Godsave: Lexapro withdrawal and reinstatement

[Godsave]

Hi @Arieland others pls help 

 

currently I am still holding at 5 mg .

suddenly I was anxious about something and I got my depression symptoms weeping and now I am having some intrusive thoughts and anxiety .

I am going outside and also going for walks regularly 5 km on most of the days and is able to do my house work and cooking 

 

but suddenly I also feel hopeless and anxious thoughts .

 

please support me and guide me in my journey and I need some positive feedback and stories to help me in my journey 

 

really now I regret for my stupid mistake of reinstatement 

once upon a time I was good even in 2.5 and also at 0 .

but now really I am stuck up and don’t know when I would be able to slowly take action to quit 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🌺

 

please help me 🙏🏼🙏🏼

 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

Q:  Have you being drinking alcohol, been sick, had a course of antibiotics, stressful events (eg death of loved one, friend, pet, moving, relationship, job or financial issues)?

 

Any of the above can cause a worsening of symptoms.

[Godsave]

Hi @ChessieCat

 

thank you for your reply .

No I am not an alcohol drinker or no stressful events but I had household works and was so busy  in  house for the past months and breakfast was skipped most of the time .

and also I am in menopause for the past two years 

might be this had some triggers ? 

 

[ChessieCat]

15 minutes ago, Godsave said:

but I had household works and was so busy  in  house for the past months

 

This might have caused some stress on your nervous system without you realising it.

[Godsave]

Oh kk .. thank you very much for the follow up and reply . 
I will take care . 
would menopause make the symptoms worse still . 
 

I am really praying hard let god to give me strength and hope to slowly taper again with all of your support 🙏🏼. 

[Godsave]

Hi @Ariel

hope you are doing good .

 

I can say I am not fully stabilised as I have brain fog and the mornings are dreadful at times . But I am praying very hard and am still in the same 5 mg .

 

I think I have to wait for a few more months .

at present some days are better and most of the days for the past month is like having anxiety and depression symptoms in the morning .

I am continuing and managing .

but really I can say I should have stayed in that 2.5 mg and ATLEAST Would have stabilised now .

 

kindly share some thoughts .

 

thank you 🙏🏼

[Frogie]

On 9/11/2022 at 4:15 PM, Godsave said:

would menopause make the symptoms worse still . 

Menopause can play into the wd symptoms because your body is yet going through something different.  You might find something helpful in this topic:

 

I haven't read it myself, but I know a lot of women suffer from menopause during wd.

 

Have you stabilized at all on the 5 mg?

[Godsave]

Hi @Ariel

and other mods pls help me .

still I am holding at 5 mg .

but I can say that this is not helping me much at this point . But still I am rowing the bot .

Everyday I continue my house hold works and 5 km walk .

but for the past few months I was overworking with my house and also I made walks . 
had morning breakfast by 12 .

hope this would have triggered my nerves .

so now my mornings are Like very slow breathing unable to concentrate and also I have some anxiety due to this and also at times I am hopeless and stuck up .

ruminating 😢 

 

please help me mods .

I think now I realised my mistake of reinstatement so many times .

 

kindly pls share your advice all of you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Frogie]

@Godsave

 

Since you have been on 5 mg since October 2021, you could try a small taper. Maybe try 5% and see if that might help?

 

Let me know.

[Godsave]

@Frogie

thank you for your suggestions and follow up . 
sure I will try that small cut .

and will update you soon 

 

thank you so much 🙏🏼

[Frogie]

@Godsave

 

Just a small 5% taper might help. It will take 7-10 days for your body to register the taper fully in your bloodstream, so just be patient with it and we will see if that helps.

[Godsave]

@Frogie

sure I will try that and will let u know .

mornings are now very hopeless but definitely I will go slow and steady this time and I need all of your hope and support to taper and quit please 🙏🏼🙏🏼
 

give me hope that I can do it !! 
now definitely I regret my last mistakes of upping rather than holding at the same 2.5 

 

thanks all of you for your support always 🙏🏼
 

 

 

[Frogie]

@Godsave

 

You may feel a few bumps, but hopefully this taper will help even you out a little.

 

 

[Godsave]

Hi @Frogie

sure I will slowly taper it and will accept that I will have some bumps .

I will let u know .

 

thank you so much for your support 🙏🏼

[Frogie]

@Godsave

 

Keep us posted as to how you do.

 

[Godsave]

@Frogie

can u pls let me know if what was ur dosage u begin with and finally quit that hell !! 

