MariusP95: Lexapro cold turkey after 6 weeks

[MariusP95]

Hello,my name is Marius,i'm from Roumania,my english is not my native language so expect some mistakes.

 

A little about me:

 

23 year old male,i deal with Social Anxiety Disorder,Generalized Anxiety Disorder,Agrophobia,i find difficult to deal with strangers,specially at talking with them due to my SAD,very awkard on crowded places,like malls,shops.

 

I've been tried differents meds for those diseases or illness listed above,my first treatment was with Xanax during my High-School,it did help though,but i did became dependent on him so i tappered off in 2015 after 4 years of use,withdrawals from Xanax was hell,but i stayed strong and somehow i made it.

 

Now,lets talk about Anti-depressants,back in January of this year,i decided to visit an Doctor regarding my SAD/GAD in a hope to change my life,boy i was so naive to belive that,so in January i got an prescription with Zoloft 50mg / day along with Klonopin (as needed) and Valproate accid (Depakine),so i begin this treatment in a hope to change my life....well that didn't working so good,i remember i called my doctor after one week in,tell him that i feel worse,pupils dilated,agiation,muscle tension,anxiety skyrocket,and in general i was worse,he told me to hang on,since its normal to feel worse at begining,so i did it,three weeks later no improvements,so i got angry and went off zoloft cold turkey,most withdrawal lasted for 3-4 weeks,then i slowly feel better again,but somehow different,not 100% fully recoverd.

 

Time went on,i remember i still use Klonopin on some occasion,to hold up with anxiety,on social events,but mostly i avoided taking Klonopin due to my awarness of benzos tolerance/withdrawals,so sometimes i better drink some alcohol instead of benzos to cope with my SAD on social events.

Back in September,exactly in 14.09,i decided to give anti-depressants another try,since i read on internet,that if one medication its not working,you should try another one,after some research,i found Lexapro,listed as one with fewer side effects and better tolerated by body/brain,so i decided to give  a try.

 

At first,5mg for one week,seemed to be okay,no big side effects,upped my dosage to 10mg on second week,and stayed there,then weeks passed and i started feeling worse day by day, i started take it Ativan to manage my agitation/anxiety elevated by Lexapro,i belived that lexapro will help with SAD/GAD,so i no longer needed to take  benzos/alcohol on social events,boy i was wrong again,in the last week,i founded myself taking Ativan everyday to help with anxiety/agitation caused by Lexapro,i got angry and went off cold turkey because i was worse,and taking benzos again ? then for what i started lexapro ? just for taking it for make me feel worse ?

 

So basically,i ended up again on endure SSRI withdrawals again,first time with Zoloft and now with Lexapro.

My research about lexapro,with i did it not so long ago,revealed that Escitalopram is far more potent than Zoloft,at some targets (serotonin receptors),and have strongest molecule than other SSRI's,it also have longer half-life than Zoloft.

 

So here is my question , in fact  Lexapro withdrawal will be far more worse than Zoloft ? and it will last much longer ?

 

Now im started dealing with withdrawal,so far my simptoms are:

 

1.Anxiety

2.Agitations

3.Restless hands and foots.

4.Slight Headaches,specially at ears.

5.Some numbness in my  mouth and in other parts of my body.

6.Slight brain zaps,less intense (on Zoloft was worse,and it happened after one/two day) in fact they appeared today.

7.Slight brain fog.

8.Stuttered or slowed speach,i find it hard,and when i speak,my words came slowly,and i stutter.

 

I feel that those symptoms come and go through day,they may feel severe for a time,then on some occasions they tend fade away a bit,but i can still feel them.

So far, i managed to get through day,and poping some low dose of Ativan,Phenobarbital,Lyrica,and Inderall. I don't take them all at once,just pick em up day by day,for example one day i take 0.5mg of Ativan,another day i take 75mg of Lyrica,other day low dose of phenobarbital,then in another day i just skip GABA drugs and take 10mg of Inderall,i do that so i can function through the day and cope with withdrawal from Lexapro,but even with those drugs i still have trouble with W/D from Lexapro.

 

Why im taking/switching those GABA meds/Inderal everyday ? to avoid dependence on them,and avoiding another W/D from them.

 

Anyway from tomorrow i will try to relly just on fish oil with i ordered and i will get it tomorrow  in morning,also im waiting for L-theanine / Magnesium Glicinate to arrive this week,so i can totally avoid GABA drugs/Inderall.

