matt6558: Is this Lexapro withdrawal or illness?

[matt6558]

Hi there! 

Thanks for your help! 

 

I took lexapro for about 5 months (Jan 2020-June 2020 including 1 month of taper) for some physical symptoms I was going through last year Oct- this year Jan. The physical symptoms included lump in my throat, racing heart beat that came on for no particular reasons, headache... so my doctor put me on lexapro starting at 5mg for about 1.5 months and the dosage was increased up to 10 mg for 2 months). Two weeks into medication, I developed physical symptoms including weak legs (thighs), sluggishness, vivid dreams,  jaw muscle pain, muscle twitching. First I thought they were some side effects that would go away, but they never went away during my medication.  At two months into medication,  I asked my doctor whether these were side effects, he said no, these were just results of depression and anxiety, so I kept on taking until I realized that these physical symptoms were making more anxious. During my medication, due to these physical symptoms, i became worried and was coming down with an illness so I went through many clinical tests including MRIs (brain, shoulder and knee) and whole body x ray, 6 times of blood tests, 2 urine tests and NCS, EMG and many more. But all the test results came back normal, so then I realized that I was not sick, but lexapro was making me ill. So I talked to another doctor and  he took me off lexapro through a month of taper. 

 

I thought stopping lexapro would resolve all the physical symptoms soon, but till this date  (it's been already close to two months), I still am still suffering from the same physical symptoms and developed more physical symptoms. Currently I am suffering from the following; 

 

1) weak legs (thighs) - this has improved slightly but still there  and this was started after beginning lexapro 

2) muscle tremor/twitching  - this has improved slightly but still there  and this was started after beginning lexapro 

3) jaw muscle pain - this has improved slightly but still there  and this was started after beginning lexapro  and I have been seeing a chiropractor for this.

4) swelling on my upper left eye lid only - I started to get this during my taper and it's been two months since and have gone to two eye doctors, they both said there's nothing wrong with my eye. during a day, the size of the swelling varies (worst in the morning, towards the day, it gets better but it has never gone away for the last two months) 

5) Low energy - I started having this after I came off lexapro, my arms and legs feel really heavy, sometimes it gets better during a day, but I have been getting this since coming off the medication. 

6) Nerve pain/muscle tiredness - started having this since the stopping of the medication, mild - intermittent level of nerve pains in arms and shoulders, it comes and goes.

7) Random eye strain/nausea - started having this since the stopping of the medication, it comes and goes..

 

 

I was wondering whether the physical symptoms are the side effects or WD  of  lexapro, given that I was on it for 5 months, how long will these last? 

I hope these physical symptoms are just from lexapro, and praying that they will go away eventually. 

 

Thank you so much for your help!

 

PS: I have been exercising by walking 8-12 km for my mood/health. 

  

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, Matt6558.  I'm sorry you'r having these symptoms.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.  Use the link below and click on "save" when you're finished.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

Since the symptoms began two weeks into the drug, with more appearing after your one month taper, it sounds like they were caused by a combination of an adverse reaction to the drug and withdrawal due to a fast taper.  An adverse reaction basically means the drug is poison to your system.  Some people's systems are too sensitive to tolerate psychiatric drugs.  The symptoms of withdrawal and an adverse reaction are very similar, and your symptoms are typical.  You will heal, but unfortunately there is no way to predict how long it will take. Time is the cure.  We recommend a healthy diet and avoidance of caffeine and alcohol.  Strenuous exercise is often too activating for people in withdrawal, but gentle exercise such as a walk in nature is very helpful.  

 

 So that you have a better understanding of what you're experiencing, here is some information on withdrawal and the healing process.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

When we take psychiatric medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

These explain the healing process really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

Brain Remodelling

 

Take a look at the coping skills in the following link and see which you think might be helpful to you.

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can  ask questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[matt6558]

Hi Gridley - thanks a lot for your kind reply! yes I also believe that the symptoms I have been experiencing are the combination of adverse reactions to lexapro & WD. I am going to see a doctor and I talked to the doctor this week going over symptoms over the phone, he suggested me going on another medication, which I don't want to do. Do you think going on another medication would expedite the healing process? The majority doctors I talked with, they think that my symptoms are induced by depression and anxiety. I have become disappointed with their approach in treatment. Thank you!

