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Weaning off Cipralex (Lexapro)
Well it's been almost a year since I started Cipralex (lexapro) ended up at 15 mgs a day... so a pretty low dose. Well I have doctor's blessing now to begin the wean off process - SLOWLY. So today i took my first dose of 12.5mg and i will stay at this for about 10-14 days and then drop again to 10 mgs for another 10-14 days then stay at that for 10-14 days and then go down to 7.5, then 5 and then stop. So the entire process will take close to 3 months but I am in no rush and would rather minimize any side effects from the ramping down process.
I will chronicle my progress (like I did on this site when I first went on the drug and was ramping up last year) for anyone who is interested or perhaps thinking about doing the same thing.
I will chronicle my progress (like I did on this site when I first went on the drug and was ramping up last year) for anyone who is interested or perhaps thinking about doing the same thing.
Good to know I'm not the only one!
I've just come off cioralex, from 20 to 5 over 1.5 months. Been pill-free a few days and feel horrible. All the symptoms listed in above messages : (
I've just come off cioralex, from 20 to 5 over 1.5 months. Been pill-free a few days and feel horrible. All the symptoms listed in above messages : (
This is an old post, so you're probably not going to get a lot of response to it as you might from a new post. But I noticed it. Lexapro has the sweats as a common side effect, though it's odd you only got it after so much time. I had it from early on. But mine was usually only while I was sleeping -- I started taking a shower right before bed every night to try and prevent it, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
I've been on Cipralex since 2008. About a year and a half ago, I started having horrible sweats and hot flashes. I am only 33 and my hormones are A-Ok, I'm not pre-menopausal at all. I started weaning myself off of it about 2 months ago, taking it slow and the less I take, the less crazy hot flashes I get. These aren't little flashes that go away after a few minutes, they can last 10+ hours, my skin turns bright red and I sweat like crazy. If I don't find a way to cool myself down, I pass out. I had to be taken to the ER once because of it. My Endo, ND, MD all have zero idea what's causing it. I've had every blood and urine and saliva test you can imagine and NOTHING. The last thing was that it was the Cipralex. I'm currently experiencing symptoms of withdrawl, on 5mg of it. I see my dr next week, I'm hoping to push through it, because I was literally not living a life AT ALL and was just a shell of a person. :(
I am at a higher dose of 20mg. But I so desperately want to be off it. I think I was going to fast though. I started taking 10mg instead and boy haveI felt the changes. I have a hard time sleeping and so many headaches. I am so jittery all the time and the most recent was the nightmares. Half the time they don't make sense or I can't even remember what I was dreaming about when I get up but when I do, it is like the world is ending. I tried to go to work today and I could not even drive myself. I felt sick and anxious and like I was watching myself go insane. Please any advice would be so so so appreciated. I'm lost
Hi Everyone,
I have been taking a low dose of cipralex for approximately 3 years. I decided recently that I did not want to take the medications and wish I had never started them in the first place.
I did not experience many side effects from taking the medication, mostly inhibition of libido which is not good. This has an impact on your relationship and that is very important to me.
My anxiety was always there but not very severe. I had what I would term as a panic attack while going through menopause.
I did all of the long term tapering as recommended and as many of you have done but the results were just as crappy afterwards.
It makes sense that something you have been on for a long time is not easy to come off but it also scares me to think of the impact that it must have on our bodies and minds to be numbed by this drug.
I was okay the first few days off the drug but now in week 2 I have been nauseated, feel dizzy (of course these tie together), and the buzzing in my head is what really freaks me out. It is bizarre but it feels like there is change clinking in my head - I know that sounds really weird but I do not know how else to describe it. I am really tired and do not have the same energy to go to the gym although I know that this overall well-being.
I am really frustrated with my physician who did not take the time to tell me how difficult it is to get off these medications.
Thank-you for the informative conversation - I will NEVER touch these drugs again.
I have been taking a low dose of cipralex for approximately 3 years. I decided recently that I did not want to take the medications and wish I had never started them in the first place.
I did not experience many side effects from taking the medication, mostly inhibition of libido which is not good. This has an impact on your relationship and that is very important to me.
My anxiety was always there but not very severe. I had what I would term as a panic attack while going through menopause.
I did all of the long term tapering as recommended and as many of you have done but the results were just as crappy afterwards.
It makes sense that something you have been on for a long time is not easy to come off but it also scares me to think of the impact that it must have on our bodies and minds to be numbed by this drug.
