Tompee: Need help with taper off Lexapro

[tompee]

I weened off lexapro last week. since i tapper off slowly from 5 mg since January 2012 to about Jan 2013 i feel perfectly alive so i start droping to 2.5 mg i feel quiet a w/d but it's bearable once the w/d stop i then drop to 1.25 mg. and i stay there for 2 weeks then stop.

 

after 4 days, i experiencing calm and slow heartbeat, (50 beat / mins when siting, normally i got 60 beat/mins ) i feel very calm but not in a good way, it fulfilled with anxiety inside. i still can hear my heart pumping when i lay down. Doctor said everyone can hear their heart beating it's normal. but i don't it's not normal for me. i can't sleep for 2 nights then i need to use tranxene to help me sleep after i weened this off 2 months ago.

 

i start to use it more constantly because i can't sleep. now my anxiety return if i missed the dose of this benzo, i only used it for 5 days anyway i have to got back to 1.25 mg lexapro again. i feel like i have to restart all over with lexapro. During this first week of starting i feel anxiety pumping up more (just like when i started) i used tranxene everyday now to taper the anxiety of lexapro. i'm not sure if i will be or already be addicted once again to tranxene. would i be able to stop tranxene with 1.25 mg lexapro once again or should i increase lexapro dosage just to taper tranxene off first.

 

i can bear Brain Zap, Headache or whatever during w/d but anxiety and insomnia are really unbearable. when you can't sleep the anxiety just got more ( not sure if it's from w/d or just because of rack of sleep ).

 

anyway my question is i got trap to benzo once again after free from it. and now i got only 1.25 mg lexapro to taper benzo... is it enough to taper benzo? i used to quit benzo when i was on 2.5 mg lexapro.

[Jemima]

Welcome to the forum, Tompee.

 

If I'm understanding you correctly, you've dropped from 5 mg. Lexapro to none at all since January, but now you're on 1.25 mg.? If that's correct, how long have you been on that dose? It would be very helpful if you would put your drug history in your signature, like so:

 

How To Add Your Drug History To Your Signature

 

If you haven't gone back on the 1.25 mg. of Lexapro yet, please do so right away. You've tapered down from 5 mg. way, way too fast. I've been through a too-fast taper from Lexapro and I can't even begin to describe the misery. Please don't take a chance on going through months of withdrawal. We recommended tapering no faster than 10% of the current dose and stabilizing between doses, which may take weeks to months:

 

Why Taper By 10%?

 

Please note that it will take at least four full days for the drug to take effect and probably longer than that for stabilization.

 

Without further information, I'm not sure what to tell you about the benzo. Since you were addicted before, I'm not sure if you could get re-addicted after only five days of taking it.

 

Please give us information on your drug history as soon as possible.

[Jemima]

Also, please note that I moved your topic to the Introductions and updates section because it's your first post telling us about yourself. Please use this thread for future posts by clicking on the "Add Reply" button at the bottom of the page.

[tompee]

Thank you Jemima i'm back on 1.25 lexapro already. since the doctor told me i should get back. but only thing that concern me is.. now i'm back on lexapro with benzo ( tranxene ) too, not just back on lex alone

i remember ween Benzo off it's pretty easy with when i'm on between 10 mg seroxat and 5 mg lexapro .. but with 1.25 lexapro is very concern me, will it be able ween off tranxene with this small amount of lex. Doctor told me to increase back to 2.5 lexapro. but i took a lot of effort to reduce down to 1.25 mg. i don't have a liquid lexapro to reduce 10% as you suggest. but i will try to buy more sensitive scale to do this.

 

my doctor used to tell me some of his patient, once they felt good after a 6 month+ treatment, they can just quit cold turkey after 2.5 mg. i'm not sure if that's possible like his suggestion... i barely can survive 1.25 mg...

 

p.s. i upload very detailed conditions in my profile. Last Year i actually swap from seroxat to lex to seroxat, actually i didn't want to confuse everyone so i just mention about lexapro only... but anyway. thank you for your suggestion i feeling better.

