Withdrawl Symptoms from Lexapro

[dizzyfla]

Oh man.  Glad I found this site.  I stared on 10mg daily of Lexapro by my prescription happy DR. in June 2005 for GAD.  He also scripted me .5mg pills of zanax for "whenever" I needed it,   almost immediately I started feeling tired all the time.  I constantly yawned all day long.  I noticed that quite quickly (7-10 days) my GAD lessoned but also my drive for just about everything else lessoned as well and I started drinking very heavily almost every night.  Didn't care about being hung over for work cause it was just no big deal.  I started paying bills late, missing appointments, not following my business as much and quite frankly not being all that upset about it.  My doctor said this was normal, etc.  I did not have the extreme weight gain that it seems many of you have had.  By early August, I self medicated down to 5mg daily of Lexapro and reduced the zanax from a habit, to a true necessity, which was not very often.  My tiredness reduced, drank less, became a little more focused and anxiety reduction was still about the same, so I thought I had cured myself.  WRONG-By Mid October, I was at the point where I wanted to go off the Lexapro because the yawns and lack of motivation, although reduced, were still there.  By the end of December, I quit cold Lexapro Cold Turkey but would still take some zanax from time to time.  Here is where life as I knew it got real weird.  Within maybe 3 or 5 days of quitting Lexapro, these really weird sensations started shooting through my body and mind, like electrical jolts and I had kind of an out of body sensation...all the time.  This would be really bad during the morning hours and seemed to worsen with caffeine.  Mid January I couldn’t take these damn brain zaps any longer.  I found this site and see that this withdrawal symptom is somewhat normal...or kind of normal.  Good news is that I don’t yawn during the day, I am very focused, don’t drink much but I am now taking Omega 3 supplements, Power Barley and Apothe Cherry for my brain zaps, insomnia and anxiety.  Read about this on http://www.theroadback.org/supplements.htm Fortunately, my anxiety has really been in check after going off the Lexapro. Weight gain slight, but not huge.  I am really concerned though that I may have done some long-term brain damage with using the Lexapro as I still get these nasty brain zaps all the time.  The Omega 3 seems to help a bit, but not much and I need to take very large doses.  Does anyone know if thee brain zaps go on indefinitely and if there are any studies of actual damage done to the brain from Lexapro?  When can I expect these "zaps" to stop???  It has been about 1 month since I went Cold Turkey on Lexapro.  Thanks for listening.  I have difficulty explaining in words what I am going through, but I think most of you know.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Those brain zaps are withdrawals, they should have stopped by now but if they haven't will stop soon.  There is no evidence that any permanent brain damage takes place, but you should not have stopped cold turkey...you are lucky you didn't have convulsions, or other withdrawal symptoms.  You, like so many others, have learned to rely on pills to regulate your moods...why don't you try talk therapy...it works, and often it works better and lasts longer.

[DJ-RxT]

Lexapro generally doesn't cause "brain damage", and while going cold turkey isn't generally the best idea (weaning off of it tends to minimize side-effects), it generally doesn't cause very adverse symptoms. Xanax is a cousin of the benzodiazepine family, which is what kind of concerns me when you say began drinking heavily concurrently with your meds. However, you were probably taking a small-enough dose to minimize any potential long term damage. If you're clear of the medications, symptoms associated with them should decrease over time, probably within 2-4 months as long as you minimize your drinking. If you're worried about long-term damage as a result of the meds, you should probably schedule an appointment with a physician, and possibly get an MRI, so if anything, you get the peace of mind that your experiences with the drugs didn't cause any serious damage. Good luck!

[eniko]

ARE YOU SURE YOU NEED ALL THESE MIND ALTERING DRUGS? EVERYTHING CAN BE WORKED OUT! DRUG-FREE YOURSELF AND START IT ALL ON YOUR OWN, YOU`LL SEE HOW MUCH EASIER IT IS...

[Oahu_Gal]

Hello everyone! :)



I am new to this board! First off I would like to say I am from Hawaii..born and raised, and glad I found this site. And glad to meet all of you!



I am here to tell you ALL my HORRID experiences from Lexapro withdrawls. OH my God... where do I begin? Ok...I started taking Lexapro in Octorber of 2004. Also was put on klonipin. Because what I have is Depression/Anxiety/panic attacks. Yes I have all those 3 wonderful traits. My psychiatrist started me on 20 mgs of Lexapro, then my sex drive dissapeard..( not good). So he lowered it to 10 mgs, then my sex life was back to normal. Then at 10 mgs my hair started to fall out, the doctor then lowered it to 5mgs. So I was on Lexapro for 1 yr. Along with klonipin on and off for those panic attacks.



My eyes hurt right now. I will continue another time. Im sorry. I have a very long story ahead that Im sure you would want to know.



lots of hugs

ALoha

Oahu_gal ~

[Oahu_Gal]

Hi!