I was okay the first few days off the drug but now in week 2 I have been nauseated, feel dizzy (of course these tie together), and the buzzing in my head is what really freaks me out. It is bizarre but it feels like there is change clinking in my head - I know that sounds really weird but I do not know how else to describe it. I am really tired and do not have the same energy to go to the gym although I know that this overall well-being.
I am really frustrated with my physician who did not take the time to tell me how difficult it is to get off these medications.
Thank-you for the informative conversation - I will NEVER touch these drugs again.
I'm in my second year of 10mg cipralex. I have forgotten to take my meds for 4 days (reasons of unusual time pressure when waking in the morning when I take it). Anyway I was going through hell with thoughts of suicide, Then I looked at my pill draw and realized I was off meds for 4 days.....
Now I am thinking these meds are dangerous. Coming off those 4 days was worse than anything I had to start the meds. Now I am wondering if I should ween off and find another method to cope with stress.
Now I am thinking these meds are dangerous. Coming off those 4 days was worse than anything I had to start the meds. Now I am wondering if I should ween off and find another method to cope with stress.
I have been on cipralex 20 mg for post partum as well as clomazopam .05 1 and half to 2 a day. Like everyone I want off. Not only because I feel better but because its pressing im my brain. All the psychiatrist wants to do is ads welbutrine or anilify. A new drug. She eveluated me on my worse week of pmsing and great life changing situations that wouls increase anyones levels of anxiety. Now I am upset because I said no to the increasing meda she is closing my file. So I am on 20 mg amd need to tapper off any suggestion
I too am reducing my meds it's a slow process for me but I'm determined. For me it's because I have gained about 20 lbs and on my small 5'3 frame it shows a lot. I'm normally very thin and active but I have become lazy and exhausted every moment of the day. I'm going from a whopping 40 mg down to 10 mg hopefully. I'm at 20 mg now and just did 15 tonight.
I went to the nutrition store the same day I wrote this post and got some HTP-5. I've been taking 2-3 per day and they are really helping the brain zaps go away. I take one in the morning 30 min before I eat, one in the later afternoon on an empty stomach, and one before bed. (150mg total) I have more energy when I wake and feel much better. Planning on taking this for 12 weeks.
This has been a very informative conversation. I have been tapering off Lexarpo 20mg since June. 20 mg every other day for two weeks caused my symptoms to return so I changed to 10 mg everyday for a month. Felt fine. Switched to 10 mg every other day, felt fine (JULY). August, I continued this and near the end of the month went to 5 mg every other day for ab 2 weeks, then went off of it completely about mid september. When I went completely off, I started getting the dizziness, or "jolts" as someone described it. Irritable, moody, tearful, fatigue and body achiness have been with me now for the last 2-3 weeks. I'm feeling HORRIBLE! The "Zaps, jolts, or dizziness" have gotten much worse the last week. Another interesting thing is that the last few weeks I have started menses as well. Now that my menses are done, I've gotten a bit of relief from the irritability, but the zaps and fatigue are still present. Wondering if I'm dealing with PMDD.
The comment that was made about our bodies being lazy about creating seratonin makes a lot of sense to me, and I was thinking about going and getting some HTp-5 today to try and help me through this process. But, then I might just need to take that for a while.
I tapered on my own without consulting my doc, and when I told her, she was not happy. I want my body to function on its own without a chemical, but I also agree with the diabetes comment. The unfortunate thing is that with depression, the line is a little more unclear. There is a strong belief that depression is only linked to life circumstance or bad life management techniques. As a depression suffer, I end up blaming myself for my symptoms and feeling pretty bad.
If anyone has any help to offer, I would sure appreciate it!
Amie
The comment that was made about our bodies being lazy about creating seratonin makes a lot of sense to me, and I was thinking about going and getting some HTp-5 today to try and help me through this process. But, then I might just need to take that for a while.
I tapered on my own without consulting my doc, and when I told her, she was not happy. I want my body to function on its own without a chemical, but I also agree with the diabetes comment. The unfortunate thing is that with depression, the line is a little more unclear. There is a strong belief that depression is only linked to life circumstance or bad life management techniques. As a depression suffer, I end up blaming myself for my symptoms and feeling pretty bad.
If anyone has any help to offer, I would sure appreciate it!
Amie
Well, I just tapered off 15mg. cipralex, after 6 years on it. One thing I have noticed is that all of you, except one person, tapered too quickly. Slow means very slow. I tapered by 1/2 10mg. pill for one month, then 1/2 for another month, then 1/2 for another month and so on. I am off now, about 4 days and there certainly are side effects. Insomnia, agitation, a little anxiety but more so that was related to an outside sitmumulus.
