genau34: grateful - Lexapro

[genau34]

Hi, I think this site is just amazing, truly! Thank you to all who offer support.

 

I never thought I would be on an antidepressant, but that changed in January 2022 when I was diagnosed with GAD. I ended up spending several days in a psych ward and was desperate to do anything to get better/functional. The psychiatrist said I should take 20 mg lexapro. I was fine with this arrangement until my last appointment with my psychiatrist in June 2022 when I asked about eventually reducing my dosage to 10 mg at some point. He responded by telling me that I could never go off lexapro because I’d been hospitalized. This upset me. So I started looking for information about reducing my dosage online and found your site.

 

My plan is to follow the 10% rule and taper every 4 weeks, but I’ve already broken that plan and only did the 18 mg for 3 weeks. So far I seem to have no withdrawal symptoms, except for vivid dreams.

 

I will add my medication and dosage history to my signature tomorrow.

 

Thank you!

[Frogie]

@genau34

 

Welcome to SA. We are a volunteer ran site helping people taper off psychiatric medications, or have tapered off and are now healing.

 

This is your introduction page where you will receive information, ask questions and meet other members. We ask that you only have one introduction page so we can keep all your information in one place.

 

Are you still taking 0.25 mg of Clonazepam? If you are, don't stop taking it. It will aid in your Lexapro taper. We suggest tapering an accelerator before a brake and a benzo (Clonazepam) is a brake.

 

 

We don't suggest more than a 10% a month taper and many others go much slower than that.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Brass Monkey Slide

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

Withdrawal Normal Description

 

 

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications:

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

 

We don't suggest supplements on here as they can be stimulating to the central nervous system (CNS) except 2. If you would like to try them try one in a small amount and wait a few days before introducing the other.

 

 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

When you are done reading the links provided please reach out with any questions you may have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[genau34]

Frogie,

 

Thank you for the reply! I am no longer taking clonazepam (stopped March 2022), but I do have a bunch of pills left over if needed. I was super afraid of becoming addicted to clonazepam, so I wanted to get off as soon as I could handle the anxiety symptoms without it.

 

Thank you for all the links, I will get reading!

 

I hate the slow taper because I think every pill is damaging my brain further, but I will heed your advice!!

[Frogie]

@genau34

 

Don't take the Clonazepam because your body will become addicted to it in 2 weeks, so as long as you are doing ok without it I would not start it back up.

 

A long, slow taper will keep as many wd symptoms away unfortunately. It does take patients to taper off, but it looks like you have started.

 

If you have any questions just let us know!

[Greatful]

@genau34 Welcome to SA.  I could go crazy with these doctors ugh. Why do  they think you  have to go  straight to 20mg? You might have done okay at 5mg or 10mg.  How can he say that you need drugs for life because you were in the hospital? 

Please educate yourself about these drugs. They change so much in both our brains and bodies. 

Great control and thinking when it came to the benzo,  stopping them before you got addicted to them too.  

 There are so many alternate ways to work on anxiety, meditation, magnesium, mindfulness, maybe have a full chemical work up.

 reading Dare by Barry McDonagh  or Hope and Help for Your Nerve by Claire Weeks

I think you will find a lot of information and helpful things on here.  

You are not alone and have all the support you need here.🌞

 

[Greatful]

@genau34  How are you doing?

[genau34]

Hello,

I’m doing well. No noticeable withdrawal symptoms. I still need to read all the links that Frogie posted for me. Still at 16.5 mg once a day. I take my 20 mg pill and dissolve it in water and then take the 16.5 mg with a syringe. It sure is a bitter pill!

 

I’ve been watching YouTube’s of the journalist Robert Whitaker . Not fun to hear how bad these SSRIs are for the mind and body 😩 I wish I could just stop taking them, but I know it’s best  to do the 10% taper. I do wonder if the taper could be faster at the higher dosages? Because of the hyperbolic curve, how much difference in effect on the brain is there between 20 and 15?

 

Thank you for the support!! And checking in ❤️
 

[ChessieCat]

42 minutes ago, genau34 said:

I do wonder if the taper could be faster at the higher dosages?

 

Personally I do not think it is worth the risk of trying to go faster.  I have seen members here at SA who have tried to speed up their taper and it has ended up taking them longer than if they had gone at a nice steady pace.  Some have ended up changing to a different drug (and that does not always work) and some have ended up on additional drug/s which then have to be tapered.

