getting off of lexapro

[sascbrat30]

i was taking lexapro 10mg for a month and a half. i really liked it. it seemed to be working well with hardly and side effects. then a week ago i started having real bad dizzy spells. it has taken a week but i am finally starting to get over them. my question is can you all the sudden start having side effects?  I did not have this problem to start with and then the dizzy spells just started????? help anyone?

[Will112400]

Definitely taper slowly.  I was told by a "doctor", and I use the word loosely, to just quit cold turkey.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  As many others may have found out.  I do not know what it feels like to be dying but I would have to say that was close.  After consulting another doctor he informed me that it is the worse thing you can do to quit cold turkey and that no doctor should have told me that.  After following his advice I was able to come off of Lexapro without any side effects at all.  I was on 10mg a day.  So the way I did it was to break the pills in half which would be 5mg.  I started the 5mg(half my pill) once a day for almost 2 weeks.  It really just depends on the individual person I think.  If you feel at the end of a full week you are feeling fine with just the 5mg you could start taking less at the end of that one week.  But I wanted to do it a little longer just in case.  So at the end of 2 weeks of taking the 5mg a day I started skipping a day.  I would take 5mg(half my pill) every other day.  I did this for about 2 weeks also.  I never experienced in side effects.  Then I started taking 5mg every third day for about 2 weeks.  After this I just stopped taking it all together.  I've been off of it for about 2 months now and have not experienced any side effects at all.  I also have to say I definitely feel a whole lot better.  I went on the lexapro to help me feel better and to help with a little anxiety but it just ended up making me feel worse.  I had horrible sinus problems after being on it.  I mean bad sinus infections.  I would say about 2 weeks of fully being off of it I noticed a huge difference in the sinus problems I was having.  I also believe it was effecting my sleep too.  Before being on the Lexapro I never had too much problem sleeping.  I couldn't get to sleep to save my life at night.  I think I lived on about 3-4 hours a night the entire time I was on Lexapro.  

[spade22]

Hi,

according to the lexapro website http://www.lexapro.com/english/about_lexapro/default.asp

it can take 4-6 weeks for the full antidepressant/anxiolytic effect to occur.  So my "guess" is you "could" be experiencing some side effects from the medicine since it does take awhile to reach the steady-state concentration.  It is also possible your symtpoms were caused by something else.  As the other posters have mentioned do not suddenly stop taking the lexapro.  Have a chat with your doctor about your symptoms - prehaps a lower dosage will give you the benefits of the drug without any side effects,

[needshelp]

Did your dr tell you to stop the lexapro? i been on it over a year and never had any issues or side effects, but i am reminded monthly not to stop taking it without dr supervision.

[BearHitch]

If you had been taking it at a normal time and stopped that pattern, it can cause dizzy spells really bad, or if you missed a day.  I was on Lexapro and did not like it, so I decided to quit cold turkey.  It took about a month to fully get over really bad headaches and dizzy spells.  If it persists, call the doctor that prescribed it :)