kc1342: Horrible reaction to Lexapro second time

[kc1342]

Hi all!  I'm so so happy places like this exist to aid in our recovery!  A little background on me - I was prescribed lexapro 10mg August of 2017 after a horrible bout of anxiety.  I literally had tried everything under the sun to feel better and I was at the end of my rope, so it seemed like medication was the only option. It felt like a miracle! Within days I felt back to myself and continued to feel great for 4 months - so good in fact that I talked to my doctor about tapering.  I had zero withdrawl and felt pretty good until 6 months after starting the taper.  My insomnia came back full force and my therapist suggested I start lexapro again since I had such a great experience the first time. 

 

WOW... that was a mistake.  I had a horrible reaction to lexapro the second time around becoming more and more depressed, feeling disconnected, inner ear ringing, and diarrhea. So after four weeks of feeling awful, I reduced to 5mg and two days later started feeling crazy!  Weird vertigo (kinda feeling woozey or like I have sea legs), blurry vision, ringing in my ears, and diarrhea.  It's been super terrifying. After a week on 5mg, I decided to stop and have been having the same weird vision and dizziness issues for 3 weeks now.  I went to my GP who wants me to go to an ENT to get my inner ears checked. She also started me on thyroid and testosterone hormone replacement since they were both low.

 

My questions is could this be withdrawal even though I was only on lexapro for a month? Could something more serious be going on?  Is it just anxiety? I just don't want to get on another drug out of desperation, but I'm starting to feel helpless.

 

2017- lexapro 10mg + Vistaril (for sleep)

2018 - lexapro 10mg + Vistaril (for sleep)

[Songbird]

Hi kc1342, welcome to SA.  I'm sorry to hear you've been feeling so awful, but glad you have found us.  Were you ever on any other meds (ADs or other psych meds) prior to the Lexapro in 2017 or was that the first time?

 

Please can you create a signature containing a summary of your med history, including all drugs, doses and dates (starting and stopping).  Your signature appears below every post you make, and helps us see your situation easily without having to read from the top every time.   You could look at my signature for an example.  Instructions for creating your signature are here: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature.  You can edit your signature here: edit your signature in Account Settings.

 

Your symptoms returning after 6 months might have been a delayed withdrawal reaction.  It's more usual to get withdrawal symptoms within the first few weeks off, but having everything seem okay until some months later is not all that uncommon.  It's usually diagnosed as a "relapse" of the original condition.  Your bad reaction the second time on could have been because your system was still in a state of confusion from the first withdrawal (see: adverse reactions kindling).  Here are some topics you might find helpful (also check out the links at the top):

 

What is withdrawal syndrome

how psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

the windows and waves pattern of stabilization

 

At this point trying another drug might not help - when your system is already confused there is a high risk of making things worse.  Do you feel any better now that you've stopped than you did before you stopped?

 

 

 

[kc1342]

Hi Songbird! 

 

Thank you so much for following up.  I did take ativan as needed (maybe one a year for flights) before 2017.  It made my anxiety way worse by starting to take ativan to sleep in 2017 and swore it off after the lexopro was helping.  I haven't taken a benzo in almost a year - will NEVER take again.  I feel like I would have been better off not taking anything ever at this point

 

Yes, my depression symptoms do seem better since I have been off, but when I went from 10mg, which I was on for 3 weeks, to 5mg, I started to have really weird symptoms.  Feeling off balance on my feet, weird vision changes, diarrhea (which has gone away, thank goodness).  You can have withdrawl 6 months after stopping, even when being on it for 4 months?  That is so scary. Thank god I am sleeping like a baby now without help since getting the thyroid and testosterone supplemented. So basically there is no real end in site in terms of withdrawl?

 

I'm pretty committed to stay medication free at this point, since I don't want to go through this again!  It has to get better at some point, right? Just doing my best to ride the wave and trust the process.

 

[RusTW]

On 7/17/2018 at 10:51 AM, kc1342 said:

Hi all!  I'm so so happy places like this exist to aid in our recovery!  A little background on me - I was prescribed lexapro 10mg August of 2017 after a horrible bout of anxiety.  I literally had tried everything under the sun to feel better and I was at the end of my rope, so it seemed like medication was the only option. It felt like a miracle! Within days I felt back to myself and continued to feel great for 4 months - so good in fact that I talked to my doctor about tapering.  I had zero withdrawl and felt pretty good until 6 months after starting the taper.  My insomnia came back full force and my therapist suggested I start lexapro again since I had such a great experience the first time. 

