NEED YOUR HELP!

I am about to go crazy.  I have been on this forum several times this summer.  It always helps when I get your responses.  So, I need your help now.  I will not bore you with my past problems.  I need help with the present problems.  I am trying to wean off of Lexapro.  I am down to 2.5 mg every other day.  I have been on 10 mg for 3 years.  I think Lexapro stopped working for me about 3 months ago.  I have been and still waking up every morning early with anxiety and elevated bp.  I also feel week in my legs.  I start to feel better in the late afternoon.  I am worried that something is wrong with my heart, my adrenal glands, or anything else I can think of at the moment.  I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours in July and had an EKG done in July, both were OK.  My blood sugar is a little elevated, which never has been before all of this started.  WHAT DO I DO?  Do I need to get on a different medication or keep trying to wean off of Lexapro?   I am so tired of this.  

[MC0915]

I have the same symptoms. I am also on lexapro. I wake up every morning feeling shaky. I also have had muscle twitching for months. It's driving me nuts! Just the muscle twitching alone is causing me anxiety. I also had to wear a  heart monitor a few months back because I was having nonstop heart palpitations. All my tests came back negative and I was told it was anxiety. I too was on meds a few years back and then went off them. Just be careful when you are trying to stop the meds. I had severe insomnia as soon as I stopped taking it. I also feel weakness in my legs and sometimes feel too tired to even get up and walk downstairs. This worries me also. So, I understand what you are going through. Best thing to do is NOT read anything online it will only stress you out more and make you believe you have something you don't.

[greenlydia]

My humble and non-medical advice would be for BOTH of you to get back with your doctors and let them know what you are dealing with. Some of these symptoms may just be normal side effects of Lexapro, but some COULD be telling you that things aren't quite as they should be. I would feel much better if you both talked with your docs and figured out why you are having all these symptoms.
PLEASE let us know, OK?
Peace
Greenlydia  

[GHR]

Sounds like you are going through typical withdrawal symptons.  It was terrible for me.  Below is a post I made back in April.  Hang in there you can make it!

My Successful Lexapro Withdraw Story (April 2008)

I decided to take the time to write this because I had a very hard time finding anyone with similar withdraw experiences as me.  I had an even harder time finding a successful taper schedule that minimized the withdraw side effects.  What little information I found was a tremendous help in getting me through this challenging time.  The piece of mind that “what I was experiencing was normal” was priceless.  My hope is that by writing this I will help someone through the difficult withdrawal process.  In my experience very few people who have been successful in withdrawing from these drugs remain on forums such as this to help people and answer questions for those currently going through these experiences.

I am a 32 yr old male. I am married with two children under the age of 5.  I am a professional and I manage a multi-million dollar a year business.  I was on Lexapro for about 4 years.  A family practice MD put me on it in 2004 during a very stressful time in my life (new baby, new job, relocation, professional licensure examination, etc.).  Maybe I needed it, maybe not.   I now know I did not have good stress coping skills at that point in my life. In hind site, the Dr had probably just seen the Lexapro rep and so there I was on it.  

Fast-forward 3.5 years. I was still on the drug with no end in site.  In fact, I had now added 150 mg of Wellbutrin per day to the mix because the Lexapro was making feel so bad. I decided to ditch the family practice MD and found a Psychiatrist, MD with the goal to start the process of weaning of these drugs.  I felt the side effects while on the drug were hindering my day-to-day life.  In summary, I felt worse on the drug than any benefit I received from the drug.  

After a trial and error process, it took me about 6 months to wean off 10 mg of Lexapro going down in 2.5 mg increments.    I was very sensitive to coming off this drug.  As I write this, I am seven weeks off Lexapro and I feel somewhat back to normal.  I can cope with day-to-day life and have no desire to go back on Lexapro. Keep in mind I just started withdrawing from the Wellbutrin.   However, it took a good 6 weeks to get over the Lexapro withdraw side effects.   Weeks 2 through 4 were the most difficult to cope with in my case. I experienced the following withdraw side effects:

· Very dry, sore, aching eyes
· Brain zaps/shivers (mild)
· Blurred vision
· Constant Headaches (I took the maximum dose of Tylenol each day, 400 mg for about 6 weeks)
· What I would call severe nausea (I took the maximum dose of Pepto-Bismol each day for about 6 weeks)
· Trouble sleeping
· Self-doubt and wondering if I would ever be normal again
· Wanting to cry for no reason

However, I made it through the difficult 6 weeks one day at a time.  In faith I even through away the left over Lexapro pills so I could not relapse.  Please keep in mind I did this under the supervision of a MD.    I made it and you can too!  Hang in there.  It can be very difficult.

I am now two weeks into the process of withdrawing from Wellbutrin.  I will post this experience once I finish.  However at this point, it appears easier to withdraw than the Lexapro in my case.   Good luck and God Bless.


Helpful Resources During my Journey:

The Holy Bible
Attending Church Regularly
Remembering God is in control.  This did not catch Him by surprise and He already made provision for me.