[Jemima]

Here are directions for making your own liquid Lexapro:

 

How To Make A Liquid From Tablets or Capsules

 

Please, please do not go from 2.5 mg. or 1.25 mg. of Lexapro to nothing. People who have never been on an antidepressant before sometimes can do that and not experience a lot of withdrawal symptoms, but with your history I think that would be very risky. Most doctors really don't know much about withdrawal because they learn about the drugs from drug company salespeople who don't necessarily tell the truth.

 

Please do post your drug history in your signature soon. It's very difficult to give advice without that.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Tompee.

 

How long has it been that you reinstated 1.5mg Lexapro? Did it make you feel any better?

 

You probably will want to go off Lexapro before you go off the benzo. It is the benzo that's helping you with Lexapro withdrawal symptoms. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2207-taking-multiple-psych-drugs-taper-the-antidepressant-first/

 

How often are you taking Tranxene? Are you taking it every day? If so, how long have you been taking it every day?

[tompee]

i feel back to normal for first 3 days until yesterday at night. after i took tranxene as Doctor suggested to reduce the anxiety effect from lexapro. it makes me

can't sleep whole night. rapid heart rate 60-70 beat / mins. sweating all over the place. feel like i'm losing it. Doctor told me tranxene suppose to calm me down. but it seems making it worse.

normally it is not this way. is my mental already damaged ?? normally i take lexapro i sleep very calm but not now anymore. this time i totally a mess

[tompee]

One thing i really confused is that when i quit lexapro. i don't experience Brain Zap, Anxiety, Headache or whatever that people talk about w/d.

i have only slow heartbeat and can't sleep the whole night. the more i take tranxene the more my body reject and i can't sleep and get always get low anxiety the whole night but no other w/d..

i'm no sure what is this.. during the day i feel 90% alive but only at night time,. my eyes strongly opened. is this one of the w/d ???

when i was off Lexapro on 14 april 2013 i feel 90% alive. i reckon i should take vitamin to stabilize .. i take Magnesium, Vitamin B Complex and Fish Oil... is any of these making me nervous or can't sleep ??

 

should i already be off but then pop back on by accident ?? How long withdrawal normally last ?? i managed to go thru almost two weeks off lexapro but insomnia brought me back because when i can't sleep. i take tranxene. make me can't sleep more plus it bring me anxiety together.. this is really frustrated.

[Altostrata]

It sounds like you are having a paradoxical reaction to Tranxene.

 

How often are you taking Tranxene? Are you taking it every day? If so, how long have you been taking it every day?

[tompee]

I take only once a day before sleep. Ive been taking for 10 days now but Last Night I didn't take I feeling better. But the lexapro side effect still wake me up with anxiety every 2-3 hours I don't dare to take tranxene too. Oh ma god.....

[Altostrata]

It sounds like the dosage of Tranxene you're taking is too high and causing a paradoxical reaction, which is making you worse. Try not to take Tranxene at all, in the long run, you'll have bigger problems with it.

 

It may take some time for your system to stabilize after reinstatement, but it will slowly get better. There is no simple solution to withdrawal symptoms, be patient.

[tompee]

any suggestion to help sleeping. i cant sleep...

[Altostrata]

Yes, that will take some time to heal.

 

See Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems

[tompee]

can insomnia be a side effect or lexapro? i cant sleep since the first days i took lexapro its already 4th night. feel like im dying everynight.

[alexjuice]

Tompee,

 

I am sorry you are going through this right now. I have had insomnia after stopping antidepressants and it was horrible.

 

There are many topics on sleep on this forum so I recommend you look around in the Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptomsforum. Some things worth trying might be the amino acids glycine (1-2mg at bedtime), taurine (1mg bedtime), melatonin (.5 at bedtime can go higher) ... Something that has helped me, but may not help you and is unlikely to hurt, is calcium bentonite clay (dry) 2 hrs after other medications. I take it night.

 

This w/d will not last forever. You must remind yourself of this.

 

Alex

[tompee]

but i'm back on lexapro already. shouldnt the withdrawal be gone already?

