Larrrkin: Accidental Lexapro cold turkey withdrawal

[Larrrkin]

I was away from home and took enough ecitalopram with me to cover the duration, I also thought I had a large stuck at home but it turns out I've miscounted. With the state of the waiting time for a GP, and the pharmacy being out of stock at the same time, I've now missed my 10 mg dose for 10 consecutive days. 

Luckily I was on annual leave so I've been able to nap a lot, I'm feeling extremely fatigued, disoriented, have massive brain fog, feeling low in mood but manageable, mostly feeling agitated and irritated. No withdrawal symptoms and now at the stage where I feel like I can manage them if they stay as they are, however I know they are likely to get worse.

I can get a repeat prescription to pick up this week, and I have asked for a GP appointment to review the medication, but this won't be for at least 2 or 3 weeks time. 

Do I reinstate an amount of lexapro, I keep going cold turkey and hope that I'm well into the withdrawals.

I've been taking ssris for nearly 10 years, only recently realising I might I have ADHD and I am in the process of getting diagnosed, I'm much more capable of dealing with my mental health and want to come off medication. Any advice is welcome. I already take cod liver oil, magnesium.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Frogie]

@Larrrkin

 

Welcome to SA. We are a volunteer run site that helps members such as you.

 

This is your introduction page where you will receive information, you may ask questions and meet member such as yourself. We ask that each member only have one page to keep everything in one place.

 

Thank you so much for creating a signature.

 

You said you have been off of your Lexapro for 10 days now? Lexapro is a very strong antidepressant and I would suggest you go back on the 10 mg as soon as you can get the prescription filled. You said you could get it right away? That is exactly what you should do. 

 

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

Irritability, Anger, Rage

 

 

 

Tinnitus, another ear problem. What does all that noise mean ...

 

Here is some information on speaking with your dr also when you have your appointment in 2-3 weeks.

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?
What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

 

 

Please read the links provided, and reach out to us with any questions. But please renew your prescription and start taking the Lexapro again as soon as possible so you don'w have further wd symptoms.

 

[Blossom71]

Hi @Larrrkin

 

Waving at you from across the Pennines 👋

 

I was in exactly the same situation as you when I arrived here a couple of years ago.  Please don’t try and tough it out as your symptoms are likely to get a whole lot worse and you can mitigate them somewhat by reinstating.  Then you can taper much slower.

 

I dropped off at 150mg sertraline for around the same length of time as you.  Went back onto 150mg (but didn’t like how I felt) then quickly dropped to 100mg. After a few weeks the withdrawals became so I awful I upped the dose to 125mg and stabilised.  I dread to think that would have happened if I hadn’t done that. 

 

The mods here will help you to get to a point where you are stable enough so you can start reducing.

 

Good luck with getting your prescription x
 

[Larrrkin]

Thanks both, in my head I knew it was best to reinstate and then reassess but I'm stubborn and there was a part of me that thought I could tough it out 🤪

I have taken 10mg today and will see the GP and get some advice and be back here if I need more info and support. 

 

The articles are all really useful, will be reading them slowly and doing tapering right next time.

 

💖

[Frogie]

@Larrrkin

 

I'm glad we are here to help.

 

Please keep us posted.

[CeruleanSea]

Hi @Larrrkin 

 

wow, what a challenge!!  I’m hoping it’s not much more delay & you can get back on tomorrow.