 

And yea,i don't have a plan to reinstate Lexapro,and tapper off slowly,im done with AD's,right now im hoping to pass W/D from Lexapro,then i will continue with suppliments listed above,to manage my anxiety,also Tianeptine Sodium,with i take it from 2015 to 2018,and i have been on and off that nootropic, i will continue take it from time to time,since i didn't get addicted to him,and 12.5 mg twice a day seemed ok,i remember i took him even only once a day and was effective for me.

 

I'm wonder how long i will deal with Lexapro W/D,since i was on it for 6 weeks, well 5 weeks on 10 mg,only time will tell.

 

And yup,i will post my updates there,if someone is interested.

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Altostrata
mod note and spacing

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Marius.

 

How long were you taking Lexapro this last time around? How long were you taking Ativan? Are you still taking Ativan?

 

Tianeptine is classified as an antidepressant, how often do you take it? What is your daily drug schedule -- times of day and dosages?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature

 

[MariusP95]

Hello,well i went cold turkey from Lexapro on 3 November,so i don't have any plans to reinstate him.

About Ativan,i take this almost daily on last weeks when i was still take Lexapro too,after i quit taking Lexapro,i slowly avoided taking Ativan too,and my future plans is to avoid take Ativan or Benzos in generaly,though i will still keep benzos in case of emergency only.

Tianeptine,well is an AD but this is acting differently on me,and is one smart drug for me,because i didn't experienced any W/D from him,and never abused him,on last schedule i took him only once a day for maybe a month,then stop him without any problems.

I will write my history on signature,importants events only + active drugs that i wil still take them as needed or ocassionally.

 

Now lets talk about my W/D symptoms from Lexapro.

I'm currently 5 day off,of this Lexapro,my W/D seems to fluctuate,along with symptoms,though today this morning i was somehow calm for about two hours,before anxiety/agitation increased slowly over hours,reaching its maximum peak at dusk,also brain zaps appear only at dusk don't know why, i got some mood swings very recently,i started laughing at my dog,because i found him funny,then brain zaps along with W/D symptoms got down,now im feeling somehow calm,this is strange,sometimes i feel W/D very intense,then quickly get down,and i start to feel a bit calm,its like waves,they come and go.

[MariusP95]

Today was almost like yesterday,though symptoms today are less intense,waves still come and go,brain zaps are still appearing at evening,this really strange to me.

My symptoms are :

1.Agitation along with muscle spasticity and jerky movements (hate this one).

2.Anxiety,but this is somehow lower in the last two days .

3.Slight brain fog.

4.Ears tingling along with an ocasional headaches.

5.Slight mood-swings.but without depression ?

6.Brain zaps at evenings,where they appeared to be more intense,i also hate them,because they're annoying,when its happens,my parts of my body experience some slight numbness,specially tongue.

 

[MariusP95]

Another wave of W/D hit me a bit ago,brain zaps are awful,they are bit intense than those who i got when i CT Zoloft,one zaps bassically was wrost,almost lost my balance for a bit,nearly put me on the ground,then for 5 seconds my ears started to tingling intense then stop,now im again in agitation states along with jerky movements (all my muscle started to move unvoluntary).

[MariusP95]

One week has passed since i went cold turkey of lexapro,in the last two days,i experienced that my W/D symptoms appears now through day too,not just evenings like it happened before.

My symptoms so far are:

-Anxiety/Agitation along with jerky movements ( yeah i shake a lot).

-Braing fog that  became more intense today.

-Slight brain zaps during the day now,not so intense but they're still so awfull.

-Some numbness in my tongue,and other parts of the body.

 

Withdrawal seems to increase,i don't know how long will last,its still affects my  daily routine in some manners,it may suck yes,but i hope i will get better next week.
So far the withdrawal from Lexapro its maybe a bit worse than that one from Zoloft,maybe it will last longer,time will tell that.

[MariusP95]

I did some test today lately,about alcohol and SSRI withdrawals.

I drink 500ml of wine glases every 15 minutes,in total 3 glases each,so almost 1.5 L of wine,

The wine have effectiveness on lower my anxiety/agitaton & jerky movements,but a slight reduction of brain zaps,they are still there,you can feel them,so there is a slight reduction of W/D symptoms for a time in my case,but i'd still not recomend it as a cope to avoid W/D symptoms from SSRI's,you better let you brain recover alone,without drugs / alcohol.