Sure I will update you 👍

 

[mdwstrx]

@Godsave

I'm popping in from my page since you asked for my input. I'm not a moderator; therefore I'm not qualified to give advice. This is especially so since all of our stories are different. I can tell you what happened to me. I crashed in 2018 after the doctor told me to stop at 2.5mg. I was only off the drug for 5 days when I reinstated. It took 5 months of disabling withdrawal before I stabilized at 7.5 mg. Since then, I've been tapering very slowly using the BrassMonkey Slide method at 10% monthly until I got very low. I'm now only able to taper between 1% and 2% monthly. It's a slow process and still difficult after a cut but manageable. 

 

I'm sorry you're suffering so. I followed the mod's advice on this site to the letter and it helped me. I believe if you do, it will help you as well. I'm praying things improve for you in very short time.

md

💜

[Godsave]

@mdwstrx

 

thank you so much for your reply and your prayers

💜

 

yes .. definitely I have learnt s as nd struggled so much .. and now in my 5mg still . 
 

Take  care 

 

 

[Godsave]

Hi all 

pls help me .

still I am at 5 mg lexapro.

but I can say that I am too tired mostly and also morning tiredness is extreme with sweating a lot shallow breathing and exhausted 

feeling nauseated at times .

I am very frightened of heart palpitations and shallow breathing .

I wanted to start tapering but now as I am not so well coping i have not started my next taper .

please guide me in my journey 

really v scared of palpitations and tiredness and leg cramps 

thank you 🙏🏼 

[manymoretodays]

Hi Godsave,

 

Is there anything else going on now to explain the new symptoms? 

Have you been to the GP, regular doctor at all recently?  Just in case, it's something outside of tapering and WD.  Are you perimenopausal or menopausal?  Sometimes that explains the sweats for some.

 

Are these all new symptoms?

And if so, for how long?

 

Were you able to do a decrease by 5% of your current dose?

Here's the Lexapro tapering topic, which is invaluable, in helping to get doses that are non-standard.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/406-tips-for-tapering-off-escitalopram-lexapro/

 

And then to calculate a 5% drop from 5 mg:

5 mg X .95 = 4.75, which represents the new dose of 4.75mg, or a 5% taper from 5 mg

 

When do you take your Lexapro currently?

Any new drugs or supplements added recently?

 

Hang in there sweetie.  Healing is just around the next bend.

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

Edited September 29, 2022 by manymoretodays
5% taper calculation added

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

thank you for your follow ups and reply .

yes I am in menopause for the past 2 yrs . 
 

I had  been to GP recently for my lower back pain and he did a complete blood test and I was having vitamin d deficiency as per his advice took but d tablets for a month .

after that I stopped the vit d but regularly I am consuming omega 3 tablets.

 

apart from that I can say I had much house work for the pas 4 months and the sweating is too profuse for the last 6 months and always I do swear a lot with lexapro .

still I haven’t stared my taper yet and yes I am aware of the tapering schedule as you have mentioned.

 

I thought of tapering but as my physical symptoms are extreme tirednesses body and leg muscle pain also nausea at times . 
I thought of waiting for some more months .

 

one more symptom is the palpitations which makes me scared too .

 

I am also in menopause so kindly advice me my next move.

 

thank you 

 

 

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

 

i also wanted to let u know that my 

HsCRP was high !! 
CRP is 24.5 

I can say that now my sweating has increased and recently I am so tired 

 

I am

just taking the whole of 5 mg by morning 10 o clock and omega 3 

I was low in vitamin D my GP prescribed vit D 1000 mg for a month and I stopped . 

 

pls all of you share your thoughts about this  levels of CRP. 

is it highly dangerous 

 

 

thank you very much 🙏🏼

[manymoretodays]

Hi Godsave,

So same dose of Lexapro since August 2020.  And you take it consistently at 10 am each day?

No additional medications.

You can look up side effects of Lexapro at Drugs.com  Use the search box at the top, and then familiarize yourself with those as well.

Use self care too Godsave.  Or take good care of self.  Any chance you can get help with excessive housework?  And take the rest that you need to.

 

We're not a medical site per se.  So you do need to take some of this back to your doctor, and see what they think.  It may not be related to Lexapro or tapering at all.  I don't know, I'm not a doctor.

