I have been trying to ween myself off of lexapro after being on it for 2 years due to anxiety related problems. I started by cutting them in half and then evenually in 4ths and now im not taking any lexapro at all. But i am having severe withdrawal symptoms. I have a dull headache all day, I always feel spaced out, like I cant focus, and I am also experiencing frequent "shocks" of anxiety throughout the day. They are very annoying. Im also feeling loss of appetite, shakiness, and fatigue. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this, and if they had any of the same symptoms??
I have been taking Lexapro for about eight months. Took Prozac and Celexa in the past. Coming off Lexapro is terrible. Super dizzy. Spacey. Can’t concentrate. I’m hungry a lot. I’ve been weaning super slow under doctors care. I just want to feel normal. The dizziness is the worst. I hope one day to feel better.
Votes: +1
ND
Ndeddy88
28 Nov 2016
I found out I was pregnant and dr. Told me to slowly wean myself off lexapro. Went from 20 to 10 and I am having horrible withdrawal. It's been a couple of weeks. This last week has been the worse. Im also a liver transplant patient which is why I went on it in the first place for anxiety. I don't have brain zaps but I am anxious 24/7. Fingers numb and the worst brain fog and nauseousness.
Votes: +0
KM
KMKara
10 March 2012
l've been on Lexapro now for over 3 years. l had been depressed for a long time and finally decided to take one. l have had plenty experience with depression and it did nothing with a PTSD event that happened 2 weeks after l started taking it. l was taking it with Lamictal, Frisium and Depakote (l'm an epileptic) So l had no idea which of its side effects l was experiencing because they all blend together now. l had upped it up in the fall from 30 mg to 40 mg because l felt like it was doing nothing. lt was just a useless drug added to my already too large cocktail. l truly don't know if it caused even more of my weight gain and exhaustion because Depakote causes weight gain (l have been overweight my entire life) and Frisium makes me exhausted. So last week, l decided to quit it cold turkey. l can tell when my body wants it because it's such an addictive drug.
l am exhausted, agitated, have wierd feelings in various limbs kinda like a zapping feeling. lt is annoying and l have been going crazy. l took myself off it because l was getting suicidal and it wasn't doing anything so it's useless to keep taking it. Has this happened to anybody else? l also noticed that not a lot of people were on such high doses and were still experiencing its severe side effects.
Votes: +2
J1
j1091
26 Jan 2012
I to am trying to wean off lexapro, I started at 10, then went to 15, than 20 within about a year. I want to get off and my doctor says he sees no reason for me to be on lexapro. Although he put me on it because I was having major panic attacks. I had no side effects from wean from 20 to 15 I wasn't on 20 that long maybe a month and it was way to high for me, I started not sleeping and getting the shocks. I did not like it at all, at 15 I was ok no problems. I read lots of forums and went against the doctors advice of just weaning off for a week at a time. i decided to go 4 weeks lowering my dosage by 5. Although no problems from 20 to 15 but 15 to 10... my god these past three weeks have been horrible. I have no energy, massive headaches, and sleep all the time. If i didn't work at home I would have no idea how I would be able to function in a workplace.
I do not understand how the doctors tell you to wean off by two weeks when it takes lexapro to start taking effect anywhere from 2- 6 weeks. It makes no sense you will through your body and mind into mania.
Like I said i have been down to 10 for three weeks, today I took 15 because I couldn't take the tiredness. I feel like a zombie its not fun at all. besides, the massive tiredness, headaches, nausua, the sweats and dizziness I am wondering if I am ever going to be able to get off this drug. I have read that tapering down by 5 is not good. Has anyone had a successful time by what i have seen recommended by cutting down by 2?
I wish you all the best it is not fun at all.
Votes: +2
KM
KMKara
10 March 2012
l get the shocks, amnesia and no energy too. l am short and spacy-which might be in addition to my epilepsy meds-but l am seeing things out of the corner of my eyes and losing it. One minute l'm happy the next minute l'm crying and depressed. As l am writing this, l am getting all these symptoms. l'm just sick of neurological meds because they are doing nothing at all.
RL
rlapplin
19 May 2012
This is the best thing I've heard so far... I just weaned myself off of Lexapro. I have had the WORSE withdrawal symptoms. I had pretty nasty adverse reactions while on the med. I will never ever ever ever take that again. I hope everyone is better today and continues to get better.