 

WOW... that was a mistake.  I had a horrible reaction to lexapro the second time around becoming more and more depressed, feeling disconnected, inner ear ringing, and diarrhea. So after four weeks of feeling awful, I reduced to 5mg and two days later started feeling crazy!  Weird vertigo (kinda feeling woozey or like I have sea legs), blurry vision, ringing in my ears, and diarrhea.  It's been super terrifying. After a week on 5mg, I decided to stop and have been having the same weird vision and dizziness issues for 3 weeks now.  I went to my GP who wants me to go to an ENT to get my inner ears checked. She also started me on thyroid and testosterone hormone replacement since they were both low.

 

My questions is could this be withdrawal even though I was only on lexapro for a month? Could something more serious be going on?  Is it just anxiety? I just don't want to get on another drug out of desperation, but I'm starting to feel helpless.

 

2017- lexapro 10mg + Vistaril (for sleep)

2018 - lexapro 10mg + Vistaril (for sleep)

  just to let you know about the testosterone replacement therapy that if you have low T it's going to help with the anxiety and if you had it before always had it you probably would have had anxiety during that time and depression. You can also have anxiety from too much testosterone so there's a fine line. Make sure you're getting your levels tested every 6 months as far as the psych meds go I was on ativan for only 3 weeks and cold turkey off of 1 milligram I got really sick for one week and had to reinstate to taper off two months later. I've been reading you only have to be on these meds for a. Short time to cause changes in the brain and if you just started the hormone replacement therapy is going to take about a month or two just for you to feel that balance the meds take a little while to work

[kc1342]

The testosterone has been a God send for my sleep!  The main reason I got on lexapro the second time was because of terrible insomnia, which disappeared when I got the testosterone pellet.  Now just dealing with the repercussions of restarting the lexapro when my body definitely didn't need it and let me know in a BIG way.

[RusTW]

 make sure you're taking your testosterone about every 3 to 4 days so you're not having Peaks and valleys between each dose some doctors will give you a shot and tell you to come back in 2 or 3 weeks by then the shot is dissipated in your system and you don't have any dose in there. If you're taking other forms of testosterone other than the shots you want to make sure you're getting a constant dose every day so it takes a little bit of math but it's better to figure that out because a lot of doctors don't know about the peak and Valley thing do your research on this drug also because there can be consequences to if not taken correctly and don't ever call Turkey cuz you'll crash

[kc1342]

Thanks for the heads up RusTW! I actually had a pellet (bioTe) put in that lasts 3 months - it's continual release so that you don't have the peaks and valleys you describe.  It's amazing! I will be getting blood work done in 3 weeks to make sure it's the right amount.  My anxiety has actually been pretty good considering I feel kinda crazy with woozey feeling I have off and on all day! 

[RusTW]

 if if you taking testosterone is just as important to be talking to your doctor all the time about the effects. My advice is coming from 20 years of hormone replacement therapy. When they test your hormones there's more than one that they test so make sure that they're testing all the different types of hormones including estrogen if your body is creating too much estrogen while you're taking the testosterone you can develop depression and anxiety also.

[kc1342]

Yes! You are so right - I'm also taking DIM that helps metabolize excess estrogen.  I know when testosterone gets too high, it can aromatize into estrogen.  I was feeling all those woozey weird vision and things before the testosterone, so i know it's not to blame Thank you so much for your insight!

[RusTW]

kc1342  you're welcome good luck on the T therapy it should help you out quite a bit. Good job on doing your research on it. Some days I have nausea all day long with anxiety that was from the cold turkey from Seroquel. Regardless of the withdrawals I'm still taking my testosterone I have a little bit of fear about it but I I know your body needs it if you don't produce it

[RusTW]

I'm kind of curious after these doctors are putting people on psych meds from my understanding most of these people have hormone deficiencies after taking these meds so even if you quit you're still going to have a hormone imbalance so in return more symptoms especially if they don't know what's going on. What a vicious cycle.

[kc1342]

Ugh, I know!  My psychiatrist was actually upset that I had restarted the lexapro (crazy, right?) and she suggested getting the hormone therapy.  She says she has been able to get a ton of her patients off of psyche meds by using the bioTe.  I think a lot of us get on psyche meds in the first place because of our hormones being out of whack and having no idea.

 

All of the women in my family started psyche meds in their 30's due to insomnia, like me... and went down the road of multiple meds without much help.  I wonder if they just happened to have a thyroid, testosterone, or other hormone imbalance that would have avoided psyche meds. 

 

I have thought... did the lexapro toss my hormones out of whack? That is definitely possible.  If only these meds never existed and we actually had help in place that looked at root cause instead of just band aiding symptoms that actually makes you worse in the long run.

