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hello everyone I am happy to be here! I started Paxil 20 in sep 2000 for stress anxiety and chronic back pain . I do know that anxiety- pain - depression all feed off each other. After 11 years on Paxil became sleepy all the time and no interest. When I would drop to lower dose I would feel better more interest in things. Tried stopping Paxil the wrong way twice. And Every time that I’ve dropped to fast and had withdrawals for a period of time and started back it always takes me 4 to 6 months to stabilize. Anyway Ended up with a dr -try this try that - side effects then withdrawals y’all no the routine. Dr doesn’t have a clue. I did meet one dr in 2006 that new about slow taper up and down don’t know where he is now. I am in process of tapering to 10 mg lexapro. I’m at 15 mg lexapro for 1 yr. I will see dr in one week to get 5 mg tablets to reduce by 1.25 mg every 2 months. I will end up dropping 11% when going from 11.25 mg to 10 mg which will be a little more than 10%. In 6 months I will go back to dr and ask for liquid lexapro. That’s my plan . I want to see how we do getting to 12.5 mg first ! My nerves are stable at this time. Reason for wanting to taper on down tired of side effects. At this time dry mouth, dry burning sinuses, dry eyes, little constipation, sleeping 12 hours on weekends. I’m working in a job I enjoy which has some little stresses. I still deal with come and go back pain and life stresses. Teens and college!! Over the years I have became sensitive to these drugs withdrawals and such. Obsessive worry type anxiety. I want to fill my tool box with all resources I need for this taper down. Changing thought patterns, letting feelings be there and not react to them, pain etc. I would love it to find cbt/support groups that is experienced in the areas of my needs in my location. After trying to withdraw a few times I am in no hurry If it takes 4 years that’s fine. I have learned a lot about these drugs in the past. I am glad to have found y’all and look forward to learning more!! I am so glad I found SA!!! My signature info should be on this post let me know if it don’t. I’m still learning my way around. thanks

Hi, I think this site is just amazing, truly! Thank you to all who offer support. I never thought I would be on an antidepressant, but that changed in January 2022 when I was diagnosed with GAD. I ended up spending several days in a psych ward and was desperate to do anything to get better/functional. The psychiatrist said I should take 20 mg lexapro. I was fine with this arrangement until my last appointment with my psychiatrist in June 2022 when I asked about eventually reducing my dosage to 10 mg at some point. He responded by telling me that I could never go off lexapro because I’d been hospitalized. This upset me. So I started looking for information about reducing my dosage online and found your site. My plan is to follow the 10% rule and taper every 4 weeks, but I’ve already broken that plan and only did the 18 mg for 3 weeks. So far I seem to have no withdrawal symptoms, except for vivid dreams. I will add my medication and dosage history to my signature tomorrow. Thank you!

Hey Everyone, I have been working on coming off of Lexapro for years and this is the closest I have ever been. Long story short, I have been weaning off lexapro after a couple of failed attempts of 20mg. I am currently at 5mg and having severe waves and windows of withdrawal. Looking for a little support that this is normal. I have a week or two where I feel phenomenal then suddenly a sharp drop where all the suicidal fake thoughts intrude. This also includes horrible chest pain, nausea, gastrointestinal issues, insomnia and just an overall feeling of dread. These last anywhere from two weeks to a couple of days. I am unsure about whether I should continue a taper, or if I should hold, but from what I am reading this is going to be a long arduous process. Any support or advise is appreciated. Been reading many of the articles on here and just now decided to try to become a member myself. Thanks so much.

Hi everyone, I am glad I found this web-site. I did read some of the topics similar to mine, still it seems each case is unique. Thank you for reading my post. I was on 10 mg of Lexapro from July 2017-July 2018 for anxiety and mild depression. Felt good right from the start, no side effects from taking it. From July 2018- June 2020 I was on 5 mg of Lexapro. Felt good too. I started tappering in June 2020 with very little knowledge as I can see now. I was impulsive and wanted to get it over with. So, over the course of the next 3 months ( or little less since I can’t say for sure) I would take 5 mg every second day for a couple of weeks, then 5 mg twice a week for a couple of weeks, and lastly once a week until I stopped August 1st 2020. First 2 weeks after I stopped were emotionally hard since all the fears that I haven’t had before, like losing people I love, to getting dying old in matter of seconds, to just being scared for no reason. Next 2 weeks were physically horrible, from the constant trips to the restroom, nausea, my whole body tingling, chills and just wanting to reap my skin off. I survived it. I must mention that during this time I visited homeopath and was given some kind of remedy that possibly made it worse for me as remedies of this type tend to do. Next 5 weeks has been just mix of everything, with physical sympthoms lessening but also changing. Like my body doesn’t tingle anymore ( hands from time to time) but back of my head feel tight and I feel chill there too. Emotionally, it just seems that I can’t shake off some of the fears I mentioned at the begining of my post and sometimes I think they make my body feel worse. It feels like I am getting better but it feels like micro mini steps. I need to be patient I realise. I am still wondering, do I just continue like this with no drugs OR should I try to go back on a smaller dose then tapper much more slowly??? 10 mg Lexapro from July 2017–July 2018 5 mg Lexapro from July 2018– June 2020 Tappering from June—August with 5 mg August 1st 2020– drug free