RU
rubberminx
4 Nov 2012
I rue the day I ever started on this drug. Went through a tough time after emmigrating to the US from Europe, nothing went right, ended up losing a home in the downturn, marriage was under pressure, felt homesick for my own kin and eventually broke down in front of my doctor one day when all I'd gone to see him for was something to help me sleep. He decided I had depression and prescribed Lexapro to get me through. I took my time before starting it... I had a gut instinct that told me it wasn't going to be a good idea but I felt so low at the time I needed something (in hindsight I'd say I just needed a good friend to offload onto).
I was on it less than a year and decided I had gained waaaay too much weight, couldn't feel anything during intimacy and just felt like it was too far out of my comfort zone to stick with it. Like you guys, I also did the tapering thing per my doctor's instructions. This was all a few years back so I don't recall exactly how long it went or what mg I took and when, etc. All I know is that I had massive fatigue every day and the shocks on the left side of my brain every few minutes for what felt like an eternity. The weird sensation in my left eye if I looked as far over to the left as possible has actually never gone away... It comes and goes in degrees of severity. Almost makes me feel weak in my limbs for a split second. Then it passes almost as fast as I felt it. The memory issues, severely blocked concentration/focus, general comprehension and cognition issues, articulation issues all continue at least 2 and a half years after I stopped taking it. At least that long. I think at this point I have permament brain damage. Once a super-fast-thinking girl, able to talk my way out of a paper bag and think on my feet, I am a total shadow of my former self. It has all shattered my confidence. The issues I have with finding the right words is what upsets me the most... I was always a wordsmith and could whip up a poem or song on command. It made me realise that Lexapro obviously affects - whether officially or not - the area(s) of the brain that is used for speech/word formation and that it cannot be a coincidence that its name contains the word "Lexi", derived from the latin root for "word".
I have no faith in medications anymore - not for serious issues originating in the brain chemistry. And having sold an antidepressant for a pharmaceutical company (well AFTER I was off Lexapro), I am even more convinced that they should be used as an absolute last resort for the most severe cases of MDD, Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc... If I could go back in time, I would just go and find a therapist for a few months to use as a sounding board. Sometimes that's the best medicine.. Vent, get it out, be heard and not internalize everything for fear of being a drag on people around me. I was so self-conscious at the time about my mood because I had a bunch of fair-weather friends who went on about how negative I was to each other while they smiled to me... You know the kind. So I guess ultimately by trying to be more acceptable to people so that I could be more positive, I put myself through this and it's a life sentence.
I can't help but feel like this wasn't how my life was supposed to go, y'know? Such a let-down. Things did improve and we got through the financial strife but the mental issues I never had before I was on Lexapro seem to be my everyday life now.
I started cutting my 10mg pills in half, took 1/2 pill for a month. Then I had my 5mg prescription filled and am in the process of taking 2.5mg, cutting the 5mg pills in half. Will do that for a month. Have not decided if i will try to cut the halves in half. The withdrawal syptoms that I am having is headaches, either wanting to sleep a lot, or not being able to get to sleep. Plus dizziness and the spaced out, can't focus. Also, I cannot turn my head quickly without experiencing a spaced out, almost lose balance feeling. But I am determined to do this as I feel the withdrawal symptoms are not as bad as staying on Lexapro. Not sure what I will do if my depression worsens, will cross that bridge when I come to it. Am going to be checking out Bioidentical Hormone Therapy as I am 60 years old and have been told that this will help. Never wanted to go on anti-depressants and don't want to ever go back after I get weaned off. But I wanted to take the slow approach to getting off them.
Votes: +1
GR
Graceyc
8 May 2012
Are you still around margiep4? My P.Doc whom I've only seen once took me off Lex and onto Celexa. I had terrible side effects on Lex. I'm not enjoying celexa either with all the side effects. I just increased to 20 mg and I'm depressed, tired and you name it. I'm 66 and like you I'm thinking of going the route you mentioned. My blood work in the medical system was all fine however the range is so broad, that I've talked to peole that their thyroids wer all out of whack.
How are you doing? I'd be interested to know if you went this route and how it worked for you.
