Victor3: going off Lexapro

[Victor3]

Hello everyone. How low do I  need to go specifically for Lexapro tapering? Is .3 mg dose ( was on 20mg normal dose to begin with) good enough and then stop?  I am just seeing signatures of other people and found out you guys went really low like .03 mg. That's a very Small tiny particle hardly visible. How did you manage to go that low? 

Also cutting tablets causes some powder to spill around in the house. How do you clean that up? This is not even visible with such tiny doses of cutting so how do you make sure it's not lying around the house somewhere and someone can even breathe it and can go inside their bodies.

[Victor3]

Hello everyone. How low do I need to go specifically for Lexapro tapering? Is .3 mg dose ( was on 20mg normal dose to begin with) good enough and then stop? I am just seeing signatures of other people and found out you guys went really low like .03 mg. That's a very Small tiny particle hardly visible. How did you manage to go that low? 

 

Also cutting tablets causes some powder to spill around in the house. How do you clean that up? This is not even visible with such tiny doses of cutting so how do you make sure it's not lying around the house somewhere and someone can even breathe it and can go inside their bodies

[getofflex]

Hi.  I was on Lexapro for many years before I began my taper in 2017.  I did the way too fast doctor suggested taper of 50% reductions over 3 months, then eventually found this site, and slowed my taper way down.  I went all the way to 0.005 mg of Lexapro before jumping off.  This was at the advice of Brassmonkey, one of our senior staff members.  I'm very glad I went that low.  At the low doses, these drugs have a disproportionately large effect on us.  This link will explain why.  

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/6036-why-taper-sert-transporter-occupancy-studies-show-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/#comment-82306

 

This link talks about managing the end of your taper: 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/27067-managing-the-endgame-taper/#comment-659867

 

If it were me, I would switch to the commercial liquid Lexapro at this point.  That will eliminate the problem of powder around the house, and make your end game taper much easier.  In the USA, one ml of liquid has 1 mg of Lexapro, which makes it very easy to work with, especially at the lower doses.  You may want to double check this, as this was from 2 years ago.  Your pharmacist will know.  When you switch to the liquid, do it gradually as per this link: 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/28978-cross-over-from-tablet-to-liquid-or-changing-the-brand/?do=findComment&comment=465046

 

This link goes into how to dose liquid medications.  

 

FAQ About Liquid Medications

 

I see you are doing a linear taper, which up till now is fine, because you were reducing by small amounts.  I suggest that you do the 10% per month exponential taper that is our harm reduction approach. Once you've made the switch to the liquid, and have been stable for several weeks, then do your next reduction.  I suggest you reduce from 0.9 mg to 0.81 mg.  The formula is current dose x 0.9 = new dose.  You can get small 1 ml syringes from your local pharmacist or amazon that will measure increments of 0.01 ml.  

 

Of course, once you get to the super low doses, you will have to switch back to a linear taper.  

 

 

 

Edited February 27 by getofflex

[Victor3]

Thank you. Really appreciate your time and support.