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What a Journey it has been... History: Start - 2 months I started Lexapro January 13th of this year due to having anxiety for nearly 10 days strait, it was a gradual build up and more than likely cannabis induced. I was scared, and desperate so decided to take Lexapro even though my wife told me not to. The first dose of only 2.5 milligrams started the nightmare to come. Within 4 hours I had heart palpitations and would break out into a sweat for what felt like no reason at all. I took a total of 4 doses of 2.5mg's until I decided to get off of the medication. Over the next 2 months I lost 20% of my body weight, extreme insomnia, bubble feeling all over my body especially my legs, resting heart rate of 80-110 for what felt like no reason at all (usually 58), massive heart palpitations to the point I could feel my pulse in my feet, Tinnitus, and many other symptoms. I thought my life was over, I was scared to talk to the doctor because she only wanted to give me more drugs. I decided to buckle down and ride it out, and put my faith into God. 3 - 4 Months Were things getting worse? I couldn't tell what was up or down, am I broken? Some days felt better, then a massive wave would swoop in. I did notice that my appetite would come and go in windows and I was able to gain some weight back. Sleep would slowly improve in this span of time however, I had to take Unisom off and on. I would get 2 nights of some type of sleep then one night of insomnia. This is when the sleep zaps started to swing in hard. As soon as I drifted off, I would get hit with what felt like lightning all over my body then go into a sweating fit, then it would follow with fear and strong palpitations. At this point I hadn't found SA so my mind was going wild, I had nothing to ground myself in and simply thought this was my life moving forward. I hard to fight hard not to think suicidal. I would just be up in the middle of the night and look at pictures of my wife and kids from the years past and think I would never feel that type of happy again. But I would pray and He would tell me to not give up, healing was coming 5 - 6 Months This is when I was able to tell myself I was getting better, I would have half days here and there and feel totally normal. In those moments I really told myself to put it into memory (see you are getting better! don't forget this moment). In those moments, when they would come, I started researching online and found this amazing site SA. I would read everything, the bad, the recoveries, the plan of a action, what Windows and Waves were, how to coach your spouse through your recover. I HAD A MAP FORWARD! I got on Magnesium that night, and had the first night of sleep without palpitations! They still came and went in the coming months, but just getting moments without them nearly brought me to tears... This was when I started to really notice improvement. God bless this site, and thank you everyone for sharing your suffering and progress 7 Months - Today Right at the 7 month mark I got a nasty wave, not nearly as bad as the worst days however, I was just getting exhausted of it coming and going. I was ready for the end, but I never gave up. I had a big vacation planned with my little family and really wanted to show them an amazing time, and this wave needed to end before we left in a few days. All I could do was wait and see. The car ride down was so hard, but I never let my family see my suffering, I had to deliver. By the grace of God, once we arrived and we ate dinner, something happened. A weight was lifted off my heart, and I felt a huge shift. I was able to let go and enjoy myself, laugh, play with the kids, smile at my wife while she was cooking dinner, and even enjoy a beer! This marked my big turning point, I wasn't 100% but a big step took place. After vacation I still had little waves here and there, but all manageable. And today I'm happy to be typing this in a great mood and symptom free! My story isn't over, I have more to go, waves will still come but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and had to share my story. Vitamins and Supplements Magnesium (CVS Brand, 400mlg) Taurine 100mg Medication History Lexapro 2.5mlg for 4 days, then Cold Turnkey

Hi, I'm new here. I don't know where to start...I feel so hopeless and desperate. I've been on and off lexapro for 5 plus years after being diagnosed with panic disorder. Recently have come to realize that I've never given myself the chance to push through withdrawal because my GP had always assumed it was relapse. As I result she would put me back on meds, lexapro. So it's been this sort of cycle for sometime. I typically don't experience withdrawal, "relapse", symptoms till months later, 3 months or so. This time I wanna push through, but I am struggling hard. Recently divorced with two children, so the timing isn't great but when is it really? I'm here for support. I'm falling apart. I have a lot of anxiety, depression, and panic. Heart palpitations, trouble breathing, dizziness, can't sleep past 4 am, and I've lost a lot of weight. Dr. Gave me a prescription for lexapro again, 10 MG, and believes I should get back on it and try tapering later at a "better time". I fear doing this because chances are, I'm going to be back where I started, again and again. But I feel like I'm drowning...trying to cope and manage my symptoms while living a new life a single working mom. I feel like I'm constantly failing. Please help 🙏

Hello, I have been taking Zoloft 25mg for 3 months and decided I do not want to continue taking this medication since my body is not tolerating it very well. Can I stop it cold turkey since it is a low dose? or should I taper? So far I have been taking 12.5mg daily (today is the 3rd day) for 2 weeks, is this the safest way to taper?

