AmyN: Quit Lexapro 20 mg cold turkey 6 days ago

[AmyN]

Didn't you say the tiny does is recommended when it's been a few months?  It's only been two weeks so I was confused by the conflicting information.  Geez, you don't have to be nasty about it.

[AmyN]

Honestly, it's hard enough trying to function with the cognitive impairment I'm experiencing without having to be put down on a forum that is supposed to offer support.

[AmyN]

The dr. called in 10 mg. tablets.  I cut one approx. in 1/4 and am already feeling a bit better, if anyone cares...

[Fresh]

That's very good to hear.  I know this is hard and you're not your usual self at the moment.   Once things have stabilized , your

personality will return , this is only temporary.

 

You'll need to stay on the same dose for at least 4 days till it reaches a steady-state in your blood stream.  The lower dose you can stabilize on the better , so let's reassess after 4 or 5 days and see if you need to increase it or not.

 

At these tiny doses , accuracy is important.  Cutting tablets can mean you'll be bouncing between 2 and 3 mg.  The  most accurate way to get the 2.5mg is to make a liquid solution.

If you dissolve a 10mg tablet in 10mls of water , you can use a 3mg syringe to draw up exactly 2.5mg.

 

See the link on "How to make Liquid from Tablets or Capsules"  here   http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2693-how-to-make-a-liquid-from-tablets-or-capsules/

 

Hopefully you'll notice a significant improvement in the next couple of days ... very promising that you've noticed a difference already.

[AmyN]

Thanks, I'm so sorry for my spaciness. This really sucks!  I have never been spacy in my life!!  I am feeling better now but I am wondering why all this had to happen.  What made me think I could quit cold turkey, why did I do this, etc!!  Oh well, as people on this forum say, it could have been a lot worse!  So, if I do stabilize on 2.5 ml, then what's next?  I can't help but wonder how I have been acting around the people I've been around lately!  I don't know if it's more embarrassing to say, "please excuse me, I quit my antidepressant cold turkey," or say nothing and just seem a little "off" to the person!!  I guess one can underestimate these drugs, hence thinking you can just one day quit cold turkey!  Oh well, thanks for the help!  So, I should also take it at about roughly the same time each day? 

[AmyN]

I can't believe I called someone "Gold Star."  OMG I am so embarrassed in retrospect.  Wow!  I guess it's kind of funny, if you want to look at it that way!  I guess it does no good to go back now and try to analyze what  the heck I was thinking when I decided it would be a good idea to quit cold turkey. I  guess I'm not the only fool whose tried this!

[AmyN]

I'm a brunette, but if that kept up, I might have seriously considered dying my hair blonde, LOL!! haha!

[Fresh]

Try not to give yourself a hard time. Worry about if you have to address your behaviour when you feel calm again.

If you stick around , you'll see lots of new members call people Gold Star or Silver Star.  

Chances are you can't say or do anything here we haven't seen before . . . after all we specialize in people with withdrawal symptoms   .

 

Yes , try and take it at the same time each day.   Ideally , you'll stay on that dose for a good couple of months , even though

you'll feel much better well before then.  Your brain needs time to recover.

Then , you'll get all the info. you need here to taper off slowly , maximum 10% decrease at a time , with a 4-6 week hold after

each cut.

 

bw ,  

[AmyN]

I feel soo much better today.  Does this mean that this will likely work?  Even at 2 or 3 mg., you taper down by 10 percent?  So, that would be measuring it out in liquid form.  Thanks so much!  I can actually function like a normal human being again!

[Ali4]

Alto suggested 2mg of Lexapro, try the lowest dose to see if it helps, hold on That dose for 4 to 6 weeks and take it from there. Ali.

[Ali4]

Alto suggested 2mg of Lexapro, try the lowest dose to see if it helps, hold on That dose for 4 to 6 weeks and take it from there. Ali.

[manymoretodays]

Being really accurate with your dose, the amount, will help some............as Fresh suggested, liquifying yourself.........the link is there...........after you get some syringes to accurately measure with.  Or.........being really accurate with how you cut your doses and just staying at the 2.5mg for at the least the 4 days suggested, if you can do the 4-6 weeks and gain support from your local people that would be great as well as you probably should expect lots of good days and bad days and not a real rapid return of your once superior cognitive abilities.  I would be very surprised as well if you don't start experiencing some physical distress aches and pains as well.

