Sunnydays0912: scared to taper from Lexapro and Seroquel. Help!

[bubble]

I know all this is very hard,depression is awful, everything you so elaborately describe are it's many ugly faces.

 

Life is not a continuous joy.This is a consummerist propaganda.Life is struggle and ocassional periods of feeling discouraged by that struggle are natural human reactions.

 

Several times Alto has been trying to gently nudge you towards thinking about causes of your feelings OUTSIDE the drugs framework but in your everyday life, challenges it brings to you and the way you deal with them.

 

You still end up obsessing about medication. They will not fix anything,they are not the answer. The answer is out there in the big wide world. You feel lonely and isolated,your husband went away,etc.

 

What if you channelled at least half of that energy you put into 'researching' meds into addressing your life situation and thinking about it separate from meds?

 

Have you ever tried talk therapy?

 

Best,

bubble

[Meimeiquest]

I pooped out on Prozac and switched to a different AD...and entered true psychiatric distress.

[Altostrata]

sunnydays, as I've said before, your honeymoon with SSRIs is over. You are experiencing the symptoms of poopout, which include emotional numbing. Quite often, increasing the dose or mixing SSRI cocktails does not help. Your serotonin receptors are as downregulated as they can possibly be.

 

I believe bubble has described your situation accurately. You keep on searching for a way to make the drugs work. You need to search for a way to make your life work instead.

 

If you intend to switch from Lexapro to Prozac, you need to get off the Lexapro in the near future. The longer you stay on both drugs, the more your nervous system will be acclimated to both and the harder it will be to reduce your dosage.

 

Does your GP claim to know anything about getting people off psychiatric drugs?

[sunnydays0912]

I agree I do have issues I need to work on without psychiatric drugs. Apparently lexapro made me a much more confident and motivated person than I am naturally because all the sadness and loneliness I'm feeling from the recent changes and stressors, I could have handled much better before I messed with my medication.

 

I'm just so extremely pissed off at this, because I always thought that was the real me. I honestly thought the lexapro was only helping me not experience anxiety attacks. I didn't know it was literally making me the person I was and enjoyed being. Unless of course that really is me and the poop out is causing me to feel weak and unlabeled to cope.

 

But the anhedonia? That is completely the poop out. And it's the most debilitating symptom. Cause not only does it make things hard to do, but it causes very adverse feelings along with it! I have to get healthy, or at least to a tolerable state sooner rather than later because I have my kids I must care for. I don't have anyone even remotely close by to help. My husband is gone all day because of his full time school load and part time job. We went into this plan agreeing that school would be his main priority and our home and kids were mine. That's when I was healthy and fully capable of handling things on my own. Now that I'm struggling, he can't just stop going to school. He is attending a huge university that we worked very hard to get him into. He has a scholarship. Already landed a job for wen he graduates in 2015. He CAN NOT let anything stop him right now. There's too much at stake.

 

So this leaves me stranded. I have to be strong for my family. I hate that my brain isn't agreeing. It wants me to give up, fall apart, run away. I get no feelings of reward or satisfaction from all the hard work I'm doing. This is Hell.

 

I hate that I'm relying so much on one medication to help where the other failed because I know now what these meds do in the long run. But what option do I have right now? If I began to taper at 10% right now, this poop out Hell would continue on for so long.

 

And my dr didn't say anything about what he knows about discontinuation. I'm actually in the process of finding a psychiatrist now, which I know may not believe in all this even more, but at least they may know more about WD and poop out than this one does. I don't like that he's having me stay on both AD's until I see him again.

[mammaP]

Hi Sunny, don't despair yet, I was just like you, felt great on effexor at first, was organised, creative 

and happy for about 5 years, then it pooped out and I felt very much like you are describing yourself now.

No energy, no motivation, just drifted through every day with an emotional blunting and feeling exhausted.

 

When I realised it was the effexor I started to taper by removing 5 beads from the capsule and soon started

to feel much better. I got better with each drop so until one day it hit me that I was actually feeling things

and doing things again. 

 

You can do it, and feel better without drugs, you just need to believe in yourself. You are a good mummy 

and wife, and will be a happier one once off the drugs, I'm sure of it.

[Altostrata]

You may have to talk to quite a few psychiatrists before you find one who knows anything about poopout or tapering.

