HLem12: could you help me to taper Lexapro?

[HLem12]

Hi. I have been taking Lexapro for 14 years.  I was also taking Clonazepam but I finished tapering that one on January. I didn´t know I had to taper the AD first. I have been reading the posts about that in this forum and I think I made a big mistake by not doing the tapering in the right order, but I will not go back to benzos to help me with SSRI´s withdrawal. 
I started tapering lexapro (15 mg) on february. My original dose was 20 mg but I reduced it before reducing benzos. I had to hold the dose 2 months ago because I started having awful panic attacks. This week I restarted the tapering, but I don´t have a scale. I was just cutting the pills. I restarted the taper from what I think that were  8.5 mg and changed it to 7.5 mg. I´m sure now I´m taking 7.5 mg because I´m taking 3/4 of 1 pill. Each pill is equal to 10 mg.   Now, since I reduced the dose  I´ve been feeling really bad: vertigo, crying spells, more fear, a lot of depression, and other symptoms. I´d like to know if changing the dose from 8.5 to 7.5 was too much. I have benzos withdrawal, I´m feeling really bad already, but I don´t know if reducing 10 mg of Lexapro each month is OK.
I also want to ask how do I switch from pills to drops. Do I have to get a 10mg solution? How many milliliters are equal to 1 mg?  How many milliliters would I need to take?  
I´m sorry if I´m asking silly questions but I have a lot of mental confusion because of benzos withdrawal.
Thanks for reading this post.

P.S.: I´m sorry if my english is not very good.

 

[Songbird]

Hi HLem12, welcome to SA.  Your English looks fine to me.  Yes, we can help you taper Lexapro, and I'm glad you've found us in time to get the tapering information you'll need.  I wouldn't worry about having tapered the benzo first, and I think you're right about not going back on a benzo.

 

To help us to help you,  please 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 allows us see your situation easily without having to read your topic 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.

 

I think it may have been better to wait longer after the benzo taper before beginning the Lexapro taper, and you may have tapered Lexapro too quickly as well, resulting in your current withdrawal symptoms.  Not being able to measure doses accurately is also not ideal.  Your best option may be to stop tapering and hold at your current dose for a good long while until your system stabilises.  If you are able to measure the 7.5mg dose accurately by cutting then you could continue with this, otherwise a scale can be a good option to measure doses by weighing.  You can buy suitable scales fairly cheaply online.  See:  Using a digital scale to measure doses.  When you're ready to continue tapering we can help you with how to create a liquid.  Some people find their systems notice the difference when switching to liquid, so we generally suggest switching over gradually to allow the body to adapt to the change.

 

Please post all your updates and questions about your situation here in your introduction topic, and we will try to help you as best we can.

[pattypan]

On 6/22/2019 at 1:32 PM, HLem12 said:

Hi. I have been taking Lexapro for 14 years.  I was also taking Clonazepam but I finished tapering that one on January. I didn´t know I had to taper the AD first. I have been reading the posts about that in this forum and I think I made a big mistake by not doing the tapering in the right order, but I will not go back to benzos to help me with SSRI´s withdrawal. 
I started tapering lexapro (15 mg) on february. My original dose was 20 mg but I reduced it before reducing benzos. I had to hold the dose 2 months ago because I started having awful panic attacks. This week I restarted the tapering, but I don´t have a scale. I was just cutting the pills. I restarted the taper from what I think that were  8.5 mg and changed it to 7.5 mg. I´m sure now I´m taking 7.5 mg because I´m taking 3/4 of 1 pill. Each pill is equal to 10 mg.   Now, since I reduced the dose  I´ve been feeling really bad: vertigo, crying spells, more fear, a lot of depression, and other symptoms. I´d like to know if changing the dose from 8.5 to 7.5 was too much. I have benzos withdrawal, I´m feeling really bad already, but I don´t know if reducing 10 mg of Lexapro each month is OK.
I also want to ask how do I switch from pills to drops. Do I have to get a 10mg solution? How many milliliters are equal to 1 mg?  How many milliliters would I need to take?  
I´m sorry if I´m asking silly questions but I have a lot of mental confusion because of benzos withdrawal.
Thanks for reading this post.

P.S.: I´m sorry if my english is not very good.

 

I am in the same boat! 
Also tapering my Lexapro and ( maybe) completed my Clonzepam taper. 
Best of LUCK!

it's a rough road but will be worth it!!