 

You probably, in my humble opinion, should just find a lower dose to stabilize at and stay there, in light of your vacation and I assume ability, to continue to homeschool your school age kids.  Also do a ton of reading if and when your cognitive returns.  Be sure to read about some of our, well most of our experiences with prescribers as well.  You would be very likely to gain yourself a new diagnosis, I feel, if you tell your psychiatrist about what you are attempting now.........best to say you are working on maintaining at the lowest dose possible.  Well, if you tell them your symptoms now especially.

 

Get familiar with the site, how to use it for your benefit.  Read anatomy of an epidemic......a book, something you could take on your vacation even.  There is also a site called beyond meds. which has been invaluable to me.

 

You can edit your posts for up to an hour usually.........after you post you will see the edit button.........on the left hand lower corner of the screen, next to the quote and multiquote buttons.

 

This site is support for tapering and withdrawal.  I suspect that there have been other medications used on you in the last 15 years as well and probably more to your story than you have revealed so far..........feel free to add some of that as it will give the moderators more to go on when trying to help you reach your own decisions.  Which ultimately is the best any of us can do..........guide you to make your own "better informed" decisions when your mind is more able to do that.  Good sound logic, in other words.  Maybe not as far as nothing but Lexapro but in general usually there is more if anyone is in the mental health system of today.

 

 

I'm glad you figured out to do 1/4 tab........a rough approximate of 2.5mg. of Lexapro.  You may find in the weeks coming up that you need more to stabilize to a point where you can function but I am not recommending that.........I did well on 5 mg. for a few years before I went down on what was my only psychiatric medication then, which was Lexapro.

 

Hopefully this helps guide your decisions and further research and gathering of minimally your husbands support as well as perhaps some of the other home school Mom's.  Or even some of the Mom's with school agers here may be coming by to help.  Full support and understanding is very hard to find on the outside of here.  Just wanting to help really as it helps me cope with my own "protracted withdrawal" picture.

 

 

 

No quick and easy routes to off of your Lexapro which I assume you have already gathered.  Snapped- ness is a symptom as well that most of us are familiar with.

 

Good luck again.......spiritual will help you in the long run but I too, have had to learn to question some of my "aha" moments/intuition/God-Jesus-higher power messages for my own health as well.........as well as find some new guidance in the way of just spiritual.........unrelated to any of my past religion.

 

Alot of rambling writing really.  You may disregard if not at all helpful.

[AmyN]

Thanks, all.  No, honestly the only med I was/am on is the Lexapro.  My doctor prescribed me Ativan in the past for anxiety but I never used that regularly.  So, you are saying to stay at the 2.5 jl for several weeks at least, if not longer?  Thanks, all!

 

I was going through a harder time in my life when I started the Lexapro.  I am in a much better place now, hence the feeling that I may be able to come off it.

[AmyN]

Honestly, too, my cognition returned after taking the 1/4 tab last night.  That bodes well, doesn't it?

[AmyN]

One question:  Now that I have reinstated, can I continue with the regimen of herbal supplements I was taking before, such as fish oil, etc., or is there a possiblity that these would not mix well with the Lexapro?

[AmyN]

If I am feeling better after one dose of approx. 2.5 mg, is that a good sign?  You guys are making me paranoid that I have somehow down long-term damage to my CNS or something!

[manymoretodays]

No problem with fish oil and Lexapro.  Tried to delete my post but unable.......as honestly, this is frustrating.  The other question you really have to answer yourself........keep in mind the posts from moderators. 

 

Most likely you have created changes in your nervous system that may take alot of time to rebalance.  Up to you though.........if you want to go the distance, gain the understanding.   Do some reading and all that........    Think positive.

 

Hopefully someone may link you to some theories on what many of the antidepressants do over time to the body and mind and spirit.

 

Good luck AmyN.

[AmyN]

What I meant was whether I damaged myself with the stopping cold turkey. After that, I'll get off the site, as everyone is apparently frustrated with me!  

[AmyN]

Then someone could kindly tell me how to remove my profile altogether.

[apace41]

What I meant was whether I damaged myself with the stopping cold turkey. After that, I'll get off the site, as everyone is apparently frustrated with me!

