Lexapro Withdrawal Unwanted Side Effects (Page 3)

I have been taking Lexapro 10mg once a day for about a year. I have had many unwanted side effects which according to my doctor there are very few side effects from Lexapro. He says it is a clean drug. Wrong. It did nothing to help me and I want off. My doctor refused to give me anti-anxiety meds to help with the withdrawals from Lexapro because once again, there are no withdrawals from Lexapro. Why do doctors lie about this. Why do pharmaceutical companies lie about this? I have read so much about people just losing it while trying to stop taking Lexapro. I have not taken it in about ten days after weaning off for about two months from 10mg to 2 mg a day. My nerves are a wreck, I am extremely irratable, and have slight headaches. This is a horrible drug with many long lasting withdrawal symptoms. The makers of Lexapro, Forrest Pharmaceutical, should be ashamed of themselves. Do not lie to so many people just to increase the market strength of your company.

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Linda, the dizziness is a definite side-effect of getting off of Lexapro, as well as other anti-depressants. It will get better I promise. I hated that feeling of my eyes and brain being a split-second out of synch with each other, but you'll make it through.

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thank you - I am also taking klonopin which I am down to 1mg a day. I was taking 4mg a day for years!!!!!!! So the past doctors I guess thought this was okay. The only good thing my current doctor did was wean me down to 1mg a day. First of all I have been depressed of and on for as long as I can remember. This new male doctor just wanted me to stay on lexapro. NOT-so I weaned myself off. I have an appointment coming up and I will tell him that I need something else maybe wellabrutin SR or something more affordable. What I really can not stand is this doctor knows I do not have health insurance and would not work on a scale for me. So I pay $90 a month to see this doctor and almost $100 in prescriptions. NOW IF THAT DOESNT MAKE YOU EVEN MORE DEPRESSED. I am tired of the doctor not listening to ME and making money for ten minutes of bulls*** and supporting the drug companies. I am at whits end so I spoke to someone who does counseling that I may use as an option -no drugs included. Also I have no sex drive at all, I could care less. Tired of feeling tired, irretated, short tempered. I do not know when the last time I have been happy! I try to keep strong for I have a 12 year old daughter. I do not know if this matter but I am a 52. Also has anyone had luck with wellabrutin or any other low cost anti-depressant. SORRY FOR THE MISSPELLINGS

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I have been on a variety of antidepressants and anxiety meds since I was 13 yrs old, and this week I will be turning 27. In September 2012 I came off 300mg of Wellbutrin XL with my dr's help. I didnt really need to wean myself too slowly and the withdrawals weren't all that bad. I then started to wean myself off of Cipralex (Canadian version of Lexapro) last month. I was on 20mg a day, so I slowly weaned myself by cutting the pill into quarters and taking one piece away and staying on that dosage for a good 9 days before decreasing more. It has been almost 2 weeks since I have taken any Cipralex. At first the withdrawals didnt seem to be too bad, just headaches, confusion, and strange brain/body zaps.. but a few days ago I started to feel really tired, have had horrible acid reflux to the point of vomitting for 3 days straight now, and I get awful nightmares and am constantly transitioning between hot and cold flashes. I also get severe stomach cramping and also suffer from endometriosis and it seems like coming off this med is just making the pain from my endo worse. I just got hired at a job last month and have already missed two days of work this week alone from being so sick. I am thinking of going to the ER to see if they can give me something to help with the pain of withdrawal, but I am worried they will try to convince me to go back on Cipralex. By the way the reason I am stopping these drugs is because I started to experience seizures while on them. All advice is welcome, I would really love to try to find all natural methods that may be of some help to me while going through this. Can somebody please help?? :(

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I have been off Lexapro for a month now. I was on 10 mg a day for ten years. I can't imagine how long it is going to take for me to feel somewhat normal again. I feel like I have the flu or a horrible stomach virus. The nausea is the worse. My family has had enough and has lost patience with me. I cry over everything and am very irritable. I stay in bed a lot and my work is suffering. My doctor said there were no side affects and to just cut back for a week and go off completely. That is what I did and I feel like I am loosing my mind and I feel awful. Has anyone else been on Lexapro for this long and gotten off? I can't live like this much longer and so want just to see improvement.

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2nd attempt to quit, day 6 or so? I've been on some kind of antidepressant as a migraine suppressant since elementary or middle school. The particular drug has changed over the years, but I've been on 10mg of lexapro at least since late highschool (23 now).

I tried to stop it back before starting college. I don't remember much, but I know after a month I still felt like I was swaying all the time--since I'm already prone to motion sickness this was even worse. My doctor suggested just returning to the drug for the time being, because I wasn't having any bad effects from taking it. I did so for the 4 years of college.