I did look up hsCRP, and CRP however, and I think it's important than that you follow up with your GP, for at least further labwork, to look for other possible markers of heart disease......and then possibly with a cardiologist.  I did read that it is unknown, as far as reliability-or relationship with cardiac disease.....and so it may be a newer test too and again, may need further study.  the hsCRP should be backed up with further labwork for cardiac disease, and then further studies if required.

That's your doctors job.

 

The regular CRP, if high, seems to be a marker of an inflammatory response, which could go with so many illnesses, or a bacterial infection.  So again, further work ups with your doctor.

 

And perhaps a second test, as if it's inflammation, and not cardiac related.....when the regular CRP goes down......then that's a good sign that the body has done it's work, and is now recovering.

 

Take it easy, take good care of self.  Keep us updated too please.

 

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

 

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

 

thank you so much for your detailed explanations and suggestions regarding my hs CRP.

I will do the follow up with my doctor.

and also will take good care and rest .

 

 Thank you 

[Altostrata]

Is it very hot where you live? Is it possible that you have covid-19?

 

What effect did vitamin D supplementation have on you and why did you stop? Do you have any other nutritional deficiencies, such as low B12 or folate?

 

We can't address general medical conditions, which would be indicated by high CRP. That is not usually related to antidepressant withdrawal. 

[Frogie]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:11 AM, Frogie said:

@Godsave

 

Just a small 5% taper might help. It will take 7-10 days for your body to register the taper fully in your bloodstream, so just be patient with it and we will see if that helps.

I sent this to you and advised to do a 5% taper and se if that would help. Did you do this? I'm not a medical professional, so I don't know anything about a high CP. I'm sorry.

[Godsave]

@Frogie

hi 

 

still I have not done the 5% taper.

waiting for my liquid prescription.

I can get this only through my physchiatrist.

i will go to india in Dec and planning to see my dr and get the liquid as here I can’t get it as off line .

 

definitely I will try the taper soon . 

members pls advise if others experienced heart palpitations and sweats frequently.

 

now I could say that when I was in a lower dose reply I was okay . And now after reinstatement I feel it is not worth at all .

 

again baby steps has to be taken .

with all of your support 🙏🏼🙏🏼

 

thank you so much 

Godsave 
 

[manymoretodays]

Hi again Godsave,

And yes, palpations are unfortunately a pretty common WD symptom.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1868-irregular-heartbeats-palpitations-tachycardia-bradycardia/

and then:

Also:

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7174-heart-pounding-but-not-racing/

 

 

And then on the sweating:

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15357-waking-up-in-a-sweat-sweating-antidepressants-and-withdrawal/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/22977-night-sweats/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/25108-body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/

 

Sorry as I didn't mention that your symptoms are also symptoms that many do experience in WD.  And you may still be experiencing some of the autonomic dysfunction from your early attempt to get off Lexapro.  It's part of the WD picture.

 

That high CRP is more of a medical issue though, for you to check with your doctor on.

 

When you do go from solid form to liquid, we do suggest that you do that gradually, while not making any other changes.  See:

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/25691-cross-over-changing-form-eg-tablet-to-liquid-of-drug-or-changing-brand-of-same-drug/

 

And best.  L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

 

 

 

 

[Frogie]

@Godsave

 

When you receive your liquid prescription you will need enough pills to transition over to the liquid. You can not just stop the pills and move to liquid.

 

Week 1: 3/4 tablet 1/4 liquid

Week 2: 1/2 tablet 1/2 liquid

Week 3: 1/4 tablet 3/4 liquid

Week 4: All liquid

 

Then you will want to hold for a good 4 weeks on the liquid before you start tapering.

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

thanknyou so much for your follow ups and the links 🙏🏼

 

I can understand better what I am experiencing now .

 

please give me hope all of you that I can start my slow taper again very slowly but this time very carefully.

all those old attempts have brought me a huge setback and fear with all of your moral support I should be able to do it 🙏🏼

is there any method to cut those tablets very very minute and reduce it ? Like small fractions can we just scratch it at the end and taper ?

 

or will it also cause errors 

 

please advice me 

thank you so much all of you 

godsave
 

 

 

[manymoretodays]

I think you should follow up with your doctor first on the labwork, the CRP and CRPhs.

 

And then if you do have the option to get liquid, that you should do that, with a careful cross over.  As then you will be able to do more precise measurements for your taper, with less error.

 

And then you can make a 5% or even a 2.5% drop for your first taper too.

 

We'll be here to help support you.

 

That's my opinion anyway.  It also might make sense to try and restart tapering before you move in December.  You've got a couple of months before December comes.