The thing that is happening in our brains is the brain is trying to produce seratonin now, and it has basically gotten lazy the past while as the medication was doing it for the brain. This is the hazard, and a huge hazard of taking these meds. When you go off, your brain is left at 0 seratonin, more or less, until it learns to produce it on its own. Look for ways to support your brain to do so. Rhodiolo/a for example helps. If you get these symptoms while d/c this drug, it may not be because you are still depressed and needing it back, it because the brain has to re-learn. This is a difficult situation to be in. Good luck to all of us. I'm staying off, suffering the consequences and finding other ways to boost my seratonin levels. go for it.
The thing that is happening in our brains is the brain is trying to produce seratonin now, and it has basically gotten lazy the past while as the medication was doing it for the brain. This is the hazard, and a huge hazard of taking these meds. When you go off, your brain is left at 0 seratonin, more or less, until it learns to produce it on its own. Look for ways to support your brain to do so. Rhodiolo/a for example helps. If you get these symptoms while d/c this drug, it may not be because you are still depressed and needing it back, it because the brain has to re-learn. This is a difficult situation to be in. Good luck to all of us. I'm staying off, suffering the consequences and finding other ways to boost my seratonin levels. go for it.
I tapered for 3 weeks - week 4 was no pills. I am on day 3 of no pills and I didn't sleep last night and have been light headed and weird feeling all day. Hope this passes soon. I took the day off work tomorrow, because it was hard to be at work today. I am still on 75 mg of Trazodone at night for sleeping, but I sometimes take 50mg of gravol with it to actually get a good nights sleep.
I have been on cipralex for about 3 years now.Symptoms and side effect free. I was on 20mg and have dropped down to 15mg for about a 3 weeks. I was feeling great up until recently. I haven't been able to sleep for the past 4 nights. Has anyone else experienced insomnia as a withdrawl side effect??
I am a bit worried because my first warning signs of depression were the physical symptoms of nausea and insomnia. The mood changes came later.
I am a bit worried because my first warning signs of depression were the physical symptoms of nausea and insomnia. The mood changes came later.
Have your doctor set you up on a slow taper, to minimize any effects. How long were you on the med? Even though you were on a low dose, if you were on it for any given amount of time (3 or more months), it IS possible to have some "withdrawal-like" symptoms.
Tell your doc, the slower, the better. That's really the key to a successful taper.
Good luck hon!
Tell your doc, the slower, the better. That's really the key to a successful taper.
Good luck hon!
I am on 10mg of Cipralex and attempted the weaning process a couple of weeks ago, I did half a pill for 2 weeks then stopped ... I was OK for a couple of days then crashed ... severe headaches, zapping pulses, very irritable, stomach cramping ... I ended up taking a pill as I had no idea what to do. Went to my DR and he said because it was a very low dosage I shouldn't have had any issues but to take the full pill until my body recovered then wean a bit longer ... Does anyone have any advice ... I want to be off the pills but never want to go thru that again. I have 2 young children and never want them to see me in that much pain and discomfort again.
Well, it's no secret that there is a "discontinuation syndrome" for some with these kinds of meds. I understand your use of the word "addictive", but really, something that is addictive is a LOT different.
Some people are far more sensitive to meds, and people will have varying experiences with these types of drugs. There are also a whole other camp of people that have ZERO problems starting or stopping these kinds of meds, even cold turkey. The same can not be said for a narcotic opiate. Anyone who takes a narcotic long enough will experience withdrawal. Different mechanisms of actions, different receptors, etc.
You will get to feeling better. Another thing you have to remember is that the nature of anxiety itself can cause a LOT of people to become uber focused on every sensation. THAT alone will intensify what they
think" they are feeling. You have been expecting the worse during this whole process, from when you started to med, to when you tapered. I'm not speaking of that in a negative way, I just mean that you FULLY expected to have troubles, and every little physical symptom was attributed to the Lexapro. See what I mean?
It is VERY hard to sort through what are REAL symptoms from the meds, and what is our anxious minds convincing us that we're having issues related to the meds. Please understand that I'm NOT in any way trying to say what you're going through ISN'T related to the Lexapro, I'm just giving you the facts relating to how anxious people can often point the finger at something without looking at the bigger picture. You don't feel well, and you almost, in the back of your mind expected somewhat of a rough time coming off...it's almost a self fulfilling prophecy, ya know?
