize what was going on WAS withdrawal...I am still dealing with neasea (the worst symptom) and panic attacks...I can't believe I had been taking this poison for 13 years and I am just in dispare that I may have completely ruined my nuerotransmitters and will fell this terrible for the rest of my life!! has anyone one this site been on SSRI's for as long as I have?

Taking Lexapro i gained 30lbs which was not normal, i had maintained a normal weight for the last 10 years prior to taking the drug. It worked great for my anxiety and i felt great with so much restful sleep. I did get off cold turkey and most of what everyone wrote happen to me too. Tired, gittery, lethargic and not my self at all. BUT i wont to loose weight so so far I am just dealing with the withdrawls and switched to prozac which is more likely to have you loose weight than gain 30lbs in less than a year and i didnt change my diet that much. I was more rested for sure so therefore my appetite was better apposed to high anxiety and less relaxed.


Hope that helped some of you that wondered if the weight gain was related to lexapro..i believe it is for sure...

JP

I am so glad I found this forum! For the past few days, I have been having these weird sensations pulse through my entire body. It doesn't feel like I'm dizzy, but rather it's almost a tingly electric sensation. Very difficult to describe! I quit taking Lexapro a week ago, and now I think I know why I'm having these sensations. I'm also very tired. I'm on my way to the doctor this morning so will mention this to her.

:-( i stopped taking lexapro three days ago, and the last two days ive had severe heartburn. This morning i woke up with a back ache, and flu like symptoms, my eyes are burning, my head is killing me. So, unfortunatly, i have three kids....laying in bed and getting through this is not an option, so i took a pill an hour ago, and i feel so much better. This is such a horrible drug, but getting off it for me is just to hard. If you havent started taking this addictive drug....DON'T PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had been on Lexapro for about 3 yrs. Then all at once the r. says. I don't think you need to be taking this medication any longer. Continue taking 1 tablet every other day for 2 weeks, then stop completely. Let me tell you, this is the absolutely worse feeling that I ever had. My head is buzzing, my ears are ringing, I get dizzy spells, I can't concentrate and I fly off the handle at absolutely nothing. I went back to see him about how I felt and al he said was well, lets give you a prescription for xanax to take the edge off. I said absolutely not. NO MORE PILLS. He told me that it takes 6to 8 weeks until lexaprois totally out of your system. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for me?

I recently stopped taking Lexapro (again) have tried it three times over the course of the last 6-7 years. I started taking prozac over 10 years ago, to help eaze severe PMS. It work, but then got pregnant so stopped. Had no withdrawal symptoms. After the baby I started on Zoloft. It didn't really work well, so i switch to Effexor...to strong! This was the first SSRI that gave me w/d syptoms...i.e. electric shock in my head. I tried Pazil, felt like I was a walking Zombie. Switched to Lezapro since the Dr. said less side effects. While this may be true while on the drug...coming off is a different story! I have took and stopped Lexapro 3 times, sine I am taking it for PMS I like to go off SSRI from time to time to clear my head (so to speak) especially since they really don't know long term effects of these drugs.
The first time I went off, cold turkey, the symptoms were very mild and can't remember them being so bad beside an electric shock or two. The second time I went off, I did cold turkey, but started to experience severe effects. Extreme nausea, dizziness etc...so I went back on and slowly weened. I guess it took about two weeks. This last time, I have been on Lexapro for about 2 years. 10 mg (I think the longest at one time) I slowly weened off this time (so I thought) did every other day, also cut pills in half...took those every other day, then a half pill every two days etc...for about a week or so, then stopped. I thought that was that...WRONG! About a day or two after being off completely, I have felt bad. Started with major electric shocks in head down arm. Waveos of dizziness, severe headaches (usually in the afternoon.) Bizzare dreams, confusion, ringing in my ears, irritbility, etc...If I go on another SSRI for PMS again, I will not do Lexapro anymore! The withdraw seems to last longer and get worse everytime I go off. I have had symptoms for about 2 weeks now and although they have lessen, are still there. I am hoping they will go away soon, because sometimes my brain feels like it is going to explode! If I go back on an SSRI, I will either switch back to another one or try a natural remed. I am afraid of the effects if I was o try Lexapro again as far as going off the meds!

I waited to refill my Lexapro prescription, its been 5 days without my 20mg pills. And i have sever vertigo, the more i walk around the more it intensifies. If i talk a a lot my lips eventually start to tingle as the vertigo and dizziness intensifies as well. I had flu like symptoms the first couple of days. I had no idea about lexapro withdrawals, needless to say I'm grabbing this prescriptions and going to wal mart.

Just stopped for the third time and refuse to go back on. im experiencing 90 percent of the symptoms that everyone here has listed, brain shutters, awful dizziness, since no one heres information has only been helpful in the sense that im not alone but ive noticed that listening to headphones has helped alot with the dizzy spells other than that just good old happy thoughts and a clenched jaw

I have been weening myself off of Lexapro and have noticed a variety of symptoms. Dizziness!, Headaches, Fatigue, Gastrointestinal discomfort, etc. I am hoping this doesn't last much longer.

One thing that I noticed that has been helping with the diziness is drinking a LOT of water. I don't know why, but it helps.

Has anyone tried any natrual medication to help with this withdrawl?
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