Length of Lexapro Withdrawal Symptoms

[JaimeW1976]

I was put on Lexapro for about 5 years. ago  In mid-October I switched my treatment to Truehope which is a  vitamin supplement formulated for depressin/manic/depression.   My psychiatrist is supportive of the change. They have a support program.  Anyway, by mid-November I was off the lexapro all together and I wasa doing fine.  I recently started having what a support person for Truehope called delayed withdraw.  My symptoms are mainly appetite disturbances, insomnia, headaches and ocassional diahrrea .  These have been going on for about 10 days now.

I saw the anser the woman who'd been on Lexapro for 2  years.  I want to know if these symptoms could last longer based on how long I was on Lexapro.   Also, is there anything I can do to cope with the the symtoms/  Or should I just treat them as they pop up with  OTC stuff like Tylenol.

I hope it doesn't last too much longer.  I also have called my psychiatrist to get his advice.

[Paxiled]

Yes, it is certainly possible to have a "delayed withdrawal," which isn't really delayed but a continuation of some things you might not have paid a lot of attention to and they got worse.  Some people suffer a protracted withdrawal, but this is rare.  It happened to me, or else I wouldn't know anything about it.  However, your symptoms aren't really all that bad for ssri withdrawal, and one would have expected what are generally physiological symptoms to show up rather quickly upon tapering off Lexapro -- assuming you did taper off and didn't quit abruptly, which is a definite no no.  However, it could also be a reaction to some of the ingredients of your Truehope supplement, which I googled.  Got to tell you, I don't really want to burst any bubbles here, and nobody can really definitively tell you what works and what doesn't, but there's only one actual antidepressant ingredient in that supplement, which is DLPA, and sometimes people get the reactions you're getting to it.  It's a form of phenylalinine which generally is preferred for the treatment of depression to phenylalinine because it's less stimulating, but it could still be causing some unwanted stimulation.  It's also possible you're getting too much of some of the minerals.  Basically, you're taking a mulit-vitamin with some choline in the wrong form and the DLPA.   This isn't a typical program for treating depression.  So it could be a delayed withdrawal, but usually that would manifest emotionally, but it could also be a reaction to the supplement.  If you really want to go the natural route, see a naturopath.  Just buying something off the internet can be a scam, and as I say, I don't see why this particular supplement would treat depression.  It does have some good B vitamins in it, which are very supportive of mood, but by themselves would be unlikely to treat a serious case of depression.  One way to find out is, stop the supplement and see if these physiological symptoms go away -- that'll tell you if something in it is causing your problems.  And I highly recommend you see a naturopath, because again, it's hard to see how taking a multivitamin plus some DLPA would really treat a serious case of depression.  There are a whole lot more effective supplements out there.  And anything that claims to cure manic depression should be dismissed out of hand.  There is nothing, medication or natural remedy, that has cured it, although its symptoms can be controlled.  There's certainly nothing in that supplement that would cure it.  I wish you all the best in your journey.  Hey, maybe this is the secret to your mental health, but again, it could also be the source of what you're experiencing.  

[mammo]

This is just my personal opinion, but it may be your depression coming back as the supplements are not doing the job.  I don't buy the "delayed withdrawal," theory, but it's a good way to sell their products.  I do hope it works for you, but I'd be concerned that your psych doc has an investment in the supplements.  This is just my personal feelings about the whole thing, and I do hope you prove me wrong.