Any which way, you're off the Lexapro, and you're doing positive things to keep the anxiety in check, which is great. I recommend that you keep up with the therapy for a while too, and if you EVER have a reemergence of anxiety or panic in the future, start addressing it right away, get back into therapy, employ your coping techniques, whatever you need to do. The quicker you address it, the easier it becomes to manage. You'll become very good at assessing your anxiety when it crops up.
I wish you the very best of luck, and thanks for the update, please come back and let us know how you're doing. If this is related to the Lexapro, with your slow taper, you should be feeling better soon! Take care!
Some people are far more sensitive to meds, and people will have varying experiences with these types of drugs. There are also a whole other camp of people that have ZERO problems starting or stopping these kinds of meds, even cold turkey. The same can not be said for a narcotic opiate. Anyone who takes a narcotic long enough will experience withdrawal. Different mechanisms of actions, different receptors, etc.
You will get to feeling better. Another thing you have to remember is that the nature of anxiety itself can cause a LOT of people to become uber focused on every sensation. THAT alone will intensify what they
think" they are feeling. You have been expecting the worse during this whole process, from when you started to med, to when you tapered. I'm not speaking of that in a negative way, I just mean that you FULLY expected to have troubles, and every little physical symptom was attributed to the Lexapro. See what I mean?
It is VERY hard to sort through what are REAL symptoms from the meds, and what is our anxious minds convincing us that we're having issues related to the meds. Please understand that I'm NOT in any way trying to say what you're going through ISN'T related to the Lexapro, I'm just giving you the facts relating to how anxious people can often point the finger at something without looking at the bigger picture. You don't feel well, and you almost, in the back of your mind expected somewhat of a rough time coming off...it's almost a self fulfilling prophecy, ya know?
Any which way, you're off the Lexapro, and you're doing positive things to keep the anxiety in check, which is great. I recommend that you keep up with the therapy for a while too, and if you EVER have a reemergence of anxiety or panic in the future, start addressing it right away, get back into therapy, employ your coping techniques, whatever you need to do. The quicker you address it, the easier it becomes to manage. You'll become very good at assessing your anxiety when it crops up.
I wish you the very best of luck, and thanks for the update, please come back and let us know how you're doing. If this is related to the Lexapro, with your slow taper, you should be feeling better soon! Take care!
Ok so latest update on my weaning off Lexapro..... I weaned down to 5 mg doses without too much problem... stayed there for 2 weeks and then stopped completely about 2 weeks ago... and about 3 days later I really started to feel the dizziness, lightheadedness and it is still going on. Some days and/or times of day seems to be worse than others and those times vary. I tried the slow taper (almost two months) and while I had almost no symptoms tapering.. the minute I stopped and the drug exited my system ... well.... different story.
I will never take another dose of this medication again. I cannot understand how a drug that causes this type of physical reaction when you stop it is deemed "non addictive"....clearly my body needs it or thinks it does.... That said, everyone is different.. I learned that ramping up on it last year and the same applies for weaning off. I am hoping that eventually (sooner rather than later) my system will re-adapt and these symptoms will go away. I am working out at the gym everyday now so trying to counteract this with that activity. I dont have anxiety anymore... I just have withdrawal from this <> drug......
I will never take another dose of this medication again. I cannot understand how a drug that causes this type of physical reaction when you stop it is deemed "non addictive"....clearly my body needs it or thinks it does.... That said, everyone is different.. I learned that ramping up on it last year and the same applies for weaning off. I am hoping that eventually (sooner rather than later) my system will re-adapt and these symptoms will go away. I am working out at the gym everyday now so trying to counteract this with that activity. I dont have anxiety anymore... I just have withdrawal from this <> drug......
That's great news. Just goes to show that a controlled, deliberate taper will either greatly reduce, or eliminate symptoms.
1.5 weeks at the lowered dosing of 12.5 mgs (down from 15) and don't really feel any different so plan to drop to 10 mgs next week and see what happens.
the other thing I am doing is getting back to going to the gym everyday.... i read that exercising increases seratonin levels and therefore can reduce weaning off side effects by stimulating increased seratonin levels naturally...
well I am on day 6 of a reduced dosing of Cipralex (from 15 to 12.5mgs) So far no major adverse physical effects if I had to say anything it would be perhaps a bit more jittery and find that I get tired more quickly at night... but not at all sure that is attributable to the weaning off process.
I will continue at this dosage for another 10 days and then drop again to 10 mgs.... and hold that for two weeks and see what happens. Taking it nice and slow... no rush...
I will continue at this dosage for another 10 days and then drop again to 10 mgs.... and hold that for two weeks and see what happens. Taking it nice and slow... no rush...
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