ExLexa Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm really really struggling to see past my symptoms. I have been in a wave for the past month and I feel trapped. My symptoms at the moment are fogginess, slight dizziness, inner agitation, head tightness and head aches. Feels like I can't get enough air in. I have constant thoughts that it could be something else. I feel that I've gone backwards. Very teary all the time. Really sad for my kids who have to see my like this. It's a tough day today. I hope tomorrow will be better. Love to all Started Lexapro 10mg August 2014 Severe side effects started in November 2014 Started tapering in February 2014, no way to stabilise on each taper since the side effects were always present Finished taper on 9 June 2015. Suffering ongoing withdrawal symptoms. Link to comment
starcontrol2 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hi ExLexa, Sorry you are still suffering. I can relate to the vision thing and fog, mine started while on lexapro. I had every test done, mri, eye on exam, etc. everything is fine so fine it has to be lexapro. I have other symptoms as well but how you describe you vision issue really resonates with what i am experiencing. 10/2012 - Lexapro 10mg 2013/2014 - Started experiencing visual disturbances, like visual processing was slow, feeling drunk all the time 9/2014 - Lexapro 5mg, didn't notice any withdrawal, drunk feeling went away 2015 - Drunk feeling came back 5/2015 - Lexapro 2.5mg - 1.25mg - insomnia started 6/2015 - Lexapro 0.625mg 7/2015 - Severe symptoms started, in desperation on advice of pdoc restarted 5mg Lexapro - total disaster 8/2015 - Lexapro 5mg, disoriented, sleepless zombie 9/2015 - Very reluctantly started transitioning to Zoloft as of 10/10/2105 - no lexapro, 37.5mg Zoloft 12/14/2015 - 35mg zoloft, 1/16/2016 - 34mg Link to comment
DaddyCee Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hi ExLexa. I found the first 3 - 6 months to be the hardest and then it did get better, very slowly but it did. Just keep in there and remind yourself when need be that "you are healing". Namaste. 1997 - 2001 Seroxat 10mg 2001 - 2013 Escitalopram 10mg Gradual taper from 10mg to 5mg over 2.5 years (between 2011 - 2013) Last taper from 5mg to 0 under advice from doctor done in 1 month (too damn fast!) - included missing out days. Have been drug free since Oct 2013. - Yep 5 years drugs free Link to comment
ExLexa Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Thank you starcontrol2 and DaddyCee for responding. Every time I read over others experiences (especially those affected by lexapro) they really resonate with me. My rational self knows that this is probably withdrawal, however, there is always an element of doubt as to whether it could be something else. In good news, I had a window yesterday for the whole day. I thought, wow finally I'm out of the wave.... Ahhh the best feeling! Then I woke up this morning, after a pretty disrupted nights sleep with the kids, and then out of nowhere came a couple of nervous twinges, which turned into surges up my spine, followed by the familiar dizziness, fogginess, inner restlessness, tightness in head then tremor and uncontrollable crying. I was totally over it and unable to accept that it is WD so I went to my GP and asked for an MRI which I will be getting on Tuesday. She also ordered a blood test as I have Hashimotos and she wanted to do a general blood check. I have been trying to rest all afternoon and am feeling a bit better but like I've been hit by a truck or have a massive hangover. Luckily I wasn't at work today, I am back tomorrow. It's sooo difficult to work with these symptoms. I hope others are feeling improvements. Wishing you all the best. Started Lexapro 10mg August 2014 Severe side effects started in November 2014 Started tapering in February 2014, no way to stabilise on each taper since the side effects were always present Finished taper on 9 June 2015. Suffering ongoing withdrawal symptoms. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hiya Exlexa , how have you been doing? Hopefully the good days will start to come more often SOON (Universe , are you listening?) 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