Hi there First of all I want to say "sorry" for my english - I try my best to make it as clear as possible! I'm a 38 yo woman with no significant psychiatric prehistory. In january 2022, after Covid-19 hit me, my life, as many others, turned upside down. 10 days after my initial infection (from one day to another) I felt completely depressed, couldn't sleep anymore, was in a unhuman state of panic and my whole sculp was tingling. I ended up for 5 days in an psychiatric hospital. Even the strongest sleep medication couldn't send me to sleep. I really thougt "this was it" and the only reason for not "bringing it to an end" were my beloved two girls. Please note at this point: I had NEVER EVER suicidal thougts my whole life. Doctors told me, that I have Long Covid and put me on Escitalopram. I felt weird and unnatural high on this drug and had a lot of side effects. More and more symptoms appeared and I never knew if this was due LC or due the SSRI. But I didn't care. I was in a such dark place, physically and mentally and was thankful for being at home with my family and slowly my sleep improved. After a few weeks "fight or flight" hit me again and my psychiatrist forced me to updose to the max. After that the nightmare continued and I ended up in hospital for two weeks with what I think is known as "serotonine syndrome". My whole body was shaking and I was completely agitated and over the edge. I felt like going into psychosis and had accustical hallucinations. The only thing I knew at this point was that I have to downdose my medication. I felt completely disturbed. I felt agitated, extremely tense and had the worst mood swings, which I never had before. My sleep was ruined again and they wanted to put me on Z-drugs but I refused and took 25 mg Quetiapin known as Seroquel/Sequase instead. After maybe six weeks something like stabilisation happened but still on a very bad baseline. I never felt like me and couldn't except that I have to be on these drugs now. So I decided to come off. There was nothing to loose. After every try of reduce I got new symptoms plus the old symptoms came back fullforced and lastet for a few weeks. I still never knew what was LC induced and what was drug induced. After months of tappering my psychiatrist decided to wean off from 8 mg in about 4 weeks and put me instead on 25 mg Sertralinum. For about 4 weeks I felt great and during this time I had 4 H.E.L.P. apharesis for my LC symptoms. Then we got the flu and I felt like I was hit by a train and completely new symptoms appeared. Since then a had only a few weeks where my symptoms were manageable. Current symptoms: • morning anxiety • diarrhoe • panic attacks • anxiety spikes/adrenal rushes • intrusive thougts • shakiness • internal vibrations • Tingling/burning sensations • extreme moodswings • short term depression (only a few minutes/hours/days) • brain zaps when falling asleep • electric jolts in my body when falling asleep • anxiety after napping • catastrophizing • heart palpitations • blurry vision • very dry eyes • light/sound sensitivity • extreme tense neck muscles • sharp ear pain • twitching muscles • in fight or flight about everything • fear of everything • nausea + headache • extreme PMS Current intakes: • 25 mg Sertralinum • 25 mg Quetiapin • 1 mg Lorazepanum if needed (maybe 1-2 / months) • some supplements like magnesium, fishoil, turmeric, ... Please note: All these symptoms are changing over the day. They come to go and go to come again. Do you think that it's possible that I'm withdrawing or was it Covid-19 that ruined my nervous system ? Thanx 1000 for your ADVICE 🙏🙏🙏

Hi, Looking for a glimmer of hope here. I stumbled upon this website yesterday and some of the success stories are great. I am a mother of two. I met my husband while on Lexapro. I was put on for social anxiety for around 10 years. I just kept mindlessly taking it and taking it. I tried CBT, but was young and naive and just wanted a quick fix or a magic pill. When I told my then boyfriend about being on the meds, he said he didn’t care and he loved me for who I was. Fast forward 9 years and we are married with two beautiful babies. I tapered off the drug during my pregnancy with my first. Went back on after I had her reluctantly. My anxiety was really bad and I chalked it up to postpartum anxiety. Weaned myself off and then got pregnant again with my son. Spring 2020 rolls around and I had been off the drug roughly around 2 years not including the pregnancy. My lower legs were starting to go numb. I am extremely active and started noticing these changes in my body. Skin crawlers, tremors. Went to the dr and told him it felt like withdrawal symptoms from the AD. He told me I was silly and put me on a low dose of lexapro. They did blood work and everything came back normal. Ultimately, I had manifested in my head that I had MS. Google is a b****. It was the pandemic, I was isolated and I’m a stay at home mom so I have a lot of time on my hands. I was referred to a neurologist who sent me for an mri. Found nothing. Finally, after a few weeks of insomnia, I tried to take my own life by way of overdosing with 5 mg lexapro tablets. I was rushed to the ER and luckily it was such a small amount of the meds they didn’t pump my stomach. After this event, you guessed it, they put me back on lexapro. I was on for a year and my psychiatrist agreed to wean me off. That was May of 2021. I took my last pill. Sleep was awesome for an entire year. No other crazy effects until last week. My husband was gone on business and I woke up in the middle of the night to use restroom and never fell back asleep. Ever since then my sleep has been spotty. I know what this is this time and it’s not anxiety!!!! It’s my body saying that it wants this drug back. The only difference now is that I know what’s going on and I have tools and supplements to help me through. I have been meditating and taking Valerian root to sleep. This is my story. It feels good to get it out there. Thanks for reading.

Hello, I come here to look for some hope because right now I don't have much left. I took escitalopram for a year and a half following a professional burnout. Of course I trusted the doctor and I didn't know the repercussions it was going to have on my life. I was better with the treatment but I felt denatured and I had a lot of side effects, especially my memory and the feeling that everything was going over my head. It was not me. So I decided to stop it overnight it was a dose of 10mg. I had some pretty bad side effects. It's been a year since I quit cold turkey drugs. I list the side effects I had that went away: Insomnia (the first three months I wake up frequently after 2 hours of sleep and cannot go back to sleep). That's improved I can now sleep 9 hours. Intolérance au son et à la lumière, maux de tête, vertiges, démangeaisons cutanées surtout au dos, malaise intense, incapacité à fonctionner normalement. Tous ces symptômes ont disparu, j'étais incapable de travailler et j'ai depuis repris un emploi à temps plein. Certaines choses se sont améliorées comme mon sommeil après quelques mois de sevrage ma mémoire est redevenue normale. Par contre j'ai des effets persistants genre brouillard cérébral même si ça s'améliore j'ai souvent l'impression d'être à l'ouest. J'ai du mal à me concentrer. J'ai aussi des problèmes sexuels qui sont apparus depuis le sevrage et qui m'inquiètent beaucoup car il n'y a pas eu d'évolution depuis. At now one year of withdrawal, do you think it is too late to reintegrate? I don't know if I have to persist in this voice because even if I have seen improvements (and fortunately moreover because it was hell the first months), I also have symptoms that don't go away and time passes. I feel very anxious just thinking about how much a sencer treatment to help me get better (according to the doctor who prescribed it to me at the time) made me feel worse than I was. . I managed to get a full-time job after the first three months of withdrawal where it was impossible for me to work, I've been hanging on to it since, but it's hard on a daily basis. I wonder if I'm still going to improve sometimes I have the impression that it won't evolve anymore I feel resigned. Je viens ici chercher des conseils et de l'aide car j'ai lu des success stories et beaucoup de gens bienveillants et surtout je n'ai plus envie de m'occuper du domaine médical.