 

Your posts keep on coming back to your fear of being isolated. You must develop some social contacts. If necessary, start your own group for mothers on meetup.com.

[bubble]

Dear Sunny!

 

I've been thinking a lot about you since last posting on your thread and feeling guilty conscious over possibly coming down on you too hard ;( Sometimes I'm just not gentle enough...

 

How are things with you these days?

[Muddles]

Are you still around sunnydays?

[sunnydays0912]

Hi everyone.

 

So I haven't updated in a while. I've cautiously been feeling much better. As I hoped, the bridging to Prozac has really helped. I'm no longer in that horrible depression!

 

Because of this, I decided to take a break from all internet searching and information. I felt I was becoming so overwhelmed. I had a plan and wanted to just focus on that, which was to bridge over to Prozac from lexapro, let Prozac stabilize me, and then after complete withdrawal of Lexapro and stabilization on Prozac, I'd start my slow taper. Any more information was just stressing me out so I decided to take a break and just stick with my plan.

 

Only now I am scared to death. First of all, only recently did I finally get off lexapro. My dr. Had me go from 20mg lexapro down to 15mg and starting 10mg Prozac. I did that for one week, and then the next week down to 10mg lexapro and 20mg Prozac. After 2 weeks there, I went up to 40mg Prozac and down to 5mg lexapro for 1 week, and then 5mg every other day the 2nd week, then off. The first few days off Lexapro I definitely felt withdrawal. Mainly brain fog, memory issues, just general mind-blah and disoriented-ness, but nothing severe enough to cause too much alarm. When I realized it was withdrawal, I took 2.5mg lexapro and that helped very much for a day or 2, then it came back so I took another 2.5. After another couple days of feeling better, it came back. That was yesterday. Bent today I haven't taken any Lexapro and have felt much better, so have been feeling hopeful lexapro is out if my system for good!

 

Now the scary part. A few weeks ago I began noticing a slight twitch in my upper left eyelid. I get these from time to time because of stress and they never last more than a couple days. But it wasn't going away. I just assumed it was stress and would eventually go away and didn't really worry about it. A few days ago the twitch worsened and grew to my bottom lid, so now I have a pretty frequent (on average feel it every 5 minutes or so, with sporadic long pauses here and there) on both my top and bottom lid. It's very subtle, but then again I always notice it. However I still haven't worried about it. Figured it would go away soon enough.

 

Then today I finally gave it attention and tried to figure out what it was. It's almost like something is inside my eyelid moving it, so suddenly I was afraid I had a parasite or something. I googled parasites and eyelid twitching, and quickly learned that common causes of eye twitches are medications. Then I realized it may be a side affect to Prozac, so I googled that. And I came across someone saying how it could be the early onset of Tardive Dyskinesia!

 

I am now FREAKING OUT. I knew if this side affect, but had read it was caused by antipsychotics and older versions of them. Also I had read it normally is involving the mouth and tongue. But now after reading more, there is more anecdotal info about people experiencing TD from just SSRI's and it can start as something very small and grow over time. The fact that this twitch has already grown from the top lid only to both top and low lid scares me into thinking this could be the case with me...and so now I am very scared.

 

I don't have any other symptoms that I'm aware of. No weird tongue or mouth movements. But I am worried this is just the beginning. I read the earlier it's treated, the better the outcome since it can be permanent. But I JUST started feeling like my old self again, and even so not completely. I had planned to give it a couple months at least before starting the taper, but now I feel rushed to do it sooner and not only that, but at a faster rate. Which I know isn't possible if I want the best results.

 

My husband thinks I'm over reacting since it's such a small little twitch, but I'm concerned it will only get worse. Where do I go from here? What do you all think? I don't want to go to my dr. because I'm already very upset with him (my last visit a couple weeks ago he barely remembered who I was, let alone his treatment plan for me) and I don't know who I can trust. I hope I'm over reacting, but I really am scared. I've read horror stories about TD.

[Petunia]

Hi Sunnydays,

Thank you for updating, I'm so glad the switch to Prozac has worked and you are feeling better.  I don't know for certain what is causing your eye to twitch, but it sounds like it could be a side effect of Prozac, Prozac can be stimulating, perhaps you are on a too high dosage.

 

Try and relax, its unlikely to be TD, hopefully others with more experience will be able to offer a suggestion, but mine would be to try lowering your dosage.

