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Hi, my name is Bjorn, I've been a long time reader of this website since my problems with AD withdrawal I experience(d) and decided to sign up for an account to make a post about myself and to maybe get some input from other members about my situation. For whole my life (39 years old now) I've never had any mental problems, I always was a strong person who went through bad periods without any problems, till in 2018 my mother-in-law died very suddenly. I lost every sense of being, got anxiety, felt wrong aswell physical as emotional and didn't knew what happened. Naturally, I got my doctor involved, had some bloodwork done and my wife insisted that they also looked at my testosterone levels. When the blood work returned, most of it was fine, but my testosterone levels were indeed way off, like below half what was minimally recommended for a healthy male person. So then the whole story began, doctor told me that it was possible because of the stressfull and emotional period I was going through that a depression set in which made those T levels completely tank, so the solution was, AD's. He put me on 5 mg escitalopram and 25 mg trazodone to help with insomnia (which I developed in that period of high stress). It took a while for everything to lighten up a bit and after several months I was fairly functional, but I started getting heartflutters/heart skipping beats which made me scared, so for which I decided to stop the AD's. I did (no taper, completely CT) and for a while it went good, till after several months I started feeling depressed again and the doctor advised me to reinstate the 5 mg escitalopram again, which I reluctantly did. Took a while again to get "normal" again and I kept taking the AD from about mid 2019 till beginning of 2022 at which point i had enough of all the AD taking and talked to my doctor about quitting, on which he replied to start taking one day on and one day off (very bad move with escitalopram because the half life of the drug made it so i was acutally creating a WD every other day.) till I decided myself to quit the AD completely and go through what was to come. I expected the WD and with my quitting in 2019 I already experienced the brain zaps (which I actually didn't find that big of a bother the 2nd time because I knew what it was and I realised WD was ongoing). After a while the brainzapping stopped and I felt pretty ok, had a little relapse of WD around the end of 2022 (around the 10 month mark) for which I contacted my doctor again, who of course tried to get me on the AD again and I said "NOPE, I need to get through this without any drugs to get better myself" and after about 2 weeks it mostly resolved and I was able to do what needed to be done again, like work, relationship etc. Which I also should mention, related to the low testosterone levels, I went to see doctors about that too and after many tests the conclusion was that I have secondary hypogonadism, so they started me on a topical gel of administering testosterone every morning which helped in getting my T levels back to where they should and I also asked to go on Tadalafil 5 mg daily for PSSD which also developed because of the AD. PSSD also solved itself, but if it's because of the Tadalfil or my raised T levels, I don't know. What I also take is daily magnesium because I know it helps with general health and I know this site "recommends" it for people with PAWS alongside omega 3, but that's something I don't take (yet). Back to now, so since the end of 2022 till about 3-4 weeks ago I felt "normal", had no problems or none which I can really think of, but 3 - 4 weeks ago I woke up from my sleep having shortness of breath, feeling panicky, went back to sleep but started to think about it a got a bit scared. Also my daughter, who's 15 years old, started having some puberty problems which caused some serious fights at home, both affecting me and my wife pretty bad mentally and as of last week I feel like **** again. Insomnia, globus feeling (tension around my throat), very emotional, anxiety, panic attacks, the whole lot. I'm feeling very dreadful at the moment. The globus feeling has gone away a bit, it's not constantly there anymore, but everything is making me very scared. I wake up very often during sleep (if i can sleep that is) with my heart racing, shortness of breath, feeling panicky. Had my bloodwork done again last week, but everything turned out fine, even cortisol levels, which i expected to be high, but they were normal. Doctor prescribed me Sulpiride, to take a quarter of a pill (which comes down to 50mg) to alleviate symptoms, but I'm very reluctant to do so because I know it can have severe adverse reactions and I don't want to add any side effects of that antipsychotic to what i'm already feeling. Any advice on this, someone? I'm aware of the windows and waves pattern, is it possible that I'm in a wave now? This would be the 20 month mark of being of any AD, so I would thin if it's a wave that it wouldn't be so bad, but this one is very bad. Sorry to make this story so long, I could make it longer but I just wanted to write down what's happening to me just to see if I would get a reply and maybe even a reply which could calm me down a bit. Greetings.

Hello, I'm new to this website and so happy to have found this community! I've been on lexapro since 2020 and have been trying to come off it for about a year now. I am on 2.5mg at the moment. The next drop I can go to when cutting my pills is not very accurate at approx 1.7mg. When I do this the withdrawals are very bad. The typical one is the dizzy spells, but I also feel very emotionally unstable. I've seen three doctors now, (one of which was my doctor of 25 years who put be on the medication) and they have all been extremely unhelpful and very judgmental, often making me feel like its my fault that I am reacting so badly and I should stay on the medication. It seems from reading on here that this is quite a common experience for doctors. I want to be able to taper in smaller doses but I find it very hard with the pills as they are very small. I've been suggested to get the liquid form, but apparently the only available liquid in Australia can only go down in 1mg doses, which is too much for me. Is there a way to dilute the liquid form so I can go down in smaller doses? I can get the pills compounded but it is very expensive so I was hoping to try the liquid form first. Thanks so much advance for your advice! Milena