Hello, I've read this forum for a while and it has helped me much. I've been putting off creating my own thread as getting my thoughts straight has been quite difficult. I will attempt to be as accurate as possible but some dates are estimates. I am a 24 year old male. To be brief, as a young teenager I had some trouble fitting in and this presented me with emotional difficulties, Due to prevelence of the idea in the culture, online especially I was led to believe this was something called 'depression' and the treatment was pharmaceutical drugs. At around 15 years old when school was becoming difficult I presented to mental health services seeking allieviation of my struggles. I believed I had ADHD due to difficulty concentrating and this was a popular meme online when researching difficulty with applying yourself to schoolwork and studying. Naturally I pursued medication for this also. After some tests I was diagnosed as having this condition. I was prescribed 100mg sertraline and 50mg vyvanse after some medication trials. This kind of quieted down my negative emotions for sure and it did help me concentrate somewhat on schoolwork. I took these drugs for 7-8 years. I did take a year off sertraline when going to university, but reinstated due to severe difficulties a year later. I switched this to 15mg escitalopram shortly after this reinstatement. this was roughly 2020 I think? I was on the escitalopram for a year or two but it's foggy. And I came to the conclusion it was harming my ability to feel emotions and have meaning in my life so I discontinued after a short taper. For 9 months there were tolerable symptoms such as simple low mood. Something changed at around 9 months in and I started to experience severe distortion of my cognitive functions. I was hence unable to perform but the most simple daily tasks. This was In april 2023 (this year) I believe. I found this forum and related to many of your experiences. This gave me hope for improvement. I am posting here because I am hopeful to one day find the cause of this disease and promote awareness to doctors and the public alike to the systemic changes these drugs can induce. Afterall serotonin mediates processes throughout the entire body, it is not simply the happiness switch but a key player in keeping all the systems of the body functioning properly. One idea I have had is some of these symptoms could be the result of an alteration of blood flow. Serotonin influences blood vessel tone. Reduced blood flow in the brain could explain reduced cognitive ability many experience and potentially reduced blood flow would also result in reduced erection function and PSSD. My blood vessels for example have adapted to a certain serotonin signalling over 7-8 years so it seems feasible to me. I also struggle with exercise, becoming light headed after a simple walk. My reaction time is substantially slower in video games also for example. My hands and feet are constantly cold. I can go into details with symptoms but really they are very much in common with those details by most people who are brought to this website. Anxiety and head pressure, over stimulation etc. I hope this is reasonably coherent, it is difficult! Thank you.

Hi all, new to forums. Not new to meds, 11 years and counting on Lexapro. So about 6 weeks ago I dropped dose. I probably went down too fast I realise now having read on these forums now that I should use the hyperbolic model, and drop less an less at a time the lower I go, but since the same percentage taper last time was completely smooth it didn't. cross my mind. So I went from 10mg escitalopram to 5 mg aprox one year ago. I at that point had no thought of ever tapering off the meds, I just wanted to see if I could do on less since I had been on them for so many years and felt more stable and ready to handle my GAD with other methods. . Only side effects of being on meds I've had is weight gain and the need to nap daily and they have helped me immensely I have to say. Since that taper a year ago I've noticed I'm less tired in the daytime and I've finally started being able to lose weight. Had zero issues going from 10 to 5 mg. Since I was doing really well on 5mg for en entire year (I had planned to stay on that dose for the foreseeable future), I went down by half again 6 weeks back. So to 2,5mg about. First weeks have been fine, zero difference for 5 weeks. But now the past week I've developed burning feet. My feet ache and burn all the time, day and night. I've never had this ever before. This is my only symptom. I have no brain zaps, nightmares etc, slightly more night sweats possibly but minimal. Perhaps slightly more emotional but this is mostly a good thing. Only feet burning, no other body parts have the same symptom. This is a really uncomfortable symptom. Obviously it could be from something else, I know it's a common thing for people also not on meds. So I can't be sure it's due to taper. But IF it is temporary (weeks or so) I think I can put up with it with the help of ibuprofen etc but now I'm starting to get scared that I've damaged myself permanently? Do I go up a bit to say 3mg? or do I stick it out? which is safer? 2011-Escitalopram 10mg for Severe GAD 2013- tried to start tapering off (slowly) but started having anxiety regularly on a lower dose. Tapered back up, stabilised again. 2016- Escitalopram 15mg for 6 months during rough patch in life (family death) Late 2016 tapered back to 10mg - zero issues with taper Mid 2021 tapered to Escitalopram 5mg - zero issues with taper July 2022 tapered to 2,5mg Sept 2022 started having burning feet. Started supplementing with Magnesium a couple of days ago. No other meds.