 

Petu.

[sunnydays0912]

Thanks for the fast response Petu!

 

Would there be any other signs of it being too high a dose? Because if anything I need stimulation. My motivation is still very much lacking. My therapist suggested I get tested for ADD. She said by what I've told her of my past (I had a learning disability my whole life, but they just told me I was "slow" and no one thought to actually get me tested to find out what it was) and my life long struggle of keeping organized and on schedule. Lexapro actually helped quite a bit with it. I remember suddenly being able to focus on learning a new hobby, staying engaged with it. Had more motivation. So she thinks the stimulating qualities of Lexapro helped with my possible ADD.

 

That being said, I don't know much about ADD or it's medications to treat it. I'm so weary of any meds now, but at the same time if ADD is the underlying issue here, and thinking back to how much I used to struggle to stay motivated with things before even having a family, I worry I won't be able to handle everything in my life alone. Am I making sense? Is there an alternative to ADD amphetamines?

[Altostrata]

Please don't worry about motivation, and please stop looking for more drugs to take.

 

You've only just managed to switch from Lexapro to Prozac (the alternating doses your doctor had you do at the end probably is what caused the withdrawal symptoms when you finally quit Lexapro). Your nervous system has gone through a lot of stress. Adding another psychiatric drug now would add more stress, particularly an amphetamine analog for ADD.

 

40mg Prozac is a high dose of Prozac. It could be causing muscle tension and twitching. How is your sleep?

 

All of your drug experiences, and going on and off them, could be responsible for the sense of demotivation. Many of us feel this iatrogenic symptom.

 

How is constructing a social life for yourself going?

[bubble]

Happy you are back. Was thinking about how you were doing.

 

The beginning of your post sounded very positive: not obsessing and focusing on your life is always a very good thing to do.

 

I sometimes get eye lid twitching but I don't think much of it and it just goes away. I don't know much about TD but I very much doubt you have it.

 

What was the scariest part of your story for me is this: 

 

 

 Only now I am scared to death. First of all, only recently did I finally get off lexapro. My dr. Had me go from 20mg lexapro down to 15mg and starting 10mg Prozac. I did that for one week, and then the next week down to 10mg lexapro and 20mg Prozac. After 2 weeks there, I went up to 40mg Prozac and down to 5mg lexapro for 1 week, and then 5mg every other day the 2nd week, then off. The first few days off Lexapro I definitely felt withdrawal. Mainly brain fog, memory issues, just general mind-blah and disoriented-ness, but nothing severe enough to cause too much alarm. When I realized it was withdrawal, I took 2.5mg lexapro and that helped very much for a day or 2, then it came back so I took another 2.5. After another couple days of feeling better, it came back. That was yesterday. Bent today I haven't taken any Lexapro and have felt much better, so have been feeling hopeful lexapro is out if my system for good!

 

What I see here is that you went off Lexapro awfully fast and were immediately hit by withdrawal. When you took 2.5 mg, it was a kind of reinstating so that's why you felt a relief but it's by far not enough so that's why your brain asks for more. I don't know much about bridging except that people here who know a lot more about ADs because they learnt on their own skin strongly discourage it for many reasons which are very logical (one of them being that different ADs are of different potency> lexapro being extremely potent.). 

 

It seems you are making things even more complicating by skipping doses, playing badly with your CNS. I went from 5 mg of lexapro in 30 days and was hit by worse symptoms ever.

 

So what you are doing really scares me

 

If Alto tells you how to resolve this, I would strongly advise you to listen. 

[bubble]

I even disagree with Alto on this. I think it was not only alternating doses towards the end but the whole rapid reducing. I didn't see it from your story that Prozac replaced Lexapro. In my case withdrawal kicked in 30 days after quitting. Your situation reminds me of what I went through and I don't see prozac cushioning it.

 

I might be wrong but based on my experience I felt I have to tell you this. It's your call of course and you will see how things unfold... I hope I'm wrong. 

[Altostrata]

The way the Prozac switch was made was not optimal, but let's hope it was effective for sunnydays.