 

Edited August 30, 2020 by ChessieCat
unbolded

[Gridley]

47 minutes ago, matt6558 said:

Do you think going on another medication would expedite the healing process?

No, I don't.  We don't recommend starting a new drug to deal with the effects of a previous one.  In my view, what would best expedite the healing process is letting the brain repair itself, as it will at its own rate, without further interfering with its natural functions with more drugs.  

 

47 minutes ago, matt6558 said:

The majority doctors I talked with, they think that my symptoms are induced by depression and anxiety.

Doctors don't believe in the existence of significant withdrawal, know little if anything about adverse reactions and invariably misdiagnose withdrawal as depression, anxiety or some other variation of what they call "return of the underlying mental illness."   Very slowly the research is coming out that they are wrong.   Horowitz and Taylor

[matt6558]

Thank you Gridley! Yes. I won't take a new medication, I will just let the body heal. I will update my progress here too. I appreciate your help! 

[matt6558]

Hi all! 

 

Thanks for your help! I have a question about one of my physical symptoms which started during my taper from Lexapro. I have been getting this upper eye lid swelling for the last 2.5 months, the size of it got smaller compared to when it started, but it's never gone away for 2.5 months. In a day, the swelling sometimes gets bigger slightly or sometimes the swelling goes down, but it never goes away. I have gone to two eye doctors, (optometrist and ophthalmologist), and they all said, there's nothing wrong with my eyes. So I asked them whether the swelling had anything to with Lexapro, they said no, and if it was related to lexparo, two eyes would have been impacted. 

 

but I was just wondering whether the swelling could be related to WD/adverse reaction to the medication and anybody has experienced something similar? 

 

Thank you so much for your help! 

 

    

[ChessieCat]

I did an online search and found this:

 

https://www.drugs.com/answers/anyone-lexapro-swollen-eyes-away-after-awhile-3347031.html

[matt6558]

Hi Chessiecat - thanks for your reply! Yeah, I think it's very helpful. I talked to one of my eye doctor friends - she also confirmed that the swelling could have been induced by lexapro, and it resulted in a blockage in my left eye glad.. That's why I have not been able to cry out of my left eye...This medication can cause many things. 

 

Thank you! 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

Found this post about possible blocked tear duct:

 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by ChessieCat

[matt6558]

Hi there! Thanks a lot for your ardent support! 

I have a question regarding one of my physical symptoms, which is muscle tiredness/weakness. I have been suffering from this for the entire duration of my medication on lexapro (5 months), still to date (after about two months from last dosage). I was wondering why lexapro (SSRI) could cause this as they are supposed to help retain serotonin in your body.

 

My weakness is mainly in my arms/thighs/shoulders, my muscles have been easily tired (still pick up things heavy/walk 8-9 km daily)/feels weak. I have gone through many clinical tests this year including EMG, NCS, 7 times of blood work/urine test/brain, shoulder, knee MRIs and many other tests and all came out normal. 

 

So I think this weakness must be to with lexapro (as this is the only change I had this year and two weeks into the medication, I developed  muscle twitching/weakness), but how SSRI can cause this muscle weakness for this long.

 

Or could be that, muscle twitching I developed from lexapro, might have caused this?  I am not so sure whether the medication itself caused this or muscle twitching has caused this? 

 

Also if there's anyone who's been able to combat this weakness, if you could share, I would really appreciate it. 

I have been taking B12/magnesium, omega fish oil, zink and pretty much other necessary supplements and I have been exercising by  walking (8 km daily for the last 7 months). 

So I think I have been doing enough to combat this. not so sure as to what's more. 

 

Thank you so much for your help! 

 

[Erell]

Hello Matt,

 

I'm not able to give you an explanation of your symptom, not sure anybody could. 

The thing is that these drugs destabilise our CNS, and CNS regulate the functioning of our body so we might experience a large variety of symptoms.

Good news is symptoms tend to fade with time 😊

 

You might find this topic interesting  :

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7609-asthenia-weakness-muscle-fatigue-in-legs-arms-or-body/

 

 

18 minutes ago, matt6558 said:

walking (8 km daily for the last 7 months). 

 

Wow, 8km ! I'm a bit jealous 😉

More seriously : while our CNS are working hard to heal, we often notice that we have to treat our body as a baby and be gentle.

Sometimes doing too much can be exhausting for the body.

Perhaps you need more rest. What do you think ?