Now I'm in graduate school and my doctor suggested switching from lexapro to wellbutrin for unrelated reasons. My mom is a physician, so I mentioned it to her and she thought it was a good idea. Switch from lexapro to wellbutrin, then eventually taper that off to be drug-free. She said that having a replacement drug would make the transition better, but I've been practically bedridden the past two days--but only parts of the day. When I first wake up I actually feel almost normal, but as the day progresses I get worse.

I'm too dizzy to feel comfortable driving. I am nauseated and imagining eating anything makes me want to gag. I started crying yesterday for no reason. My mom talked to my doctor (they work together) and decided I should go back to the lexapro and try weaning it off, rather than abruptly switching drugs. I also have meds to deal with nausea and vertigo. I'm to make an appointment with my doctor for next week.

Last time I tried to quit I couldn't, and I don't know if this time is worse or it just seems worse since I'm living it right now. I can't work or attend classes at this rate. And most people experience *months* of this? I don't think I have the strength of will to feel so bad for so long, and no idea where the end might be since I've heard people quote weeks and months before they were normal again.

I'm afraid that there really is no end to the withdrawals and that if I want to be independent of the drug I will have to live the rest of my life like this.

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Sorry could"t take the withdrawal. Am back on the meds . Feeling better but feel like a total failure for being unable to stop the drugs.Am feeling a bit spaced out though and get occasional spells of dizziness.

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Dude, it's ok. Maybe it's better for you to wean off slowly rather than stopping cold-turkey. Don't worry about it. Just take your time and work with your body.

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I've been on 40 Mg of lexapro for 6 years. For the most part it did a good job of treating my depression until recently. Within the past 8 months I've been very depressed, despite taking the anti-depressant. Along with the depression these past eight months I have also been struggling with an inability to take action to help myself. Can't explain it too well, but I was feeling sort of paralyzed emotionally. So I thought I'd stop taking the drug. Here's how I'm managing: asking God to keep me safe each day, exercise--running, strength training, eating healthier and taking omega 3 fish oil, vitamin D. I took my last dose of Lexapro on December 24, 2012.

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I took my last Lexapro on November 28, 2012 and I am just now beginning to feel half way normal again. I have been the worse experience of my life getting off this awful drug. I was taking 10 mg for 10 years. I was having involuntary moments and went to a neurologist and he told me to go off Lexapro before he tested me for nerve related diseases. Called my doctor and she said to scale back the dose for a week and there were no withdrawal side effects. Boy was she ever wrong. I started feeling very different but it took a few weeks before the really bad stuff started to happen. I was fatigued with high anxiety, rapid heart beat, chest pains, anger outbursts, crying constantly, depression, horrible headaches, insomnia, hot flashes, very moody with low tolerance for anything, basically just horrible to be around and the worst for me was the constant nausea and just feeling as if I were in another dimension at times and feeling like I was removed from the situation at hand. I felt dizzy and would have trouble keeping my balance, I had major brain zaps and although those have gone away I am left with problems finding the right words and having memory problems that I never had before. The remaining withdrawal effects that I am still going though are sounds, smells and lights are so magnified, my taste buds have totally changed and foods and drinks that I used to love like my coffee I cannot drink anymore. Nothing really tastes great anymore. Life for me has totally changed. I basically stayed in bed or on the couch for a month with horrible headache, stomach problems and such nausea that I could barely turn my head with throwing up. I couldn't work and my family became less and less sympathetic. This has been without a doubt the most horrible experience of my life. I think that I am on the other side of the worse withdrawal effects now. I am taking vitamins, exercises and trying so hard to stay positive. I hope that eventually I will be myself again but better without the horrible poison in my body. All I can say is there were so many times that I thought that I was going crazy and would never make it through. I have read from other people coming off Lexapro that it can take 8 months when you have been on the drug as long as I have to feel normal again. I would never have survived with support from the blogs because my doctor knows nothing about this and just wanted to give me Xanax to get off of this one. Patience is the key but it is very hard to come by in withdrawal and if you believe in God praying helped me a lot also. Stay strong and you will survive. Although I felt good on Lexapro for almost ten years it was doing damage to my body that I had no idea was happening. In my opinion this drug should be taken off the market.



.

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Verwon, you cannot possibly be comparison the consumption of orange juice to addictive chemicals. Fellow Lexapro withdrawal sufferers, please do NOT listen to Verwon. That post sounds like one from the Lexapro manufacturer trying to minimize the lies.

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I took my last Lexapro on December 31, 2012. I knew what to expect because I had already experienced similar withdrawal syndromes from other SSRI's in the past. However, this one is and continues to be the worst. I have the brain zaps, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound, extreme irritability, intolerance, agitation - many of which are symptoms of depression itself. So, it is very easy for people to simply say, "Well, your depression is returning, and that means you need to restart the Lexapro." NOT SO, kids! Listen, as I have persisted through the withdrawals, the symptoms have gotten better throughout January! Now I still have that boing boing sound in my left ear drum when I move about, but the full brain zaps are gone. The irritability has decreased, and I am beginning to feel "clear". This stuff should be off of the market!!!!!!!!! I will NEVER EVER EVER take another SSRI!! It isn't just Lexapro. These meds are affecting our brain chemistry in ways that are unsafe.