I was on 40 mgs Lexapro. started on 20 mgs then increased over 5 years. Have been on various antidepressants for over 20 years. Seeing a Homeopath and trialing remedies. Told by Psychiatrist reduce 20 mgs a week. Frightened by all withdrawal horror stories. Have to work to pay mortgage. Suffering from discontinuation Syndrome. -suicidal thoughts - brain fog - anxiety - panic attacks -stomach upsets - debilitating lack of concentration - constant fear of living My family are supporting me Dont want to go back on meds but scared this may continue for years. Any advice welcome.

Hello all, Ive been looking on information about how im feeling and found this site. I must say if I have known what was going to happen now when I started taking this poison I would have said i will look for another way to help my anxiety. This is my first post on here so I will tell my story. In 2014, I was diagnosed by my doctor with Social anxiety and GAD. She gave me 10mg pills of Cipralex or Lexapro as called in the US. She told me to start with 5mg to see how I felt. I did just that and they really helped for about 2 years. But even though they stopped working I continued for another 2.5 years. This is the time I decided to try out cannabis for my anxiety. So I got my medical license and told my doctor im done with these. Stopped cold turkey off of 5mg for 4.5 years. For two weeks after I had miserable withdrawl. Dizziness, anxiety and depression is all I had which I thought was strange cause I had never felt depressed a day in my life. After two weeks I was completely normal! I thought I was done, I was like wow that was easy. But 3 months later (1 week ago) I had a bad headache for 4 days and then I got anxious and way more depressed than last time. Thats when I read about the windows and waves thing and thank god I did because I thought my brain was done for! Lol I dont regret going cold turkey and I am not about to reinstate because I want that poison out of me and I am 3.5 months in. I have lost about 20 pounds of my 40 that I gained when I started it. I also read somewhere that the meds can be stored in fat cells and as you exercise or lose weight the body burns the fat and re metabolizes the stored meds. But for people who cant deal with their WD symptoms, I must say CBD oil really helps the Anxiety and Depression. Although the depression for me is hard to kick getting some THC takes it completely away. Its like I can create my own windows everyday. I just dont understand how I can stop the pill just like that and WD for 2 weeks then I am literally back to normal for 3 months. Seems unlike anybody else I have read. Anyways, that is my rant. I wish everyone a speedy recovery from the poison that gets handed out daily.

Good Day, I wish I could say that my withdrawal symptoms from quitting Lexapro are the worst, but quitting Xanax takes that title. I have been off Xanax for two years and six months. The first day was the worst, the first year was the worst, and I am not feeling any Xanax issues now except waking up in a cold sweat every night since 2014. Anyway, I have not looked back or taken Xanax ever again. During that entire ordeal, I was still on Lexapro. I didn't quit it also because I didn't want to do too much at once. I finally quit Lexapro on the 25th of Dec 2016. Side note: To help me quit Xanax, I was put on Seroquel and Neurontin at rehab, and I gained 20kgs in 6 months which I am still trying to lose. I have lost half of it, but for some reason, my metabolism is no longer the same. I can't lose weight after rehab. I quit Seroquel cold turkey and tapered off Nuerontin. I took it for about six months and stopped when the weight piled on. Back to why I am here: The first month after quitting Lexapro was alright. Just brain zaps and nothing else really. I thought, "Wow! Quitting these antidepressants is very easy! I should have done it earlier." I was basing my experience on Xanax, which is harder at the beginning and easier with time. I didn't expect things to begin falling apart later, and boy are they falling apart. Month two drug free was also not too bad, but it was filled with episodes of sadness. Month three became worse than month two, and I felt withdrawn and my lust for life started disappearing again. Month four was worse than month three and I felt myself losing more joy, being darker than I have ever been. Month five, my current situation, is a hot mess! My anxiety is back, my depression is back, and actually they are back and worse than ever. My obsessive thoughts are back. Oh, and my sexual urges are back, after years of thinking that I might be asexual. The problem is, my sexual urges are disconnected from my emotions, so as horny as I am, I still don't feel like having sex with my husband, and the whole thing is making me panic for several reasons. My insomnia is back. I am weepy and frustrated. My pessimism is back. I hate life right now. My face is braking out and for this last week, I have been unable to eat so I also feel awful due to that, I am sure. I could go on for days about how awful I feel right now. I have not left bed for a week! I have made music though. Actually, I started having the urge and will to create music around month 3 of quitting. Before that, I though I would never make music again. So, there are pros and cons to this quitting, more cons than pros though, currently. I was thinking of going back on Lexapro when I happened on this website. I have now changed my mind. I thought I was just getting worse and worse until I end up committing suicide, however from the posts I have read, it gets better apparently, and none of my torture is unusual. I was suppose to start a family this year but now I have doubts. I would wait a year but I am 35 in three months so... I am taking, and have been for over a year, Magnesium (a high dose), Iron Fumarate (I have severe anemia), Vitamin C (a very high dose), Probiotics, L-Theanine, Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin B12 on top, 5HTP and Valerian, camomile tea when I have the strength to make it. Mood: Very Blue. Like in the pic.