 

Take care ☀️

 

[matt6558]

Hi Erell - thanks for your kind replay,  the link you gave me is so helpful in understanding my symptoms. I think you are right in that  the medication impacted my CNS, so I have been experiencing body wide symptoms. Thank you so much. 

 

8km of walk, exercise was recommended by the doctor who prescribed me lexapro, I have been doing it by walking. Yes I should go more easy on my body. 

 

Thank you so much!  

[Erell]

You're welcome Matt, and I do hope that you'll see more healing soon 🤗

 

Actually,  we do recommend exercice while healing : it seems that it helps our CNS.

But we do notice that we have to be particularly gentle with our body and not push too hard.

I walk everyday too, it often seems to lift my mood.

I like to think of it as a gentle massage for my brain  😉

[matt6558]

Erell - thanks for your kind message, I also pray that you will heal soon. Thank you!

[Dejavu]

Matt, I have this symptom on Zoloft. It settles a lot when I'm stable, but sometimes returns in waves. When I CT'd Zoloft in 2018, it vanished completely (until WD kicked in a month later). And when I reinstated, it started again, and gradually faded out as I stabilized. So it's most likely that, like any other symptom, it will eventually go away. I would not worry about it. 

[matt6558]

Dear Dejavu! thanks for your message. Oh I am sorry that you went through that. Thank you so much for your encouraging message! So I am guessing you are doing well?? 

and if I may ask, how long did your physical symptoms take to go away? Thank you so much! 

[Dejavu]

1 hour ago, matt6558 said:

So I am guessing you are doing well??

 

I was doing great until I ran my taper off into a ditch by overestimating what my body could tolerate, then making a dosing error and, as a final shove off the cliff, using a steroid nasal spray. So now I've put myself into a great  big wave and I've been waiting for restabilization now for the last 7 weeks. But at least I know what caused it. I'll be more careful and make smaller cuts when I resume my taper, but that won't be anytime soon. Even after I restabilize, I'm going to give myself a break for a while. At least until all this Covid BS is contained and the US Election is over. Just too much to ask my sensitized nervous system to tolerate right now. Brassmonkey once told me that the hardest part of withdrawal was knowing when to hold. I was able to reduce my drug load by 25% this year - slow by some standards, but this is not a race. I'm okay with it. 

 

And when I say I was doing great, I truly was. No more anxiety, brain fog, dizziness, blurry vision, jelly legs or any of the other many symptoms I'd had. None at all. My life fully returned to normal. But for the silly tapering mistakes I made, I have no doubt I would still be feeling fine.

 

1 hour ago, matt6558 said:

how long did your physical symptoms take to go away?

 

After I reinstated, and against the advice of the mods, I changed doses, up and down, for about four months, making very severe CT symptoms even worse. When I finally decided to stop being my own worst enemy, and started listening to the people who were trying to save me from myself, I picked a dose and sat still on it, for better or worse, and that was what finally worked. I slowly started seeing noticeable improvements in about 6 weeks, and was fully stable within 6 months. Ten months total from the date of my reinstatement, but 6 months from the time I stopped going up and down on dose. And during that time, I also switched from pill to liquid. So, lots of changes and lots of mistakes, and still I healed. So will you.

 

[matt6558]

Thank you Dejavu for your reply, it really helps. Wow, you must have gone through a rough time with the taper.. these medications can mess up our bodies. I pray for your health. Thank you so much for your help!

[Dejavu]

Anytime, Matt. Thanks for the good wishes and prayers. It is very much appreciated.

 

When you decide to begin a taper, just don't underestimate the lingering fragility of your CNS, no matter how good you may feel. That was my mistake. I hope you do not make the same one.

[matt6558]

Hi all - thanks a lot for your help and comments. 

Today is my two months mark after my last dose of Lexparo. I have been feeling more body wide weakness (particularly arms/thighs/shoulders)   recently compared to one months in, I thought it's usually for physical symptoms to lessen/fade/be better with time? I have been trying to maintain daily exercise, weakness makes me more anxious.  Thank you.  

[matt6558]

Dear all - 

I just have a question regarding my taper in which it lasted about 1.5 month starting from 10mg to 7.5 mg to 5 mg to 2.5mg to 0 mg. Was this too short? I mean I was on it 5 months total including this taper and I thought I had a good tapering, considering I was on it short time.  But it's been already two months mark, I am still experiencing many physical side effects including jaw muscle pain, muscle weakness throughout my body. I have been feeling so weak recently.  