ExLexa Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 An update..... Almost 3 years from when I started taking lexapro, and 2 years without taking the drug.... I can finally say that I am better! And by better I mean that I am (98%) free of all withdrawal symptoms. I still get a few weird vision disturbances but otherwise my body has recovered and healed. When I was at my worst, I honestly thought that I may never get better. Thoughts of ending my life were common as I could not face the unbearable symptoms of withdrawal. There was no escape, nobody could relate or even come close to understanding what I was going through and it was horribly dark. The dark times were indescribable, I can't find words. My doctors and other health professionals denied the withdrawal and put it down to anxiety. I was told to read a self-help book and get a massage. At times I doubted myself. I thought I was crazy. I thought I had MS. I thought I had a brain tumour. The denial of my withdrawal by the mainstream made me spend hundreds, or even thousands of hours researching my withdrawal symptoms. The lack of support and belief, from not only the healthcare system but also my family and friends, was incredibly damaging and so very hurtful. I now know that I was right. It was the the Lexapro. All the symptoms were the Lexapro. And I'm better now. I feel good. But I'm angry. I'm so angry! I want to get the word out but I don't know how yet. I am so thankful for this forum. It was the only place where I felt understood and included. Thinking of everyone suffering at the moment. I am so sorry that society has let this happen. Started Lexapro 10mg August 2014 Severe side effects started in November 2014 Started tapering in February 2014, no way to stabilise on each taper since the side effects were always present Finished taper on 9 June 2015. Suffering ongoing withdrawal symptoms. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted May 20, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 20, 2017 Thanks for the encouraging post. I am 20 weeks into my Lexapro taper, going very slowly, looking to take a couple of years to jump off. I'm so glad you are doing well and, no doubt, it will continue to getter better and better Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of April 1: 6.8mg Taper is 91% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotics, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice but simply information based on my own experience, as well as other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
Madeleine Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Thank you for taking the time to give us a positive update. It is so much appreciated. 200 Zoloft; 10 mg Zyprexa; 4 mg valium as of May 2021; Valium taper: July 16: 3.5 valium; July 30: 3 mg (paused valium taper); Aug. 23: 2.5 mg Zyprexa: July 26: 8.75 mg; Aug. 9: 7.5 mg; Aug. 30: 7.1 mg ------- Dec 1, 2016. 10 mg zyprexa for 1.5 month. Started taper mid-Jan. 2017. Cut 1.25 mg every 2 weeks; smaller cuts 2.5 mg down. Stopped at .6 mg. May 7, 2017: zyprexa free. Zoloft: Dec1, 2016, 200 mg. Started taper: Jun12, 2017: 197.5 mg; Jun19,:195 mg; July 2:185mg; July 9,:180 mg; July16,: 175; July 23: 170; July 30: 165; Aug6: 160; Aug13: 155; Aug. 20: 150; Aug.27: 146 mg; Sept3: 145 mg; Sept10:143 mg; Sept17:140 mg....Nov5: 122 mg...Dec3:112.5 mg; Jan14, 2018: 95 mg...Jan28: 90 mg; Feb21:80 mg; Mar11: 75 mg; May2:70 mg; May15: 68 mg; May28: 65 mg; Jun9: 62 mg;Jun25: 60 mg:July22: 55 mg; Aug25: 45 mg. Aug28: 50 mg...Oct 28: 38 mg; Dec.4: 30 mg; Jan8,2019: 25mg; Feb6: 23.5 mg; Apr1:17.5mg; May1:1 mg; May 5: 18; May 18:15mg; June 16:12.5mg; Sept 10:11 mg; Sept.16:10 mg; Oct. 1: 9mg; Nov. 27: 8mg; Dec.5: 7mg; Jan.1,2020, 6 mg; Feb1: 5 mg; May 1: 2.5 mg; Jn 1: 2 mg; Jy 1: 1.5 mg Link to comment
LexAnger Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 This is such wonderful news, Exlexa! I'm so happy you made it to the other side of this horrible journey ! Thank you for coming back and giving hope! Lex Drug free Sep. 23 2017 2009 Mar.: lexapro 10mg for headache for 2 weeks. 2009-2012: on and off 1/4 to 1/3 of 10mg 2012 June--2013 Jan,: 1/4-1/3 of 10mg generic, bad jaw pain 2013 Jan-Mar: 10 mg generic. severe jaw and head pain; 2013 Mar--Aug. started tapering (liquid ever since) from 10 to 5 (one step) then gradually down to 2.25 mg by July. first ever panic attack, severe head/jaw pain 2013 Aug.: back to 2.75 mg; Nov: back to Brand Lex. 2.75mg -- 3mg, 2014 June: stopped PPI, head pressure/numbness. up-dosed 4.5mg, severe reaction mental symptoms added on 2014 Aug--2015 Aug: Micro taper down to 3.2mg, .025mg (<1%) cut holding 2-3 weeks. 2015 Aug 15th, Accidental one dose of 4.2mg. worsening brain non-functional, swollen head, body, coma like, DR 2016 Feb., started dosing 10am through 11 pm everyday 2/13--3.2mg, 3/15-- 2.9mg, 4/19-- 2.6mg, 6/26--2.2mg, 7/22 --1.9mg, 8/16--1.8mg，8/31--1.7m g, 9/13--1.6mg, 9/27--1.5mg, 10/8--1.4mg, 10/14--1.3mg， 11/1--1.2mg, 11/29--1.1mg, 12/12--1mg, 12/22--0.9mg 2017: 1/7--0.8mg, 1/15--0.7mg, 1/17--0.6mg, 1/20--0.52, 1/21--0.4mg, 1/22--0.26, 1/23--0.2, 2/13--0.13mg, 2/20--0.06mg, 3/18--0.13mg, 6/1--0.12mg, 7/6--0.1mg, 7/14--0.08mg, 8/17--0.04mg, 8/20--0.03mg, 8/28--0.02mg, 9/6--0.0205mg, 9/8--0.02mg, 9/17--0.015mg, 9/20--0.01mg, 9/21--0.0048mg, 9/22--0.0001mg, Link to comment