 

Amy,

 

What prompts this sense?  And why do you want to remove your profile?

 

You did not damage yourself irrevocably with the C/T.  There are stories of plenty of people who went C/T and suffered through long withdrawal without ever reinstating who have now successfully healed. The brain can recover from this -- how long it takes varies greatly from person to person.

 

Best,

 

Andy

[ChessieCat]

Hi Amy,

 

I'm really pleased that you are starting to feel improvement after reinstating.

 

Please keep a record of symptoms on paper, because the staff will then be better able to offer suggestions about whether you should stay on the dose you are on, or whether it needs to be decreased/increased a little bit.  It takes 4 days for the drug to reach a steady state in the blood.

 

When first joining this site many members are suffering from withdrawal symptoms and many are anxious, scared and/or overwhelmed.  Reinstating is only the beginning of the journey of getting off your drug.  Once you have stabilised on a dose it is best to hold for a while and then taper at 10% of the previous dose, and then hold for 4-6 weeks before the next drop.  The support, understanding and assistance that members and voluntary staff offer here can be invaluable (especially since many doctors do not recognise withdrawal symptoms lasting for more than a couple of weeks and often diagnose relapse of the original condition if people go back to them months later complaining of what are actually withdrawal symptoms and put people back on the drug, sometimes at a higher dose, or prescribe or add a new drug) and is a big part of the recovery journey.  Many of the people here understand what you are and will go through.

 

A couple of things that you need to understand for this stage is Keep it Simple, Slow and Stable.  It is a good idea that you DO NOT drink coffee, cola drinks or alcohol.  If you wish to introduce any supplements, it is best if you take a small amount of one at a time to see how you respond.  Also please be aware that Vitamin B6 can be activating.  If you wish to take any vitamins in the future, it is best to introduce them separately and one at a time, not as a complex, otherwise you will not know which one is causing an issue (if an issue arises).

 

Also, be aware of the The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization ...  Recovery IS NOT linear.

 

There is a lot of excellent information on this site.  The best way to search it is to use a search engine and type in survivingantidepressant.org + the topic you are looking for.  Eg:  survivingantidepressants.org sleep.  If you can't find what you are looking for then please ask a question in your Intro/Update topic and someone will either give you the link for it if there is already information about it on the site, or answer your question.

 

It is a good idea to keep a diary of your symptoms.  Here is a Withdrawal Symptom Checklist.  There are several versions which you can use to record your symptoms.  All of them are for 1 month.  One is an Excel spreadsheet, there are 2 PDFs you can print, one with a list of symptoms and also a blank one so you can add your own symptoms.

 

As already mentioned above, it is a good idea to do some reading so you can learn and understand about the process you are going through and about the next step.  I suggest you read the links given in this post.  Understanding what is happening removes a lot of the fear and enables us to cope better with any issues that arise.  It also helps us to be more patient with the process when we understand that the brain has to adapt to receiving less of the drug.
 

I hope the suggestions I have given help.  CC

[AmyN]

I'm feeling a little bit of return of the spaciness, which is discouraging.  I am planning on going to the pharmacy to see if they have droppers for the liquid stuff.  Thanks!

[apace41]

Amy,

 

Take this as it's intended -- helpful advice -- not something to get upset at me for. 

 

Nothing in anti-depressant withdrawal takes place or gets resolved minute to minute.  The fact that you were feeling a little better is good but it's not dispositive of anything.  The fact that you feel a little worse is disappointing but it's no more relevant to how you will do long term than the fact that you felt better earlier.  This is a marathon not a sprint.  If you agonize with each and every turn you will drive yourself crazy worrying whether it's withdrawal or just feeling badly or some underlying condition, etc.

 

Just take it slow and measure things more on an every couple of day rather than continuously.  What we really worry about on SA are trends.  Are you generally getting better or are you generally getting worse?  That is the key. If you can keep the graph of your situation moving up and to the right things will work out well.

