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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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withdrawal from Lexapro
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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MedHelp Member's Question

withdrawal from Lexapro

by beachartist, Aug 10, 2005 12:00AM
I tapered off of Lexapro too fast. Now I'm having what feels like electrical shocks in my head, dizziness, irritability and flu like symtoms. My dosage was 10 mgs a day. I cut back to 10 mg every other day for a week,then 5 mgs every other day for a week then I stopped completely. My last 5 mg. was 6 days ago. Each day is worst than the last one so today I took 10 mgs. of Lexapro about 30 minutes ago because I can't live like this. I've heard taking prozac before coming off Lexapro helps.I think I should add that I am 62 yrs. old and was taking Lexapro for social anixety and hot flashes. I want to get off because of the weird dreams and deep sleep I have and it doesn't seem to help with the hot flashes as much any more. Please advise me on what to do.
Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 10, 2005 12:00AM
I would suggest you go back to 5mg every other day for a week, then 5 every third day for a week, then see if can cut down even more by taking part of capsule every third day, then stop. Of course, you should consult your doctor about this as well.
Member Comments (52)

by Strategery, Aug 23, 2005 12:00AM
beachartist,



I tapered off of Lexapro successfully...After I had stepped down to 5 mg, I then started breaking those in half as well. In the end, I was taking 2.5 mg (roughly) every 5 days and then I was finally able to stop taking it. I just tried not taking it for as many days as it took to start feeling the withdrawal effects again. At first it was 2 days, then 3 days, then 4, etc. Basically, as soon as I felt the "zaps" starting to come back strongly, I took more. I just continued this process until I no longer felt severe withdrawal. Lexapro was by far easier to taper off of than Effexor and Paxil (the two worst offenders).

by spottsvillemomof3, Sep 04, 2005 12:00AM
What other withdrawl syptoms accopany Lexapro?  I have had problems with my doctors... I'm on medicaid, so i have to go to a certain family doctor.  The last one I had quite practicing without notice, and left me in the lurch for my Lexapro.   My new doctor now tells me that since I have been on the med for 2 years, I shouldn't have a problem waiting until she has an appointment for me....2wks from now!!!! I have been having severe headaches, back aches, dizzyness, and a just weird feeling in my head and face (feels like they are constantly vibrating).  I've also noticed my anxiety and anger coming back...this is the reason for starting Lexapro, but it seems worse now than it was before the drug.  Any suggestions to help with these symptoms?  I am going out of my mind with this vibration in my head!!!!!!

by IleneK, Sep 11, 2005 12:00AM
Hi,



I have been taking 10mg of Lexapro for almost two years and recently decided to taper off mainly because of the fatigue and weight gain. I have mentioned cutting back to my doctor, but she seems adament that I stay on the meds indefinitely. I do not agree with this and because I am going to discontinue treatment with her due to changes in my insurance policy, I decided to try to cut back on my own. (I am in the process of looking for another physician.)



I have been taking 7.5mgs for a week and a half and have been experiencing crying spells, depression, anger, headaches and nausea. The physical symptoms have begun to subside, but the emotional symptoms are not any better. How does one know whether the original condition is returning, or if the symptoms are due to discontinuation syndrome? If the symptoms can be attributed to withdrawal, how can I go about minimizing them?



Any help would be appreciated.



Thanks,



Ilene

by payson, Sep 26, 2005 12:00AM
I am trying to go off of Lexapro also.  I am having headache, nausea, tingling in my head and face, upper back ache and soreness, dizziness and episodes of crying.  Is this normal and how long will it last.  I also get crawling feelings on different parts of my skin, maybe my back, leg then arm, it's all so wierd.