bhasski Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Nice to hear your recovery. What did you do to make it happen , i mean supplements, diet or exercise etc... ? What helped you most if you look in retrospect? Did you have memory issues in withdrawal? I am sorry to bother you think the horrible stuff but it could help me a lot. 08/13 - 01/14Olanzapine, petril MD (Clonazepam ), Dicorate ER (divalproex). Soza 10 (Zolpidem) 02/14 - 05/14Flunil 20mg , Divaa OD 250 mg(divalproex), Amisulpride 50mg (1-0-2), zolfresh 5 mg , Quetiapine05/14 - 08/14 Venlafaxine 75 xr ( 1-0-1), zapiz 0.2510/14 Zaptra 12.5mg , Oxetol xr 150mg (0-0-1)11/14 - 08/15Paris CR 25 (paroxetine) , Oxetol xr 600 mg (0-0-1), nitrest 5mg , Quetiapine for a month.09/15-11 Venlafaxine XR 75 ( 1-0-1), Mirtazipine 15, Respiredal 0.5, Lamitor 25, zillion 10.12/15-02/16 Off Meds (C.T) 03/16-Mid April Sertraline, Aripropazole, Quetiapine, Etizolam. After that : CT and on OTC supplements (Roadback), now on Ayurveda Link to comment
Waiting12 Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 I'm so so glad for you! Thanks for coming back and sharing your recovery. 2011-2014: 25-50mg Zoloft then CT via doctors advice. Some mild physical sx but fully functioning, unaware that withdrawal was a thing. Dr didn’t know why I was chronically dizzy with brain fog & advised to try Zoloft again.2016: severe adverse reactions to Zoloft (1 dose), Paxil (3 weeks), celexa (2 weeks), buspar (1 dose), lamictal (4 doses). Ativan 12 times within a month. Also tried Xanax & klonopin a couple times. Each reaction became more severe. Kindled. Became disabled from these meds.Drug free 12-16-2016Month 1-20: +5% healing every monthMonth 21- present: setback to acute from amoxicillin antibiotic (1 dose)Month 32- 11 months into setback from antibiotic. Seems I was floxed by amoxicillin somehow. Horrific. Link to comment
Cipramillion Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Thank you so much for sharing this! You bring a lot of hope to the rest of us, suffering from this terrible drug called Lexapro. Im so happy for you. Great news! <p>Sept 2015: 5 mg Cipralex for 3 weeks. Lots of side effects. Reduced to 2.5 mg for 2 weeks. Experiencing withdrawal and side effects still after dose reduction. Quit after almost 4 weeks on 2.5 mg because of adverse effects. Experiencing withdrawal symptoms still. Reinstating 1mg after 3 weeks. Reduced to 0.50 after 2 days due to sensitive reaction (dysautonomia) and trip to ER. January 2016: After 14 months of tapering from 0.5 mg im now down to 0.08mg. Planing on one more drop before 4-8 weeks healing, then jump to zero. 14.03.17: Lexapro free! Link to comment
TryingToHoldOn Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Thank you for your update! Go enjoy your life! Mid 2014 - June 2016 (~ 2.5 yrs): sertraline 75mg. Under advice of my Pysch NP, weaned off in 1 month Sept 2017 - Feb 2017 (6 months): Latuda (dose 20mg up to 80mg). Under advice of Psych NP, weaned off in 6 weeks (Jan - mid Feb). Tirtated down 20mg every 2 weeks. Nov 2017 - Feb 2017 (3 months): lamictal 100mg. Abruptly taken off. This was the "wean": 100mg, 50mg, then off Feb 2017: sertraline 150mg for 1 week to bring me out of a severe suicidal depression. Abruptly stopped due to serotonin syndrome. Tried to reinstate 50mg a week later, but the serotonin syndrome symptoms came back. Not possible to reinstate sertraline. March 2017: remeron 7.5mg. Took one dose that knocked me out for two days. Refused to take it again February 2017 - March 2017: Ativan 1mg. Took 5 pills total spread out over the course of 3 weeks. No longer taking it. 6/16/18 - 6/26: celexa 1.25mg 6/27/18 - 6/29: celexa 2.5mg, 6/29 had burning and agitation within 30min of dose 6/30/18 - present: celexa 1.25mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted May 29, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 29, 2017 ExLexa - Thanks for posting your update 2 years after discontinuing Lexapro. What excellent news for you and an encouraging post for us! Would you consider starting a Success Story topic?Link to Start a new topic in the Success Stories forum This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
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