Hi everyone, I wish I found this website before all my previous attempts to stop SSRIs. I’m grateful that this website exist. My story with ADs began in 2015, after a “diagnosis” for OCD (had the mildest tendencies), and recommended to go on an SSRIs. I was introduced to the whole “chemical imbalance” theory and both the therapist and GP assured me that the drug is safe, easy to stop with no long term side effects! so I took the decision to try ADs which turned out to be a huge mistake and an ongoing cycle of being on ADs and WDs. ADs and WDs timeline: 2015-2017 : on Cipralex 10-20 mg (short taper, 15-10-5-0 mg). 2017-2018: off Cipralex, withdrawal. Was recommended to go back on Cipralex for the second time due to a “relapse”. Dec 2018 - march 2020: on Cipralex for the 2nd time, between 10-20 mg. Alternating between 10, 15 20 mg trying to figure out what works throughout the “treatment” (3 months taper or less) March 2020-oct 2020: of Cipralex. Second withdrawal, started with dizziness, depression, fatigue.. etc and by the 6th month, turned into constant panic attacks, severe DPDR and agoraphobia. It was was unbearable, I couldn’t function. Drs dismissed that its withdrawal since the severe symptoms started 6 months after and gave a “diagnosis” for panic disorder. Before ADs, I never had these issues. I was desperate and agreed to go back on ADs but asked for a different one. Oct 2020-March 2022: on Prozac 20 mg. 3rd time on SSRIs. Suffered from common side effects (as well as on Cipralex before), but noticed some previous WD symptoms remained while on Prozac (got milder), like DR, anxiety, fatigue, cold like symptoms, socially withdrawn. I think my body didn’t adjust well due to CNS becoming highly sensitive after the previous WD. I was functioning but not living. (3 months taper, 18,15,12,10,7,5,3,0 mg), thinking the problem was tapering method and not length, got both wrong. March 2022 - April 2023 (13 months): off Prozac, severe withdrawal.. Current WD timeline and symptoms: The first 6 months off of Prozac: internal buzz, tingling legs, insomnia, DPDR, flu like symptoms, dizziness, gut issues, etc., but I managed to function to some extent. By the 7th month: I started experiencing crippling symptoms, including peripheral neuropathy symptoms, tingling on legs and feet hand arms and other parts, burning and numbness legs/arms/head, light, sound, and smell sensitivities, strong internal buzz, gut issues, vertigo, tinnitus on/off, closed eyes visions, strange nerve throbbing sensations, chronic fatigue, coordination issues, dizziness, dehydration, PSSD, doom, agoraphobia, OCD, zaps, mini seizures, internal buzz, gut issues, health anxiety and DPDR and more. This lasted 4 months in its severity. Was bedridden 90% of my day. PTSD symptoms, shock, and disbelief from my experience with SSRIs and WDs. By month 11 off: changed my diet, few symptoms improved (some improved in severity while would fade and return), the rest remained. I developed new symptoms, mostly cognitive, like brain fog and brain pressure, anhedonia, difficulty speaking, memory and imagination issues. Now 13 month off: some symptoms resolved, some improved, some remained and some got worse like tinnitus (all the time now), and PSSD. Still unable to function, and under immense pressure to. Drs keep suggesting SSRIs, and at desperate times, I wonder if it’s a good idea to go back on SSRIs only to taper correctly and stabilize my CNS, after knowing the information on tapering now. This feels like a defeat after waiting and struggling for more than a year with withdrawal (and all the years before that). I think I’m kindled, cuz every time I've been on ADs or gone through WD again, both experiences got worse. I don’t know whats best at this stage, and confused by the conflicting claims online and from Drs. I would appreciate any support, recommendations and encouragements.

So I'd share my story, about importance of both slowly getting off any drugs, not mixing another, importance of supplements proven here like Omega, Magnesium, Vitamins and reinstating as the only proven way of alleviating many symptoms. I must say that there is no "one size fits it all", but this is my advice for anyone getting off of ADs. Basically, I was prescribed Lexapro, more than 5 years ago, for few months. I went off to quikcly, fast taper in 1,5 months, instead of holding smaller doses, especially since I had big tolerance and my withdrawal even cold turkey was manageable, hard due to blunted emotions but even THEN I could function, so smaller drops would most likely caused no problems at all, but I was impatient like MANY people. Then after 1 month I reinstated, and due to various supplements that I took my body was dysregulated so first advice - don't try any unproven herbs or whatever you want to take to "heal" yourself and what folks on another forums with various unproven theories say, the only proven things that you can try is what is written here, proven by many users - Omega 3, Magnesium, B vitamins - granted, some people have bad reaction to some vitamins but body still need them, so always the best to try small doses and doing proper lab testing, especially for D3, B12 for any comorbid vit deficiency which can cause problems in the first place as well. Then in 2021 I took more supplements like CDP Choline and it caused various problems like vasodilation on arms and legs, weight loss, I was in post-reinstate state, I could go back to small dose lexapro anytime, but my Body coudn't 'click' to get back in place. It turned out after accutane therapy 6 months ago that the things that I overlooked were vitamins, but never really believed that I could be deficient, nor that it could cause problems since I'm non-vegetarian and took some vitamins there and there or that it coudl help. I didn't test right away, after accutane I had chronic depression (I wasn't depressed after lexapro at all), tinnitus, chonic fatigue, it turned out that after B9 and B12 all my symptoms went away, more over, after adding good b complex I started to heal from withdrawal caused by Lexapro as well - I also test do D3 often and now it's in 70s instead of 20s). My B12 was in low high 400s but my doc didn't test me for homocysteine or folate, but told me, that empiricism is good indicator of underlying functional B12 deficiency, since folate and B12 may test false high after current supplementation or B12 shots - B12 deficiency group on reddit is good resource for anyone dealing with this. So I had both some withdrawal symptoms from lexapro and B12 deficiency, but my deficiency based on my symptoms progressed way after discontinuation, so this isn't "it all B12" in my case, rather it's B12 depletion over of period of time that made my nervous system harder to fully get back on track and accutane by fully depleting my B vitamins (there are papers stating that isotretinoin causes depletion of all vitamins, especially ones with short half life like B2 and folate, my friend who works as pharmaceutical lawyer also said that B vitamin depletion is common in most drug therapies, especially B12) actually saved me. So, if I have advice for anyone suffering from ADs withdrawal and things like pssd, mostly people who are desperate who want it all quickly: - taper slowly, don't panic, get Omega 3, magnesium, if you can take B and ADEK vitamins starting with smaller doses that's great, or better do a test - whole vitamin panel is the best, including MTHFR mutation - things written here actually. - if you have some withdrawal, or symptoms like pssd, but withdrawal itself wasn't problematic, it always the best to reinstate the same drug in very small dose that caused that in first place, and be patient with stabilizing, rather than trying everything possible as magic pill, especially since many people get pssd and blunted emotions ONLY once they jump off - don't go into rabbit hole of alternatives experiments, like hormones, stacking 10 supplements etc. to "cure" you because it most likely only cause more harm than good both in liver, nervous system and don't be "i know better, it's all because [mechanism of ADs] and another theory, i'm right" like many folks on various forums. The only proven thing is to slowly taper, reinstate, staying away from both other pharmaceutical drugs and psychoactive drugs like weed, unless you have ynderlying condition, but always be careful and don't do it unless really necessary. I can't guarantee that everyone will recover from either pssd (it's more than that - there is whole emotional numbness, I had sexual function like 80% of the time, it's about getting all emotion and nervous system back on track, many people overlook it) or long-term withdrawal, but there is much higher chance you will if you won't go into rabbit hole of basically turning your body into big lab rat and maybe also damaging liver or other organs in the process, that;s why comorbid deficiencies are important, do a homocysteine test, your D3 etc to make sure your body has everything to function on basic level. If someone has questions, I can engage in discussion regarding my experience dealing both with withdrawal from AD and B12 deficiency if anyone is suffering from that as well - there many cofactors that are important as well. Right now i'm almost fully recovered, basically I got slight B6 toxicity on top of everything and everything overlap byt my body is like 90-95% like it was pre lexapro and it's only getting better.

