Miteki1994: Reinstating 5mg of Lexapro/Escitalopram after quitting for 5 months

[Miteki1994]

Hi everyone, 

 

I was on Lexapro 20mg for more than 9 years - constantly. This was initially for symptoms related to body dysmorphic disorder, but then anxiety and depression also became an issue. 

 

Last September (2023), I decided I no longer wanted to be reliant on anti-depressants. I tapered down much too quickly within 3 months - 20mg -> 15mg -> 10mg -> 5mg -> over 3 months before stopping completely in November. 

 

I felt normal and fine all of November & December. Then January hit me, then February, then March & now April. The symptoms of anxiety and depression, memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, feeling like I have some sort of viral sickness - has plagued me since early January. These symptoms are much worse in the week leading up to when my period is due. 

 

After feeling this exhaustion for 3 - 4 months, today I decided to go back on 5mg of Lexapro to see if this might help, with the eventual goal of tapering back down to 0mg using liquid form, however, over a much longer period of time. 

 

Any insight or advice would be so greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanking you in advance. 

[Erimus]

Hello, and welcome to Surviving Antidepressants. We are a peer support forum to assist in tapering off psychiatric drugs safely, or recovering from psychiatric drug withdrawal.

 

This topic is for anything relating to you, and any questions you have. Please do not start another topic.

 

We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of your CURRENT dose each month, to limit withdrawal symptoms. E.g. 10mg --> 9mg --> 8.1mg --> 7.29mg

 

All the answers you are looking for regarding tapering and antidepressant withdrawal are on this site. Please search around and continue to read as much as you can manage. Use the site search function to search for specific words or phrases, such as drugs or symptoms.

 

Here are a few of the most useful links:

 

Important topics in the Tapering forum and FAQ

 

Micro tapering

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Using a scale to weigh and measure doses

 

We only recommend two supplements. Omega 3 Fish Oil and Magnesium. Both should be introduced separately and increased slowly.

 

Regards

Erimus

[Erimus]

8 hours ago, Miteki1994 said:

After feeling this exhaustion for 3 - 4 months, today I decided to go back on 5mg of Lexapro to see if this might help, with the eventual goal of tapering back down to 0mg using liquid form, however, over a much longer period of time. 

Please read the topic About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

When it comes to reinstatement we generally suggest introducing very small amounts, and slowly titrating up if the reintroduction is tolerable. Jumping back on large amounts of the drug can often cause unpleasant reactions, and sometimes "spike" the nervous system in a reaction you will see commonly described here as "kindling".

 

For someone in your position, a sensible starting dose for reinstatement would be 1mg, rather than the 5mg you've gone for.

[Miteki1994]

Hi Erimus, 

 

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it. 

 

I have been taking the 5mg of lexapro now for 4 days, I'm worried about reducing it back to 1mg again. 

 

Would your suggestion be that I remain on the 5mg for now as I have already started? 

 

Thank you. 

[Erimus]

15 hours ago, Miteki1994 said:

Hi Erimus, 

 

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it. 

 

I have been taking the 5mg of lexapro now for 4 days, I'm worried about reducing it back to 1mg again. 

 

Would your suggestion be that I remain on the 5mg for now as I have already started? 

 

Thank you. 

You need to monitor how it impacts you over the coming days. The main thing is that you take a consistent dose for the coming months, allowing your nervous system to stabilise again before making more changes.