Repeat but for the dr. (Withdrawal or Anxiety)

[4crazy]

I have had anxiety my whole life, not knowing.  I have been diagnosed with severe depression and even bi-polar. Finally I was diagnosed with GAD.  I have been in therapy for 2 years and on Lexapro for about 15 months.  My doctor weened me off of Lexapro over a course of 4 months and said that I was doing great and he didn't see the need for me to have therapy any longer.  I really felt as though I do have the tools to handle the anxiety on my own without the help from Lexapro or so I thought.  When he took me down from 10mg to 5mg, I noticed a change in myself that I was a little more emotional and irritable, however I thought that I was under a little stress and this feeling shall pass.  March 7th was my last dose of 5mg. and since than I am not sure if I am having withdrawal symptoms or my anxiety is back full swing.  I am crying all the time. I am angry and irriatable. Cant sleep. Dont want to eat. Dont care what I look like. I'm winded, tired, restless and the butterfly anxious stomach. I'm not having any brain zaps or electric shock sensations or anything else like that.  Just alot of crying and irritability. Can you tell if it is withdrawal or Anxiety that just wont leave me alone?  Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Paxiled]

There is no doctor here.  There is a psychiatrist on the mental health forum.

[4crazy]

I went off of Lexapro because my dr. said that I didn't need them anymore and that I didn't need the therapy anymore.  I agreed with him at the time because he's the one with the degree.  My withdrawal symptoms or anxiety (which ever) didn't seem to come for about 2 weeks after I stopped taking it.  I loved Lexapro!  I have been on so many different meds and this by far has helped me the most. Good luck and thanks for the response.

[samc0430]

I hope I can help with some of my personal experience of coming off of Zoloft (same class SSRI as Lexapro)
I was prescribed Zoloft for GAD and Panic Disorder.  After starting Zoloft in Sept 2008
I was weaned off of Zoloft in Feb 2008.  I did experience brain zaps for weeks after I stopped.  At first I felt great being off of Zoloft.  But 2 months later in April 2009 I started getting more and more anxious and eventually started having full blown panic attacks again.  I started taking Zoloft again in May 2009. In November 2009 I again weaned off of Zoloft.  Again I had brain zaps but this time I had extreme emotional swings.  I would cry at the drop of a hat and I would get intense anger at the slightest things.  A few days after my last dose of Zoloft I chased a car that cut me off on the freeway for about 5 miles.  Ending up going around 100 mph until it hit me that this was very dangerous.  A few days later, an old man stepped  in front of me on line in a store and I started screaming and cursing at him and everyone around me.  (Keep in mind that usually I am a very shy and quiet person).  You may remember that when you first started taking Lexapro it probably took about 3-6 weeks for you to feel 100% better.  Your brain chemistry changes slowly during periods of going on and off of these types of meds.   So to answer your question you are feeling withdrawal as (your brain is readjusting to not being on Lexapro.) and you are now feeling the anxiety again.  It never went away you just didn’t react to it while on Lexapro. In my opinion taking an SSRI is like wearing a coat in the winter. “It will help you feel warm.” But if go outside in the spring when it’s around 50 without a coat you may feel colder then you did in the winter.  (hope that makes some sense)  
In my opinion you can either stick it out and eventually you will feel more like yourself again or if it gets too rough, you can go back on.  
Just curious what was the reason why you ended up weaning off of Lexapro?  In my case the Zoloft gave me some vision side effects, weight gain and I felt very flat all the time which made me feel strange 24/7.  I am actually thinking of starting Lexapro now as I heard some people had some good experiences from it.
Good Luck.