[RusTW]

 when I was in my 20s I was put on Prozac but at the same time my testosterone levels were too low so I threw out the Prozac and stayed on the testosterone for numerous years. last year I started having mental issues I think that had to do with my father passing away. I should have just stuck with some type of CBT therapy. My symptoms manifested physically so then I develop health anxiety. From that point I just went from Doctor to doctor looking for answers. You're right I think that hormone therapy is probably the answer in a lot of mental issues but the psychiatric field takes over and pumps the meds into you. My take on it is to get your hormones balanced out and dump the psych meds for good just my opinion though.

[RusTW]

Just just for clarification when I say dump the psych meds I don't mean it literally . we all have to taper so that's a best route. I think it's better to just be off them in due time we have much more control over ourselves.

[kc1342]

I think our society just forces us to keep it together at all times, even when a parent dies (which makes most people anxious and depressed), so we are almost forced to seek out instant help, ie psyche meds.  Instant help is never sustainable, unfortunately.  Your physical symptoms are just a different manifestation of stress, when the HPA axis gets out of whack, it causes bizarre symptoms that look like chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia.  I have found adaptogens to be really helpful for the physical manifestations of stress. I just wished doctors used medication as a last resort instead of a first resort! 

 

I've been off lexapro for about 3 weeks - was only on it for a month the second round because I felt worse on it! The first time I took it, I instantly felt better.  Go figure... I feel like it's the universe telling me, sorry - there is no easy way out. You are just going to have to feel all the feels and help your body learn new skills on how to cope.

[RusTW]

So how are you feeling since you been off the Lexapro. The crazy thing about it is is that my Primary Care Health physician prescribe me Ativan in the same building his wife works as a psychiatrist and she's the one who prescribe the Zyprexa and Seroquel. That was their answer for my physical and mental symptoms was the medication. When I switch back to the Zyprexa after 3 weeks of using the Seroquel she told me that she couldn't help me out because I did that on my own. She told me I was like a diabetic that needed my insulin referring to the psych meds.

[RusTW]

 how are you doing today.

[kc1342]

Hi RusTW!  I'm hanging in there, but not feeling good. I wake up with just a feeling of dread in my gut and just feel out of it all day My husband and I are taking a road trip through the Colorado mountains to YellowStone tomorrow - I'm sure it will do me some good to be in nature.  It's been 4 weeks since I've been off Lexapro and I really thought I would start to feel more like myself by now.

[RusTW]

kc1342   don't worry about speedy recovery.try to make each day the best possible.That's great your going on a road trip.Being outside helps too.Try to make the best of things. having a regular routine helps out quite a bit. I have some good days and some bad days I'm still getting anxiety and nausea from time to time. It seems like the more I think about my symptoms worse I get. I hope you have a good time on your trip you have to let me know how it goes.

 

[kc1342]

You are so right! I just finished reading Buddha brain and that was the premise. Trying not to label feelings or sensations as good or bad, they just are. I know my body is intelligent and will get back to equilibrium. I so appreciate your support!  It feels good to have support from those that understand the struggle. I’ll keep you posted on my trip! Sending you peace and love. 

[RusTW]

Its very hard sometimes.   we have to remember this will pass someday. In the meantime we need to build strong so that when we look back we know that we tried as hard as we could not to let this beat us and stop us from living Our Lives. We will be much stronger when all of this is over with. Plus it's causing us to deal with our mental problems without medication which is what we have to do anyways. I think it's going to be a little bit rough for a while until we learn really who we are without the meds. We have to understand that we're building the foundation for our future mentally by having to go through this stuff. Someday soon hopefully we'll just say oh it's just that . meaning one of our symptoms and it's very minor. Kind of learning to live with it until it goes away.

[RusTW]

 did you make it on your trip I heard that there are fires out that way. How are you doing?

[kc1342]

Hi RusTW!  I just wanted to follow up and you let you that we had the best trip!  Yes, I was definitely having a rough go in the beginning, but slowly started to feel better.  I'm no longer am having those sea legs unbalanced feeling! I still have some floaters in my vision, but my symptoms are definitely slowly getting better. Hooray for small victories!  Also, camping in Yellowstone was amazing.  Thankfully we didn't run into any fires.  How are you holding up?!

[RusTW]

kc1342     very happy to know that you're doing better. It's awesome you're challenging yourself and that you took your camping trip. I'm slowly getting better too I'm in a really good window right now it's giving me a lot of Hope. How have you been feeling since you been back home

[RusTW]

🙂Small victories is what counts