Hi everyone. I’m looking for some advice on two things. I’m on Cipralex drops 20mg/1ml. I’ve managed to wean myself from 15mg to 2mg. But I need to know how I can safely dilute the drops so that I get the accurate dosage of the active ingredient. Also does anyone know why you have to throw away Cipralex drops after eight weeks? If you keep them longer, does this have an impact on the active ingredient? Thank you so much in advance.

Hello, I stumbled upon this forum while looking for support through an unfortunate situation I'm in. I visited a similar site 3-4 years ago when tapering from benzos and it was incredibly helpful. I'll try not to write a book in my intro, but I do want to be thorough. I have been on SSRIS for most all of my adult life. I'm 35 now and began with Paxil when I was 18. Over the years I switched from Paxil to Prozac to Lexapro to Luvox. I'm well-versed in how helpful the medicine can be in crisis, but also in how they can cause crisis. Long story short... I had been taking Lexapro since the beginning of the pandemic for depression, panic attacks, and OCD. My most recent dose, 40 mg, was targeted at the OCD, and had been in place since about February of this year. While it did help minimize OCD symptoms, it caused emotional blunting and now recently a spike in panic attacks. I told my psychiatrist I was experiencing the concerns and inquired of different medicines. He suggested a fast taper off Lexapro over three weeks (40 to 20), and then a direct switch to Luvox. Life has been a bit of a nightmare ever since. Shortly after starting the Luvox I began experiencing increased anxiety, anger and irritability, a lack of feeling in control, and physical symptoms such as dry mouth, cough (ongoing), and chest pain and tightness (also ongoing). After some back and forth phone conversations I was able to get in to see my psychiatrist yesterday. At this point I'm barely functioning. I don't go out at all, and I just feel....out of sorts. High anxiety, crying spells (or attempted crying spells, thanks to the emotional blunting), and a lack of hope or drive. After explaining all this, my psychiatrist told me to stop taking the Luvox immediately. He plans to put me on Effexor, but wants to wait about a month since he's going on vacation in a week. I'm pretty well versed in these meds, so I was pretty upset, given the likelihood I'm already withdrawing from the Lexapro, and would now add a Luvox withdrawal to the mix. His solution was for me to try positive thinking, not worry so much, and if needed, start 5 mg. Lexapro on Monday to hold me over until he returns and prescribes the Effexor. I'm beside myself, to be honest. I've always held my psychiatrist in high regard, as he spent two years helping me taper from Klonopin, but this incident is really bothering me. I'm fearful that these withdrawal symptoms will be ongoing, and waiting to start the Effexor will just make things worse. As I said I'm already having trouble functioning, and spend most of my days lying in bed. I have a full time job that I do not want to lose, and my friendships and relationships are struggling. To be quite honest, I'm hoping to find some validation here that my fears about this process are valid, as well as support through the next few weeks. I have Hydroxyzine, which does seem to take the edge off, but it makes me so drowsy I don't want to do anything. Thank you for any support you can provide during this very difficult time. TG