Hi! I just started to taper and I am in my second week of reducing from 20mg escitalopram. I already cut off 10%. What I find confusing: 1. Does it matter if I just take on ONE randomly chosen day 10% less (which I did already) or do I have to distribute the 10% cut throughout the 2 weeks? I can't see how the latter would be possible, given the infinitesimal amount that needs to be reduced this way, but I thought I will ask anyway :)> 2. Whilst I am aware of the huge variability in individual histories, I wonder if anyone here has been experiencing gradual tapering (as advised per medication here) and had withdrawal effects that were bearable and short-lived? In other words, if one does it right, generally speaking, and assuming that one is only on one antidepressant and all other variables are more or less constant, does it help avoid the worse of withdrawal effects? This is something that I am confused about. It is important for me, if any data, anecdotal or scientific exists in regard to this matter. Where can I look for this kind of information? Many thanks.

Hello all, just posting as a new member here. Prescribed 10 mg Lexapro in 2008 after a relationship breakup. Since then have made roughly 5 attempts to wean off, but have been unable to. During the almost 15 years of taking Lexapro, I have mostly taken 5 mg and been ok on that. My most recent attempt to discontinue Lexapro ( after reducing dose to 5 mg every other day, prior) was from late March to mid-May 2023, by which time I was quite distressed and struggling to cope. I then reinstated at 10 mg, and continued at that dose until mid-August when I reduced to roughly 7.5 mg . After learning about very graduated tapering recently, I have been able to obtain the liquid form of Lexapro in 20 mg/ml and plan to commence at 7 mg equivalent. Given that historically I have been stable on 5 mg, this would seem to be a safe startng point. Of course, given that reasoning, maybe I could shorten the tapering process by starting at 5 mg, maybe staying there for 8 weeks to ensure no emergence of symptoms, as it seems to take anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks for my symptoms to manifest in a definite way . Apologies if I have not kept to the guidelines here ; i was not quite sure what to put where ! thankyou all for running this site, so much appreciated.

Hello everyone I recently signed up to the SA forum and thought I'd introduce myself. 57yo male here living in Malaysia. I moved here recently (early retirement) from Australia. My GP in Australia put me on Citalopram (initially 20mg, then subsequently 40mg daily) for anxiety/depression (and related alcohol dependency) almost 30 years ago. When I moved to Malaysia last year I discovered that GP's don't prescribe antidepressants. Instead you have to see a psychiatrist. So I went to see one who switched me from Citalopram to Escitalopram (Lexapro). I mentioned that I would like to look at coming off antidepressants, so he prescribed 10mg of Lexapro (as opposed to 20mg which would have been equivalent to the 40mg of citalopram). I didn't notice any adverse effects with the reduced dose. A couple of months ago, I thought I'd half the dosage again, and so tried taking 5mg of Lexapro for a couple of days. Big mistake. I ended up having a sudden panic attack in a busy shopping mall. It was horrible. I felt completely overwhelmed, thoughts of impending doom and just sheer panic. My partner could see my state of distress so we quickly returned home and I took the extra 5mg. Since then, I resumed the 10mg a day dose. Recently, there was a 4Corners documentary on TV that showed other people having the same difficulty coming off SSRI's and it was reassuring (although disturbing) to find that many other people are in the same situation. Up until then, I had no idea about having to taper off these meds and the severity of the withdrawal effects. The documentary also mentioned this website (and the accounts of other "survivors"), which is thankfully how I ended up here. So, I've bought myself a small digital weighing scale and a pill crusher and have started my journey of a gradual taper.. Anyhow, just thought I'd say hello and provide a brief intro.. Thank you for providing this valuable forum. _________ Wednesday 6 September - Wednesday 20 September 2023 - 9mg Lexapro

Was on lexapro for about 7 months at 20 mg.. all in the past month and a half I tapered off to nothing stopped for a week and started having muscle weakness and typical withdrawal symptoms .. on day 6 I started having ringing in ear and dizziness and brain for so I started back at 5 mg.. today is day 4 and I’m still feeling terrible what do I do

Hi everybody! I am Julz, a 33 year-old female - polydrugged to my eye-balls Ten years ago, I fell into anorexia and depression, soon unveiling terrible anxiety. I was referred to a psychiatrist (in France) who prescribed me medication and also gave me psychotherapy. Regarding the medication, different combinations and doses where tried and I eventually found myself on a prescription which seemed to suit my troubled mind (Escitalopram, venlafaxine, clonazepam and diazepam) - did it ever do anything? I still haven't got a clue. I trusted this doctor. This is my initial prescription: Escitalopram: 20mg 20mg 20mg - (yes, that is 60mg...!!!) Venlafaxine(MR): - - 75mg - Clonazepam: - 2mg - 2mg Diazepam: - - - 10mg Time passed and psychologically, a lot changed. I moved away from where I used to live, totally changed my environment, and went for a fresh start. But I was still taking my medication as prescribed. My General Practitioner (in charge of my prescription in my new environment) convinced me to lower the Escitalopram (on the grounds that it was "bad for my heart") and I managed, between 2011 and 2013, to come from 60mg/day to 15mg. How? By jumping 5mg at a time every now and again. I had no idea... again, I more or less trusted this doctor who was willing to prescribe me the drugs I was clearly physically dependent on. The withdrawals I experienced were uneventful. I did feel something was happening but within a few days, I always felt the same as before the drop. Between 2010 and 2014, a LOT had changed as I finally got an MSc BUT I had fallen into terrible exhaustion and had no life. How did I get my degree? A struggle every day. I then began to question this cocktail of drugs, I'd been on them for 10 years and was still taking them as prescribed because I was physically dependent. That was clear enough! It then hit me: my meds were probably incapacitating me rather than providing any help! The realisation came as in January 2013, after I managed to lower my Escitalopram intake from 20 to 15mg/day in a single 5mg step (...), I began to feel even more tired during the day, exhausted - I simply had to nap every single day. After some personal research, I went to my GP and told him I didn't believe in keeping our focus on the Escitalopram because it seemed that the more I decreased it, the more sleepy I'd get during the day, considering my benzo intake (at that point, I was taking 3 hours' naps), and I could not live like that! Fortunately, before I was able to drop a pill here and there as instructed by my GP, I found the BenzoBuddy website and managed to find a taper method to gradually come off clonazepam. From December 2014 to July 2015, I came from 4mg to 2mg and am now below 1.9mg and still tapering off successfully. I decided to join Surviving Antidepressants as I want off ALL any medication which alters who I am. I believe in other ways to manage my weaknesses - I am not ill, I have a tendency to be anxious and this is not new, I was an anxious child but I had emotions too. I'd like my emotions and my whole life back... I realise I know NOTHING about anti-depressants, I surely did not know about Escitalopram's potency and am still in shock from the news. My initial plans (supported by a psychiatrist I saw in February 2015) were to come off clonazepam (bz), then diazepam (bz), then Escitalopram, then Venlafaxine. In the light of what I read on this wonderful site, I wonder whether I should stay of Valium (diazepam) while at least tapering off Escitalopram, when I am done with clonazepam... I realise I need knowledge myself because sadly, doctors haven't been helpful at all... so far... Thanks for welcoming me on your wonderful Forum! Julz xxx

I have been on Lexapro 5 mg for roughly 2 years now. These last couple of months I made the decision to want to discontinue Lexapro, so I started a taper down to 2.5 mg for one month. Recently I made the switch to 1.5 mg and I missed a couple of dosages. It was then I started to experience, what I think are withdrawal symptoms. Irritability Heart Palpitations Crying Spells Anxiety & Depression Panic Attacks I spoke to my Psychiatrist and she told me that it was not WS, but instead Rebound Systems. She explained that my body needs the medication. She also mentioned that it was unlikely that I would have WS with such a low dosage. Is this true? Has anyone else experienced WS with such a low dosage? I’ve been doings loads of reading on here, so I hope that I can stabilize with 2.5 mg soon! I’m curious to know when ppl have stabilized and how long it took for everyone to reach stability.

Hi, i am 29 years old and going thru hellish WD symptoms. I quit CT after my psychiatrist told me my AD was just a placebo and that I could stop taking it after 1 week of tapering. I am so mad for how stupid I was to believe him. I got off my AD in December 2017 because I wanted to get pregnant. I actually have been having neurological symptoms for the past 5 years and had been on my AD for 10 years. And my anxiety has been bad for the past 2 years. I always thought the neurological symptoms were anxiety but now maybe they are a side effect of the drug? I tried to get back on my AD to stabilize but it made me feel so sick. I’m asking because you said you are stabilizing on Prozac. I have never heard of someone stabilizing on a different drug that wasn’t their original AD. I was just wondering if you could elaborate just because I am curious. I am considering trying a different AD just to stabilize because this is pure hell on earth. I have an appointment with a holistic doctor next month but I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.

Hello there everybody, I am Dara. Forgive my English, I grew up in Europe and not my first language is English. So I was on SSRI and other meds after being scare of pandemic and not wanting to leave house. So for two years I was on Lexapro and sometimes Xanax. I try other meds like Wellbutrin because Lexapro made me not interested in physical with my husband. But after I stop, have hed zap, headache, but still function. Few months later, I feel very strange, like I can feel no joy or love and thing no working right. I try maca, I try tea, I try yoga. Nothing happens and I get very scared and anxiety. i try other supplement that makes me very sick and not sleep and have tremor. I go to hospital, they put on more meds saying anxiety is much more bad, and I was on a few things for a month before having something like can't sit down at night and again no sleep and feel very weird like I am so angry and dark. I stop those meds and just stay on sleep med not benzo sleep med, but new one Dayvigo and Doctor add beta blocker. Things seem better, then again no sleep, and i worry so, stop Dayvigo. It was okay and I feel good, then bad again, but now, things seem to be more okay. Like a few weeks I felt more good and even happy. Sleeping some. Still no passion and not me, but can be calm and okay and do other things. Then some nights very bad, no sleep and scared. But don't want to change any more. So i am on Inderal- 60 mg. I been doing just okay enough to feel okay. Not working, not loving, but alive and getting better bit more. Not every day better, but looking back, trend is better like stock market go up even with dips sometimes. I okay I feel more regular, even though not me, so good, i can get better. Good enough for me for now. But lately i am very scared about other things happening to stop getting good and don't know what to do. Yesterday I got small punctor in my heel from furnutire staple on couch. It went in heel, I jump up and say OW and look at foot to see small drop of blood. So I wash and clean and call my doctor. He say last Tetanus was more than 10 years before. So I worry now, do I get this innoculation or not because it was not outside and not rusty but also I don't know. Doc says could do either way, get it not get it. I don't know. I don't drink alcohal, I eat pretty healthy foods. But I don't know what else is problem for this sichuation. I didn't think supplements make big problem and they did. I didn't think withdrawl was a thing and it was. So now I don't know- inoculation can make me feel worse and withdrawal again? I also worried about tetans! Don't want either thing or nother bad thing to happen again. I just need to get better. My question is, what to do about things like tetans inoculation and avoiding other things to get better. I look here for experience, but only few people mention tetanus and some okay and some not. i have this akethesia before, this insomnia, nerve issue, low feeling of void, and don't want to go back there now things bit better here and there. Any advise? ALso, I don't have regular menstruation. Few months nothing. Now, I got yesterday and I noticce week before felt worse again, like going crazy sometimes and feeling like worse times from before. So if i get inoculation I don't know what is withdrawal inoculation or period or all. Danke - Dana

-- Here is my intro topic -- It has officially been ONE WHOLE YEAR of all of this discontinuation nightmare since I stopped taking Lexapro as of tomorrow! 364 days no Lexapro. I'm SO excited to finally be able to say I've almost fully healed. Your day is coming too! I could not have gone through this without this website and because of that, I am forever grateful. Here is some background on my journey and my healing process. I apologize for the long post, but I want to be detailed in my post so others can hopefully gain some insight / information, and I want somewhere where all of this is documented in one place. Mid March 2018 - Started taking 10m Lexapro (escitalopram) daily when my doctor said it might help with my random chest discomforts. She had some scans done on me and blood tests etc to rule anything serious out, and told me if might be anxiety induced discomfort. I did a tiny bit of research, and jumped on the SSRI bandwagon. April 8th, 2018 - Stopped taking Lexapro cold turkey because it hadn't done anything for me. This was 3 weeks of taking the Lexapro daily. I didn't know anything about lowering dosages / tapering at all. My doctor didn't mention anything so I just stopped taking it. April 15th, 2018 - This is the exact day my discontinuation symptoms started and it hit like a TRUCK. I had no idea they were from stopping the Lexapro either. I all of the sudden had a TERRIBLE panic attack. My arm felt stiff, my vision started to tunnel, it was hard to focus on my breathing and my heads were ice cold and sweating profusely. I told my wife to call 911 I think I'm having a heart attack. I thought I was seconds away from dying and it was so scary. I'll never forget that moment. The paramedics told me I was fine, checked my vitals and asked me if I take any medication. I said "I don't have a history of medication, but I did just stop taking Lexapro last week, but I only took it for 3 weeks". The paramedics said "Bingo, that's your problem". I kinda shrugged it off and for the next week everything was relatively normal. April 22th, 2018 - My wife and I were going to the park for an earth day celebration. It was beautiful out and everything was great. We took a trolley to the park and it was about a 20 minute ride. We got there, everything was fine, and then boom. Heart started pounding and I got lightheaded. I felt VERY odd. I told my wife I needed to sit down and call my doctor. No answer, it was the weekend. No problem, I said. Let's get back on the trolley and leave, and go to urgent care. It was the longest 20 minutes of my life. On the trolley I felt very claustrophobic and a panic attack set in. I did nothing but focus on my breathing and trying to stay positive, but I felt lightheaded, my chest felt very hot and was very tight. We finally got back to my car and went straight to an urgent care down the street. They looked at me like I was an idiot and they gave me some benadryl via IV to "calm me down" This made me incredibly dizzy and more light headed than before. For some reason I was going in and out of panic every 10 minutes. For the rest of the day my wife and I laid outside on a blanket, she read a book and I tried to sleep but woke up in a panic every five minutes. Life for my at this point was VERY, VERY tough and I had no idea what was happening to me and was very, very scared. I thought back to what the paramedics said about the Lexapro inducing that first panic attack. I did some light googling and found a lot of threads on Reddit about SSRI discontinuation and I eventually found this website as well. It finally hit me that I was 100% going through discontinuation. I became a google master like the rest of us trying to figure out why we go through this, how long this will last for, cold turkey vs taper, etc. I LIVED on this website reading every thread I could find. I googled and searched here for every new symptom I got. I developed a VERY, VERY bad health anxiety. I have very good insurance with my company and am very grateful for that because I went to the doctor once every 2-3 weeks when I got new symptoms. The doctor that initially gave me the Lexapro told me symptoms would only last for up to 2 weeks and they will be mild. I stayed with her until about 1 month off at which point she became annoyed with my visits and basically told me this is all in my head and that I needed therapy. Lol? That was a joke, because my symptoms were very pronounced. I called around and found a new doctor who was younger and might understand more. He was a joke and a waste of my time. I only saw him for one visit. I got VERY lucky and found my new doctor (the one I have now kept for a year and am very grateful for and pleased with). She told me what I'm going through is normal and could last a few months up to around 6 months. In reality, I know a lot of us go through this for a year or multiple years, up to 5 or more years. I had her refer me to multiple specialists (cardiologists, neurologists, etc). I got multiple tests done on my heart such as EKGs, stress tests, and multi-day holtor monitors. I had multiple scans done - CT scans, MRIs, etc. All of these tests and visits were done over the course of 6-8 months and every single test came back clean. Since the start of my discontinuation, I had rotating symptom periods. Every 3 or 4 weeks, my symptoms would change. Either brand new symptoms or previous symptoms came back and my current symptoms would go away. Here is a laundry list of symptoms that I have gone through, in no particular order. General anxiety, Health anxiety, panic attacks, night terrors, fatigue, dizziness, light head, nausea, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, claustrophobia, loss of sleep, brain zaps, head pressure, weight gain, eye pain, heart zaps, jolting awake at night, depression, tinnitus, jaw tightness, head tingles, loss of ability to focus, and many more symptoms that I can't remember. I tried everything to combat these symptoms and not much worked other than time. I tried vitamins, diet changes, melatonin for sleep, fish oil, exercise (this was harder to do the more severe my symptoms got), CBD oil, therapy, essential oils, and more.I will say, even if it was placebo, CBD oil (no THC content) did seem to help my general anxiety and chest tightness. I would take it sublingually once in the morning and once at night. Melatonin did help a lot with my sleep. Most melatonin comes in 1gram servings but I broke these up and only took 250mg a few nights a week. It was more than enough to help. I will say some of the biggest things that helped was keeping my mind off of reality as much as possible. Focusing extra hard at work, watching comedy TV shows, browsing this website, and cuddling with my wife. There were weekends I didn't leave my bed and we watched TV all day and it was so comforting. Also, when it was warm out, I would walk. I would walk A LOT. Sometimes I walked for 2 or 3 hours and just sweat and sweat and it felt so great. I doubt these had a direct affect on my healing process, but it's all about keeping your mind off of reality in any way you can. After all, as Aeroman said, it really is just time that is the biggest factor in healing. My healing journey consisted of continuous misery for the first 2 month followed by windows and waves (definitely way more waves than windows) for 3-5 months. Then more continuous misery for 2 months. For the past 4 months I've been in the windows and waves pattern again, but this time, way more windows than waves. There's no way I can pinpoint the exact minute, or day, or even week where I knew I was almost done healing, it happens gradually. But as of today, I've been in a window for a full straight 6 weeks. I have very, very minor symptoms left over, but I am optimistic these will fade over the next few months. I would say I'm 90-95% fully healed. if you asked me 6 months ago, I would say I was at 50-60%. I understand I might still have some waves ahead of me, but I am no longer scared of symptoms to come. I am stronger than this and I've made it through the worst. This journey has changed my life in so many ways, but it's definitely made me appreciate life more now. Thank you everyone from Surviving Antidepressants. From the bottom of my heart, you guys are sincerely awesome and I couldn't have done this without you guys. I hope all of you still suffering will get through this, sooner rather than later. Be strong, stay positive, and keep in mind that EVERYONE heals after time. SupahSet

Hello, I quit drinking alcohol 11 years ago and a doctor at that time thought the anti depressant Zoloft would be beneficial for my "anxiety" from quitting. This is how I started using these drugs. It has taken me forever to finally quit. I'm a 43 year old male. I've quit Lexapro 2.5 mg 24 days ago and have had the worst three day stretch to date. I feel extremely tired and fatigued. I feel symptoms of brain fog, memory failures, cognitive decline, crying spells, sadness, slight headache, head pressure, eyes tired, some body ache, and slight brain zaps. I'm trying to stay positive and day to day but this is brutal. I feel like a zombie and would just want to sleep. I also have mild sleep apnea in which I have started using a cpap machine a week ago but have found no relief. I think I'm going to stop using the Cpap machine for a month to rule out the machine being the cause for recent three day stretch. I want to believe that the withdrawal symptoms are what is causing me to feel this way but I'm unsure now. I have always had some of the described symptoms on a day to day basis before. These symptoms went as far back as the last two to three years. They weren't nearly as severe. I haven't heard of anyone having the described symptoms as a result of actively taking the antidepressant drug. If this is something that can be confirmed I would feel much more at ease as I would have to wait out the withdrawal process. I guess I am looking for words of encouragement and hopefully some validation that these symptoms are from the withdrawal and this is a normal process. Last night I started myofacial exercises as an alternative to the cpap. I know it will be sometime before I see any benefit from them. I also ran 2 miles yesterday. This morning I practiced some Pranayama and will continue this daily. I'd appreciate any feedback and thank you for reading my story. Matthew

Hi all, would appreciate advice if anyone else has had a similar experience I've recently stopped venlafaxine. Now 6 weeks off after tapering down to 37.5mg over a few months then stopping completely. Prior to that I had been on venlafaxine for 8 years doses between 150mg and 75mg. I stopped as felt flat on it and that did not need it any more. first few weeks I had bad physical symptoms - flushes, sweats, nausea, vertigo, brain zaps, nightmares and shakes. In the last week I've had intense panic episodes/general feeling of dread. Incredibly tearful, ongoing insomnia and severe feeling of restlessness despite feeling exhausted. My doctor has put me on 50mg of sertraline in the hope it helps. Has anyone else had this experiencing with venlafaxine and came through the other side? I'm starting to lose hope of ever feeling normal again.

Firstly hi, i wish someone can guide me, may 2021 i started on paxil 10 mg then 20 mg to the end of mars then i switched to zolof 50 mg then 25 mg but it gave me insomnia and lost my appetite so i switched to lexapro 5mg after 7 weeks on zoloft.. Lexapro always made me lose my appetite so i just stopped then i got into withdrawal so i used prozac to get rid of them after one week like this : one week 5 mg prozac One week 2.5 mg One week 1.25 It got rid off dizziness and zaps but nauaea it still there after i finished prozac ( when i was on it i didnt have much appetite too ) Its 10 days ago So what should i do now plz help me Tough it out ? For how long ? Or reinstate lex 2.5 mg but it will make me lose my appetite anyways Can i taper if i wasnt stable on it and still give me side effects ? Plz help and opinions and thanks..

Hello Everyone, I could use your advice for weaning off lexapro (Cipralex). I am a new member on this site , I come from Cyprus (europe) and I would like to share my story with you. I was on lexapro (cipralex 20mg ) for 11 years since I was 23 years old (now 34). I recently wanted to come off the medicine, I went from 20 to 15 then to 10 , 5 and 0 mg within 3 months period. I was ok on 5mg but after i stopped from 5 to 0mg i had severe anxiety and panic on week 8. We decided with my doctor to reinstate on the lowest dose. 5mg . Reinstatement started working ( I am on day 6 now- still on fight/flight mode but I am geting better day by day) but I am really worried it would be really difficult to finally stopped this medicine. withdrawals were really bad. My doctor could not advice how to wean off 5mg and I srongly believe there is a method of slower tappers from 5mg to 0 mg. I would like to ask you if you know how is it possible to make a dosage of 2,5 mg , 1,5 mg and 0,5mg of this medicine so I can successfully tapper down really slow so my nervous system will adapt without having severe withdrawals . Do you believe an oral solution would help making these dosages? Do you know if there is a protocol for making these dosages by crushing the pills? Thank you in advance for your time All the best Danae Danae Danae

Hello everyone, You can see the title to get an idea of where I've been. I've gone off cold turkey on escitalopram at least three times now. Currently almost a month out from going off of escitalopram again now. Most of the acute withdrawal has subsided but I've noticed when the brain zaps and light headedness occur it's usually late afternoon/evening. I did a little reading that suggested serotonin gets lower in the evening as it's being converted to melatonin for sleep. Has anyone else had this issue? Currently do not have a plan for tapering my clonazepam use. I'm on .5mg twice a day but I plan to wait until im fully recovered from the escitalopram withdrawal. Would be happy to hear from anyone who has dealt with both ssri withdrawal and benzo withdrawal and how you approached it. Thanks for your time.

