normlex: Lexapro side effects after many years

[normlex]

Been on this for 8 yrs.  The last 2 yrs I have had fatigue/low energy.  Want to know if this drug has quit on me.  I would prefer to be off of it.

[normlex]

Lexapro side effects after many years?

For the last 2 years I have had fatigue/low energy/sleepiness throughout the day, bu mostly in the morning.  This effect seems to be improved with food consumption.  At wakeup in the morning I can feel a tiredness/groggy feeling in my head/eyes and it doesn't go away unless I eat a good breakfast, a protein bar at mid-morning, and then a good lunch.  Also, I eat a protein bar at bedtime and the more calories I eat at bedtime the lesser the effect is in the morning.  I am wondering if other ppl on Lexapro have experienced this, and if so, what was done to overcome it if you were successful.  I have mostly been on 20mg/day, but have switched to 10mg/day in the past 6 months.  I have seen many doctors, 3 Endos, Urologist, Neurologist. GP.  The other piece to the puzzle is that my testosterone is low.  I know that this can be associated with low energy, but I have had it treated and it did not help.  I have a theory that it may possible that the Lexapro has effected my endocrine system.  I have not been able to find any hard evidence that Lexapro (or other SSRIs) can alter the body's endocrine system in this way.  If that is possible, can tapering off the lex help me out?

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[ChessieCat]

Hi Norm and welcome to SA,

 

To get you started please create your drug signature.  We need to see ALL drugs, doses and dates for the dose changes.  Details for last 2 years, summary for anything older.  Thank you.

 

Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Once we have more details we will be better able to offer suggestions.

 

6 hours ago, normlex said:

Want to know if this drug has quit on me. 

 

Please see this topic:  Tachyphylaxis, Reaching Tolerance or as It's Lovingly Known “Poop-Out”

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

This is your own Introduction topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.

 

[normlex]

I'm not sure how detailed to get with my drug history.  It includes TRT (with twists and turns) which has since been stopped.  Also, I am not officially looking to withdraw from Lexapro nor have I started a withdrawal at present and so there are no 'w/d' symptoms.  I am not sure which direction to go, atm.  And do I include a previous withdrawal from about 2yrs (I'm verifying the timeframe) ago?

[ChessieCat]

17 hours ago, normlex said:

It includes TRT

 

I'm assuming that this is testosterone replacement therapy?

 

From your drug signature:  Ativan - 1mg daily in morning, >2yrs at this dose

 

Are you still taking this.  Please add the dates.

[ChessieCat]

17 hours ago, normlex said:

Also, I am not officially looking to withdraw from Lexapro

 

I'm confused by this statement.  When you previously stated:

 

On 9/9/2020 at 3:56 AM, normlex said:

I would prefer to be off of it.

 

Are you wanting tapering advice or not?

 

I will give you links for tapering anyway so you have the information:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

Also:

 

On 9/9/2020 at 3:56 AM, normlex said:

Want to know if this drug has quit on me.

 

Tachyphylaxis, Reaching Tolerance or as It's Lovingly Known “Poop-Out”

[normlex]

If the symptoms I am getting are related to Lexapro, then yes I would like to taper off.  I am asking if someone or a group of ppl can provide info that is similar to my experience.  if they are replies, perhaps provide some link(s) (I have seen there is a correlation between low T and SSRIs and I have seen there is a correlation between the body's endocrine system and SSRIs, but I have not seen any definitive proof, altho, at this point I'll greatly heed the anecdotal advice of others who have been successful)showing such a connection between lex and my symptoms.   Then, hopefully they'll be willing to share what was successful in their counteracting of the lex's effects.  I said "officially" because I don't know if the lex is the cause.  And of course, I would like to be off of it since I think SSRIs are way, way over-prescribed.  And I am one of them.  (As an aside, I have had major surgery due to an endocrine system issue (no, it wasn't brain surgery), I have sleep apnea which is central (meaning it is centered in the brain), and my low T may be central related as well (there is disagreement among doctors if it is central or not), so all these point to some brain issue or situation).

 

 

[ChessieCat]

I did a search for testosterone in the "From Journals and Scientific sources" forum:

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/search/?q=testosterone&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=16

 

SA's topic:

 

testosterone

 

[normlex]

ChessieCat: Where do I access my drug history so that I can update it?

[ChessieCat]

Remember to Save after editing it:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

[normlex]

I've updated my profile and as can be seen I am into my 10% taper.  I need some advice to determine if the way I am feeling is related to the Lexapro tapering or to something else.  The first 2 tapers were rather easy in terms of taper-related symptoms.  Mild stomach issues, some mild headaches.  Also, I did have about 2 weeks of feeling like my old self, approx. Jan 2-16, 2021.  Not sure if anything meaningful changed after Jan. 16.  Last week I felt somewhat better from Jan. 26-29.  The symptoms are noticeably in my head with headaches, and also feeling blah, nose stuffiness, and my eyes feel different.  I seem to feel better as the day progresses.  What precipitated the better feeling on Jan.2 (or about then) was I started taking tylenol at bedtime which I felt gave a better sleep.  And I took tylenol in the morning at that same time and my headaches relieved in the morning.   I do use a cpap machine and I change the tubing and nasal pillows as often as suggested, as well as, I have a SoClean machine and I fill the water reservoir every morning.  How do I know if it is Lexapro taper-related?  I'm still taking the cetirizine every night at bedtime.  (I did get tested for covid about a week ago while I was feeling crappy and that was negative, so hopefully that is a true negative.)  What are the questions I should be asking myself or what other info would you have me provide?