[basildev]

Hi Tompee,

 

no that's not necessarily true. You've only recently reinstated the Lexapro and it can sometimes take quite a long time to stabilize.

 

The only thing you can do now is to be patient and play the waiting game.

[Altostrata]

You might be taking a little too much Lexapro. I might try 1mg and see if the symptoms are reduced.

[tompee]

I tried changing time of taking Lexapro to 4 p.m. yesterday. i finally can sleep for the first time in a week. i'm not sure because of my body too tired or the time changing works.

but let's do it again today.

now i'm off tranxene 5 mg for the second day after come back on Tranexe 10 days ago... not sure if i'm supposed to do so... i really want them out of my body since it hasn't been long that i come back to take them.. .. can ssri use to taper a low dose of tranxene ? it has very long half life.. and how long you think the Tranxene effect will end.. ( GABA stuffs in brain )..

Thanks very much you peoples for supporting me and many peoples that suffering.

May God bless you guys..

[Altostrata]

Lexapro doesn't help tapering off a benzo. You have to deal with them separately. But you're off Tranxene, why are you worrying about it?

[tompee]

because i'm still hearing my heart pumping at night if i don't take tranxene. yesterday i went to see doctor. he gave me Klonopin and Zyprexa. i went to sleep so well.

anyone know what is this ?? is it good for taking in a long term. now i'm on Lexapro 1.25 mg, Klonopin 2 mg. Zyprexa 2.5 mg... sleep like a bull... even after woke up still sleepy lasting for 6 hours...

[tompee]

also doctor told me to increase my dosage to 2.5 mg once i get used to 1.25 mg.. because he said my insomnia attack because of my worries is getting too high 1.25 mg won't be able to hold it... i don't know what to do anymore

can he be right or wrong... any opinion please

[Altostrata]

If I were you, I would not introduce 2 new drugs at once, you don't know which is helpful and you're incurring the risk of adverse effects from both.

 

I certainly would NOT take a benzo like Klonopin for any length of time. You're lucky if you've gotten off Tranxene without withdrawal symptoms, although it could be that stopping it after 20 days has exacerbated the sleeplessness, which can be a withdrawal symptom.

 

In your situation, I would try one drug at a time, at a very reduced dosage, and not take any more than what's effective. I would not plan on increasing dosage of anything.

 

However, if you're a believer in the more drugs, the better, it's up to you to take your chances.

[tompee]

i stopped klonopin as you suggested but still feel a little agitating during the night so have to take zypraxa. i notmally dont get this agitating when i take seroxat . would it be side effect of lexapro?? should i try other ssri that is mire sedating?

[Petunia]

Hi Tompee,

I read through your thread and I'm sorry you are having a difficult time at the moment. I have also had a lot of problems after withdrawing from Lexapro.

 

My advice is to listen to what Altostrata has written. From my own experience, trying to fix withdrawal symptoms with more drugs only makes this process longer and more painful in the long run.

 

When I stopped taking Lexapro, I didn't understand the need for a very slow taper, I also didn't understand that there is a cumulative negative effect from all psychotropic medication. I've been having a very difficult time for almost 2 years now, but you are lucky in that you found this site and have the benefit of excellent advise and information as you slowly reduce the Lexapro.

 

From what I now understand, the important thing is to find the lowest possible dose of the medication which will keep you functioning in your life and then stick with that for 4 - 6 weeks until your body had adjusted and you are symptom free, then you make a very small reduction, like 10%, you get some uncomfortable symptoms for a little while as you adjust again, but not so bad. Then you just keep repeating the process. The more you mess around with different drugs and different amounts and stopping and starting, the worse it gets.

 

No matter what you do, its not going to be easy or pain free, expect to have some uncomfortable symptoms and some sleepless nights, but if you do it sensibly and have patience, it will be easier rather than harder. Use the links on this site to get help in managing the symptoms as you recover.