Hello everybody, First, I aprpeciate this resource! I started with panic disorder 5 years ago. I was started on Zanax in the hospital, and I am still angry about it, or at least about having zero information about what I was getting myself into. Thankfully I quit after a few months on it. The insomnia was terrible but my sleep recovered to a tolerable pattern after a couple of weeks. I also started Lexapro at 10 mg while I was still taking Zanax. And I started running and exercising three times a day for an hour each. I am still convinced that the exercise made it possible for the panic attacks to completely resolve after a few months. but then I had a new panic attack after months of not having any. My doctor increased my Lexapro dose to 20 mg and stayed there. I have also been getting very good treatment for my C-PTSD/developmental trauma (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Internal Family Systems/parts work) and a I am doing much much better. I want to quit Lexapro because I think I no longer need it since my anxiety/panic has resolved, and because it has the side effect of giving me GERD which I also have to manage with medication. And also because my sleep patterns could never recover to a fully normal pattern. I now learned that SSRIs interact with the circadian rhythm, and Lexapro in particular does so negatively. So, I blame my sleep problems on Lexapro. I started using the sleep app RISE, and realized that my circadian rhythm, isn't much of a rythm at all. I feel like I will only get back my normal sleep after quitting Lexapro. All the more reason to get off of it. I am super upset at the doctors for increasing my dose to such a high amount, now that I read that lexapro is so much more potent than other drugs at similar dosages. 20 mg is called "hefty"! a 5 mg increase would have been much more prudent and I am not even a doctor! I started by shaving off a small amount from the 20 mg a few months ago. I used a roughened glass nail file, that I could be very precise and gradual with. I finally reached a 25% reduction, and since I started having insomnia symptoms, I started looking for more information and found this forum. I read some of the posts and just asked my doctor today to switch me to the liquid version, so I can continue a more smooth and precise tapering process. I referred her to this website so she can also benefit from this information. I plan to increase my dosage a little bit again to see if the insomnia resolves and then I will stay there for a couple of months. I also started having stomach pain, and now I wonder if it is caused by the taper. That is hard to tell given my food sensitivities. I have gone back to exercising more again, since it was so helpful a few years ago. I am following the RISE app which makes working with the circadian rhythm very easy. I plan on being very patient with myself otherwise, and this website resource is incredibly encouraging and reassuring. I also take Melatonin for that. What I learned from this website so far that is an eye opener is the 3KIS principle, and is how incredibly important it is to be stable in all aspects of health. I didn't realize that before. So, I will make sure that my exercise and supplement and med schedules as well as sleep (or time in dark and in bed, at least) are totally consistent. Which is hard when sleep is hard to come by, but now I am that much more motivated to actually lean into it with trust and patience. Given that I am struggling with sleep, I wonder about CBD. I have never tried any form of cannabis before. It may be a bad idea to combine a tapering with CBD which is new to my system and it violates the 3KIS principles, but I thought I'd ask to see what experience people have, if any. Thank you all!!

Hi All, I recently found this forum due to the Antidepressants subreddit and decided to come here for some support from what seems to be such a supportive community. As you can see from my signature, I have been on Lexapro pretty consistently since March of 2016. About a year ago, I got a new job at a truly wonderful place with amazing people and the depression and anxiety symptoms that I had been suffering from for so long started to abate. Throughout the year I considered getting off of my antidepressants because of side effects that I had experienced (fatigue, sexual symptoms, weight gain). I brought up my side effects with my psychiatrist and he wanted me to stop the Welbutrin and Lexapro and change to Effexor. Getting off of Welbutrin was extremely easy for me, but I knew Lexapro would be harder, so I started my taper in April of this year. During the taper, I didn't experience an increase in my anxiety or depression symptoms and started losing weight, lost basically all fatigue, and stopped having ED, etc.. I tapered to 10mg on 5/20/2023 and have been completely off of Lexapro since then. The first few days off of Lexapro weren't awful, but then the brain zaps (which I had experienced the last time I tapered off of Lexapro 5 or so years ago) started and were awful. They have mostly gone away, but my anxiety has been truly, truly awful. My anxiety has always manifested through health anxiety and for the past week or so I have had myself convinced that I'm having a pulmonary embolism and have DVTs in my legs. I've had the whole slew of symptoms of anxiety: increased heart rate, feeling like I can't breathe, random chest pains being on edge, and being completely unable to distract myself from my physical "symptoms." This is, of course, worse at night when I'm alone with my thoughts. After reading through this forum, I'm concerned that going from 10mg (really, I think I took a 5mg piece of a tablet I had left on May 20th) to 0mg might be causing these awful symptoms. I'm a lawyer and spend my whole day having to think logically and I know, logically, that I'm not having a PE or DVT because I've been on hikes, don't have any of the other classic symptoms like bloody sputum, leg swelling, redness, warmness, etc., but I cannot stop thinking about it. Would it be helpful for me to go back on 10mg and taper more slowly from there? Thanks so much for any thoughts or suggestions

Hi I’m happy to be here. In week 3 of my slowest taper yet. Have been reading that’s when most of the successful attempts happen. Also attempting to supplement with 5HTP and possibly going to try L-Tryptophan as a separate option if 5HTP doesn’t feel effective (causes heavier sleep and vivid dreams). Ive been on Lexapro for over a decade and going down I notice what I can only describe as a “less bright” or less electrical feeling in my brain. Has anyone else experienced this? It’s not necessarily affecting my mood, it’s just different. Thanks!