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Being on this drug is a horriable thing. i have been off of it for two weeks. the only advise i can give is to pray.. and don't give up. She is going to have to learn coping skills and how to manage with out it.. It is going to be hard but she can do it. Keep a journal and don't give in no matter how hard it is. i feel dizzy, and tired, and depressed but i have been assured by my friend who is a counselor that this will pass it will just take a while.. don't get discouraged and don't give up.. I read the Bible and i pray and that is the only thing that gets me through. Jesus is real and if anyone can help your daughter beat this it is Him.. I am going through this too.. you are not alone..

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Hi Jennifer. I am wondering how you are doing with your Lexapro withdrawal. I have been off of it for about a month now. While the zaps and left inner ear noises are better, I still have daily migraines and nausea along with irritability. I have to ask at this point how much of my symptom profile is due to withdrawal versus a return to depression. It is hard to know what my baseline is, given that I was on SSRI's for many, many years!

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good to hear hear that you are feeling great. did you not have ANY side effects at all? Did you do anything not to have the withdrawal symptoms which others are talking about.
Thanks for sharing.

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I think you must stay the course of getting off it. I can't believe the side effects either, the brain zap, the feeling of swelling or migraine or vertigo. The disequilibrium. it's pretty hard to fathom but it just tells me all the more so how much the time has come to get off and move on! You can do it.

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i quit 10mg lexapro cold turkey after 6 months because i was finally feeling great and did not want to pay for another month. for two weeks after quitting, i felt great. then BAM! dizziness, fatigue and the occasional brain zap. i was tired all the time and was having short term memory problems. it was like being drunk all the time. people couldn't talk to me because i would forget what they had JUST said. i am so glad to be free of artificial brain chemicals.

after much reading i read that withdrawal symptoms last anywhere between 1 week - several months. a small percentage will last longer that 3 months, but the average length is one month.

well it's been exactly one month since i quit the drug, and YAY! i feel great again. i religiously took a multivitamin and complex B. FYI, complex B is amazing! i do get the occasional very mild brain zap once every few days, but i'm optimistic that will go away.

i wish my doctor would have told me more about the withdrawal symptoms. i read that doctors only get a 20 min information session for each drug they prescribe done by a pharmaceutical rep! i wish i would have tried exercise and healthy diet before turning to drugs. i am thankful lexapro helped me through a hard time, but i am glad to be off it.

i am also mad at my doctor because she tried to push my dosage up to 20mg when i was doing fine on 5mg. i agreed to compromise with 10mg, as i am very sensitive to most medications. i believe i would have had a very difficult time if i was at 20mg. several times while nauseous, dizzy and fatigued i wanted to give up and take it again and wean off more slowly. thankfully, i was too broke.

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I don't know if I am the Jennifer that you were asking about but I am two and a half months off Lexapro and I feel as if I have gone into another stage of withdrawal. All my senses are exaggerated, my eyes hurt from the light, noises seem very loud and give me a headache and nothing taste good anymore. All of the foods that I loved no longer appeal to me at all. I have terrible headaches through my eyes everyday. I am sick to my stomach everyday and am constantly hungry. My eyelids and under my eyes are so swollen. Worst of all I cannot sleep. Am getting maybe two hours of sleep a night. I am miserable. I want my life back when I was happy and fun to be around. Don't know how much more I can take. Seeing the doctor on Friday about the eye swelling. Basically would stay in bed everyday if I could but would still get no sleep.

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I totally agree with you! I went through 2 weeks of sheer hell after stopping this medication... and that was after reducing it slowly over weeks beforehand. Like you, I too don't understand how pharmaceutical companies can lie about these things or minimise their effects. It's a horrible drug and I never ever want to use it again!!!

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withdrawal from Lexapro and Ambien together.....I was on Lexapro for about a year and Citalapram for about 6 months prior to that. Then about 6 months ago my dr. prescribed Ambien. Two weeks ago I ceased all medication and am suffering terribly.Anger, depression, mood swings, anxiety, wanting to lash out, etc...it is HELL!!! These dr.'s that think they are doing you a favor are only feeding their pockets. the Neurons in your brain actually dissipate and die while the seratonin on your brain gets a false high from teh drugs. the Neurons don't recover after weaning fromm the drug...or at least, they don't recover 100%. Go to a Psychologist and get help...Psychiatrists only make things worse with drugs.

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so Joan, are you saying the neurons never recover?

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