Hello I live in Saudi Arabia. Male, mid 50s, married. I had taken SSRI (Cipralex 25mg) for 6 years. I tapered it for 5 months, then stopped it completely on March 29, 2016. Just to give you some background, I was living happily, never thought of taking AD drugs ever. However, one day, I was subjected to severe conditions that was beyond my control. This situation has caused me insomnia, because of the tremendous stress, and therefore, I started taking SSRI. The doctor, who prescribed it, was not so professional, because he wanted to give me any drug that would work for me, performing trial and error on me. I know that AD drug is not a treatment, but rather a chemical stuff that would screw up brain chemicals to calm me down so that I can go to sleep, and also to improve my mood. I was very much concerned with the withdrawal symptoms, but the doctor reassured me that it would last only 2 to 3 weeks. I believed him, but I wish I did not. He did not provide me a true honest advice. While taking the AD drugs, I developed some side effects: such as fever and PVC. Six years down the road, I noticed that I always want to go to sleep, even if I had just woken up in the morning and had my coffee. This has annoyed me and scared me, as I was afraid that this drug would cripple my life. At this point, I decided to quit and live my life free of AD drugs. The journey of WD suffering started on October 31, 2015. I tapered it for 5 months, and stopped it completely on March 29, 2016. Here is a time line along with my WD suffering: 1-6 months: things were bad, but tolerable. I experienced difficulties falling asleep, with anxiety. 6 mo-1.5 years: Severe symptoms began. It was so severe that I was thinking of going back to AD. I took it for one day, but then regretted that I did, and felt so bad for going back to the drugs. I decided to fight and continue my journey no matter what. I am glad I did. I do not know how I was able to cope with WD symptoms, but it has to do with my faith. Prayers, reading Quran, and reading positive comments that I used to write to myself. 1.5 – 3.25 years: Incremental improvements. Now, I can enjoy coffee and tea, and do my hobbies. I am not 100% recovered. I still have nasal congestion and tinnitus both of which have improved slightly.

Link to Introduction topic: ☼-dan998-cold-turkey-reinstatement-and-tapering-citalopram I never got around to writing a success story because I never really considered myself a success. Sure, I got off the drugs, but it always felt like I had some residual brain damage. Presumably caused by 14 years of taking SSRIs and then the subsequent traumatic experience of stubbornly trying to force my way through a cold-turkey withdrawal, reluctantly reinstating and then rushing my taper. However, I recently had a realisation that has made me reconsider this point of view. I got a bit bored during the pandemic. Instead of filling the void by getting drunk and watching Netflix in my underpants. I decided to be proactive. I’d learn a new skill. Designing websites was something that looked interesting and would fill the long hours of lockdown. So, I enthusiastically threw myself at this task. Immersing myself to the point of becoming totally obsessed by it. After months and months and months of perseverance, I managed to teach myself how to put together a half decent website. However, the most important thing that I actually learnt was that my mind wasn’t as badly damaged as I’d incorrectly assumed it was. Thinking back to the debilitating cog-fog of those early days of withdrawal, where I couldn’t even process a few simple sentences, I came to realise just how much I have healed and grown over the last 7 years. It’s amazing the extent to which my brain has recovered. It's gone from being a completely useless drug dependent mess to a fully functional wonder of nature that is able to think, reason and learn. Creativity, concentration, logical thinking, problem solving and memory. All these abilities had returned and I didn’t even realise until I pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of achieving. Time has truly worked its magic in slow, imperceptible increments. It feels like I am almost back to how I was before an antidepressant had ever passed my lips. A lot older, fatter and with more grey hair than I’d like. But, finally glimpsing the version of me that I expected to see when I first came here all those years ago. Of course there are scars. There will always be scars. I don’t think it is possible to go through such an extreme experience and not be fundamentally changed by it. I still occasionally have flashbacks and I get anxious sometimes. But, I try to not let it bother me and I get on with my day. Withdrawal no longer defines my identity. It has become just another chapter in the story of my life and, thanks to this forum, there are now many blank pages eagerly waiting to be written. Thank you Alto and all the moderators for your hard work and tireless dedication. My withdrawal journey can be found here - ☼-dan998-cold-turkey-reinstatement-and-tapering-citalopram

Good day I would like to hear sincere advice. I started taking Cipralex 10 mg after an uterus myomas operation for severe headaches. When I started taking this medicine, I had a serious side effect, I suffered from it and thought it should be. Insomnia occurs, there was high anxiety, inequality, headache, nausea, dizziness. It all lasted about six weeks. Five months later, with the permission of a doctor, I try to stop taking medication, but this is almost impossible. High anxiety and fear (it was not against drug abuse). The burning body, headache and whole body, the doctor does not know what to do. I do not need to take drugs for 10 days. Please advise what to do, how can I overcome these exclusion cases? How long will it last?start to understand why many people take medication for a long time, it is not possible to stop them directly, and feel less well off than before taking medication. When I reduced my medication, I took 5 mg for one month, then in a week at 2.5 mg and I completely stopped. Now I'm taking vitamin c, b vitamins, minerals, omega 3. My doctor's only advice is to go back to medicine. I also go to psychotherapy, KET.If you did not have depression before taking medication, then such a terrible symptom might really occur.

