jeg816: 7 weeks on Lexapro - Tapering

[jeg816]

Hi everyone,

 

I am new to the site and slowly processing and working through the realization that I have "fallen victim" to a poor tapering plan from my psychiatrist. I went on Lexapro and was on it for 7 weeks- couldn't handle the side effects so I asked to go off of it. I was told to drop from 7.5mg to 5mg, which I did. Two days later, I ended up in the ER with severe feelings of hopelessness and despair. I was prescribed it for mild GAD, particularly around sleep. Needless to say, hopelessness and despair were not previous symptoms for me.

 

I signed paperwork for an inpatient hospitalization, but ultimately decided on intensive outpatient therapy. I also have a therapist. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist in 2 days and will explain I need to slowly taper, even if I am tapering longer than I've been on the drug. My psychiatrist said to "stop at 5mg" after 5 days. I am so glad I found this site before doing that.

 

Anyone else in my boat - slowly tapering after such a short amount of time on an SSRI? How did it go for you? 

 

Thank you!

Edited November 26, 2024 by Emonda
Name to title

[Jane318]

Greetings @jeg816 and welcome to SA.

 

Thank you for completing your drug signature.  If you take any other prescription drugs, OTC drugs, or supplements, please add them.

 

Do need confirmation of your history - From your signature, looks like you were initially prescribed 5 mg Lexapro, which was then increased to 7.5 mg after a month.  That was when you started feeling side effects and were told to drop back to 5 mg, correct?  Did this resolve your symptoms or do you have symptoms right now?  

 

I am sorry for all you are going through.  What you describe is very typical of AD withdrawal, which happens when we stop suddenly or even taper too quickly.  It take only a few weeks for our bodies to become dependent upon ADs.  

 

Here at SA, we recommend the hyperbolic taper method, which you can read about here:  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?  For those who have been on the drug for a long time, we recommend a cut of 10% every four weeks.  Since you have been on on Lexapro for only 7 weeks, you might be able to go more quickly than that.  We would not recommend stopping at 5 mg, we recommend going much lower than that before jumping to zero.  

 

There is a growing body of research supporting hyperbolic tapering.  Here is one such article you might give to your psychiatrist:  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30182-8/fulltext.

 

If you have severe withdrawal symptoms right now, it would probably be best to hold where you are at for a few weeks or so until you stabilize.  Then I would recommend you do a 10% reduction (to 4.5 mg) for a month.  If that goes okay, then you could try 15% the following month. The key with tapering is finding the plan that is right for you, there's no one-size fits all approach and each of us needs a custom schedule. The good thing about cutting by 10% and I then waiting a month is that you can see how your body reacts to the change, before adjusting your approach.

 

Whatever you choose to do, reflect on the WD checklist: Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF). DON'T ignore the warning signs.

 

There are a few things you can do to help your nervous system heal.   Eat a balanced, whole foods diet, stay well hydrated, engage in gentle exercise, and get adequate rest/sleep.  Avoid all neurologically active substances, like caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and recreational drugs- these are like pouring gasoline on a fire for your symptoms.  Avoid adding any further psychiatric medications to deal with your withdrawal from psych meds- the effects of these meds on a destabilized nervous system is unpredictable, and taking something else could make you worse.

 

 

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 (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) 

So if you decide to try a supplement, even those we recommend here, Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.  If you tolerate it well, you can increase the dosage slowly over time.  

 

This is your introduction topic.  Each member gets one intro topic- please post updates and questions here, in this thread.

 

I look forward to following your journey, and helping out in any way I can.

 

Best wishes.

 

[Jane318]

How are you doing @jeg816?