Ok my story is continued...( Lexapro withdrawls)



I was taking 5mgs of Lexapro for several months and doing just fine. Of course the whole time I took Lexapro I had really no BAD side effects other than the ones I listed before. So Lexapro was generally making me feel really good and happy. I gained weight but it filled me out in all the right places. :) I was doing fine. THEN in November of 2004 I started to have head jerks when I would fall asleep..and I would be thinking..("what the hay is going on)" I wouldn't have them during the day, only when I would fall asleep. But it got annoying cause the head jerks would wake me up sometimes cause my head would go flying to the left. Then.....I started having headaches, and dizziness. So Im like "ok Im am so off this Lexapro stuff". So I told my Psychiatrist ( this was a different doctor by the way, not the one that put me on lexapro in the beginning). So I told him that I wanted to get off the lexapro because I was getting scared. He told me it wasn't a wise decision, but he had to respect my wishes. SO.....He told me to ween off of it from 5mgs to 1/2 of 5mgs for 7 days ( thats it). I told him isn't that stopping too quickly..I mean I was on it for a year. He told me since I was only on 5mgs there shouldnt be withdrawls. So I trusted him. I did what he said and weened off the lexapro. I still had the same symptoms of head jerks and headaches for weeks even after stopping the lexapro. My headaches worsened and worsened. I then got a brain zap at night sleeping ( which frightned me to death), its like someone electricuting your brain). Then I had these whooshing sounds when I would move my eyes from left to right ( very odd), I started having insomnia and nausea and dizziness. Then one night I awoke to my whole body aching with pain from head to toe. If I touched my body it would hurt so much. Like nerve pain. That night which was November 24, (yeah Thanksgiving morning). I couldn't bare the headaches and pain no more. I was taken to the hospital E.R. I told the doctor "Doc im in so much pain pls give me something for my headache and pain. I told him it was Lexapro withdrawls...he was like "what is Lexapro withdrawls"?  I almost laughed. I couldn't believe it. Anyways he gave me a shot. He didnt tell me what it was. All I know is it made me sicker. He gave me MORPHINE! Yikes!  It took my pain away but made me sick for 3 days straight. I was allergic to morphine. SIGH! I was okay for Thanksgiving, I didnt have the pain nor the headaches. But when the next day came around that headache was back again!!!  To make a long story short.....I was sick from November to January new years eve. I was bed ridden, not eating nor drinking, just crying and suffering with headaches that wouldnt go away. I finally got a cat scan and Mri that showed negative. ( which was good news), but it left me baffled to as why was I so sick? My neurologist also advised me to go to a pt ( physical therapist), which did help loosen my neck muscles that stopped that head jerking. But the headaches continued. I had a horrible birthday, a horrible Christmas. My Neurologist told me that he didnt think Lexapro damaged my brain, cause thats all I kept saying over and over. I had this incredible pressure on my left side of head , and temples like my head was in a vice. Like my head was being crushed. I wanted to die. I just couldn't take it anymore, I was losing weight at a incredible speed. I decided to go back to my original psychiatrist, the one who put me on Lexapro. He told me that the other doc was wrong in getting me off that drug too fast. I was getting tired of being in and out of the hospital and couldn't even walk ( someone had to hold me up) for balance. I was so weak from not eating. :(  I cried desperately in his  hands, (my doc is a close friend of the family's) I  told him Please help me..I feel Im dying! He said Come to my office on New years eve and I will do all the blood work and put you on celexa. He said my serotonin level may have dropped and needed to be corrected. I DIDNT want to go on another SSRI, but when You are at the end of your rope and you feel you are dying you will do ANYTHING to get better! So he gave me a shot of Ativan and that took care of my headaches for 2 days! :) I was happy. Then when I started the Celexa, all my headaches went away like majic!! I was soooooooooooooooooooo RELIEVED! OMG! He also put me back on klonipin 0.5 mgs, and celexa 10mgs. I had a great New Years Eve,,and I have been fine ever since. Now I made a decision to get off the Celexa because I don't want to be on these meds for long. So he got me slowly off Celexa. I am doing fine so far. I am still taking the klonipin, but eventually will taper off that also. I don't want to be taking these meds anymore. I'm just hoping that I will be okay off all these meds. I needed to do this for myself. And I am very dissapointed in my GP, she never helped me at ALL! And all the phychiatrists say "its not withdrawls"!!  Which angered me more!  How can these doctors give out these meds and not tell us about withdrawls?



I will write more later, fingers are tired of typing :)



ALoha

Oahu_Gal~

[dizzyfla]

Doc, have there been any cases that you are aware of where a Lexapro withdrawl patient has never had these brain zap feelings dissapapte entirely and that they then have had to go back on Lexapro?



I ask only becuase I am concerend with your comment that these "zaps" should have stopped by now.  Every day that passes, I get more concerend about this very odd "floating and zapping" sensation that I have throughout the day.



Thanks

[dizzyfla]

Enlighten us, would you please?

[Oahu_Gal]

I wont be posting here anymore. I can tell that this site is only about questions and not getting any answers. I still wish you all the best.



ALoha~

[digitaldude]

Oahu_gal,

Please continue to post here, with information on your progress. You could be helping out a lot of people, who may think they are the only ones with these problems, and are scared as much as you were. You may even be saving a life.