 

Lexapro is a very strong drug; 5mg Lexapro is equivalent to 10-20mg Paxil or Celexa.

  

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

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.

 

[genau34]

Thanks ChessieCat. I will stick it out with the 10% or do less than 10% if the withdrawal symptoms become too much to handle. I’m scared about 3-6-9 months out when depression or anxiety can suddenly appear.

[Greatful]

@genau34

I often will watch various things about these drugs to help motivate me to stay the course and get off.

  Another fascinating one is The Origins of the DSM by Dr. James Davids.  https://youtu.be/6JPgpasgueQ

Here is the sert occupancy for Escitalopram https://ibb.co/7S1f6P6

 

Maybe you will be one of the lucky one and who will taper off easier🌞

[genau34]

On 8/6/2022 at 2:18 PM, Greatful said:

Here is the sert occupancy for Escitalopram https://ibb.co/7S1f6P6

 

Maybe you will be one of the lucky one and who will taper off easier🌞

Wow! Thanks for sending me the link to the sert occupancy. Even at 1.7 mg, 50 % sert occupancy. Geez this stuff is strong! And I’m not surprised that I haven’t noticed much withdrawal symptoms yet because the difference between 20 and 15 is not that much sert occupancy wise.

 

I hope I’m one of the lucky ones!! What are the chances of that?

[genau34]

On 8/6/2022 at 2:18 PM, Greatful said:

Another fascinating one is The Origins of the DSM by Dr. James Davids.  https://youtu.be/6JPgpasgueQ

Well the origins of the DSM are disappointing. Like a group of people trying to decide what restaurant to eat at. 🤦‍♀️
 

I’m so glad Dr. James Davids took an interest in this and exposed the truth.

[Ariel]

Hi @genau34

Nice to "meet" you. 

 

Just had to tell you that this --

 

6 minutes ago, genau34 said:

Well the origins of the DSM are disappointing. Like a group of people trying to decide what restaurant to eat at. 🤦‍♀️

 

-- really made me laugh. 

You said it perfectly.

 

Thank you <3

A.

 

[Greatful]

@genau34  I chuckled too🤣  I like the part where one  doc said we can't put that as one of the symptoms, I do that.🤣

So So sad that people trust the DSM.   I guess the whole world has mental illness from all the criteria they came up with to diagonios mental illness.😳

 

How are you doing?🌞

[genau34]

5 hours ago, Greatful said:

 

How are you doing?🌞

I’m doing good. I printed off Dr. Joseph Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptoms and I believe I have 3 at the moment. Change in appetite. I’m craving inflammatory foods unfortunately, like cookies, ice cream, energy bars, and chips. I try to stay away from a lot of carbs because I’m prediabetic, but today I was especially unsuccessful. Second symptom is intense dreaming. Every night I have vivid dreams that I can remember quite well the next morning. This is unusual for me, but I remember that happening when I started on Lexapro. Only one was frightening and gave me the heebie-jeebies . And final symptom is abdominal cramping. Hasn’t been too bad and seems to happen more when I’m exercising.

 

I’ve been going to sauna about 4 times  a week for about 10 minutes a session. I’ve been trying to find info about this on SA and it seems people are mixed about it. I think it’s helpful for me.

[genau34]

@Greatful and thanks for checking in with me!!

[genau34]

Hello. I need to update my signature. I’m down to 7 mg Lexapro now. I’ve been fortunate to have few to no withdrawal symptoms. I have gained about 11% of my body wait since I started Lexapro, which is no fun.

 

I found a doctor who said she would help me with the taper, but I assume I know more about it than she does. I’ll discuss with her when I see her in May. What’s a common ending dose for Lexapro?

Thanks!

[genau34]

Hiya.

Have continued to taper about 10% every 4 weeks. Recently started tapering 0.1 every week and plan to do that until the end of the year.

Thanks.

[genau34]

Hi,

I’m at 1.3 now and wondering if I’m having withdrawal symptoms today or something else. I think I’m having heart palpitations which is causing insomnia. Last week I had a cold and took a 24 hr Sudafed. The Sudafed also gave me heart palpitations and insomnia. I plan to up to 1.4 tomorrow. I’m guessing it will take several days before I have relief.

 

Doesn’t help that my husband’s away on business and my children are extra dependent on me. I had thought I would pause taper while he was gone and now I wish I’d stuck to that.

 

Any advice, “I told you so”, encouragement appreciated.

 

Thanks