Pianojane: strong Lexapro withdrawal after 9 years - Fatigue

[Pianojane]

Hallo everyone.

I am from Germany, so sorry for my "bad" english sometimes..

i am 32 years old and i took lexapro for 9 years. 27 months ago i quit lexapro "cold" from 4 mg to 0 mg. The time before i tapered off my medicament about 6 months from 10 to 4 mg. Later i recognized that it was much too fast.

I got a lot of horrible(!) symptoms after quitting, i think the list of the withdrawal symptoms is too long to describe it now.

I have accepted my protracted withdrawal now with many waves and a very small amount of little "windows". The strongest symptom now is the extreme fatigue. It is not a common tiredness , it is so heavy and it comes in waves, nearly every day. Most of the time it comes along with headaches and heart racing. , brain fog /and or depersonalisation. Sometimes i feel drunk or i have drunk alcohol the day before. This feeling is so bad and i wanted to know  if anyone here has similar problems after lexapro or other antidepressants. It is to despair 😕

Thank you very much for your response!!🙂

 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @Pianojane

 

I am sorry to hear you've had such a bad time.

 

One thing we do know is that drinking alcohol often makes withdrawal syndrome a lot worse. Every time you drink, you are refreshing your withdrawal syndrome. 

 

If you stopped drinking, you might very slowly stabilize from the drug withdrawal syndrome.

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[Ariel]

@Pianojane

Hi there, and welcome to SA. 

I am also in protracted withdrawal post-lexapro. 

How are you doing?

A.

[Pianojane]

Hallo everybody! sorry for the late reply. i am now in month 31 after 0 and still suffering from withdrawal symptoms. some days are better, some really bad and sometimes i get a huge wave. Is there any body who also suffers from such a long withdrawal? Lovely greetings, Pianojane

[getofflex]

Hello, Piano Jane.  I'm sorry you are dealing with this, after 27 months.  Lexapro is an extremely powerful drug.  It took me 5 years to taper off, and my nervous system is still recovering, but it's better than it was.  

 

Hopefully you have given up the alcohol, as Altostrata wisely suggested?  And other mind altering substances?  

 

It is not uncommon to take years to recover from a cold turkey of psych drugs.  

 

Cold Turkey

 

Can you please give us specific information in your signature about your drug history for all drugs you are on and have been on, especially for the past 18-24 months?  It would be especially helpful to have the details of your drugs in a concise vertical list (no symptoms), only drug names, specific dates (as best you can say for example early March if you don't recall the day) and dosages of each medication decrease or increase.  Use this format:

 

Drug name: date, dose, date, dose, date, dose…

Drug name: date, dose, date, dose, date, dose…

Etcetera

 

Please read the link below for instructions.  This will allow us to give you the best guidance.  

 

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

Here is a link with checklists of common WD symptoms: 

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen Withdrawal Symptom Checklists

 

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

Have you tried any magnesium or fish oil? 

Edited July 17, 2022 by getofflex

[Pianojane]

Hallo! Thank you very much for your answer. Sorry for the late reply.

I think this with the "alcohol" was a misunderstanding. I don´t drink anything since i quit lexapro! I just feel like "drunk" very often. I also don´t take any other mind-altering substances.

The worst problems are the "migraines" who come together with the "fatigue" and the depersonalisation. I suffer from this about 1 1/2 year now, nearly every day . It is so hard to stand this. Is anyone here who has also experienced such symptoms?

Thank you very much ❤️

 

 

[Altostrata]

We need you to summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature  before further discussion.

[Pianojane]

hello everyone i'm starting a topic that has a strong effect on my long-term withdrawal. briefly about me: i took lexapro for 9 years and stopped too quickly. as a result, i've been in long-term withdrawal for 4 years. i made the mistake of drinking coffee again and again over the years because i was a coffee junkie. now i'm currently in a kind of "second" withdrawal, the coffee withdrawal, and it's having a very strong effect on my other withdrawal symptoms. i had the feeling that the coffee consumption was preventing me from really healing. the worst symptoms for years were still severe anxiety, which i just couldn't get under control. now i know that it was all the coffee. however, the withdrawal from coffee is just as hard and also causes me severe anxiety at first. i continued to suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms due to coffee consumption, even if it wasn't much, one cup a day, very strong anxiety thoughts throughout the day and a permanent state of anxiety that i had never had or known before. who knows this problem during withdrawal, related to coffee or caffeinated foods in general?

Thank you very much for your reply ❤️

 

[Emonda]

Some people find caffeine unhelpful for their anxiety, and others seem to be okay with it. We are all different.

 

If you find it unhelpful, it's best to avoid it. Sometimes, the smell of coffee makes me anxious!

[Pianojane]

Hey there, i am suffering from longterm withdrawal since about 4 years. since about 1 year i have severe symptoms like heavy intrusive thought attacks. in this case its getting so worse that i am sometimes have to scream (when i am alone)  it is very severe. i am ashamed of this symptom it is so exhausting and draining. i haven't really read about such symptoms here in the forum. i usually get a severe headache afterwards. now i wanted to ask if anyone has experienced something like this in long-term withdrawal. i am afraid going crazy. its not normal and i dont know what do do or cope with. i quit caffeine but it doesnt get better.  i just hope that it will go away by itself at some point

[BaccatePlayer]

On 8/23/2024 at 12:54 PM, Pianojane said:

Hey there, i am suffering from longterm withdrawal since about 4 years. since about 1 year i have severe symptoms like heavy intrusive thought attacks. in this case its getting so worse that i am sometimes have to scream (when i am alone)  it is very severe. i am ashamed of this symptom it is so exhausting and draining. i haven't really read about such symptoms here in the forum. i usually get a severe headache afterwards. now i wanted to ask if anyone has experienced something like this in long-term withdrawal. i am afraid going crazy. its not normal and i dont know what do do or cope with. i quit caffeine but it doesnt get better.  i just hope that it will go away by itself at some point

Yes, I do relate to that.