[Zoe]

HI Sunnydays- I too just bridged over to Prozac from 150 mgs of Zoloft. The Dr. had me on 30 mgs Prozac and I had horrible anxiety. Anxiety has always been my issue. Anyway after consulting with everyone here, they mentioned that 30mgs was a pretty high dose of Prozac for someone with anxiety. I dropped it to 20 then 15 & I'm now at 13. My anxiety is so much less. Alto made a comment that more is not necessarily better. I had always thought that when I was anxious I needed more drugs to control it. It certainly helped me to reduce it. The drug was just way too stimulating. I agree that could be what is causing your eye to twitch. I have had these in the past. I had one last summer when I was put on Wellbutrin. That one made me antsy as all get out, and my eye twitched more & longer than it ever had. Please listen to Alto- she is the most knowledgeable person around about this stuff. Sending hugs & prayers

[Fitby50]

Hey Sunny,  I too thought that 40mg of Prozac was kinda a high dose to be on after just starting it.  When my doc put me on Prozac, I started at 10mg for 2 weeks and then to I was to go to 20mg as my max dose.  I think your eye twitch is from the Prozac.  When I first started the Prozac it gave me really bad anxiety.  After reading your posts, I see how much you struggle with "is it me or is it the AD" questions!  I had to deal with that for awhile myself.  I think maybe we all go through that period.  But I do know that it is not healthy or productive to keep rethinking and second guessing everything.  Sometimes it is so hard not to, because the WD from the drugs changes our whole thought processes, but you need to stick with it.  Deep down, you must know the person you were and can be again before the AD drugs.  You need to hold on to that knowledge and let that be what drives you to get off the medications.  Being on an ADD medication is no better than being on an AD drug.  The medical profession is pushed by the drug companies to push the meds on us.  That is all they know, I even had my PA state that to me.  Most of us on this site are tapering to get off the AD's that have taken over our lives.  We know it can be a long, slow and miserable ordeal.  In the mean time we will feel like crap, have lots of days where life is pointless and we struggle to get through each day, hoping for a better tomorrow.  I feel numb pretty much daily and seldom have much to look forward too.  I have to force myself to eat, take care of my kids, go to work, and do the bare minimum in my weekly routine.  It helps to read other peoples Intro's and posts to see that you are experiencing the same things we all are.  It helps to hear from the ones that have finally gotten past the WD symptoms and are feeling like a new person or at least the person they once knew!  Good luck.

[bubble]

Fitby, sunnydays was put on that high dose of prozac because it was supposed to replace 20 mg of lexapro she was taking.

 

I forgot her reasons for not tapering directly from lexapro...

 

I will say this one last time:from the way she describes the process, this transition didn't do the trick IMHO. I hope I''m wrong but in her description of how she is feeling now I see both Lexapro withdrawal symptoms AND over stimulation by Prozac.

 

Maybe that will balance out over time, we all hope it does.

 

SD, I'm i right to understand you are now taking 40 mg of Prozac (which was supposed to take over from Lexapro) AND 5 mg of Lexapro because reinstating it after 30 days of 'tapering' is the only thing that brings you relief from symptoms you began to have? (lexapro withdrawal symptoms).

[bubble]

went back to what you wrote: you've been playing with lexapro by taking 2.5 mg for 2 days, then 5 mg for a day, then yesterday when you felt better, you stopped taking it again?

FYI, withdrawal from ADs is not like sobering after you got drunk and the substance is out of your body. Withdrawal symptoms get progressively worse after the substance has been removed.

After I stopped taking 2.5 mg Lexapro after 2weeks I felt bearable for 2 weeks, even 4 and was thinking things would only get better but instead the hell broke loose 6 week after.

If you feel better after taking a drug it means you should stay on it. It's not a sign you've been fixed and can do without it now. These are not antibiotics we are talking about here...

Sorry about being such a nuisance. It's just that I strongly feel about your story and what I read turned on some red flashing lights in my head...

Take care,
bubble

[Altostrata]

I am reading it that sunnydays took a bit of Lexapro intermittently before going off entirely, and she's now on 40mg Prozac only.

 

Is this correct, sunnydays?

[sunnydays0912]

I want to reply to all of you but unfortunately don't have the time ATM as we have a busy day going on today. But I will this evening! I want to also say that I very much appreciate everyone's concern and guidance! It helps to know I have people watching out for the best for me during this.

 

For now I just gave one question I want to ask really quick.