Hello everyone glad I found somewhere to find good information and support . I'll just give a little introduction. I've been off Ciprelex 30mg for 6 months now after being on the ssri for 7 years.The side effects were far out weighing the benefits. My doctors seemed clueless when it came to the tapering, from what I know now as well as the withdrawal I am currently feeling . I tapered fairly fast from what I read on this forum.My main symptom at first was abdominal pain,panic, discomfort and very poor digestion. I lost 30 lbs in the first month and I know for some people that's good but for my build, not so good. Most of my symptoms at first were digestive related and my doctors didn't suggest withdrawal. Has anyone in here experienced horrible digestive issues right away ? So I had a million tests run, which came with months of worrying about every disease in the book. My tests came back clean which was good. However I am still feeling alot of discomfort, sensitivity in the stomach(feels like I'm bruised) coupled with fatigue, vivid dreams and insomnia. I have been experiencing all this while working a Fulltime job, which I love. I have missed more days than I wanted to for the obvious reasons. However I've decided to ask for time off because my body hasn't recovered and I feel the only way for a better recovery is to get away from my schedule and take extra time for myself. I see two different doctors. The one I saw today wants me to start a pain med and believes my stomach pain is related to migraines I used to get, which at times still show up. I am so scared of all medication but want this stomach pain to go away. I have improved over the 6 months so I'm leaning towards staying the natural course. Does 5HTP help for withdrawal?? After all the suffering I have gone through in the last 6 months you would think my doctor would give a note to go on sick leave,but apparently that's like pulling teeth. They just see a healthy young man complaining . Either way I need time for myself and recovery and sorry if I'm ranting. I'm glad to be hear in this forum and look forward to have a place for support and information because I feel my doctors are out too lunch on this topic. Mort

I took Effexor from November of 2020 to July of 2021 and then switched to escitalopram from August 2021 until April of 2022. I didn't really do a taper at all. It took about 2 - 3 weeks starting with every other day and then half a pill every other day. Far too quick, but the side effects of the escitalopram were so bad I just wanted off the medication. Effexor gave me oral thrush and vaginal yeast infections. I decided to switch to escitalopram. Well, I jumped from the frying pan into the fire. The side effects were horrendous. Some of them were back pain, sore dry mouth, burning mouth, burning tongue, a mouth full of ulcers, angular cheilitis, diarrhea and the list goes on. Unfortunately, I was totally failed by my doctor througout my ordeal. He couldn't figure out what was causing all my problems. What was happening to me are all listed as possible side effects, but he didn't bother to look this infomation up. I eventually figured it out through some research that I did on my own and I stopped the escitalopram. The most tragic event that happened was that my doctor failed to inform me that a month after I started the escitalopram my lipase levels started to rise. I only found out about my rising lipase levels 9 months later when I was finally able to get on-line to my health information. I ended up in the hospital with acute pancreatitis. Once again pancreatitis is listed as a possible side effect of most antidepressants. Since quitting I have experienced what so many others have. Some of the withdrawal symptoms I am dealing with are muscle pain, excruciating heartburn and abdominal pain, diarrhea, chills, hopelessness, attacks of terror, sore extremely dry mouth and tongue that has caused gum and teeth issues, painful indigestion, suicidal thoughts, organ pain, etc. I am very concerned about my pancreas. The pancreas does not regenerate itself like the liver does. My lipase evels remain high. This is concerning to me because my mother died of pancreatic cancer. My back pain was starting to get better until November when I faced a major setback that I am still dealing with. Another withdrawal symptom is bladder problems. I have bladder infection symptoms, but all the tests keep coming back negative. I paid to have a different test done that shows that I do have an infection, but I have to wait until April to see my urologist. I will be looking into getting a cystectomy. I can't believe I haven't gone septic. The setback because of this infection is excruciating abdominal pain, kidney pain, severe gastrointestinal pain, heartburn, suicidal thoughts, and crying all the time. I really don't want to fight anymore. I am hoping I will be able to write my success story one day.

Hello - I attempted a direct switch from a high dose of lexapro to Sertraline under doctor guidance - I now realise from reading this website that I may have kindled my nervous system. I subsequently increased the lexapro dose and have reduced it again, probably making matters worse. The biggest effect I have had is a noticeable cognitive impact, my brain literally can't solve complex problems the way it could only a few months ago and I have had to step back from a senior executive role. I really don't know what to do - I stupidly halved my lexapro dose 4 days ago and think I should updose - but by how much? Have I done permanent brain damage because it feels like I have? My memory is shaky and complex math that was easy to me is now beyond me, almost like i've had a stroke or something.

Hi, I am just making my first post here as requested. Essentially I started Escitalopram in March 2020 when feeling very anxious with obsessive thoughts. I was on Escitalopram from March 2020 to March 2023 when I spoke to my GP to talk about tapering because I had been feeling very mentally well for some time. They recommended I taper 50% every 2-3 weeks. I tapered a little slower than advised and took my last medication at the end of May 2023. I have experienced withdrawal symptoms since then. To start with I experienced brain zaps, flu like symptoms, aching joints and swollen feet during tapering. Post stopping the medication I had painful joints, digestive withdrawal symptoms, followed by fatigue and feeling faint. These have largely subsided now. But about two weeks ago I began to feel anxious and have obsessive thoughts again. I really don't want to go back on Anti-depressants. I felt good whilst I was on them, but I don't see them as a long-term solution and I am concerned about the negative health effects they have, even more so after suffering other physical withdrawal symptoms. Could my anxiety and obsessive thoughts be that the medication has now fully left my body and I am relapsing or could the anxiety and obsessive thoughts be withdrawal symptoms themselves? I'd be very grateful for any help or advice you have.