I'm really sure that i wlll get some relief next week though,so if you do not exced 3 months on SRRI's,your  W/D should only take it 3-4 weeks.

[manymoretodays]

1 hour ago, MariusP95 said:

The wine have effectiveness on lower my anxiety/agitaton & jerky movements,but a slight reduction of brain zaps,they are still there,you can feel them,so there is a slight reduction of W/D symptoms for a time in my case,but i'd still not recomend it as a cope to avoid W/D symptoms from SSRI's,you better let you brain recover alone,without drugs / alcohol.

 

Hi MariusP95,

What you describe......your method of 500 mL of wine every 15 minutes X3..........well.......that's what we, in the U.S. would describe/call "chugging".  And in my book of experience, Alcohol, in any form is a CNS(central nervous system) depressant.  I think you are only further delaying any recovery/healing by experimenting with such right now.

 

Yes, you do have a wonderful opportunity now to experience full healing from A/D's.  And finding non drug coping skills for the various transitions, that most of us have to make in life.

How's the social anxiety now?  I see you mentioned that as your reason for seeking treatment.

 

I don't know.  I don't think you will have to totally abstain from social drinking.......sometime in the future.  For now though, and it does look like you concluded the same.........you might consider really living healthy........in all you do.  What you eat, drink,  who you associate with, how much exercise and sunlight exposure you get.........those all come to mind.

 

And yes.....do update us. 

1 hour ago, MariusP95 said:

W/D should only take it 3-4 weeks.

Interesting conclusion.  You are a week out now.  There does seem to be a lot of individual variation to this.  Sometimes, W/D(withdrawal) symptoms hit months after discontinuing medication/drugs.   

Have you rid yourself of your benzo supply as well?

Do take a look, if you'd like, at our symptom and self care area.  You may find some new coping tools there.  Symptoms and self care.

What is withdrawal syndrome?

You might be interested in this ^ too.

 

Wishing you the best.

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

mmt

Edited November 10, 2018 by manymoretodays
additional link

[MariusP95]

Hello manymoretodays,

Well i was just curious about how alcohol could interact with my W/D from Lexparo or SSRI's in generally,the feelings are almost the same,i got a nice buzz,euphoria,well being sense,more social,anxiety/agitation is gone while i'm drunk,no needed to explain further,we all know how we feel when we are drunk / tipsy.

 

" How's the social anxiety now? "

Well i don't know what to say about this,since im still dealing with W/D from Lexapro, and anxiety is still there almost every minute now,even when im not in situations where my SAD got triggered,maybe after i will get some relief from W/D i could tell you how is my SAD.

 

2 hours ago, MariusP95 said:

W/D should only take it 3-4 weeks.

Interesting conclusion.  You are a week out now.  There does seem to be a lot of individual variation to this.  Sometimes, W/D(withdrawal) symptoms hit months after discontinuing medication/drugs.   "

This my theory, i may be wrong or correct, but the shorter you stay on a drug, the W/D should take almost exactly amount of time as you was on it (on the drug) or even shorter if your body is healthy and young ,so if you take this drug for three months in a row,then don't expect to get free from W/D in 3-4 weeks.

So the longer you take a drug,the longer your W/D & recovery will be,and in the second hand this is also affected also by your body age, if you're older,your W/D will last even more than a young person.

 

 " Have you rid yourself of your benzo supply as well? "

Not yet,but i will do,since i don't have any plans to mess up my GABA receptors again in the future.

My better alternative to benzos is beta-blockers,where im planned to take em a short amount of time,when i wlll begin a new job in December.

Beta-blockers are verry effective on my SAD,i just tried them for three times this week,they block almost all my psyhical symptoms (shakines,voice stutters,jerky movements),and left my mind clear,where i can work,and improve my skills in social events.
Of course in the future,my plans are to be drug free,it will be a long way to achive that,but nothing its not imposibile and i will do my best to achive that.

 

Supliments  on the other hand,i will still take them ocassionaly,like vitamins and magnesium.once a year at least.
 

 

[MariusP95]

A bit of update,my W/D seems to get a bit easier from this point,i don't know how to explain that,but im a bit better now,still not 100% recovered,but about 15-20 %

Brain zaps has been decreased in their activity,they are now less intense,and less frequent,maybe a good sign ?

[ChessieCat]

Any improvement in withdrawal symptoms is a good sign.  However, please be aware that they can return, or you might get different ones.  I'm not telling you this to scare you, but I want you to understand so that you are prepared.