Hi all, I tapered down to 0mg Lexapro about three weeks ago. I started at 4mg in November, and I know that it was faster than this site usually recommends, but I had a lot of support with meditation, various supplements, and therapy. I didn't feel much in the way of WD, though I'm still experiencing some brain zaps when I'm in bed with my eyes closed. The big thing I've noticed is that I feel like there's this gaping chasm of space between myself and my husband where our connection used to be. We have been having problems over the last year, but this feeling of complete disconnect is new. I'm wondering if it could be with withdrawal, even though I don't have much else in the way of WD symptoms right now. Of course there's a ton of anxiety, but it seems to be a result of this disconnect I'm feeling rather than the cause or something separate. I hope this makes sense. I'm new here, so compassion is appreciated. Thanks.

Hello, I’m new to this. I’m currently tapering off Lexapro after being on it consistently for ten years. Around 3 years ago I noticed it no longer had the same affect and I was becoming increasingly anxious. I have been on 30mg of Lexapro, at the beginning of the month I began to follow the direction of my psychiatrist by reducing my dose by 5mg every 5 days. I have gone okay and I am still going okay, despite some episodes of panic throughout the day. I have only just found out about tapering off by 10%. I was prescribed Clonazepam to assist with withdrawal symptoms but I really do not want to take a benzodiazepine to assist, particularly when they are addictive in nature. Any advice would be great. Thank you 💕

I have been on Lexapro (10mg. daily) & Mirtazapine (7.5 mg. daily) since 2003. The combination of these 2 drugs gave me some wonderful years up until 2017. Because of the expense of the brand name Lexapro, I switched to Escitalopram. Right away I noticed a difference in my mood & side effects. I always had to be careful of my weight on these drugs, but I was willing to endure this trade-off for the relief I got from taking these meds. Taking Escitalopram, caused me to begin having severe anxiety & digestive issues. I started taking Alprazolam to curb the anxiety, but it seemed to make matters worse. I switched back to brand name Lexapro in 2018, & did a slow taper off of Alprazolam in 2019. I jumped from it in Dec. 2019. I still take the Lexapro & Mirtazapine. However, I still have lingering side effects. They include constant burping, stomach gurgling & bloating, & trapped gas. I’ve had a series of GI tests & all came back normal. Blood work was ok too. I’m wondering if Lexapro is the culprit, & considering doing a very slow taper off of it. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Original topic title: 17 years of antidepressants, 2 failed quitting attempts, on number 3 Hey everyone! I'm Lyudik; I'm so glad to have found a community of others in my shoes, because I don't know anyone personally in a similar position, and I'm feeling pretty isolated in this experience. I started Effexor XR in sophomore year of high school (2004) for intense anxiety (and subsequent depression). It worked well, without side effects. Near the end of senior year (2007), I wanted to start the next chapter of my life off meds, so I tapered with the help of my psychiatrist. Things were pretty stable that summer, but all hell broke loose when fall semester of college started. The stress of the transition brought the anxiety roaring back (but I didn't really notice other withdrawal-like symptoms). So I started back on Effexor (early 2008). Again, it helped me. By fall 2013, I had had years of therapy under my belt, and I wanted to try going off again. Same story. This time, my psychiatrist put me on Lexapro, 15 mg (early 2014). I've been on Lexapro since then (doing well), and decided I wanted to try going off again in 2021. Only this time I would go reaaally slow. I decreased to 10 mg in June 2021 and then to 5 mg in March 2022. This was before I found this forum, so I didn't realize that making big dose jumps (cutting it by half in March) was not advisable, even if the time between adjustments was long. With the first decrease in June 2021, I noticed an uptick in anxiety after about a month, but nothing unmanageable. But with the March adjustment, things have definitely gotten harder emotionally. Anxiety, feeling like every day at work is a battle for survival, just feeling overwhelmed by life. But it didn't happen immediately. This took weeks/months to develop. I've always assumed that my spirals after tapering were relapse (because I don't have other obvious symptoms, and anxiety was the primary issue). But now I realize that my first two tapers were way too fast. With this last one, I'm not sure... I think the dose jumps have been too fast, but the anxiety didn't come on immediately afterwards. I would be grateful for any input on that question. The other question is what to do about the awful feelings I'm experiencing now. I think I want to try reinstating, but to what dose? Should I go back to 10 mg (the dose prior to the last reduction?) And then how long should I stay there before trying to go back down again? Also, on a practical note, how do people usually cut their pills? Kitchen knife? Is there a technique to keep them from crumbling? Thanks for your feedback ❤️

Hi all. New here, obviously. Been sifting through the forum and already feel kinship with many of you. Some of the most brilliant and creative souls I’ve come across have been told they have an “imbalance” and have taken SSRIs. Maybe there’s something to be said in that. About me: I was 20 years old when I moved to a massive metropolitan city in 2012. And within six months I deteriorated… I was living with a very toxic and bizarre roommate, I was in school and working and trying to find my way when I started having daily panic attacks. I remember thinking I couldn’t swallow because I had a huge lump in my throat. So I stopped eating. Stopped going to class. Stopped taking public transport. I lost so much weight all the bones in my chest were visible. I cried every day, without fail for three months straight. I felt so alone and so scared. I went to a free clinic in the city where I met with a social worker. It didn’t help. So she referred me to a psychiatrist who gave me prozac 20mg (and Klonopin, which after 11 days I threw in the trash because I Intuitively suspected it was a drug that could kill me). Within a few months I became functional again. No one ever taught me coping skills in the clinic or dove into anything under the surface. Fast forward two years, I was feeling better and living back in my home state and with my parents, and enrolled in university. So I got off the meds cold turkey. Wow. Everything came back — not as bad, but still strong. But I started seeing a therapist at the university and doing mindfulness based group cognitive therapy at the school for free and those things changed my life. I started journaling. I found Tara Brach and Pema Chodron and Alan Watts. I started doing yoga every week without fail and had a community in that. The yoga teacher (a middle aged Eastern man) was a mentor and a guide. Two years after that I was 24, a recent college grad, and moved to a foreign country to teach (which I did for two years). It was an awesome experience. But within the first six months of living there a lot of those wirey feelings came back. Sleeplessness. Crying. OCD thoughts, circling and circling. Thoughts about harm, despite not wanting to harm. No appetite. Constant feeling of fear. I remember feeling pissed off at this. Like why is this happening? Why can’t I just feel good on this unique and incredible adventure? Why did this “come back” after all my hard work for two and a half years? Why? At the time, I chalked it up to the ole “chemical imbalance in my brain” theory. Even today I still want to better understand what got me so off track but more importantly why I didn’t cope through it with all the other non medication tools I’d learnt. And a part of me believes it’s simply because moving (or ANY major life changes) are HARD. Really really hard. For anyone. And maybe some people just feel it stronger? And get thrown off by the feelings? That’s my guess. Would love to know if any of you have experienced that years after being stable (and thriving) post SSRI use. So I marched right over to the local hospital, sat in the chair and asked for an SSRI. Prozac, 20 mg On the spot. The psych gave it to me. That was Dec 2016. Then in April 2017 I asked to switch to lexapro 10mg. Been on it ever since. I’ve gained 50 pounds in five years. It’s so uncomfortable and I don’t recognize myself in the mirror. And I hate to say it but that’s what made go down the rabbit hole of “what the actual **** is this drug doing to me?” Now my eyes are open. I can’t unsee it, all the studies and stories of people fighting for their life to get off these medications. It blew me away. Just a year ago i believed medication changed my life for the better. I’m not so sure now. So October 25, 2021 I cut the pills in half. 5mg. Took a week to stabilize. Dec 6 2021 cut them in half again. 2.5 mg. Took a week to stabilize. But then, December 24, I contracted covid. And it brought up so much anxiety. I was shocked. Buzzy wirey no appetite crying all day kind of anxiety. And I knew it wasn’t because of the covid. So 12/28/21 I brought it back to 5 mg and that’s what I’m doing now. All this to say, I’m overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the truth of it all — ssri’s are dangerous. My psychiatrists (all 4 of them) didn’t help me and never gave me informed consent. I never did the research. ME. I took all the info at face value. I’m overweight and it sucks and I know in my deepest gut (pun intended) it’s the SSRIs. I feel afraid. Afraid to face it all, and the road ahead. Afraid of “when I’m full weaned off and feeling good again what if the strong anxiety comes back years later — how will I cope???” But I know I’m strong enough. I know I can do it again. Thank you for reading. Love, Abel