Cut my Escitalopram dose from 10mg to 5mg about a month ago and doing fair. A little more anxious, I’m noticing. Have been on SSRI’s since about 1998. Have gone off of them for brief periods of time, but end up feeling like I’m spiraling downward again, and end up back on them. I feel like I have the right coping mechanisms at this point in my life, and really want to be free of this drug. Thought I’d try staying on the 5mg dose for a few months, then try to split the 1/2-pill into a 2.5mg and take that for a couple months, then maybe stop. I found this website on an internet search, trying to find some help, or at least learn of others who are going through similar experiences. Thank you. Jennifer

In lexapro withdrawal for 7 months. Having high anxiety and negative thoughts and ruminations Never had this before coming off of lexapro. I want to be me again. I got on lexapro because when I would get angry with my kids when they were small my head felt like it would blow off. Got advice from some people that told me it was a chemical imbalance and that Paxil would help so I went and asked my dr for it. Took it for 4 or 5 years and then thought maybe it was the reason I was so sleepy all the time. Dr switched me to lexapro. Was feeling horrible a lot and went to the Dr on and off through the years but nothing was ever found so I just pushed through. In 2015 I started noticing I was feeling a lot worse and all the time and it was hard to do things and then I started acting different and reacting to people differently. I was 46 and thought it was the change and it was causing me to act that way. I got off lexapro to see if that would help but it evidently sent me into withdrawal.

Hi folks, I have protracted withdrawal from three medications and now I am on disability. I am male 30s and no other health conditions (except for sleep apnea) Desvenlafaxine - took it for 8 months in 2020 and doctor tapered me in 2 weeks. I started developing severe insomnia and jerks. Doctor put me back on it and the problem became worse. I am not taking this medication anymore (last took in 2021). I still have the insomnia and jerks since past 3 years. Clonazepam - another doctor gave this to me for the symptoms of desvenlafaxine in late 2021 however I only got temporary relief. I was able to find a doctor to taper me off in February 2022 so I believe I am good here but I might have some cognition problems because of it. No longer taking it. Cipralex - I took this because I was going through benzo withdrawals from Clonazepam. Once I was put on a benzo taper with Clonazepam I was stable so I cut the dose from 10mg to 5mg in February 2022. Ever since then I am been experiencing some symptoms which have not gone away. I then went back up to 10mg and did a slow taper. Symptoms include: - cognition focus energy motivation - worsened anxiety and depression symptoms including chest pain, heart palpitations - breathing issues. Sometimes when I'm trying to sleep I get this sudden out of breath feeling I am currently on 0.8mg cipralex and plan to taper to 0.6/0.4/0.2 then 0.1 before getting off. I have seen various psychiatrists and they don't have any recommendations other than wait till I'm completely off, try ECT, ketamine or other medications etc... My sleep physician recommended gabapentin but I will not be taking that due to already having protracted withdrawal. I am waiting to see a movement disorder neurologist however that wait is around 12 months. I already saw a general neurologist and they did an EEG but nothing was found. Any tips on how I can deal with these withdrawal symptoms?

Hello, first of all, excuse me for my English, which is not my language. I’m a 50 years old man, long term SSRI/SNRI user who is trying to survive after a lot of mistakes made with this poisons. First SSRI was prescribed me in 1998: a psychiatrist decided to solve my panic attacks, anxiety and fears to be sick with a 20 mg of paroxetine. My journey with SSRI began: I took paroxetine from 1998 to 2008; then escitalopram from 2008 to 2010; venlafaxine XR from 2011 to 2016. During this period, 3 or 4 times I attempted to stop but after six months free I reinstated the drug; my doctor said that the difficulty to stop was a problem of mine because “SSRI don’t give dependence” and anyway said “if necessary you can use it for all the life”. For sure from 2006 for me was IMPOSSIBLE to decrease paroxetine under 10 mg!!! From 2017 drugs seem not work as in the past: my doctor tries firstly with escitalopram (from december 2017 to august 2018), sertraline (from november 2018 to july 2019) and finally vortioxetine (november 2019 to february 2020). On february the 6th I took for last time vortioxetine which was giving to me just problems More than nine months have passed since then during which I experienced extremely heavy symptoms that reduced my mental energies and threw me into a profound discomfort that makes it increasingly difficult to carry out my normal activities. Some of the symptoms are those that I have already known in the past (although they present themselves in a more severe way): agitated anxiety; insomnia (I have occasionally taken xanax which fortunately I have used very rarely in these 20 years) and sudden and agitated awakenings; obsessive search for information and explanations about my malaise (via the internet). Others are new: an unbearable mood swings; a certain emotional lability (I get very easily moved and angry); physical symptoms such as fatigue with pain in particular in the legs and frequent palpitations. In the background then there are distressing thoughts for the future: evolution of my malaise (fear of irreversible damage to my nervous system induced by prolonged use of drugs). What seemed surprising was requent change in symptoms from week to week. At the end I found this site and with it a little hope: I have learned many things, even about my mistakes, and discovered that I’m not alone. Now I’m just surviving and my days are (very) often hard to pass, but there are moments (1 or 2 hours in a day) when I feel this journey through the hell is a long and necessary way to live again, to see the stars again. My long journey to healing has started, and I hope you would support me with your advice.

Hi guys! Its been almost 7 months since I ct Lexapro, having only used it in 1 month om 5 mg. Its only now for the last weeks that the zaps, vertigo, flu-sympthoms and burning are starting, and becoming more severe by each day.. And I have a constant low fever since one month. (No virus.) Im burning all over my body, not sensitive to touch really.. Just feels like im on fire. And feels like breathing.. Sulfur. Not a refluxprob. (Also kinda blushing in face) All worse in my belly. Having attacks where it kinda knocks me with burning nerves all over and then goes back to constant medium-burning.. My cold sheets in bed is a blessing to naked skin! Also, notice aches and getting weaker in all my muscles.. 😕 Im so afraid! Whats going on! Have someone felt like this?