 

More on methods to taper:

Important topics in the Tapering forum and FAQ

Scroll down in the first post of that topic, to see the headings(and contents)- Preparing to taper and also Methods of Tapering.

Here's what Alto says on filing or shaving a tablet:

  

On 4/19/2011 at 7:52 PM, Altostrata said:

Did I go wrong with my nailfile? Filing or shaving a tablet
Filing a tablet is popular but inexact. Taking a liquid is more consistent and reliable.

 

And best, L, P, H, and G,

mmt

Edited October 4, 2022 by manymoretodays

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

 

sure I will look into my CRP and hsCRP issues  first before I start to taper down .

 

I will also try to do a small taper before I go to see my dr .

 

but she always doesn’t understand what I go through and she just scribble some more of benzodiazepines to me .

 

which definitely I will never ever touch 🙏🏼

this 5 mg is so so so hard into my life for tapering and I have learnt so many things out of the mistakes I have done 🙏🏼

 

I just wanted to go and see her to refill my 5 mg liquid .

 

whenver I ask her for withdrawing she will simply say just cut into 2.5 then stop .

 

which I did to my stupidity when I was in my 2.5 mg .

 

thank you all so much for your support 🙏🏼

 

Godsave 

[manymoretodays]

Godsave,

You don't have to talk to your doctor about withdrawal if that just doesn't go well.

Read the first couple of posts here:

How to talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal? What to expect.

Or perhaps, how not to talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal.  For many of us it's been hard, and they don't seem to want to understand, or read up on it.  You can go ahead and get your liquid escitalopram/Lexapro, and cross over, and then get started with a micro-taper.  You could also do half of your dose in liquid, and half with the solid, and then taper from the liquid portion of your dose.

 

I think that is gone over in the Lexapro tapering topic.

Tips for tapering off escitalopram(Lexapro)

 

And then, do begin to utilize some non-drug coping too.  So many good practices can be found in the Symptoms and Self Care forum

you could start looking at the indexed list in the first post of this topic:

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

Pick one or two calming practices to practice and try.  Then report back here how you did, if they helped.

 

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

[Godsave]

Hi @manymoretodays

 

Felt so grateful for people like you who spend so much of your time to follow up with people like me and really I thank you so much for the links will definitely follow that before I go and see my doctor and be prepared . 
 

 

my CRP   24.5 mg/L 

is really bothering for me .

I went to see my GP for lower back pain and joint pain and a blood test showed this .

 

I was not aware of this until I googled and it was a really shocking for me .

my vitamin d levels were low too 15.1 ng/L was prescribed for vit D3 1000 units 

 

just this week I have started to quit sugar and eat an anti inflammatory diet as far as possible . 
 

GP said depression itself would produce inflammation as such .

 

kindly give me hope 

thank you 

 

Godsave 
 

 

 

Hi  @Frogie

 

thank you so much for the tapering schedule and follow ups sent I will follow your advice 👍

 

Thank you 

Godsave 

 

 

[Altostrata]

On 10/2/2022 at 1:42 PM, Altostrata said:

Is it very hot where you live? Is it possible that you have covid-19?

 

What effect did vitamin D supplementation have on you and why did you stop? Do you have any other nutritional deficiencies, such as low B12 or folate?

 

We can't address general medical conditions, which would be indicated by high CRP. That is not usually related to antidepressant withdrawal. 

 

Please answer these questions.

[Godsave]

Hi 

@Altostrata

i had omicron variant but that was in March  2022 

whereas my blood report was on 11/02/2022 

after that I haven’t done my blood report yet .

will do it shortly 

 

my vitamin d was 15 and my doc advised me to take 

vit D3 for only one month  and after that I stopped thinking that it should be okay .

I was not aware of this CRP and just when I had severe exhaustion I googled and I found out that my CRP was high 

 

the GP generally told da s that if we have depression the CRP would be high and he asked me to continue with that lexapro 5 mg dose .

 

but for the past  one week  I am taking my vitamin D3 along with omega concentrated fish oil and vitamin E .

 

taking curcumin for my inflammation and has cut down sugar .

 

I am in menopause for the past 2 years and would it be the reason for my high CRP . 

I am a regular walker most of the days 5 km . 
would it trigger inflammation. ?? 

I will again rule out the levels with my blood test .

 

thank you so much for your follow ups 🙏🏼

kindly share me your suggestions 

 

thank you 

Godsave