Lexapro - Want off...advice please?

Published

I've been taking Lexapro since late last December for what I dx'd myself as a life-avalanche. I saw depression, anxiety - what it was doing to my 'affect' my sleep, my outlook on life - the whole list. Was going through a horrible divorce after just one year - was overworked, underpaid, child deployed to Afghanistan, other child put in boarding school by his father and stepmother - and an ailing, gorgeous golden tabby of 10 years - dying. Add a mom out of town needing Aricept, a 2nd degree burn on my foot from sloshing flaming butter (dinner was not so good that night) and add a bit of flavoring, stir and serve. Anyway - since I could not quit life - and had thought about it seriously - my favorite Dr at the hospital prescribed Lexapro. I hung on to either 'it' or the 'idea of it' and I pulled through.

Now - one year later - I am sensing that it is Lexapro that is making me a bit off - and I'm realizing that although the depression and anxiety are greatly lessened - something is not right. I am exhausted - and on the days I've missed a pill - I don't feel the sludginess. I take it in the mornings - always have. But if I take it at night - I can't wake up in the morning. I think it's time to stop.

How do I do it? Do I just stop? Do I ease - one day on, one day off? Has anybody suddenly felt an antidepressant was causing more problems than it was supposed to help?

Thanks much for any input! You guys are the first experts I turn to - always.

Sometimes we are all we need -

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Whatever you do, don't suddenly stop taking your antidepressant......of course, you should follow your doctor's advice, but if you're going to D/C the Lexapro, you need to taper off gradually. Otherwise, people tend to get rebound depression/anxiety, which can feel worse than the original version that induced them to start the drugs, plus a bunch of weird feelings that I can only describe as mild electrical shocks combined with proprioceptive difficulties.

Perhaps you might want to consider changing to another antidepressant rather than going off entirely; most people have to experiment with different meds to find which one works best for them. I've been on an antidepressant for 3 1/2 years, and I don't see myself ever coming off, mainly because I've become so much more easygoing and less apt to freak out with little or no provocation. Yes, there is a little 'blunting' of the emotions, and sometimes I miss my former intensity; but at least I can get through life without the horrible depressions and panic attacks and mercurial moods. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I would go to a psychiatrist for med regulation, possible taper. Shrinks these days do much more [and better] med adjustment, much less 'talk therapy'. An appt only takes ~ 20min, you go back 1-2 months later, tweak drugs or maintain.

I agree w/ Marla: DON'T JUST QUIT TAKING THE MED!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

just echoing the above. I take Celexa, which is very similar, and have experienced nasty withdrawal symptoms when stopping it- first time I was off for a week because I was lazy about getting it refilled. I was dizzy, felt little zings all over my mody, my head wasn't right- I honestly thought I was dying. After a couple days and talking to some people about it, I realized it was withdrawal symptoms and got back on asap.

Second time, I tried to self-taper down. Withdrawal sympoms were much better but still there, but I had a horrible rebound depression after 2 or 3 weeks.

In your post you sound like you feel you need to make excuses for having gone on Lexapro in the first place- just wanted to let you know that you don't need to make excuses (especially here!) and certainly don't need to justify why you needed to take it! I like to think of antidepressants not as "happy pills" but as helping pills- whether it's due to life events, stress, or our own brain chemistry, sometimes we need help to get back to our own normal. Never anything wrong with that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

Please, PLEASE check with your doc. I tried to stop Paxil several years ago by myself (stupidly, I admit) because I'd gained 25 lbs. I became so dizzy and lightheaded after only one day, I honestly was afraid I WASN'T going to die from it. Very scary.

I ended up tapering off over 3 weeks. My doc, actually NP, wrote out a whole schedule for me, gave me a script for the lower mg doses, and I went from there. It had to be very regimented, and anytime I swayed from it, trying to do it "faster", the dizziness came back full-bore. The people that say Paxil is not addicting is lying through their teeth. My body certainly was addicted to it, even if my mind wasn't.

Best of luck to you! I'm glad things have gotten better for you in the past year. That certainly was a lot to deal with!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I take Lexapro. There are times when I go off the medication, somtimes for days, sometimes for months. Then I go through a depressive episode and I start taking it again because I am so depressed I wil try anything to help me feel better. Maybe I shouldn't be playing around with my meds like that, but I have stopped cold turkey before without any real noticeable effects. I started taking the Lexapro again last week after being off it for several months. It makes me retch and clinch my jaw, makes me kind of stonefaced but it eases the depression and anxiety a bit and that makes it worth it to me.

Depression is as painful as any physical pain a person could feel. It is absolutely horrible and I don't think any less of people at all who take antidepressants.

Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks so much for the good advice -

Now - I'm beginning to understand about going 'cold turkey' - so re the tapering off. How should I do this on my 10mg dose?

Should I go down to - say 75 mg for a few days - then 50 mg and so on...or should I make that a few 'weeks' of each? Should I do one day on, one off -

I don't have a doctor I can go to now as I no longer work at that facility and have no contact with the dr that prescribed it in the first place.

I do agreee I will not just stop it -

I was on Paxil years ago - nasty little drug for me. Celexa was better - but when I started Lexapro - it had been 6 years since I'd taken an antidepressant. I don't want to switch - I want to stop. Want to try and live on pure air for a while and deal with life challenges more holistically. And...if it doesn't quite work...I will not hesitate to add a little pharmacology to my fuel mix ratios -

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I just took myself off from Lexapro about a month ago. My husband and I are trying to start a family and I figured it would be safer and easier to get off it now than to try to quit "cold turkey" once we are sucessful (hopefully).

I was also on 10mg and tried one day on, one day off, but by 6 pm on the off day, I felt like I was loosing my mind! I was dizzy, nauseous (sp?), and just felt crapy. So I decided that I would take half a pill a day. That worked wonderfully. I did that for about 2 weeks. Then I did half a pill every other day. I then went to half a pill every three days and after that I stopped taking it. I didn't feel like I was on a rollercoaster this way like I was when I did one full pill and then a day off.

I feel fine now, except for the stress and anxiety of nursing school but that is to be expected! I just keep telling myself it is only until May!!

I hope this helps.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion