Msusm: Tremor/can't focus eyes/involuntary movements

[Msusm]

Hello everyone! Sorry if there is already info on this issue but I couldn't find posts related to what exactly I'm experiencing.  

 

I'm now at the end of tapering off Lexapro (reduced from 1.25mg to 0,625mg one and a half weeks ago). Recently I started having strange symptoms that I'm really scared of - very small jerks/involuntary body twitches (I suppose it's different from muscle twitching) and inability to focus my eyes(!), like they are constantly trembling, even when I close them - this restlessness persists. It's important to say that these tremors/involuntary movements are kind of internal if it makes sense, they are not usually visible (sometimes they are, but mildly) and more pronounced when I'm trying to relax, to sit still. It's like some neurons randomly fire and produce those feelings.  

 

My main concern is "eyes tremor" feeling as it produces very unpleasant agitation-like state - I can't relax at all and have difficulties falling asleep.  

 

I'm really afraid it's because of neurological/dopamine receptors damage that could be permanent . I read about tardive dyskinesia but seems like it's different.  

 

Do anybody else here have/had these symptoms? Is there some improvement?  

 

Thank you for any info!

[scallywag]

Msusm -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)

 

It's most likely that your symptoms have been caused by the large percentage decrease you recently made in your dose. You dropped your dose by half, we suggest decreasing by no more than 10%. Your symptoms will subside over time; you will need to be patient.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?.

Tips for tapering off Lexapro (escitalopram)

 

To help us help you, we need to know more about your tapering experience so far. A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

• Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years.
  
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago)
  
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016.
  
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
  
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs.
  
• Link to Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.
  
  

 

What is your symptom pattern? Please keep notes on paper of your symptoms and the times of your dose(s). This post has a useful format for a daily log:

Take notes of doses and symptoms.

 

To understand why it takes time for symptoms to ease, please look at the information at these 2 links:

How your brain responds to psychiatric drugs - aka "Brain remodeling"

Youtube video, 4 minutes: Healing from antidepressants

 

I did a web search of this site for the terms "twitch" or "tremor" or "involuntary movement" and found many results. You can do the same for those keywords or any other symptom. To ensure that results from this site come to the top of the list, be sure to include site:survivingantidepressants.org as a search-term/keyword.

 

I've given you lots to read and a few things to do; I'll stop for now.  

 

I hope you'll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation. I'm sorry that you are in the position that you need the information, but am glad that you found us.

 

[chrona]

I am tapering gabapentin at less than 1% at a time.  I can't do more.  even at this minuscule reduction I have internal trembling.   when I have used that term no one knows what I am talking about.   I am using homeopathy to chill it out to the tolerable level.   I don't have the eye thing but my vision has gotten very squirrelly.