I'm curious, after learning about the Brass Monkey Tapering schedule: would it make sense to taper by 10% or less, and hold it for 4-6 weeks, then taper down 10% or less again? I'm not sure i follow tapering down weekly for four weeks then holding. My daughter want so taper off Lexipro after 7 years and last time didn't go well (too fast) and she/we want to do it right this time and make this the final time. thank you.

Hello, I am coming off Lexapro. I’ve been on it for 6 months. This has been the first antidepressant I have ever taken and I take no other medication. Although I feel really good, I have started to get an extremely low pulse rate constantly and low blood pressure. This has been the case for about 3 weeks now. My pulse is hovering between 48 to 55 beats per minute. I am also experiencing dizziness when getting up. I had read that Lexapro can cause Bradycardia. On 19th September I reduced the dose from 20mg to 15mg. I am planning to cut down every 3 weeks. I have decided not to jump from 15mg to 10mg in one go and will go from 15mg to 12.5mg. I will stay on each lower dosage for 3 weeks. Do you think 3 weeks is long enough for each step? Have you any recommendations with cutting down? Should I be doing it more slowly for example? Drops only exist in 20mg here, so unfortunately I cannot use these to reduce mg by mg. I am feeling extremely lethargic. I am putting this down to my low blood pressure. I hope you will get back to me. I was very happy to fall on your website and read your very helpful information.

Hi there everyone, Im really hoping to get some perspective on my situation as it feels as though Im a bit of a loss. My story: In May 2016 I suffered a mental break due to high situational stress which resurfaced trauma. I experienced panic attacks, depression, paranoia (induced by an acne medication started in the days prior) instrusive thoughts, etc. Not knowing what was happening I saw an MD that prescribed me Zoloft. After 2 days on it I became desperate and ended up in hospital where I was switched onto Lexapro 15mg and Risperidone 0.5 for my racing thoughts and sleeping pills. I was released after 2 weeks and soon after I quickly gave up the sleeping pills. I underwent psychotherapy and in February 2017 I gave up the dose of Risperidone and reduced my Lexapro to 10 mg. In spring of 2018 I talked to my MD about feeling strong enough to begin my taper as I felt like I'd been functioning well. The side effects of reduced emotions, 30lb weight gain and low libido were nagging me so he said I was approved to go. I did some research and began reducing at what I thought was a slow taper; in retrospect I can see it wasn't. I did my best to cut the pills and did this: -10mg to 7.5mg for 2 weeks - 7.5mg to 6mg for 3 weeks - 6mg to 5mg for 2 weeks And so forth... As I tapered I experienced WD symptoms like anxiety, panic, dizziness, crying spells etc. As a result I started seeing a therapist who was supportive of what I was trying to do. When I got to smaller doses I switched to a liquid form of lexapro and managed to wean myself to 1.2mg and then it was TOO MUCH. I reinstated to 1.3mg and recovered for months as my work life became so complicated and I needed time to help myself. That last taper was in Sept 2018 and here I am nearly 10 months later. I have been changing my lifestyle and working through again resurfaced traumas with a new therapist, and Im feeling more like that mild to moderate depression is lifting. I have been struggling again with a lack in range of emotions and wondering if this is a me problem or a medication issue. The therapist seems to think that my anxiety and mild/moderate depression are back and new meds is the key solution. With all the progress I've made and how I've grown in over 3 years makes me think otherwise, so I feel stuck. Being on such a low dose how should I go about continuing my taper? Is it possible Im experiencing a poop-out that I've read about? Just looking for advice! On the day to day my mood is stable not much anxiety except around my cycle. Just again those flattened emotions which is frustrating. This website has been a guide post for me in educating myself, thank you so much!