Violets Escitalopram Lexapro Cipralex Protracted Withdrawal Hello everyone, I have been thinking of posting a success story for a while, and after some questions in my private messages, I have decided to return here to give some hope to the ones that are suffering with PSSD. Here is an excerpt from my original post about my experience back in 2019: "I started on 2,5mg escitalopram in december 2018 for GAD and severe depression by my GP. I gradually increased the dose up to 7,5mg and was on this dose for a couple of weeks (until january 7th) I then decided to taper down again, as the drug made me careless, emotionally numb, impaired my cognition and significantly decreased my libido. So I stopped it after 2 months (last 2,5mg pill taken 8th of february). Since stopping I suffered two weeks of acute physical withdrawal (flu-like symptoms, nausea, dizziness etc) but I thought that it would be over and I would go back to «normal», but now it is clear to me that I also suffer from protracted withdrawal and the symptoms are scary and debilitating. I suffer from parasthesia, brain zaps, tinnitus, severe derealization, emotional numbness and extreme apathy to a point where I can’t force myself to get up and eat. I feel completely braindead and my cognition is ruined, the past month has gone by in a haze and I can’t remember or recollect much of it. This is extremely terrifying and almost worse than the original depression. I feel dead, even though I’m alive." ______________________ I am happy to share that since then, I have pretty much recovered. From the very long list of symptoms that I suffered (anhedonia, complete apathy/avolition, complete emotional numbness (NO emotions at all), no feelings of hunger, no libido, full genital and nipple anesthesia, severe cognitive disfunction, muscle aches/wastage, changed hair structure, dry skin, no sweating, tinnitus, visual disturbances (some visual snow/unclear vision/focus), gum health issues, high pulse/breathing issues leading up to a week long hospital stay), I now only have one or two of those symptoms left, which are pretty minor anyways. That is some decrease in libido, as well as permanent tinnitus (barely noticeable), which are pretty insignificant at a greater scale of things. It took me about three months after cessation to start experience tiny improvements and it took me almost a year to start feeling somewhat like myself emotionally. The first thing to improve was my cognition, which started improving after about 3 months, then the anhedonia started to lift around the 6 month-mark, together with some of the physical symptoms. The emotional and the sexual dysfunctions were the last to go and improved majorly at the 1-1,5 year mark. I must note that I haven't taken any medications or specific supplements (other than some B-vitamins and Omega 3) ever since my horror experience with Lexapro and I am not planning on doing so either. Therefore, I do consider my "recovery" natural. Anyways, now, after three years, I think it is safe to say that I am fully recovered and I am mostly back to my "old" self. I have since graduated at my university, gotten to experience amazing new things and places and also managed to find a loving partner. Even though life still gets hard at times (like it does for the most of us), and I still have days where the depression rears its ugly head, I now have found ways to deal with it, knowing it's only temporary. I also feel like this entire PSSD-experience has made me a lot more resilient and I want people in a similar situation to know, that there is definitely hope, no matter how many symptoms they experience and how hopeless it might feel at the moment. Best, Violets

Hi everyone, It's been awhile. I made a post here back in Dec. 2017 and thought to give everyone an update on my situation. Really didn't think I'd visit here again and post in this section, but here we are! To give you a brief summary of my situation (linked my post/story for more details), I was on Lexapro/Cipralex/Escitalopram for over 9 years; dose ranging between 5mg-20mg. At the time of my post, I thought it was a hopeless situation and was never going to recover. Seeing how few success stories there were, I thought there were little-to-no-chance of me recovering considering how long I was on the medication + marijuana usage. My main issues at the time (7 months into cold-turkey quitting) was the deterioration of my brain functions. I wasn't only feeling "depressed" because of the drug and my environmental situation, but was feeling "chemically broken" from the ground up. All my bodily functions were seemingly failing. It forgot how to operate; basic functions, thought processes, emotional and stress control seemed impossible to manage. I had couple options to choose from at the time: 1) Give up all hope, rot away, waste my life until I eventually take my own life. 2) Go back on the medication OR go on another medication (like my family doctor recommended) 3) Stick it out, sacrifice these months/years to hopefully recover. I can't tell you how close I was to choosing option 2), I even took ~2 pills of my medication before throwing it out and sticking it out with 3). But there was one post here in THIS section specifically that ultimately gave me the courage to try and beat this thing: the recovery story from pug. (link below as well) After reading his story, I told myself, "Ethan, 2 years, sacrifice 2 years, you might still hate yourself, you might never recover but you never know until you try. Quit and stick it out for 2 years, and see what happens." I did just that and after ~1.5 years of stopping escitalopram, I slowly started feeling human again. I was able to slowly get my life together. I have more ambition and drive than ever. Maybe due to the fact knowing this drug wasted so many years, and that I HAVE to catch up. I can actually feel sadness, happiness; not needing marijuana to feel genuine emotions and not needing the SSRI to feel functional again. It made me realize the source of my marijuana addiction was to counter-act the numbness Cipralex brought on. Long story short, a part of me thought this journey was nonrecoverable; but I was wrong. I don't think I'm fully healed yet, and honestly don't think I'll ever be (Sorry, always been a cup-half-empty kind of guy). But there is hope in getting better, and I believe in that. I'll go on to say that quitting cold-turkey might not be the most appropriate way; but I was fortunate enough to have my parents help me out at the time. I'll even go on to say that maybe the medication short term isn't that bad for you per say; maybe it can save some people from the brink of killing themselves, but I genuinely think these drugs hurt you more the longer you take them. If I had a choice, I wish to have never touched this drug. I wish all of you on this journey nothing but the best; and hope one day, you will join pug and myself to tell this side of the story. Sincere regards, Ethan