Alexandria13: Lexapro Cold Turkey

[Alexandria13]

Original Title:  Lexapro 2 days

 

I'm not sure if I posted this in the correct forum or not but here goes. 

I started 5mg of lexapro yesterday and had horrible side effects. I was told these are common and will pass. Took my second dose today and awoke from a nap feeling like I didnt know who I was or where I was at. This in turn made me panic. I called my doctor and I am never taking another pill. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do. I seem to be calming down. I just want to know how long this is going to take to feel back to normal. 

Edited June 25, 2020 by manymoretodays
New title, old title added post

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, Alexandria13.  This is the right place for your post.

 

You experienced an adverse reaction to the Lexapro.  An adverse reaction is an immediate and powerful negative response to a drug.  Adverse reactions to antidepressants are not uncommon.  Many people just cannot tolerate psychiatric drugs, and their central nervous system delivers the message in no uncertain terms.  IT's very good that you stopped when you did.

 

You will recover, but unfortunately no one can predict how long it will take.  It's encouraging that you seem to be calming down.

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium (magnesium glycinate is a good form) and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Please research all supplements first and only add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

Please keep us updated on how you're doing.

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can ask questions, post updates and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

[Alexandria13]

Thank you so much. This is one of multiple antidepressants I have tried in the last 10 years. All of which I just can't handle. Thank you for your insight. I called my psychiatrist and she recommended to keep taking it just cut the dose in half. I'm not so sure I want this in my body at all. 

[Gridley]

2 hours ago, Alexandria13 said:

I called my psychiatrist and she recommended to keep taking it just cut the dose in half. I'm not so sure I want this in my body at all. 

 

If you experienced an extreme negative reaction to the Lexapro, our advice would be not to continue the drug.  The fact that you have tried several antidepressants over the years, none of which you can handle, indicates that these drugs are bad for you.  Your body is trying to tell you something.

 

 

[Alexandria13]

Titled: Severe Fatigue, headaches, GI issues

 

I need some advice. My psychiatrist said that being on only 5mg of Lexapro for 6 months, I will be able to just stop taking it. I stopped June 11th. I was fine up until a couple days ago. Now I'm having severe fatigue, GI upset, headaches, anxiety. Im at a loss. I have two children and a supportive husband but I feel like I'm dying. What can I do!? How long is this going to last? I'm very upset that I just quit without tapering but I listened to my doctor. 

Edited June 25, 2020 by manymoretodays
merged from symptoms and self care

[manymoretodays]

Hi Alexandria13 and welcome back, @Alexandria13,

I found your most recent post in the symptoms and self care forum and merged it back here, to your introduction.  Very helpful, as it keeps your information all together.

And so......I see you continued with 5 mg of Lexapro, until 2 weeks ago(a total of 6 months), and have been on and off AD(antidepressant) drugs for 10 years.

 

When feasible, please do a signature for us, best done from a PC:  Please summarize your withdrawal history in your signature

 

......AND, quite likely you ARE experiencing WD(withdrawal) right now.

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

I think if I were you, I would consider reinstating now.  Not the whole 5 mg dose of Lexapro, but a smaller dose.  Please take a good read through the below, as it explains much more about this:

 

* About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal syndrome

 

I'm thinking 1 mg to 2.5 mg might be best for a trial of reinstatement.  You are in a good time frame to try one, a reinstatement.......just 2 weeks out now.  If it helps, then usual practice is to stay put, for several months, and then resuming a taper in a more cautious way.

 

Do you have any Lexapro available right now?  And if so, what form? 

 

You'll also find information in this link below, to help you get a smaller dose than 5 mg going:

Tips for tapering off Lexapro(escitalopram)

 

Let us know what you decide.  Thank you.  ❤️

 

And okay, all from me for now.

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

manymoretodays

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by manymoretodays

[Alexandria13]

Switching meds

 

My psychiatrist is switching me from Clonazepam 1mg daily, to Prestiq 25mg and Ativan 1.5mg daily. I'm terrified of meds and switching makes me so nervous, but I absolutely hate the clonazepam. It makes me feel awful, detached and foggy.

My end goal is to just be on the antidepressant for a short time (until I heal) and them be off all of it all together. I need some hope and inspiration. I don't have many people to talk to about this that understand. Psychiatrist said switching won't cause me withdrawal. I have a hard time trusting doctors. Any input would be so helpful. 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Shep
added title after moving from another Intro thread.

[Shep]

@Alexandria13Please note I moved your latest post from the new Intro you started and placed it here in your original thread. Please continue posting here in this same introduction thread. This will keep your information in one place.  

 

From your first post in 2019, it looked like you were having an adverse reaction to Lexapro and the advice was to stop taking it. You posted again in June 2020 that you had now been on this drug for 6 months. And now a year later, you're back with even more drugs. 

 

Please note we're a site for tapering off psychiatric drugs. We cannot help you set up a new drug cocktail. The way to get off these drugs is to slowly taper one drug at a time. You'll likely want to come off the antidepressant before the benzo in order to preserve your sleep. But without knowing more about your history with benzos, we can't give you any specific advice. If your goal really is to be off these drugs altogether and you wish to have tapering advice, we need a drug signature so we have your complete history. 

 

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

A direct link to your signature is here:

 

Create Your Signature in "Account Settings". 

 

Please continue posting in this thread. 

[Alexandria13]

I understand. I'm trying to figure all this out. Thank you.

[Shep]

@Alexandria13Please post any questions you have here and we can help you sort through it a step at a time. 

 

If you're not able to set up a signature, you can post your drug history in a regular post and I can move it to your signature. That will be the first step.  One step at a time. 

[Alexandria13]

Thank you Shep. So I haven't been on the lexapro. Stopped in 2020.

Right now I'm on clonazepam 1mg daily.  Started 6/24/21. That's all I take. I want off of it but I'm terrified. I graduate college September 22nd and plan to taper after graduation. I have been on other meds in the past but not for more than a week due to side effects. I took xanax as needed for about 3 months in 2020. I'm not sure how you wanted all this information, so sorry if I'm confusing... 

[Shep]

@Alexandria13Thanks for the additional information. I placed it in your signature. 

 

It depends on what the other meds were in the past and how consecutively you took them to know whether you're dealing with withdrawal from those. If, for example, you took multiple SSRIs for more than a month, you may be dealing with SSRI discontinuation, even if you didn't take the same one for the month. 

 

Also, you may be dealing with a reinstatement of a benzo that didn't work since you came off Xanax in 2020 and then reinstated in June 2021. Benzo reinstatements work best within 2 - 4 weeks of stopping. 

 

The more you can let us know about your drug history, the more we can help you. From what you've told us so far, you may want to simply hold and not taper right now.  If the clonazepam is helping you sleep, you may want to stick with that every day until after your graduation and then you can concentrate on your withdrawal.