2 months ago I was prescribed 5 mg of lexapro for depression after a 10 minute discussion where all I said was basically I had low energy. I knew I was sensitive to medication so I only took 2.5mg and only a few hours later I started having side effects and decided this was not for me. I thought they would last for the time it took for lexapro to leave my system but boy was that wrong. These 2 months have been the hardest of my life. It's like the side effects come and go in waves, getting worse and worse with small "windows" of feeling sane again. They include digestive upset, at first just diarrhea but that has gone away and now I just have random projectile vomiting usually set off by something so small like even a small magnesium supplement or food that I had no problem taking before. Brain zaps after the first month,have gone away but I thought I was having seizures when they happened my whole body would shake and any head movement or stress would trigger seeing stars and blackouts it was horrifying. Now at the near 3 month mark the emotional symtoms are the worst, every morning it's like I feel my mind spiral out of control as I wake up and become more alert. It's almost like I have to make myself not think because every thought becomes reality and the thoughts are always extreme and terrifying. Sometimes I can meditate and come into reality in the evening with the help of a beta blocker but during the day it is a constant effort to just sit still and not run away or believe the paranoid thoughts and delusions that are terrifying that I even think them. Each day usually ends in hysterical crying and existential terror which exhausts me to the point that I feel some "window" of normal like other people talk about. Thankfully my family is home from work due to the coronavirus but unfortunately the psychiatric place by my home is closed. My family doesn't believe this is caused by the lexapro and I know my doctor would not either. But I've read on sites that people are tapering off it in extremely tiny doses way smaller than 2.5mg So I guess my question is how much longer until I feel normal?? I read the article on this site about how some people try to go back on their drug to get off it slower but idk if this point if I should do that or if I'm too far past the last dose and theres no one to ask because most people believe that I should be fine from the 'small's dose I took. My current physical symptoms are no appetite despite constant stomach gurgling, acid reflux, vomiting, sweating shaking tremors, the worst is the constant pounding heartbeat, at any time of of my eyes is slightly drooping and my brain and face feel like it's hot and on fire. I've tried taking extremely small doses of theanine, klonopin, and 5htp. Nothing really helps longterm because it seems these symtoms are part of withdrawal and theres nothing I can do to stop them. I hope this isnt too long and does not come across as insensitive to others who were on larger doses for a longer time. I would greatly appreciate absolutely ANY support or advice.

Hello I have been taking escitalopram/lexapro 5mg for nearly 2 years. I want to taper but the GP in the UK is refusing to switch me to the liquid from tablets. I already have an existing health condition, as I already have symptoms such as migraine, brain fog, palpitations, insomnia from a combination of Chronic fatigue syndrome. And I am a single mum with no family. Despite this they refuse. Can anyone help with info as to how I can get the liquid in the UK? I have tried Rosemont and martindale pharmacies mentioned on here. I really am scared of making my own liquid or scale and filing taper. As I’m not good with figures at all. can anyone advise please?

Hello, I’m 27 and have been taking Lexpro for 8 years, mostly for anxiety. I started at 10 mg but quickly went up to 20, and have been here for a while. I’ve tried a couple times to taper off with the usual advice of going down to 15 mg, but neither time worked. My previous psychiatrist even went so far as to say, “You have an anxiety disorder, maybe you should come to terms with the fact you’ll be on medication for a very long time.” I don’t go to her anymore! I also have a prescription for 0.5 mg Ativan, but I don't use it very often—maybe once every 6 weeks. Now, I’m trying essentially the 10% regimen. I’m starting by cutting my 20mg pill into quarters and doing two days 20mg/one day 15mg. I would like to switch to the liquid, though, to make small dose changes easier. So far, I’ve had some fatigue and nausea. I’m still working my way through reading the site, but am feeling really thankful that I found this community here!

Hello I am glad I stumbled on this forum. I have started to withdraw from 20 mg of Lexapro after 10 years. My dr. has me doing a fairly fast withdraw. 15 mg for 7 days, 10 mg for 7 days, 5 mg for 7 days. It is the 2nd day and I am surviving . lol I feel like I have the flu but that could be the start of withdrawal symptoms. I look forward to reading more of other folks experience.

I have been taking lexapro 10 mg for about 5 yrs. i will be discussing a 5% and 10% taper with my doc. Do you have a taper schedule I can show her?

