lexapro withdrawl

[Martha52]

I have been off of lexapro for about 8 days and would like to know if anyone can tell me the true withdrawl symptoms>  

[kav378]

I was taking 10 mg of Lexapro for about 10 months.  It made me feel pretty good, it definitely evened out my mood.  I was planning my wedding at the time, and felt that I needed something to curb the anxiety and craziness that I was feeling.  A few months after my wedding, I quit cold turkey and had pretty bad withdrawal syndromes.  No "brain zaps", but I experienced headaches, nausea, dizziness, and felt like my head was going to fly off every time I moved it quickly.  Driving in a vehicle made me feel like I was going to vomit.  In addition, I was extremely emotional.  FYI, this behavior was not my baseline prior to taking the Lexapro.  

My symptoms lasted about 2 weeks.  There is hope and the withdrawal will get better!  Near the end of the 2-week period, the symptoms would come and go throughout the day, and eventually went away.

Good luck and hang in there!  

[joannatsf]

I've been off and on Lexapro and Celexa a few times.  It never caused me any problems.

[birdie0907]

You should call your pharmacist (or see a doc if that is possible) right now for the most accurate information about this situation, since they can look it up and have lots of experience with patients using this med.  

My doc had me take 20 for 2 week, then 10 for 2 weeks, then 5 for 2 weeks. She said I could also alternate the lower and higher dose every other day at first, then increase the days on the lower. In your case, I am wondering if you should have used the alternating each time you dropped, and not gone lower until you stabilized.
So you missed the 5s, but my pharmacist said he hadn't heard of that conservative a taper. In your case maybe that would have helped. Are you sure you don't want to try some 5s or even 10s every other day or something like that to get you through thsi rough patch? If you do, be sure to see your doc or pharmacist.

For anyone else reading this, regarding quitting cold turkey:
There is no reason to torture yourself like this, since Celexa has no addictive properties and you can quit anytime, based solely on your ability to function without it. Always do a taper, following your doc's guidelines. I tapered and had no withdrawal effects, so there are valid reasons to do the tapering.

To which I might add, with NO SLUR INTENDED toward anyone who has already quit:
If you don't have the patience to take this drug for a month or two longer that it takes to taper, are you sure that you will be able to function normally without it for the years after? Going on and off is not something you want to do every 6 months, so be very sure that you are ready to quit first.

[AndreaW]

I quit cold turkey a few months ago. I thought that I came down with a stomach virus. I had horrible zaps..which I called "electric shocks" throughout my body. My showers had to be cut extremely short because the water made them worse. I was vomitting, had diarhea (sp..sorry), I had random nose bleeds while I was vomitting. I was weak...exhausted.... and I had chills. It was horrible.... and like I said, I thought I had a stomach virus... but when I went to the doctor and told him that I had just stopped taking lexapro...  he told me I was going through withdrawls.

[katiebeaner78]

I have been on Lexapro for 4+ years and talked to my doctor about weening off of it. After trying many different medications Lexapro helped me the most. HOWEVER..... I was told by my doctor to start cutting my 20mg in half take those for 1 week and then take the 10mg everyother day for a week. The withdrawl is so horrible. I have been severely nauseated, pounding headaches that switch to light headed, tired, mood swings, and confusion. Its been 10 days now and its not getting any better. I have not been able to attend class, or work without the confusion. My reaction time is delayed. I refuse to take anymore lexapro to make this go away. I just need to know how long it will last. If someone is reading this that is trying to quit cold turkey, I strongly encourage you not to. I feel like curling up in a ball and sleeping until I feel better.

[Mangojuice123]

Thanks so everyone who contributed to this post! I started taking Lexapro about 2 months ago, the first week I was fine (on 5mg), then I went to 10mg, and was ok for a few weeks, then it stopped working. The Dr. wanted to switch me to another medication, but I am tired of side effects (sex drive, sleep problems, back pain, etc...) so I am tapering off. I also notice my right side hurt (tender to touch) and found out Lexapro can cause liver problems and soreness (the same spot). So I went from 10mg to 7.5mg without much problem, but going from 7.5mg to 5mg I feel very spacey, had anxiety, anger, nausea, dizzy, moody, paranoid. It took me about a week to feel 'functional'. Taking a nap during the day helped for some reason, but that's hard with 2 little ones. I also take a tiny dose of Ativan (1/4 of the .5mg tablet) which help with anxiety and calms my mind. I really want to be off this medication, but now I am scared of more side effects. When you are in the middle of withdrawl it is hard to remember what it's like to feel 'normal'.  Not that I was 'normal' before, but it is alot better than this! I feel like I can understand addicts going through withdrawl now. I should add I am a therapist, and this experience really makes me question psychopharmacology. In extreme life threatening cases it should be ok, but I feel they give it out to liberally, especially to kids (ADHD, etc..) What effects is it having on their body and minds?  I am going to try to stay positive and nurture myself and try to avoid stress over the next few weeks while I taper down to 2.5mg.