Switching from Lexapro to Savella

[tanglewood]

I have been taking Lexapro for six to eight months and now I am having extreme fatigue and shortness of breath. Had my heart checked and it is o.k. My pcp thinks Lexapro might be the culprit so he suggested to my pmp that I be swithched to Savella (Milnaciprin). My pmp did not tell me how to switch - should I stop the Lexapro for three days then start the Savella; or three weeks, or just go ahead and stop the Lexapro one day and start the Savella the next? Any advice appreciated.
Thanks!

[tanglewood]

Forgot I had even posted this - I've had a lot going on; but doesn't everyone? I gave up on the Savella and went back to Lexapro. Now I am changing again. This time I am going to give the Savella a chance and try to work through the side effects. The first few days of Savella were pretty bad - things are still pretty bad. I"ve been very ss but think i can manage.

[kmil1999]

I am in the same process myself.  I was told to cut my dose of lexapro to every other day for for a week and then totally off for one week before starting the savella.

I didn't have any trouble yet stopping the Lexapro.  I start the savella on Monday.

Stay in touch!  
Karen

[mmoore63]

Two weeks ago, I switched from Lexapro to Savella.  My doctor gave me a starter pack, which contained a 2-week titration pack, which gradually increases your dosage, allowing the body to acclimate to the new medicine.  However, before starting Savella, he told me to do the following:  Cut the dosage down to 1/2 of what I would normally take a day for the first week.  On the second week, take Lexapro every other day.  On the third week, I was to start the Savella dosage.  At first it was difficult, because I had common side effects, such as sweating and nausea, which my doctor said many patients experience, so he said to cut back on the Savella dosage for awhile to give my body time to get used to the Savella. We will see what happens, and I will let you know how this goes.  But remember to ask your doctor about how to go about stopping the Lexapro, and it usually takes about 2 weeks go do that with gradual reduction in the dosage.  Some people have difficulty doing this with Lexapro, so please contact your doctor.

[FurballsMom]

You should be able to call your doctor's office or even the pharmacy for the right advice for weaning off of one medication and switching to another medication.  Your doctor should've given you this information in the first place.  For some medications it isn't safe to abruptly stop taking the medication and suddenly switch to a different medication.