Hi, all; new to the forum. After discussing with my doctor, I decided to try to discontinue lexapro. I started taking it about 10 years ago in response to the passing of my parents. It has been very effective in treating the anxiety and depression that I was feeling at the time. I made a few stabs at coming off of it a couple years after I started, but the anxiety/depression returned fairly quickly after reducing or discontinuing it. I'm now back in a place where I would prefer not to be on it -- parents are long gone, I'm well into my 40s, wife and kids are fine, work is what it is, and I can't point to any real reason in my life to be anxious or depressed at this time. So, I have started to taper down (hopefully signature worked and you can see). I switched to 5mg 2 weeks ago but I've noticed that I'm starting to feel anxiety and a general depression / down on life mood coming on. The Dr. said I'm fine to discontinue the 5mg dosage at any time. But I'm not sure. I've noticed that I'm feeling more tired than usual, less focused, and while I'm sleeping more (8hrs a night), I wake up a few times in the middle of the night and go right back to sleep, and I'm still tired all day. I've also noticed that I'm feeling more anxious when I wake up in the morning about issues that aren't really issues from any objective standpoint (ie, they're either not issues or they are issues outside of my control for which there is no point worrying). I would assume that if I drop the dosage to 0 or 2.5mg, the feelings and anxiety will intensify, and I'm not really in a mood for that. Should I just stick on 5mg for a few more weeks or months and then try decreasing later? Will the negative feelings I'm experiencing now, if I stay at 5mg, begin to decrease soon as I get used to that dosage? And how long does that take? The Dr. really seemed to think 5mg was almost a sub-clinical dose. I don't want to be overly cautious (I'm rather enjoying the increased feelings of engagement with the world and lack of decreased libido that come with dropping to 5mg) but I also don't want to experience any more anxiety than I'm feeling right now. I also assume (and would hope) that my concerns and experiences are normal. Thanks in advance for reading.

Hello, First, thank you for being here. I have tapered off Lexapro after being on it for two years. This is not my first go-around on Lexapro, as I was on it when I was about 30 (I'm 44 now) and then got off, and I don't remember a lot of withdrawal symptoms back then except electric eel shocks. I got off it because I wanted to have a baby and I wanted to be off it (I did and it was fine!). This time around, my chemistry has changed. I was on 10 mg and went to 7.5 mg for 3 weeks. Then I went to 5, for three weeks. Then 2.5 for three weeks. Then off. The taper from 5 to 2.5 mg was pretty bad but the taper from 2.5 to nothing is horrific. The electric eel shocks are tremendous and motion sickness-inducing. The worst of it was day 3 and 4 after stopping. I am 2 weeks after 0 and still having them, though not as frequent. Now I'm in the emotional wave of withdrawal, which is not something I experienced before, and it is what worries me the most and promoted the googling and finding of this wonderful forum. I am irritable, full of rage, and super sensitive. My anxiety is okay, but I'm putting up walls around me to make sure people can't attack me and send me spiraling. Social situations are ridiculous, I can't even handle them. I say inappropriate things. I am always sleepy and I sleep too much on weekends. I think what's most worrisome and therefore why this site is so important is the worries I have: without the buffer of Lexapro to take the ragged edges off the world, who am I? What can I handle? Will I always have to be careful? I was happy in a sustained way for the first time in several years, which is why I made the decision to get off. Will I be again? These are the questions I'm looking to answer. Thank you for reading!

Hi all. My first post here. I’m not sure where to begin. I had a pretty traumatic experience back in April that spiraled me into a deep depression and obsessive loop of negative thoughts. I started my first AD (Zoloft) a month later. It was horrendous. I was literally in a panic all day but thought maybe a lot of what I was experiencing could had been part of the process. I was sleeping only an hour a night. Literally could not sleep. Beginning of June comes around and my doctor prescribed me Klonopin to sleep. It worked. But little did I know what this drug actually was. I stopped after 3 weeks and just days later felt like I was dying. I was withdrawing after just a short 3.5 weeks on this drug. I somehow made it through. And not long after On July 1st I did a straight switch from the Zoloft to Lexapro 10 mg. On Sept 1st I jumped up to 20mg because nothing was changing. I have just continued to feel gross on this medication. I notice every morning before I take my next dose (when the meds are at their half life) I feel my best and I feel pretty good I’m the evening prior to bed. I feel extremely foggy/in my head/aware of my thinking several hours after taking my meds. Coincidence? November 1st i started to lower my dose. I dropped to 15mg and stayed there for a month. December 8th I dropped to 10mg. After the first week I start to notice a big increases in irritation and anxiety/headaches/diarrhea/twitches... then it dissipates. Today is day 10 and I’m feeling better today so far. I’m wondering if anyone else has a similar experience? I do plan to continue my taper. Very slowly. I’m thinking of getting the liquid and reducing by 1mg each month. Thoughts? Wishing everyone one good health and healing. Be well, michelle