Candiceclouds: Hi Everyone, in Lexapro Withdrawal

[Candiceclouds]

Good Day everyone,

 

I am very happy to have found this website.  I was on lexapro for 12 years since the age of 17. I was put on this medication in highschool for anxiety and depression. However I beleive i was misdiagnosed and actually have c-ptsd. because of the abuse/coercive control i was experiencing at home..

 

I was also bullied/harassed relentlessy at school for being a ''pretty girl'' , first by the boys and then a group of girls who started harassing me about parts of my body obviously changing through puberty. And one of these girls was harassing me about a boy who liked me... she was always asking me sexual questions and trying to coerce me into having sex at 12 years old with this boy.  I was very traumatised by this harassment and ended going to an all girls school where i felt much safer but still struggled  with mental health issues.

 

The medication has helped me to be emotionally stronger however i made bad decisions by forcing myself through college and started as a small business while i was living in such a bad condition with(c-ptsd and anxiety/depression). I was always a bit overweight since puberty started I have very bad periods and was bullied alot about my weight. However I continued to gain so much weight on Lexapro esp in college and starting a business i couldn't handle. I would go to the gym relentlessly and diet to lose weight and would keep putting the weight back on and more..  I became so frustrated and just accepted being obese.. 

 

However I made the choice to get off Lexapro even though my psychiatrist didn't want me to and was dishonest to me by misdiagnosing me and telling me Lexapro was a weight neutral drug even when i was almost double what my BMI should be.

 

So i've been off for 5 months now and its been a rollercoaster but im coping. I have lost about 20lb and still very overweight but at least its improving and i can focus on my health more... and coping without being medicated..

 

I am hoping to make better decisions for myself and be kinder to myself and others around me

 

Thank you for reading, god bless you

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by ChessieCat
added space

[ChessieCat]

Hi Candiceclouds and welcome to SA,

 

Unfortunately many people are prescribed psychiatric drugs when it would probably have been better if they had received appropriate counselling and been taught and learned non drug coping techniques to use.  Drugs do not make problems disappear, they just numb our emotions.

 

Please create your drug signature.  Please add the doses and the dates when you changed the doses.  See these instructions:

 

Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature

 

Q:  Have you experienced / are you currently experiencing withdrawal symptoms?  If yes, in a post, please tell us what they were and how much they have improved, as well as what you are currently experiencing.  There are many and a wide variety of withdrawal symptoms, and sometimes we don't connect that what we are experiencing is due to going off the drug.  See:

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

Q:  How is your sleep?

 

The only supplements which SA recommends are magnesium and omega 3.  If you wish to try these, try one at a time and start with a small dose to see how you respond to it.

 

Magnesium

Omega-3 Fish Oil

 

SA strongly encourages members to learn and use non drug ways to cope.  See:

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

This is your own Introduction topic.  Each member has only ONE.  Your Introduction topic is the best place to ask questions specific to your own situation and where you can journal your progress.  This keeps your history in one place and means that you do not have to repeat your story.

 

There are many existing topics on SA.  You can use the site search function or use an internet search engine and add site:survivingantidepressants.org to the search term.