AN
AnnieBHappy
12 May 2012
Yes, margiep4, are you still taking part in the posting. Would like to know what the reason was that your doctor gave you re: one shouldn't be taking Lexapro for more than 6 months. I've been on it for years and am having a lot of problems lately. Would really appreciate your filling me in on what your doctor said about it. Thanks AnnieBHappy
MA
margiep4
3 Jan 2012
OK, I had been on 10mg of Lexapro since March 2010. In December when i went to dr for checkup (I got a new dr, one who prescribed Lexapro had left) she told me that Lexapro is only meant to be taken for about 6 months and I should start tapering off. She said to go down to 5mg but did not tell me for how long I should do this. I skipped my dose for a few days due to the holidays, etc. and today I am suffering from dizziness a soft of funny feeling in my head. So I am really concerned about coming off this too fast, going as slow as I can. So I am thinking about 5mg for a month, then, 2.5 for a month, 1.25 for a month, then 1.25 every other day, etc. Does this sound okay, or should I go faster? I don't want any other symptoms as this dizziness is bad enough! Thanks for any help. I am glad I did not go cold turkey as I had thought about doing!
Votes: +0
DC
dc9
3 Jan 2012
you can never go too slow... ive come off different anti depressants 3 seperate times and i usually cut my dosage in half every 2 weeks but still suffered from pretty bad side affects. the brain zaps were the worst. your schedule sounds good. FYI, I took a lot of fish oil supplements to help with dizziness and brain zaps during withdrawal which helped a lot
JE
Jenail
1 Sep 2011
I had the sensation of my eyes "flashing" like i was quickly flipping pages in a book. Like seeing things in slow motion. It was very strange and it didn't happen until about a week after i stopped taking it. Good luck and I hope you're all better by now.
Votes: +2
SM
smfritz3
1 Sep 2011
omg i reduced the lexapro from ten to half for two weeks then every other night n i have been off it for 7 days n my withdrawls r terrible on n off sencitve to light loud noices no energy at all, cryin spells n upset stomache on n off i had to stop i found out i was pregnant my eyes will water like im so tired too im not goin back on it thou i want off them this is my eighth day n its gettn alittle better i was waking up in the middle of night too i heard the omega 3 fish oil is good at reducing the withdrawl good luck too u
Votes: +0
CY
Cybercake
19 Aug 2011
I was on 40mg Lexapro for 8 years and did fine. My cardiologist asked me to cut the dose in half, because of seratonin overload symptoms. Well, I cut the dose in half and began 20mg. The --- hit the fan after 2.5 weeks. I began hallucinating, visually and mentally; profuse sweating poured for several days and I just LOST it. Thank the Lord my husband put me in the hospital for 7 days. They straightened me out by adding Trilllifon to the 20mg Lexapro. Do NOT cut back without medical advice. That was the most horrid 5 days of my life.
Votes: +0
DC
dc9
10 July 2011
I've never taken lexapro, but have taken other similar anti-depressants such as cymbalta, effexor, paxil. Fish Oil Supplements are a BIG help in dealing with side effects. Buy the largest dosage pills you can find and take the max. amount allowed. I dont know if you are having "brain zaps" coming off lexapro, but I know i had those coming off every anti-depressant ive been on and Fish Oil Supplements really minimize them along with other side effects
Votes: +0
PH
Photographygirl
24 April 2018
That's awesome. Good to know.
PH
Photographygirl
24 April 2018
That's awesome
IN
Inactive
9 July 2011
lipstick, laurie always gives very good advice. Nothing to add, but do have a question for laurie, i stopped taking lexapro several years ago w/o tapering, had no wd at all. i wonder why? I'm back on the lexapro after several years of being off of it and would be afraid to stop like I did before.
Votes: +0
IN
Inactive
9 July 2011
lipstick, didn't mean to butt into your question, sorry. Von
LA
LaurieShay
9 July 2011
Hey Vonnie,
Not sure why, that is very unusual for you to not have any withdrawal. I wouldn't be afraid of stopping the lexapro, but if you need to come off it, I would definitely taper.
Laurie
IN
Inactive
9 July 2011
laurie, I thought that was strange too, but I will never do it again, to scared to now. V
Maybe you went a little too fast on the taper off the Lexapro. It might be helpful to go back to the lowest dose and take a bit longer to get off. After going back on the lowest dose for at least a week or two you could reduce the dose by going to everyother day for a couple of weeks and then stop. You should be able to avoid most of the withdrawal this way.
You may find that after being off the med for awhile that you still need it especially if you continue to experience anxiety and any depression. If you don't return to "normal" after being off the Lexapro for a few weeks, don't ignore the symptoms but reconsider returning to the Lexapro.
Best wishes,
Laurie
Votes: +1
LI
lipstick14
9 July 2011
I also forgot to add the hot and cold flashes sweats and moodiness. There are just so many side effects im losing my mind!