 

Best,

 

Andy

[AmyN]

Thanks, Andy!  I see what you're saying!  I wasn't prepared for a marathon, but I guess that's what I'm getting.  I may as well accept it!  The one good thing is that the schools, my pediatrician and everyone, tried to get my son on an antidepressant.  My pediatrician said it would be no big deal, it could be short-term, then he could go off it.  yea right!  Thank god I didn't cave to the pressure from everyone, and took him out to homeschool him!!  Mama going through this is one thing but to have my kids in this situation, that would be horrific!!  I'm so glad.  I even had the prescriptions that the dr. had written for my son.  He told me it would be "negligent" on my part NOT to put him on meds.  The diagnosis?  School avoidance anxiety. (i.e. he didn't want to go to school because the teacher was abusive to him.)  The pediatrician was also prescribing a tranquilizer to help him GET TO school in the morning.  Thank goodness I didn't.  He is a brilliant kid, made straight As, etc.

[AmyN]

Chessie Cat, I know what you mean about drs. having you go back on the med.  That happened last time I tried to quit.  He told me at the time I would likely be on it for the rest of his life.  At the time, I believed and accepted this.  This time around, I'm not going to buy into that load of b.s.!

[AmyN]

Wanted to thank you'all for doing this forum, and glad I found it!

[ChessieCat]

"Chessie Cat, I know what you mean about drs. having you go back on the med.  That happened last time I tried to quit.  He told me at the time I would likely be on it for the rest of his life.  At the time, I believed and accepted this."

 

Ditto, except mine was a lovely, helpful psychologist (and I say that sincerely, she helped me immensely from the therapy side) who gave me the "like a diabetic needs insulin.  I still need to contact her to let her know differently.

 

It's only in the last couple of weeks that I have had a clearer mind that I am start to remember things and being able to fill in the gaps of my drug history.  I had actually go cold turkey off Citalopram for a few months (felt really great for about 2 weeks) before I went back and said I didn't feel like myself.  That was when I was put on to Pristiq.  Months later when I said I had lots of focus (I completed a book with 254 sudoku puzzles without cheating) but wasn't feeling any enjoyment in anything that my dose was increased from 50 mg to 100 mg.  Of course, after what I have learned from hear, the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place!!!  And I'm very thankful for finding this forum before I got too far into a too quick taper.

 

Just be prepared that depending on how your reinstatement goes, you may have to increase your dose a bit before you find the correct dose to stabilise.  Acceptance and patience are two very necessary things for this journey, together with learning coping skills like MCBT or CBT or similar.

 

Thought I might mention here about neuro-emotions.  My aim is to give you the information so if it happens you understand what it is.  Here's a link to Neuro emotions - Surviving Antidepressants

 

BTW I'm very pleased that you have decided to stick around

[AmyN]

Yes, my dr. meant to be helpful as well.  That's funny, because I am working with a life coach at the moment and she is always telling me I need to have patience to see the positive changes in my life.  I guess patience is something I need to learn!

[AmyN]

I did the liquid thing tonight.  I got a 10 ml. syringe at the pharmacy, measured out 10 ml of water, cut my capsule in fourths, then crushed it up as best I could and mixed it with the water.  Then I measured out the 2 ml. dose.  I hope I am doing this right.  Should I have a special tool for crushing the pills.  Also, how long can the liquid be kept in the refrig.

 

Thanks!

[Fresh]

Well done ,  it's really not brain surgery once you get the hang of it.

You can buy a pill-crusher at the chemist , or some people crush tabs. between 2 spoons.

 

From Altostrata:  "My rule of thumb has always been no more than a week, unless I get explicit stability information from a pharmacy or online.

 

This applies to suspensions made with distilled water or pharmacy liquid.

 

The major risk is spoilage from bacteria or mold, as with other opened foods in the refrigerator."

 

See this link on "How to make Liquid From Tablets or Capsules" , there's a video and it will answer some of your questions.

[ChessieCat]

 

 

 

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

[Fresh]

Ha ha , oops , forgot to post the link,  Thanks CC    .

[AliG]

Hi Amy .

 

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

You might want to look into getting the compounded liquid , if you can .

 

Ali

[AliG]

Posted at the same time. 

[manymoretodays]

Thanks all of you and AmyN. for staying.

 

AmyN, it's just my own stuff.......... really.......you are doing great..........and I, will continue to move through it..........

[AmyN]

I'm sure I was annoying as heck, asking the same questions over and over again!  I was "dazed and confused."  I feel amazing today!  Thanks for all the support!