how to stop depresion medication

[harley2425]

I am on Lexapro and tried to stop, so I could get pregnant. It was awful and I had to get back on. Please help.

[c-psy]

Hi,
If you were on a higher dose, say 20mg per day then you would want to begin to phase off the medication slowly.   What you are experiencing is not addiction or psychological dependency as much as it is your bodies adaptation to the medication.  Lexapro can affect appetite, sleep cycles, even the frequency with which you go to the bathroom; so when you suddenly withdraw it, you brain is thrown temporarily out of balance and this can feel very uncomfortable.

Even if you are on 10mg, try cutting the pill in half for 2-3 weeks and take half a pill or ask your doctor to prescribe the 5mg tablets.  Lexapro, like most antidepressants builds up in the blood stream and gathers in the brain - give your body a month to let the medication levels decrease in your body and then you can comfortably stop taking it.  

Be sure your doctor knows you are doing this.

[justlookingforanswers]

I went off of lexapro after about nine months.  I was on 10 mg and did 2 weeks at 7.5mg, 2 weeks at 5mg, 2 weeks at 2.5mg then off.  I bought a pill cutter and broke mine in half.  I would say other than the headaches I would get at the start of each reduced dosage week, it went okay.  

I did notice a difference about 3 weeks after I had been completely off that I had really bad anxiety.  I tried to work through it -- I don't know if it was the medication finally totally out of my system that made it return or if something else was going on.  I am realtively new to the anxiety thing so I don't know any triggers or causes yet.  It has kind of been a diagnosis of exclusion for me.

Good luck to you and best wishes for a little one!!

[hava]

Start doing the following breathing exercise now and after a few weeks when you feel the good effects of the breathing, start tapering your medicine slowly.Your body will tell you when you can stop.
- Deep Breath-in through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
then - Breath-out through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then -Deep Breath-in through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then - Breath-out through left nostril keeping right nostril closed. Repeat this cycle for 20-30 minutes daily.
Sit on floor or chair with back straight when doing the exercise.
Keep doing this for the rest of your life to stay healthy.
stay relaxed
hava

[woozy]

I quit Lexapro after about a year of taking it. I just started tapering..and stopped at 5 mg..I was depressed and anxious for about a week,with those brain bubbles and some dizziness. I just hung in there and endured it the best I could. It's hard to completely avoid the withdrawal side effects but just keep reminding yourself that you are coming off this drug and it's normal to feel down and so forth. Try and start exercising.. that helps too.