Skrump: Escitalopram Tapering. Flu like symptoms.

[Skrump]

Hello.

 

I am currently trying to ween off generic Lexapro after being on it for the last 8 months. Aside from a short time as a 5yr old in the late 80 where my mother thought I'd benefit from Ritalin, this is my only time ever dealing with psychotropics.

 

I sought out mental health treatment after quitting alcohol. I was an alcoholic who had been drinking heavily for many many years. I quit drinking cold turkey and experienced severe alcohol detox syndrome, followed by PAWS. (Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome). I am now 14 months sober from alcohol and have no desire to start drinking again.

 

A couple months after I quit drinking and was still experiencing panic and anxiety attacks, muscle tension, malaise and depression, I sought out the help of a Therapist. The discussion of medication came up early, and I resisted. I have family members who have been on complex cocktails of psychotropics and related medications to manage the side effects for decades. I've seen what they can do first hand.

 

I want to be clear here and state that my Therapist did NOT push me to get on medications. They stated that they thought it would help, but respected my decision at the time. The decision to seek out medications was mine and mine alone and I did so after a couple months of Therapy with no change in my symptoms. I reached the end of my patience and contacted a Psychiatrist. At that point I was ready to try anything and given the prevalence of Antidepressants in society, and the vast amount of people who say it changed their life, I decided to go with it.

 

After my first Teleheath appointment with the Psychiatrist, I was prescribed Escitalopram 5mg which I took for 30 days. Afterwords, I was upped to 10mg. I took this medication consistently and at the same time every day for 7 months. My total time with Escitalopram in my system is now into it's 9th month.
 

I never wanted to be on this medication long term. I feel that psychotropics should be a "bridge over troubled waters" strategy for the vast majority of people. Changing the underlying causes of Depression or Anxiety to the best of your ability is what I feel is the main treatment that should be tried first and foremost. Obviously, there are people who have situations that require long term medication and that's ok too. But an automatic life sentence on a medication without trying other things sounds wrong to me.

 

So after 9 months and my mental health stabilizing with continuous therapy, I told my prescriber that I wanted to start getting off Escitalopram. If my PAWS from alcohol cessation has worked itself out, as both my prescriber and therapist have strongly associated with my anxiety and panic attacks, I want to assess my recovery and my mental health without the influence of the drug as I feel that being on the drug is a false sense of recovery and healing.

 

My prescriber didn't really object and we agreed that using my remaining medication inventory of 10mg pills, I would cut them in half and begin taking them for 5mg doses. This worked fine for the first 3 days. But on day 4, I was suddenly hit with what I can only describe as "The Flu but without some usual symptoms". I began shivering uncontrollably, I couldn't get warm. My body started to ache terribly, got a massive headache and I became very fatigued. I was running a temperature of 101.  This passed after several hours of shivering and laying in bed and I struggled to sleep.

 

The next day I felt very tired with body aches but otherwise much improved. 2 days out, I felt 100% again.... until it happened AGAIN.

 

Yesterday, (the day before this post) I was again hit by a sudden intense chill, uncontrollable shivering and the same gambit of symptoms. This time with a fever of 102. This all passed quicker this time and 4-5 hours later, it was mostly resolved with just some lingering soreness and fatigue. 

 

My intent is to ride this out until I've exhausted my 5mg pill supply which is about 30 days worth. But this "Sudden Fever" syndrome is quite alarming. I don't have any other typical Flu or covid symptoms. My breathing is clear. I don't have a cough or runny nose. No intestinal issues. Big appetite. I have taken several COVID tests. All negative.

 

So yeah. That's my introduction post. Thanks for reading.

 

[Frogie]

@Skrump

 

Welcome to SA. We are a volunteer ran site helping members taper off antidepressants and other medications, or have tapered off and and are healing.

 

This is your introduction page where you will receive information, ask questions and meet other members. We ask that you only have one introduction page so we can keep all your information in one place.

 

Without hesitation, I can tell you that you are tapering Escitalopram way too quickly. We don't suggest more than 10% a month taper and a lot of members go much slower than that. Just an example, it took myself 5 years to taper off of 10 mg.

 

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The slowness of slow tapers

 

Brain Remodelling

Digestive problems:  Nausea, Diarrhoea, Bloating, GERD

 

 

Also, skipping doses is not a good way to taper at all.  It's unfortunate that some doctors suggest this.

 

 

 

 

Never Skip Doses to Taper

 

I would hold at 5 mg until you have stabilized and then start a proper taper of the Escitalopram.

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

 

You could try a small amount of magnesium and omega and see if that might help with your nerves. If you want to try one, try a small amount hold a few days before introducing the other.

 

Magnesium

Omega-3 Fish Oil

 

After you read the links provided, please reach out with any questions you may have.