 

I hope all of us feel better soon!

 

 

Thank you! 

[ChessieCat]

It can take as little as 1 month for the brain to fully acclimate to a psychiatric drug, ie become physiologically dependent on the drug.

 

Yes, you did taper too quickly as well as stopped at a reasonably high dose.  Lexapro is a strong drug:

 

On 5/27/2011 at 12:16 PM, Altostrata said:

If you are taking 5mg, it's not tiny, it's equivalent to 10-20mg Paxil or Celexa.

 

Unfortunately we can't say how long the withdrawal symptoms will last.

 

Please check out sub topics (link in Post #1) in this topic:  are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

If your symptoms are unbearable you might consider reinstating a very tiny amount of Lexapro.  Please read Post #1 of this topic:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

If you do decide to reinstate, we can suggest a dose for you to try.  Do not go back on 2.5mg.  It is better to start with a small amount and increase by a little bit more than to risk taking too high a dose.  We have members here who have taken too much (either reinstating or updosing) and have made things worse.

 

The other options:  change to citalopram (which is a gentler sibling of escitalopram and also may be easier to taper because the tablets can be made into liquid) or Prozac.

 

Please let us know what you would like to do and we can discuss what dose.

[matt6558]

Hi Chessicat! thanks for your reply - wow I did't know lexapro is strong drug. Doctors say it's a safe drug.  If I don't want to go back on lexapro to push through, would this be the best option?

 

 I don't want to go back on lexapro. Thank you! 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

23 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

The other options:  change to citalopram (which is a gentler sibling of escitalopram and also may be easier to taper because the tablets can be made into liquid) or Prozac.

 

Have you ever taken either of these drugs before?

[matt6558]

Hi Chessicat - no I have never tried it.. well now I am scare of taking these drugs...

[ChessieCat]

When I've been considering whether to updose (several times) I've asked myself this question:  If my symptoms continue like they are can I live with them?  If my answer was yes I can live with them, then I have stayed at my dose.  When my answer was no, I made a tiny updose.

 

The other question you need to consider is:  Have I had times when I have felt improvement since stopping the drug?  If the improvement happened right at the start and then the withdrawal symptoms started and have stayed, then it is more than likely a honeymoon period.  When I cold turkeyed citalopram I felt great for at least 2 months and then ended up bedridden for 2.5 weeks with what felt like the flu but wasn't and I lost 8kgs because I couldn't eat.  Once I found SA I realised it had been delayed withdrawal.  If you have been getting windows and waves during your time off, then you know that the brain probably starting to adapt.

[ChessieCat]

The reason I asked if you had ever taken either citalopram or Prozac was if you had, I would have then asked whether you were able to tolerate them.  I tried Prozac many years ago and got very weak muscles when taking it, so for me changing from Pristiq to Prozac was not an option.

[matt6558]

Hi Chessicat - thanks for your reply and information. well I was on the medication lexapro from 5mg to 10 mg, my physical symptoms started to show at  5mg which was my starting dose and the physical symptoms stayed through my journey with Lexapro. 

 

The physical symptoms has been still lingering and on top of that symptoms, more new symptoms have developed  since I stopped taking lexapro such weakness in my whole body.  I have had some improvements in the areas of clearer brain, more clearer vision, but that's it, so I have not had significant improvements physically and at the same I have not felt windows and waves of the physical symptoms as of yet.  So for me, it will require some more time feel these. 

 

Thank you!

[ChessieCat]

I also took  5 pills of Alprozolam from time to time for experimental purpose - whether the physical symptoms I was going through was illness or drug induced symptoms.  when I took alprozolam, most of the physical symptoms subdued.  

 

Please add the dates that you took Alprazolam to your drug signature.

 

Thank you.

[matt6558]

Hi Chessiecat - thanks for your reply. Well I also took alprozloam occasionally, yeah most of the physical symptoms or pain felt subdued for me, which means some of the physical symptoms are anxiety induced. I don't remember the dates when I took alprozolam sorry about that.   

 

 

 

[ChessieCat]

1 hour ago, matt6558 said:

I don't remember the dates when I took alprozolam sorry about that.   

 

Just a rough timeline would be helpful please.