 

I hope your sleeping pattern gets back to normal soon. Keep us updated on how you are doing and I also think its a good idea to check here first before making any changes to your medication or taking anything new, even if a doctor tells you to take it

 

Petu

[Altostrata]

Tompee, this site is about safe tapering to go off drugs. We don't advise people on adding or substituting new drugs.

 

You may be suffering some withdrawal symptoms from stopping Tranxene. If I were in that situation, I would take a small amount of Tranxene, a quarter-dose, for example, to ease the withdrawal. I would not take Klonopin or Zyprexa for the symptoms. You are complicating your situation.

 

Yes, it could be Lexapro is causing your symptoms. Did you start taking Tranxene because you couldn't sleep when you started Lexapro?

[tompee]

yeah but tranxene making me more agitating, so doctor give me a bit of zypraxa to calm me down before sleep bcoz benzo doesnt help. but i do feeling very normal during the day. some peoples say seroxat and prozac side effect are not agitating and more calm. anyone experiencing this?

[tompee]

Sorry I mean to ask for alternative ssri, so I can start tapering off again, hope you understand my purpose.

[Nikki]

Hi Tompee so sorry you are experiencing these symptoms. They are real and very scary at times.

 

In reading your drug history you said you took Seroxat (Paxil in the USA) with Lexapro.

I think you got off Seroxat.

 

Seroxat can cause alot of withdrawal symptoms and then tapering Lexapro can bring on even more.

 

I don't know how advise you on uploading your meds being that you were on two plus the benzo.

 

I did take Paxil and I did take Lexapro, so I know how you feel. I have had to reinstate them after dropping my dose many times. I would suggest doing that with the Lexapro.

 

It can take time for the Lexapro to kick in and for you to start to feel better.

 

Nikki

[Edted]

Tompee:

It sounds like you are throwing all kinds of rapid changes at the problem. I have never heard of this approach going well. Now your doctor wants to throw an antipsychotic (zyprexa) into the mix? Please listen to the good folks on this site. I know when you feel panicked that making big changes is tempting, but you need to see what is going on as a system that has been thrown off kilter by the drugs (and inappropriate withdrawal protocols). Please slow down. Sleep loss can cause anxiety and anxiety can cause sleep loss. There are better ways to deal with both than by adding drugs to an already destabilized system.

Regards,

Ed

[Altostrata]

Repeating:

....

You may be suffering some withdrawal symptoms from stopping Tranxene. If I were in that situation, I would take a small amount of Tranxene, a quarter-dose, for example, to ease the withdrawal. I would not take Klonopin or Zyprexa for the symptoms. You are complicating your situation.

 

Yes, it could be Lexapro is causing your symptoms. Did you start taking Tranxene because you couldn't sleep when you started Lexapro?

 

[tompee]

I'm not sure what to do now, it seems e lexapro cause me more agitating during the night.. I need to change otherwise I can't sleep and I ended up using zypraxa because it calm me down. :( I need to change ssri , I just don't know which one to calm me down during the night , it's been 2 weeks on lexapro already during night time after taking lexapro I can not sleep

[Altostrata]

It seems that withdrawal syndrome from Lexapro has sensitized you to Lexapro.

 

If you are sure Lexapro is causing you to be agitated at night, you might reduce it.

 

Other SSRIs may have the same effect. Many people find they are activating rather than calming.

[tompee]

It's been a hell of the month .im really losing hope.

Now I have to go back to seroxat 5mg because the more I take lexapro the more agitating then I take more benzo.. It creates more problem..

Now I feel better during the day but at night I'm still nervous as hell..the doc told me to take half tablet of seroxat..,should I ? Do I have to go back to 10mg seroxat and start from the beginning again....

I have all kind of sucidal thoughts and started losing hope,,,tired of living like this,.. Can anyone suggest me what to do...

[Altostrata]

tompee, please read this topic and make your own decisions. There is nothing more I can add.

[tompee]

Hi, just wanted to update.

I finally got back to Normal 90% today. all anxiety are almost gone, Finally seroxat kicked in. i did stop all kind of med away and wait miserably for a week.

thank you for all the advices.

now i'll be on 6 mg for 4 weeks to get stable and get ready to ween off again