[ChessieCat]

You might consider this method of tapering which is more gentle and gives you more of an opportunity to hold for longer as needed.

 

Also:

 

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

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

Consequently, when you taper off escitalopram, you should be careful to decrease by small amounts, as each drop is magnified by escitalopram's extra potency. If you find withdrawal symptoms from a 10% decrease to be too difficult, after 3-4 weeks decrease by a smaller amount.

 

 

[Yesyes123]

Hey, how have you been? Did you have strong WD symptoms when tapering? Peace

[normlex]

Thanks for that chessiecat.  That word "Also:" in your comment makes it look like there are supposed to be 2 suggestions.  But I will be holding for a while at 0.105gpw.  

[normlex]

Wanting to know if my present feeling is due to tapering.  Felt pretty good last 2 weeks in May and the first week in June.  Since then, not so much.  The symptoms mostly relate to the mornings.  I can't seem to feel awake until after I have lunch.  Symptoms are usually in my head.  It's a grogginess feeling.  Also, an overall feeling of blah.  It lifts slowly during the morning.  It is also a tiredness or low energy for the morning.

 

I have been shaving the lexapro pills.  I first start with a 20mg pill and split it in half and for the most recent level, I split it again and shave it until it reads on the scale 0.0.70gpw (prior to that I only split the pill once did plenty shaving to get it to the desired level).  I use the Gemini-20 for the weighing.  It's been a steady 10% reduction per month or so since I started from 10mg.

 

How does one know if they've hit a "taper wall" so to speak?  Is it recommended that I crush the pills at this point?  Should I go back to 0.077gpw?  What effect could taking cetirizine have (seen others mentioning a histamine relationship with SSRIs)?  (as a side note: I started with SA b/c my testosterone was low and I tried a number of TRT therapies, but none worked and therefore I'm thinking that possibly the lexapro could have affected my adrenal system or hormone levels...I'd like to know if there is any studies linking the two together b/c I/ve not found any, but I do see some ppl posting here saying that hormone levels and the adrenal system can be affected with SSRIs)

[normlex]

Went back to 10mg Lexapro.  Awful stomach/intestinal issues initially.  Needed to go to the bathroom every time I ate.  Always felt like I had to go.  That's subsided for the most part.  Anxiety has been noticeably increased (even before the updoses).  Not sure if that is due to going back to 10mg Lexapro.  Also, considering going up to 20mg.  Perhaps that will calm down the anxiety.

 

Would like to know if other Lexapro users (or for that matter other SSRI's users as well) experience the same feeling I have in the morning.  That is not being able to get going at all.  It takes me several hours before I can do anything at all.  And after that I still feel groggy/not awake/can't wake up until about lunchtime.  I've tried everything I can think of to alleviate it.  The feeling is what I would liken it to having a bad night's sleep and can't get going after that (I do use a CPAP and have seen my sleep doctor several times and as well is well as far as she is concerned).  (The reason I am asking about this situation is that I just found out a good friend who is also on Lexapro experiences the same slow morning getting going.)

 

There is another question I would like to ask of the knowledgeable folks here in this forum.  I will be seeing a psychiatrist in about a week's time and I'm not quite sure what to tell him.  The purpose of the appointment is for a medication evaluation.  With the various taperings of Lexapro I have done and the amount of time I have been on it (8 yrs on 10mg and 7 yrs on 20mg) it may suggest that it is time to change.  I'm pretty sure I will not be combining the Lexapro with another of the newer class of drugs (as I would still like to go off Lexapro because of my low testosterone and my general aversion to being on these drugs in the first place).  Any tips or advice would be welcome.

[mstimc]

6 minutes ago, normlex said:

There is another question I would like to ask of the knowledgeable folks here in this forum.  I will be seeing a psychiatrist in about a week's time and I'm not quite sure what to tell him.  The purpose of the appointment is for a medication evaluation.  With the various taperings of Lexapro I have done and the amount of time I have been on it (8 yrs on 10mg and 7 yrs on 20mg) it may suggest that it is time to change.  I'm pretty sure I will not be combining the Lexapro with another of the newer class of drugs (as I would still like to go off Lexapro because of my low testosterone and my general aversion to being on these drugs in the first place).  Any tips or advice would be welcome

Hi Normlex

My advice when talking to your therapist is to be as clear as possible about your goals and what is and isn't on the table as far as treatments.  If you are committed to coming off your current meds, you need to tell him/her that.  Also, you need to be open and willing to discuss what methods you can use to handle WD and what got you on the meds in the first place (e.g. anxiety, depression, etc.), such as CBT, EMDR, etc.  I found my sessions to be a lot more productive when my therapist and I were on the same page.  Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[normlex]

I'm committed to feeling better.  Wherever that may bring me.  A therapist in my part of the world is a psychologist or a just for talking type of doctor.  And a psychiatrist is the medication doctor.  I am  searching for a therapist atm.  A good friend of mine recommended his therapist, but the person is not accepting new patients.  He has agreed to see me to get an idea of who he could refer me to in their practice.  That has yet to take place or actually be discussed on the phone or in person.

 

I followed the WD recommendations per this forum, but hit a 'wall' so to speak.  Not sure where to turn atm in terms of medication (or no meds) since my stomach is still not right (altho it seems it is going in the right direction) from the last failed WD attempt (made it 6 months with very little WD downside and even had several good stretches of feeling like my old self, so that's why I kept on the taper).

[mstimc]

We’ll, I’m from California so I think that counts as the same part of the world 😀.  Sounds like you’re making the right choice to go with a therapist.  That was my choice and it was a life saver.  

[normlex]

I understand that it's usually recommended for best results, to have both, a therapist and a psychiatrist.