Aherk: introduction

[Aherk]

Hi everyone. I started Lexapro 10 mg.  approximately 10  years ago for anxiety. It helped and 5 years in, tapered off by decreasing pills from 7 per week to 6, to 5 and so on til 0 . I now know how wrong this was, but that was the recommendation. No real known symptoms of w/d. After a year, I got back on them due to health scare and terrible anxiety. I have been on Escitalopram (generic Lexapro) 10 mg. since then,and started tapering December 2017, using the same method. Finished in  mid-April 2018. In late May, began having symptoms of W/D.  Tremor in left hand, muscle twitches in legs, shaking, weakness, extreme fatigue, tightness in lower legs, insomnia, heightened anxiety. My central nervous system seems to be in a state of chaos and I am scared it's going  to be permanent. Unfortunately, I found this site too late.  Since it's been over two months, I am afraid to reinstate, but I keep reading posts from people talking about facing months and months of this hell.  I'm 64, retired and surrounded by a very supportive husband and family. I've led a very active life and this has thrown my life into a tailspin. I have had a few manageable days here and there, think I'm improving, but then the hell returns.  Questioning whether I should just stick it out at this point or reinstate. I have read the horror stories of trying to reinstate and it not working or making it worse, so I am afraid. I take no other drugs and have been supplementing with magnesium and calcium and a multivitamin. I try to exercise a bit each day. Sometimes I think if I could just get a good night's sleep, I could cope better. But, right now it seems overwhelming.

[Gridley]

Hello, Aherk, and welcome to SA. 

 

I want to give you some information on reinstatement so you can make an informed decision about whether or not to reinstate.  Reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis.  Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months or longer.  Please read:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic

 

Reinstatement isn’t a guarantee of diminished symptoms for everyone, but it’s the best tactic available.  At two months, you’re still in the time period where reinstatement predictably works, up to three months after last dose or dose reduction.  We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose.  These drugs are strong, and when updosing/reinstating it is better to start with a small amount and increase of symptoms remain unbearable.  If you take too much it may be too much for your brain and can cause you become unstable.  Sometimes it can be hard to regain stability after this happens.

 

I suggest, if you are so inclined, that you reinstate 1mg of Lexapro to see if that helps.   Remember that it takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to full state in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.   Then, once you stabilize (which can involve a period of several weeks) you can begin a slow taper.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Instructions on how to make nonstandard doses of Lexapro are in the following link.  Basically, you can make your own liquid, use a scale or have your doses compounded at a compounding pharmacy.

Tips for tapering off Lexapro (escitalopram)

 

Regarding your supplements, you should take magnesium and calcium at least two hours apart, as calcium can interfere with magnesium absorption.  We generally do not recommend multivitamins, because if you have a bad reaction to one ingredient, it's impossible to isolate what is causing the problem.  Also, the B vitamins in a multivitamin can be too stimulating to those in withdrawal.  We do recommend omega fish oil, which many members have found to be calming to the nervous system.

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

 

[Aherk]

Hi Gridley,

Thanks so much for your reply. It's full of great information. I need to decide whether to stick this out or reinstate. Part  of me wants to never ingest another SSRI again and just wait it out. It's easier to say that when I am feeling like I can function.  Today has not been a good day. Thanks again for taking the time to help. I so appreciate the support.

[Carmie]

Hi Aherk, 

 

How are you doing?💚