Hello, After a couple of months of reading some of the posts on this forum, I have decided to join, because basically it seems that I have PSSD. As you will see from my signature strip, I have been on escitalopram at various doses for just over 7 years (finally came off in January of this year (2017)). My history on this drug probably looks a bit confusing. Basically I went on the drug late in 2009 for anxiety that I was suffering. I only intended to be on it for a short time – maybe 6 months – whilst I made some important decisions about my future. But my doctor at that time provided no guidance on coming off the drug. I came off very quickly and crashed. It basically took me about 3 attempts like this to finally realise I could not come off it quickly. In the end it has been a long and slow process with some bumps along the way, but finally I am off the drug – but it took 7 years. I am male and now in my mid-thirties. Anyway, whilst on the drug I suffered from sexual side effects, which from what I have read is very common. But it was in late 2013 that I found out just how much the drug was affecting me. I started a relationship with a girl who although I liked much, I could feel no deep emotion with. Basically I could not fall in love with her. At first I could not understand what was wrong with me, but one day shortly into our relationship I suspected the drug. After a simple ‘Google search’ I had the answer. This combined with the sexual side effects of the drug just made it impossible for me really and in early 2014 we split up. It was at this point that I realised no matter what, I had to get off the drug. It took 2 further attempts of slow tapering but finally I have managed it. I am now almost 5 months off the drug, but seems I have PSSD. At the end of December 2016 I reduced from 10mg every other day to just 5mg every third day. A few days after doing this I could feel something changing sexually – more normal feeling was coming back. And about a week later I had a couple of days of what I would say was completely normal function returning. However this only lasted a couple of days. Shortly after this I took the last tablet. I was now off the drug. About 2 weeks later I once again had a couple of days of everything returning to normal sexually. Again this only lasted temporarily. Then a period of 3 weeks of the numbness and erection difficulties. Then - 5 weeks after taking the last tablet - I again had a period of 2 days of normal functioning – this time I thought it was going to be for good, but unfortunately not. And that was the last time I experienced what I consider everything being normal. Since then I have returned to the numbness, lack of drive and erection difficulties that I had whilst on the drug. I have had the odd day or two in recent weeks where the numbness reduces a bit and there is a little bit of sensitivity, but only a very tiny improvement for a day or so. Then back to full numbness. Also I have developed a ache/pain in my testicles that radiates at times into the top of my legs and buttocks. I can’t remember exactly when this started but I think it was around 6 weeks after being off the drug. I also feel emotionally flat – I don’t think I could fall in love with somebody. I think that issue is still there. I can cry at times, but can’t feel any real happiness for anything. I guess like so many people here I feel the most desperate I have ever done in my life and just looking to talk with others in a similar situation. These past months have seemed like an eternity and every day is such a struggle. I am hoping somebody can give me some hope, because right now I can’t feel much of it. Also I do have a few questions which if anybody can give some sort of an answer to I would be so grateful. 1) Why did I have 3 separate periods of normal sexual function in the immediate period of coming off the drug (first 5 weeks) and then nothing further? 2) the ache/pain that I feel in the testicles – is this part of PSSD? 3) one of the things that really worries me is the fact that I noticed a change to my sexual function after taking just one tablet (God only knows why I did not stop taking them there and then) but as I only planned to be on the medication for a short time, it did not bother me too much. Does this immediate reaction to the drug combined with my long-term use of it mean it more likely my recovery will be a very long time, or worse still that I never recover? Thanks very much for reading.

So may of 2022 I started my SSRI journey I had bad anxiety and my doctor recommended I take Zoloft. I listened and started with a low dose I completely forget what dose I took but I know I had a terrible reaction to it I lasted like 2 months and then got switched to lexapro. Once I was in lexapro I went from 2.5mg to 10mg wayyyy to fast my psychiatrist was terrible and I got so so many side effects from 10mg so she had me taper off within a month from 10mg-0mg and I had every side effect in the book, you name it I had it. (Brain Zaps were the worst). She then switched me to buspar 5mg 3 times a day and man I could only last 9 days on it. It gave such bad intrusive thoughts it was scary. So I decided to get back on lexapro in January of 2023 and go super slow like start with 2.5 mg and I knew I was sensitive because 2.5 gave me side effects so I started slowly upping my dose and the intrusive thoughts got worse, blurry vision, urge to cry daily, dizzy, and after about 5 months in it I became numb. Nothing would give me anxiety but also nothing would give me excitement. So I started tapering very very slow I went from 5mg to 2.5mg to 1.25mg and then 1.25mg every other day and it was definitely a better taper from last time because I got no brain zaps so far. So currently I’m almost 4 weeks in off of lexapro and man this is hard. I’ve technically been on meds for 1 year just not consistently so I do understand that it will take awhile to heal but man these side effects are weird. I don’t feel happy but I don’t feel sad it is such a weird feeling. I have days where I feel amazing like back to normal and then the next day sucks. Just feels like my motivation is low right now and excitement, I thought that would come back after almost 4 weeks off the pill. Another big thing is the insomnia it is so hard to stay asleep at night. It’s like I have an urge to cry but can’t. just wanted to know if these side effects are common with someone who’s been on ssris for a year

Hi everyone! I took Cymbalta for about a month back in November 2022-December 2022. I had been on and off Lexapro for about 5 years, with a short stent of Prozac during 2021. I stopped cold turkey and had a few withdrawal symptoms lasting about a month. I was a tad more anxious after quitting antidepressants, but overall felt much better! Fast forward to May 27th, I had a panic attack that has left me feeling anxious ever since. I have gotten better over the past few weeks, but still anxious. My psychiatrist recommended trying Lexapro again at a higher dosage and prescribed Lorazepam to take PNR (for panic attacks). I’m hesitant to get back on an SSRI because I felt like I was handling life fairly well until the panic attack. I also have not had another panic attack since, so the Lorazepam has just been sitting in my nightstand. Anyone else struggling with withdrawal symptoms happening late or return of anxiety after feeling okay for a few months?

On the 31st of March I stopped taking escitalopram after I had reduced from 20 mg to 10 mg for 2 weeks prior. All hell broke loose for me with anhedonia, anxiety, depression and the rest that goes with coming off antidepressant cold turkey. I am also suffering from erectile dysfunction and pray that it will come back some day soon. I also take asenapine for PTSD and schizophrenia, which i dont think i have. I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else to say so I'm going to end it there.