 

Since yesterday early afternoon I've been experiencing some anxiety. I think the twitching of my eye and reading the possibility of TD either is messing with me, or it's withdrawal from lexapro. I'm in general just feeling a bit antsy, slightly unable to concentrate on things, and just uncomfortable. Do you think this is WD from Lexapro? I hope only being on the remaining 5mg (over the equivalent 20mg lexapro of Prozac my body has been used to) for that 2 weeks wouldn't cause too much WD, though I know I could be experiencing WD from just the Lexapro being out of my system no matter the Prozac taking over....I feel I'm confusing myself now!

 

Anyway, do you think I should reinstate 2.5mg lexapro and begin a slower taper?

[Altostrata]

Stop playing with your drugs. This causes you nothing but problems.

 

You may recall we recommended a direct taper from Lexapro rather than a switch to Prozac. Switching to Prozac does not always work.

 

I would not switch back now, or add Lexapro, since it's possible you're taking too much SSRI in 40mg Prozac.

 

Please be more patient with your symptoms. You tend to overreact.

[sunnydays0912]

I only suggested that cause a few members mentioned they thought I stopped lexapro too quickly, and so I thought maybe reinstating a small amount and coming off slower might help. But if you think I should leave it alone and see how this goes I will.

 

I don't think the bridging was was a fail yet. I still feel much better than I was. The lexapro poop out was torturous and I could barely get through the day. At least now I can function and handle daily living. I couldn't stay in that state while tapering lexapro.

[sunnydays0912]

I just dozed off on accident and woke up totally panicked and feeling anxious. I hate this. What is happening to me? I was feeling so much better a few days ago!

[Zoe]

I can't tell you for sure what is happening to you, but I can tell you with me it takes a while after making a switch with meds for things to settle down a bit. I will feel ok for a few days & then I will be really anxious for a few. I know a lot of the others could put it in better medical terms but, we've messed with our brains and they are not happy with it. I think you are going to have to be patient with this. This is not something in my experience that has a quick fix. These feelings will pass. It will get better. Hang in there.

[sunnydays0912]

I'm definitely dealing with withdrawal right now. I can't calm down and concentrate on anything. My head feels weird. What do I do? I have no idea what to do from here.

[Zoe]

You could try some slow steady breathing. I had Lexapro withdrawal this past summer and I know- it wasn't fun I had tons of anxiety. Also, when I was on the higher level of Prozac my head felt different. That could be causing it.You could try a warm epsom salt bath. It has magnesium in it that is calming. Also. try some slow deep breathing. Prayer always helps me too.  Someone with more experience will be along to give you some advice. Till then just try to relax. It will get better. 

[sunnydays0912]

I can't tell you for sure what is happening to you, but I can tell you with me it takes a while after making a switch with meds for things to settle down a bit. I will feel ok for a few days & then I will be really anxious for a few. I know a lot of the others could put it in better medical terms but, we've messed with our brains and they are not happy with it. I think you are going to have to be patient with this. This is not something in my experience that has a quick fix. These feelings will pass. It will get better. Hang in there.

What's weird is the switch from Lexapro to Prozac was actually pretty simple. The first week was a bit weird, but otherwise it went well and I came out of my depression slowly but surely. And the last few weeks I've felt so much better, I've felt almost like my old self. It wasn't until I started to cut out that last 5mg of Lexapro that I actually felt any withdrawal. I think because it was the first time I took away Lexapro without replacing it with Prozac. So now I'm actually feeling the affects of withdrawal since nothing is replacing it. I think it's been almost a week since I took any lexapro.

 

Alto, does this sound about right? It's the only way I can make sense of it. And it helps me to know this is withdrawal, not an illness coming back. This is the first time I've gone in distress and fully believe it to be withdrawal. So that also helps keep me from wanting to run to my dr.

 

I ended up taking .25mg Xanax. I was spiraling into a anxiety attack. I don't like that I did, but I wanted to stop it before it sent me over the edge again and give me a chance to figure out what to do from here. I don't know why I can't just figure this out on my own. My husband thinks I should take something like 1mg of Lexapro to see if that helps but I don't want to take it again if it may only make things worse.

 

Any advice?

 

(Want to make a point to say I do not take Xanax regularly, or even at all. This is only the 2nd time in probably a year that I have and I don't plan to do it again unless in an emergency situation. I don't want to start any dependency to it)

[bubble]

I don't have any advice at this point. I had a lot of strong opinions based on my own experience and reading through stories of people here over 5 months.

