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LavenderFlowers: LavenderFlowers and Lexapro


LavenderFlowers

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I swear when I got back on Lexapro (Sept? 2020) I could feel it working into the creases of my brain. 
 

I was diagnosed with MDD in early 2013. I had fought mild SAD for years. (Thank you Midwest. I do like it here though.) It was around March and I was tired of being tired. I had my 2nd baby in June 2011 and she got up every other hour for the first 9 months of her life. I drew a line and we started gentle sleep training, so it was probably mid 2012 before I had normal sleep. 20-20 hindsight, no wonder I was having problems, sleep deprivation is a form of torture. 
 

So 2013 I tell my doc I’m tired of being tired. I would come home from work, nap, make supper, and go to bed for the night. Rinse repeat. Citalopram did okay for a while but I didn’t like the side effects. We tried Cymbalta and I had zero feeling which was not acceptable to me. Then over 10 calls to his office I finally got an Rx for Wellbutrin, 300mg worth. Within days I am a stuttering mess and quit, and fire the office. My doc was great (he had me take therapy as well as Rx, high I was willing) but the office... oy.

 

New doc places me on Escitalopram, explaining its cleaner than citalopram and should have fewer side effects. I was dragging hard in the AM so he added buspar, that was a nice combo. Until I started gaining weight. I tried to talk to him but he said it was clinically weight neutral, and nicely told me to stop eating crap and go run my butt off. March 2015 I came off of everything after gaining 15#, and the gain stopped. (I have yet to shed this weight, grr!)

 

Oct 2015 got on Wellbutrin when SAD became too much. Stayed on a low dose until the generic lab changed for the XL, I would be flying in the AM and tearful by 3pm. Got onto name brand (the hoops were ridiculous). Dec 2018 I was back on escitalopram (10 I think) and half of a Wells XL 150.

 

March 2019 I am tired of the further weight gain, I never feel satisfied when I eat. I don’t remember how but again I come off of it all, slowly.

 

2020 was an awful year, stressful for everyone. We moved, COVID went through our house (everyone came through fine, gratefully). Job saw cuts and reorgs. September comes and I am not managing life well. I ask my MD for a script. She prefers Lexipro as a first line so I reluctantly go back. I tried to slow taper in March and everything blew up. My pills weigh 15mg on my scale and I was shaving them to 14mg. A week later it felt like I was drowning in it all so asked for the Wellbutrin to be added. Maybe it was just circumstances? I have also seen associations of Covid patients having higher depression rates. So in my panic, I’m wondering did Covid double screw me?

 

So at the moment I am on 20mg Lexi, 200mg Welli. I am TIRED of the weight gain, I am 40 pounds over weight (obese now) due to the Lexi, and feeling the need to stuff myself and never feel full is awful. And it’s climbing, slowly. My current MD believes and agrees that it causes weight gain.

 

I swear I could feel the finger of the Lexapro working into the creases of my brain when I started back on it. I felt like a beaten dog with no choice. 
 

I need to lose the weight, I am mid 40s and it’s only going to get harder. My body is not happy with this weight. I need to get off of the Lexi.

As I am reading others’ stories, I see threads of myself in other stories: specifically, work engagement. I’ve been working for more of that. WFH was awful for this (as much between my ears as family situation) and i’m wondering if it’s hurting me there.

 

Going to start with a slow taper again. Fingers crossed. 

Edited by Gridley

I've had mild SAD pretty much ever since I can remember. 

3/2013 diagnosed with moderate MDD, mild anxiety, probably had it all that winter.

2013-2019, on and off of: citalopram, bupropion, escitalopram, buspirone, Wellbutrin XL. 3/2019 was my last taper before this current one (off of escitalopram)

Tried and quickly stopped: duloxetine, Viibrid

Recent Background:

9 or 10/2020 back onto Ecitalopram, stepped up to 20mg

?/2021 tried to taper (on my own) 7% pill weight, lasted about a week and something I perceived as a WD symptom scared me so I asked for bupropion, Again tired of the weight gain and never feeling satisfied when I eat.

6/23: Found SA again : - )

6/27: started 7% pill weight cut again on the 20mg escit. Added magnesium citrate and fish oil to my routine.  Holding the bupropion 100mg/2x day steady.

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Welcome to Sa, LavenderFlowers.

 

To start:

 

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.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

We are a site for tapering off psychiatric drugs and for dealing with withdrawal from these drugs.  We do not recommend starting a new psychiatric drug to deal with the effects of previous or current psychiatric drugs.  If you want to taper off your current psychiatric drugs, we'll be happy to help you.

 

We recommend tapering only one psychiatric drug at a time.  Otherwise, if problems arise, you won't know the cause.  Since Lexapro, according to your post, has been causing you problems, I'm going to give you our recommendations for tapering off Lexapro.  