I was directed here from reddit because I wanted to cling on to success stories. I need hope. 8 years ago I had personal and career trauma, and lots of misunderstandings with my mom. I ended up being unable to do my masters thesis which spiralled to escaping via sleeping. Around 2015 I seeked help with Doc A. She was very careful. Ended up with Lexapro, the least uncomfy, but no effect on the depression symptoms. She was always busy on radio shows and late to appointments. I switched to another doc. Doc B said the antidepressants were "brain vitamins" and very very safe. He said I stayed too long with Lexapro with no visible effect so we should change it. He said he took them himself and he was ok. He gave me a list of ADs and told me to get back at him when I found the drug that I was most comfy with. He said try the different brands too coz they have their own "recipe." Paroxetine, Fluoxetine, Duloxetine, Mirtazapine, Venlafaxine... I cannot remember all coz the list was long. I ended up in the hospital after GI issues that nobody could pinpoint the cause/cure. I failed to tell them about the series of meds I cycled through. I was scared so I stopped all the meds. Then I felt panic and pain and other things I could not understand. Doc B was unreachable. I found another doc Doc C who got me back to Lexapro. I finished the prescription, was not able to meet Doc C so I went back to Doc B. He suggested going back to the list. It was March 2020 and we had a feeling that Covid lockdown was imminent. I chose lexapro because it was "safe" and had least chance to land me in a hospital in the middle of lockdown. September 2020 I switched to Doctor D because she was accessible online. I think I did a pause on Lexapro before this. And my anxiety was sky high. My senior citizen dad had heart problems and he got Covid. She gradually reintroduced Escitalopram, then she added Duloxetine, then she added Alprazolam. This whole combo lasted for approximately a year. I still had mood swings, I lashed out when the anxiety became too much, I had minimal advancements to my thesis. I was the only one in the family "fit enough" to drive and go out during lockdown. Around June or July 2021 she swapped to Bromazepam (Lexotan) so the new combo was Escitalopram, Duloxetine and Bromazepam. No guidance why, didn't even tell me alcohol was not allowed with benzos, "checking side effects would just scare you." All throughout, we were doing weekly consults, and I trusted her and hoped she could help with my trauma etc. 1 hr sessions turned into 15 mins. I guess she was just checking if I was still "okay." She had no plans of taking me off. Just supply and supply. I wanted off so I started my bumpy DIY taper around January 2023. Someone recommended a Doc E who was said to be really good but ny sched with her was still on April 2 2023. Withdrawal hit me like a semi so I took some meds and restarted DIY taper. I was completely off by March. Sent an SOS mid-march to Doc E. Withdrawal was awful. Doc E gave me mirtazapine. For mood disorder. I thought she was gonna taper me using this. 1 month of hell. I gained 10kg, groggy, always hungry, aggression, GI issues. April 25 2023 she switched me to Abilify, 3 days later I cried to her and said I am so sorry I cannot take it anymore. She said beware of relapse. She said i did not need to taper the mirta and abilify. She recommended a CBT therapist and told me she can't help me as I did not want meds. The 3 years of benzos were not addressed. May 2023 was great. Mental clarity. Joy. Advancement in thesis. Then I got Covid for a week. I got healed but then the GI issues started. The panic. May 28 2023, I started getting akathisia -like symptoms. Until now. Found out that benzos were for short term only. Found out about VERY slow tapering. I am scared, angry, and really sad. Through this experience, I had a heart to heart with my mom. Maybe we should have tried talk therapy first. The meds did not help maybe because the wounds needed talks and hugs and understanding. 2 months zero benzos. 1 month zero brain drugs. I am still torn if I should go back to the doc and do a slow taper (will they even let me tho?) People in benzo support forum said I should tough it out. I took out 3 meds in just 1 month. I am reading that my chances are slim. But I am scared to go back.

Hi everyone, I never thought I would find myself here but well here I am. Everything started in January. I started having panic attacks and was placed on Lexapro by my pcp. I took it one time and had such a bad reaction I went to the ER with chest pain, dizziness and rapid heart rate. This was on 10mg!! I took it again the following day and got horrible sick and never took it again. I started seeing an Aprn psychiatrist and she then prescribed me Paxil 5mg… wow it was an awful drug!! I started experiencing withdrawal symptoms every morning until I could take my next dose. Then on January 18 I woke up with urinary urgency and frequency. My bladder burned and I had never experienced it before. I thought maybe a UTI but all tests were negative. I met with my psychiatrist and told her my symptoms and she told me is couldn’t be Paxil as she had never heard about that. She then told me to stop taking it and to start on Prozac 10mg. I started Prozac on January 30 and my bladder issues remained. I saw so many doctors and had so many tests everything came back fine. On March 14 my psychiatrist told me to just stop taking Prozac as I also had Sever depression. She said since Prozac had a long half life I didn’t need to tapper and could just stop it… I did just that. the rest of March was fine… I still had my bladder issues but at least I wasn’t depressed. Then the beginning of April I felt something totally new. I had the feeling of urinary urgency but from my urethra not my bladder. It was like the grime was stuck and I still had to go. Then a few days later the pressure also felt like slight arousal and I got worried. I started looking online and saw PGAD and flipped out. I have sever OCD as well so I latched onto that. Days went by and some days were better than others. But some days were awful. I would wake up in the middle of the night having an orgasm… not to much of a big deal I had that happen a few times in my life. But then a few days later it happened again. This was not normal. I would wake up with intense anxiety and started having brain zaps. I felt like I damaged my CNS. To this day the feelings are still there though they seem to change every day. some says I will have a burning in my genitals, other days I will feel normal, then the next morning urethra pressure that feels like arousal. On days like today it feels like a pressure down there and so hard to explain. I don’t know what is going on and am worried I will have this forever. I am also experiencing feelings of intense anxiety during some days and times I can’t sit still. Days like today I am so depressed… I am in therapy twice a week for my OCD and my therapist is working with me during ERP therapy about radical acceptance. I am so worried I will not heal from this. I come home from work and lay in bed. My husband and I are not having intimate relations because of mu arousal feeling… thank god he is very underpaid loving. These antidepressants ruined me and I worry I will never be who I was.

Hello everyone. I am a 23M who started taking Lexapro for the second time in February this year. I started on 5mg for one week, moved up to 10mg the following week and stayed on 15mg thereafter. I began to take them to see if they would help with obsessive thoughts which started just before I began medication, and depersonalisation/derealisation which has affected my for nearly 2 years. After the first few days of taking the medication, I noticed a sense of emotional numbness even worse than what depersonalisation had given me, along with a strong feeling of apathy. I thought maybe introducing the Lexapro had made my depersonalisation worse temporarily and these symptoms would go away with time - they have not! I continued to titrate my medication up to 15mg and continued to take for over two months to see if my symptoms would stabilise, if anything they just seemed to get worse. As someone who identifies as an empathetic, emotional and caring person the apathy I was feeling towards my loved ones was eating me up inside so I decided to quit the medication cold turkey… I was not fully aware of the ramifications of that decision and I probably still am not fully aware and that’s why I’m here. Since discontinuing the Lexapro maybe 2/3 weeks ago, I have noticed brain fog, apathy, parathesia, appetite changes, mood swings, concentration problems, struggle to read coherently, anger, among other smaller symptoms. Should I reinstate my medication? I’m worried that I’ve messed up my brain for good and I’m going to be stuck like this for a long time, maybe forever. I apologise for the rambling but my brain is all over the place. Kind regards.