 

Healing isn't linear.  Please see these topics:

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

This video helped me to understand:  Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

[MariusP95]

I didn't feel well at all after my first W/D from Zoloft,that explain a lot,thx for informations.

 

[ChessieCat]

Knowing what might be withdrawal symptoms can also help:  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

It also helps if you get a "toolbox" of non drug coping techniques that you can use.

 

LINKS:

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

Dr Claire Weekes suffered from anxiety and learned and taught ways of coping.  There are videos available on YouTube.

 

Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for anxiety, depression

 

Audio:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)
 

CBT Course:  An Introductory Self-Help Course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
 

Audio:  How to Recover from Anxiety - Dr Claire Weekes
 

Anxiety Stuff - all kinds of stuff about anxiety attacks and things that help ...
 

Resources:  Centre for Clinical Interventions (PDF modules that you can work through, eg:  Depression, Distress Intolerance, Health Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, Panic Attacks, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Social Anxiety, Worrying)

[MariusP95]

Good morning,well at least at me is morning,i still feel somehow calm when i woke up hehehe.

W/D is still there though,but way less intense,i think fish oil  + valerian root helps a lot,also today i will receive my magnesium glycinate 500mg pills,along with L-theanine and askwghanda.

[ChessieCat]

It's a good idea to research anything you are considering taking.  The only 2 supplements that SA recommends are Magnesium and Omega-3 Fish Oil.  It is best to try a small amount, one at a time to see how it affects you.  If you start 2 new things at the same time and you get worse, you will not know what has caused it.  Keep it Simple, Slow and Stable

 

There are many existing topics on this site where members discuss their experiences.  I like to use google and add survivingantidepressants.org to my search term:

 

ashwagandha

 

valerian-root

 

l-theanine

[MariusP95]

you're great moderator chessiecat,thanks for share with me those links,really helpful,to see other experiences with those suppliments.

So bassically i should continue with fish oil and valerian root until im run out, then start magnesium with either l-theanine or ashwgandha , im right ?

[ChessieCat]

12 hours ago, ChessieCat said:

The only 2 supplements that SA recommends are Magnesium and Omega-3 Fish Oil.

 

"i should continue with fish oil and valerian root until im run out, then start magnesium with either l-theanine or ashwgandha , im right ?"

 

My personal opinion is that you it might be better if you stop the valerian root and do not take the Ashwagandha.

 

Keep taking the fish oil.  After about 1 week you could start the magnesium.  But keep taking the fish oil.

 

It might be okay to keep taking the L-Theanine.  Some members find that something works for a while but afterwards it stops working or it makes things worse.

 

It is best to only make 1 change at a time.

[MariusP95]

Update (from 12.11 to today).

I was still have some slight brain zaps,and agitation / anxiety,though those symptoms seems to fade away slowly,day by day,sign of recover ! :).

No mood-swings,depression or other symptoms that maybe other have.

I started today,Magnesium glycinate 500mg + ashwagandha 500mg both of them take once a day, fish  oil + valerian root its stopped now,L-theanine i will take this after two weeks of ashwangadha.

I still took one day (13.11) one phenobarbital pill,and the next day (14.11) 1mg of Ativan,and yesterday 0.5mg of Ativan,because i worked so i didn't wanted to get to much stressed.

Today in the morning i will take just suppliments,no more GABA meds for a whille.

 

[MariusP95]

Two weeks passed,and i finally see the  light at the end of tunnel,most symptoms are starting to fade away day by day, im 50% recovered.

Anxiety is at low now,aswell as agitation/jerky movements,brain zaps are mostly gone.

No signs of depression,mood-swings,or other typical symptoms from W/D.

[MariusP95]

Update.

Most of symptoms are gone huh,right now im feeling a bit tiredness,sleepy and i feel my brain its flooded with serotonin ? because thats how i feel today,slight euphoric,in a good well mood.

So bassically my W/D duration was for two weeks and some days,soon i will mark 3 weeks.

[MariusP95]

Today im one month free of Cipralex (Lexapro),most of my withdrawal symptoms faded away,i do still have there and there some moments where i do still feel slight brain zaps,mostly happens when im a bit too tired (at night).

Magnesium 500mgs and ashwagandha 500mg i do still take them,since they are really help me with my SAD and GAD in some ways,ashwagandha its help me most,especially in morning,it lower my cortisol levels,so mornings for me are very calm and pacefully.