We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of your current dose every four weeks.  The reasons why we recommend this rate are explained in the following link.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The following link is specifically about tapering Lexapro. The link includes information about how to get the non-standard doses needed for a 10% taper.   Prescription liquid Lexapro is a simple and accurate way to taper this drug.  If you choose this method, you will need to do a crossover from the tablet form to the liquid form so that your system can become acclimated to the liquid, and we can give you information on how to do this.  Other methods described in the link include making your own liquid from the tablets and using a digital scale.  Please read the following link to help you decide what method you want to use.

 

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems. Get supplements that are single ingredient (not mixed with other types of supplements).

 

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

 

 

 

 

Gridley Introduction

 

Lexapro 20 mg since 2004.  Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017.   

End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg 

End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg

End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg  

Oct. 30, 2020  Jump to zero from 0.025mg.  Current dose: 0.000mg

3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete.

 

Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements

Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium

Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium 

End 2021  year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg

End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg 

End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg

Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper.

Taper is 95% complete.

 

Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986.  Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg  

March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper

Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper

Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper.  Current dose as of Feb. 22: 7.6mg

Taper is 90% complete.  

  

Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotics, zinc, melatonin .3mg, anti-candida, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase


I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice but simply information based on my own experience, as well as other members who have survived these drugs.

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  • Gridley changed the title to LavenderFlowers: LavenderFlowers and Lexapro

Hello again,

I lurked on SA for one of my previous tapers. I remember there being so much info, and well-researched... but I had forgotten just HOW MUCH there is here.  It really is a treasure trove.

 

I am back to my 7% pill weight cut. I have my annual visit with my doc first week in August, she is younger and seems to listen super well so if I request a smaller dose or pill before or during then I don't think I'll get any friction.

I am also cutting back my coffee to 1 cup per day, and will eventually drop it for a week or two and see if it's helpful. 

 

* * *

Some other random thoughts in no particular order:

I didn't track symptoms much (that I remember) previously but would like to this time. 

I really appreciated the articles (?) on what is and isn't discontinuation syndrome, and addiction vs. dependency info.

Interestingly... this January I joined a "challenge" at a new gym. They have great programming: 3 days/week of cardio, 3 days/week resistance training - so I just have to show up and do.  (Really great, since I tend to overanalyze and overthink things!) After the first 6 weeks or so of consistent exercise hubby noticed that I was doing better mentally. Funny, that 6 week mark.

 

On coffee: I started drinking it on 3rd shift before all this came about. I wonder if it's been a part of overcharging my system?  It's not great for me anyway so cutting it for a week shouldn't hurt anything so am going to try to work toward that.

 

Anyway, I'll keep updating this as I go along. :)

I've had mild SAD pretty much ever since I can remember. 

3/2013 diagnosed with moderate MDD, mild anxiety, probably had it all that winter.

2013-2019, on and off of: citalopram, bupropion, escitalopram, buspirone, Wellbutrin XL. 3/2019 was my last taper before this current one (off of escitalopram)

Tried and quickly stopped: duloxetine, Viibrid

Recent Background:

9 or 10/2020 back onto Ecitalopram, stepped up to 20mg

?/2021 tried to taper (on my own) 7% pill weight, lasted about a week and something I perceived as a WD symptom scared me so I asked for bupropion, Again tired of the weight gain and never feeling satisfied when I eat.

6/23: Found SA again : - )

6/27: started 7% pill weight cut again on the 20mg escit. Added magnesium citrate and fish oil to my routine.  Holding the bupropion 100mg/2x day steady.

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11 hours ago, Thelongestroadhome said:

I gained 25kg in 12 months when I was put on lexapro 🤦‍♀️
Intermittent fasting helps as does a clean ketogenic diet in my humble opinion 😜

 

Thanks for your reply!  Yes, it is definitely not weight neutral as my dr at the time tried to tell me.  Thankfully my current doc is aware of it.
I am getting support starting next week to see if a mild keto will be helpful, thanks for your thoughts.

I've had mild SAD pretty much ever since I can remember. 

3/2013 diagnosed with moderate MDD, mild anxiety, probably had it all that winter.

2013-2019, on and off of: citalopram, bupropion, escitalopram, buspirone, Wellbutrin XL. 3/2019 was my last taper before this current one (off of escitalopram)

Tried and quickly stopped: duloxetine, Viibrid

Recent Background:

9 or 10/2020 back onto Ecitalopram, stepped up to 20mg

?/2021 tried to taper (on my own) 7% pill weight, lasted about a week and something I perceived as a WD symptom scared me so I asked for bupropion, Again tired of the weight gain and never feeling satisfied when I eat.

6/23: Found SA again : - )

6/27: started 7% pill weight cut again on the 20mg escit. Added magnesium citrate and fish oil to my routine.  Holding the bupropion 100mg/2x day steady.

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