 

I put so much time and energy to share my opinion of your situation but everything I wrote seems to have been completely lost.

 

You make decisions ignoring advice and then ask for more when things don't work out as warned you they wouldn't. But you won't listen again. It's very frustrating.

 

Did you read when I wrote that the worst of withdrawal for me happened 40 days after I stopped taking the drug?

 

There's nothing easier than stop taking an AD because they work long term and you are thinking on a daily basis:today I feel better-great, I've beaten this. Today I feel bad-let me take more of anything.

 

This is a recipe for disaster...but it seems nothing we can say will stop that. It just doesn't register with you.

 

My advice would be to read a few post of other people here instead of being so focused on your symptoms...

[bubble]

I was reading a thread of one other member and came across a comment that Rhi gave to her. 

 

I think it might give you some insight as well:

 

Posted 19 August 2013 - 01:12 PM

 

We find that going up and down on drug dosages and adding and removing new drugs actually causes more withdrawal than just staying on the same doses of things.

 

At first, when people are new to psych drugs, often the first time or two they can go on and off them okay.

 

But at some point that changes, and we think the brain and nervous system become extra sensitive to the drugs, partly as a result of going down and back up on them, and also as a result of changing to different medications and drugs.

 

Usually once that happens, more changes just lead to more problems.

 

So I would highly encourage you to stop changing anything and just take the same amount of medication at the same time of day, every day, for many months. 

 

It is possible that one of your medications is contributing to your symptoms now, but it is very difficult to say if the problem is the medication that you are taking, or if the problem is that you are simply in a very unstable state right now due to all of the changes that you have put your brain and body through recently.  

 

My feeling about it is that right now changing things is likely to lead only to more suffering for you.  I would recommend just stop changing anything for a while, probably many months.

 

After a while you will find that you will begin to feel more stable. Continue to wait for a while. Once you have been fairly stable for at least a month, you can then begin a very slow and careful taper.

 

From the history you describe I think you will probably always be sensitive now to changes in your drugs and changes in the quantity you take.  It is very important not to jump around on dosages, but take the same amount every day, to help your brain and body become stable.

[Fitby50]

Sunny,  How long have you been on the 40mg of Prozac?  Did you know that Prozac has a very long half-life and can take 2-3 weeks to feel the affect of a dose drop or increase?  I have no idea if your anxiety is from Prozac or what, but I can say that when I was first starting it, it gave me an increase to my anxiety.  I had been off Effexor(all AD's) for about 4.5 months, when my doc put me on 10mg of Prozac, then put me up to 20mg after a week.  It was at this time that I decided I was getting off AD's permanently and was only at the 20mg for 3 days and went back to my 10mg.  When I was only at 10mg of Prozac is when I had the worst anxiety and I really belief that it was causing it.  I am not saying this is the case for you, just offering what it did to me.

[Altostrata]

There may be two things going on:

 

1) It may take some time for your system to settle down from the drug switch.

 

2) 40mg Prozac may be too much for you.

 

What does your doctor say -- the one who had you switch to Prozac?

[sunnydays0912]

I don't have any advice at this point. I had a lot of strong opinions based on my own experience and reading through stories of people here over 5 months.

I put so much time and energy to share my opinion of your situation but everything I wrote seems to have been completely lost.

You make decisions ignoring advice and then ask for more when things don't work out as warned you they wouldn't. But you won't listen again. It's very frustrating.

Did you read when I wrote that the worst of withdrawal for me happened 40 days after I stopped taking the drug?

There's nothing easier than stop taking an AD because they work long term and you are thinking on a daily basis:today I feel better-great, I've beaten this. Today I feel bad-let me take more of anything.

This is a recipe for disaster...but it seems nothing we can say will stop that. It just doesn't register with you.

My advice would be to read a few post of other people here instead of being so focused on your symptoms...

I don't know where you are getting the idea I'm completely ignoring advice from? Yes, it was advised I should have tapered straight from Lexapro instead of bridging over to Prozac, but I was in a state of panic. I couldn't think clearly at all and even if a slow taper did help my symptoms, it would have been very slow and in the state I was in, I couldn't function a single day almost, let alone months of tapering. So I took the chance of Prozac helping me stabilize before tapering so I could taper from a manageable state.