by jjmmkk, Sep 27, 2005 12:00AM
I am glad to hear i am not alone in this awful experience called lexapro. I started my adventure with AD with wellbutrin about 16 months ago. I can't recall feeling different except that i began to sweat profusely. I could use deoderant 3 times a day and it didn't matter. I switched to lexapro about 7 months ago which almost instantaneously made me feel what i guess is happiness. I felt an inner calmness and my social anxiety disappeared. It was the most content feeling. I quit though after about 3 months though because i perceived that my weight gain of 10 pounds that was "not caused by lexapro" indeed was caused by lexapro. After a month of no weight loss and a desire to feel that amazing "happy" feeling again, I went back on. It has been about 5 months since that point and i am ten more pounds heavier (for a total of 20 pounds), my clothes do not fit and i realized i can't take this **** anymore. The "happy" feeling is overtaken by the fact that i am getting fat. Plus the bloating and gas pressure is horrid. It has been 8 days since my last 10mg pill and i feel like ****. The past two days i waiver between feeling dizziness, nausea, vertigo, rapid heartrate, flushing....How long will this last before i am normal again? Has anyone tried any other remedies for what i guess is general anxiety and slight social phobia? I have tried Sam-e (nausea and intestinal distress) and i have read about others but i don't want the nausea, the weight gain, the intestinal issues. Do i give up the search?

by Rutegaard, Sep 28, 2005 12:00AM
Try cognitive-behavioral therapy. It's much safer and apparently more effective than drugs over a long period of time.

by jjmmkk, Oct 01, 2005 12:00AM
The past few days i have tried the taper down method which seems to work. I have taken a half tablet twice to ease the withdrawl effects. Any thoughts on ho long before this is out of my system?

by dizzyone, Oct 06, 2005 12:00AM
I had to stop Lexapro cold turkey due to pregnancy.  i'm so dizzy I can barely make it through the day.



Any words of wisdom

by jjmmkk, Oct 07, 2005 12:00AM
I have been off for about 3 weeks. Every 3-4 days i take about 5 mg when the dizziness and nausea are too hard to handle. I do have to admit that the symptoms are less intense after 3 weeks.

by emmy77, Oct 08, 2005 12:00AM
Oh my gosh......I'm so glad to hear all of your comments. I've been on Lexapro only for 2 weeks...but wasn't very good about it.  So I took it whenever i remembered.  Then I decided myself that I would just go off of it, thinking it wouldn't be a problem.  Then a couple days later, I started feeling those "zaps" in my head.  I was very scared and did not know what it was.   I also started having pains all throughout my body, and in my chest.  I eventually started thinking it was heart problems.  Then I came to realize it might have been from the withdrawal.  Anyone have any comments for me.  If you have felt the same, I would love to hear what you have to say....thanks!

by jjmmkk, Oct 16, 2005 12:00AM
i am going on 4 weeks now lexapro free (except for the 5mg i take every third day to get my head to stop spinning). i did try 2.5mg this week which did not do much to stop the spinning. Any thoughts on if there is a better way to step down? I like to think that eventually i can stop the 5mg but my head gets heavy and dizzy. Do you think the 5mg has any impact on keeping my body dependent on this drug?

by Mrs. Peters, Oct 18, 2005 12:00AM
10/18/05 Today is the best day so far since changing my dosage of lexapro. Last week Tuesday 10/11/04, I saw my Dr. and I have been on him to take me off, that I want to go all natural. If I had know what was about to happen. I don't think I would be so pleased with myself. The cost of RX is running me $80 per month. The cost is killing us. My Husband and I have only just begun to learn about the side effect I am experiencing. I was in need of something to help me thru my theapy. I am a survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse. I was abused by my stepfather from 3rd grade to 10th grade. I have been taking lexapro since November 2004. The first night I started with real nighmares, that scared me so much, I was afraid to get out of bed to pee. I had to wake up my Husband! The next night was the same, Nightmare waking up my Husband. Friday about 5AM, I woke with the worst headache of my life, I will even go as far as migraine headache. Could not open my eyes, my Husband has never seen me so sick. He gave me 3 advil/tylenol, I closed my eyes and just waited for it to stop. I was able to go work, but by the afternoon the headpain was back, and with a vengence. I laid on the couch and could not move. Saturday morning was the a little worse, I was now getting dizzy, and did not want to close my eyes cause my head would just spin. I took a percocet it took the