 

When I decided to do it, I also decided to listen to my doctors direction on doing it. Which seemed to go fine until he added the last 20mg Prozac while leaving on 5mg lexapro. I worried about coming off it too fast the way he told me to (5mg a week, then every other day for a week) but I also didn't want my body to get accustomed to 40mg AND 5mg lexapro. When I took the last 5mg, a few days later I began to feel withdrawal. So I took 2.5mg, felt relief for a few days, then felt it again and took another 2.5mg and felt relief for a few days, then WD again but it only lasted one day. The next day I felt better, and I'm sorry if I naively took that as me feeling WD was over. That's when I came back to this site and have been looking for guidance as to what to do from here, and have listened to everything suggested. After reading what you and other members suggested which was the last 5mg was too fast of a taper, I asked if maybe I should reinstate a small dose and taper slower. That is what I have read Alto recommend many times on this site, so I'm sorry if that came off as me rushing to find a fix. I thought that was the usual course of action in this situation, but Alto told me to leave it alone and not over react so that's what I'm trying to do.

 

These WD symptoms line up perfectly to discontinuing lexapro, so I'm pretty confident in assuming it's that. When I began feeling them when I first stopped Lexapro, the 2.5mg seemed to relieve all symptoms so im trying not to jump to the conclusion of this having anything to do with Prozac.

 

I'm still experiencing strong WD today. Very fuzzy brained, difficulty thinking clearly, and some anxious energy. I'm hoping Alto will come and advise me further what to do from here. From what I read, this could just be the beginning of WD and continue to get worse, which is why I wonder if I should reinstate a small dose and do a slower taper. But she advised me not to as that may be messing with the drugs too much.

[Altostrata]

Sunny, I hope you understand how frustrating this is for me.

 

There are no easy answers for this. I tried to keep it simple by suggesting a direct taper from Lexapro. You chose to follow your doctor's method instead. Now you're in a pickle.

 

This makes me think all the effort I put into answering questions for you is wasted. I'm not a miracle worker. I can't rescue you.

 

I have no idea if adding Lexapro is going to do anything good for you.

 

Since you have a history of jumping around on drugs, which hasn't turned out well, try something different and stop jumping around.

[sunnydays0912]

There may be two things going on:1) It may take some time for your system to settle down from the drug switch.2) 40mg Prozac may be too much for you.What does your doctor say -- the one who had you switch to Prozac?

I can't get in to see him until Thursday, and now I may have to reschedule because of other responsibilities I have to tend to at that time (ugh) so who knows when he will have another opening...

 

I was JUST approved for Medi-Cal, so now I actually have a form of insurance and hopefully won't be forced to only see that low-income family practice doctor. I'm going to make some calls tomorrow to find out what my options are.

 

I really am not happy with this doctor. I don't trust him at all anymore. When I saw him last for the follow up of him starting the switch to Prozac, he totally forgot who I was, what I was taking, and what his plan was for me. I literally had to tell him everything he was doing with me. When he saw I was on Lexapro, he asked "how long have you been on it? Has it been taking care of your symptoms?" And I had to remind him that no, it completely pooped out and he was switching me to Prozac, which was a surprise to him as well! So from there he told me to up the dose to 40mg and Lexapro down to 5mg and then taper that over 2 weeks. I was feeling better so I did what he said and it went well until this last 5mg. And I can't get into see him sooner, nor do I want to now.

[sunnydays0912]

Sunny, I hope you understand how frustrating this is for me.There are no easy answers for this. I tried to keep it simple by suggesting a direct taper from Lexapro. You chose to follow your doctor's method instead. Now you're in a pickle.This makes me think all the effort I put into answering questions for you is wasted. I'm not a miracle worker. I can't rescue you.I have no idea if adding Lexapro is going to do anything good for you.Since you have a history of jumping around on drugs, which hasn't turned out well, try something different and stop jumping around.

The jumping around was done when I knew nothing of the medication causing this. I thought it was me and I listened to doctors. Yes I listened to this doctor again, but I was feeling more confident in it helping me.

 

I guess I was wrong and stuck in psychiatric distress. I know if I go to a doctor they will likely want to add Abilify or something like that. I guess I'm just screwed either way. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you in the beginning.