Lexapro Withdrawal Unwanted Side Effects (Page 5)

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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I'm currently tapering off Lexapro and that's the key you have to go very slow...it's taken me two months to go from 20mgs to 10mgs. You also need to add serotonin into your body as you taper off. Rhodiola is recommended as a natural alternative. You can also take another ssri such as amitriptyline. Again if you make this transition slowly you can get off Lexapro and not become a basketcase in the process.

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I was o Lexapro for about 1 1/2 yrs at 10mg. Had enough of running out and having to deal with more doctor bills etc. to get refills. I read on another blog that someone said they had really great luck with going to the gym everyday and also taking large doses of B12. I started doing this and I started tapering off by using 5mg for about 10 days and missing every few days. Then I went to 2.5 for about 10 days and missed taking if every few days. I am now clean for about 7 days and I get emotional over stupid stuff but other than that I feel good. I also feel like I am speeding when I turn my head quickly to one side.....weird...the exercise and the b12 made a huge difference. I had tried to get off of this stuff before and was miserable. With the exercise and the large doses of b12 it has been relatively easy......try it and don't give up hope......life is becoming good again.......

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Hey - an update - end of week 2 coming down from 20 - 10mg - and still feeling good - I've been having heaps of nausea and brain zaps - I've found ginger tea to work for the nausea and fish oil for the brain zaps. In addition I've been really tired - so I've been sleeping a lot too. Already I've found my energy levels have really lifted and I'm running and riding and at the gym a lot more. I've always been an active guy and I found lexapro and my depression (of course) ripped my mojo away. So that's good eh? Also my brain is clear and more settled.

I'm now moving to 10mg every 3 days - wish me luck!

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an update, was doing great until about 4 days ago and started feeling really tired and run down, brain zaps, melancholy feelings. Trying to stay away from this junk....hate the relapse........

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I think that excerize is key - replace lexapro with endorphins. Ill but some b12 today - that's great advice and thank you.

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Jennifer, I know you posted about 5 months ago but just wanted to write this because I'm in the exact same boat as you. I took Lexapro for approximately ten years, same dosage as you. I took 7 months to wean off of it--10 mg to 5mg to 2.5 and finally to 1mg. Now I have been completely off for two weeks. I have not felt myself but I think it has to get worse before it gets better. It's been a challenging process but it can be done--the tapering off process should be slow and steady, especially for people like us who have been on them for a whole decade! These are powerful drugs that our body has acclimated to, so it only makes sense they would be difficult to come off of. The tapering process has had a lot of ups and downs for me - a lot of dizziness and lightheadedness, fatigue, that weird delay or "not quite there" in my head feeling like others can described, heightened anxiety. I'm determined to be off of these pills and life a drug free life though. I hope you found a way to taper off them that worked for you. To anyone reading this, do not withdraw cold turkey!!! Take your time, be gentle to yourself, and do not rush the tapering process. We can live a drug free life!!

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another update, over the short relapse, feeling really good. Still have some of the speeding but I can deal with it because I feel so much better.
"living ad dying in 3/4 time" I see the end of the tunnel !!

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Hi kim,

I replied to another poster with a similar response but wanted to reply to your concerns as well. My advice would be to taper very, very slowly. How you are tapering now sounds quite fast. I was on 10mg lexapro for 10 years, so I withdrew over a 7-8 month period. Probably could have gone even longer. I spent 4 months at 5mg, then two months at 2.5 mg, then another month at 1mg. Finally two weeks ago I stopped completely. The withdrawal process has had its challenges and with some side effects but was not nearly as bad as some people on this forum have described, perhaps because I tapered so painstakingly slow. My body is learning to live without these drugs--it's certainly no walk in the park, and each time I cut back to a smaller dose I struggled with feeling completely not myself, irritable, fatigued, lightheaded, but then I would emerge feeling better. Now that i'm off them completely, I know my brain and body are not fully healed yet but I am on the road to recovery. I wish you all the best with your withdrawal--go slowly, be gentle with yourself, especially during such a busy period in your life. I also work a very busy,high stress job and I could not have stayed employed had I rushed this process. I believe it is possible to live a life without these drugs. Our doctors and the pharmaceutical would have us believe otherwise, but we can heal ourselves!

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Thanks J. I actually did alter how i'm weaning off a week or two ago and feel much better. I was taking the 10mg and now am taking 5mg a day....in the beginning I had night sweats, I was tired and dizzy, but now I think my body has adjusted to the 5mg. I'll keep it as is for a while and maybe cut again after my busy season. Thanks for the advice!

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update ... 5 months free from lexapro and the only symptom of withdrawal i have is after exercising i get brain zaps.

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I was on lexapro for 8.5 years. It has been a month since I stopped taking it with the help of trileptal (a mood stabilizer) for withdrawals. I am starting to get depressed and have intrusive thoughts that set off my anxiety. Do lexapro withdrawal symptoms last longer depending on how long the usage was? According to my doctor i should be over the withdrawals by now. Hmmmmmm! I meet with a new psychologist on Thursday and am hoping to learn better coping techniques because this is insane. Just need to know there is hope because I am 32 with 3 children and I want me and my life back!!

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I have been on Lexapro for 5 years. I came off it recently on my own volition.
Doctors don't know their arse from their elbow. How can you ever know anything unless you have experienced it first hand? Do you think the pharmaceutical companies who are making inexplicable amounts of money selling this product are going to let you or the doctors on to the side effects ! Or do they even know the extent of the side effects of the drug!!' there are very few studies into this as research grants go into other areas of medicine.. Like how to create more sinister drugs or how to mask someone's symptoms and make them live with it instead of curing them. We live in an incredibly sinister world and you have to help yourself. Look into yourself, be pure, eat well, exercise, do yoga, breath... I'm not going to drag on.
My side effects coming off this drug have been nothing short of absolutely horriffic.

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Ok, finally I have been drug free for over 2 months and feel pretty good, I have emotional episodes from time to time and some depression off and on but over all glad to be rid of the drug........even the brain zaps have pretty much disappeared......to those still working at this start slow and be patient. Excercise and take large doses of B vitamins especially B 12...........you will get through it.......

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I am still on Lexapro and take it daily, I actually had to start taking it at night because it made me insanely tired. If I go as much as one day forgetting to take it I get EXTREMELY irritable, think of it as PMS x 10. I also am extremely wired, but very sleepy. I get nauseous very easily and jittery. All just from one day forgetting to take it. I can't see myself stopping it cold turkey. I am thankful that it has not made me gain any weight, I've actually lost 12 pounds in a month in a half.

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I too have stopped taking lexapro (12 days now ) I didn't experience any effects the first week and now its living HELL..been nausea for hours a day and my head/eyes
nerves-you name it..seems like I stopped yesterday..WTH? I wonder how much longer I have before I feel normal..Doctors are full of crap..all of them..they know nothing except your pocketbook..They know jack crap about drugs.

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Please tell me what natural supplements I can take while withdrawing from 20 mg of Lexapro for 5 years. Thank you

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I stopped lexapro in May 2013 cold turkey.

My physical side affects were similar to that of a H junkie going through withdrawal and lasted 3 months.

Once they went away the only thing I deal with now is serious lack of patience for anything resulting in anger and depression.

Believe or not I don't feel like a zombie everyday anymore, I will probably not die of some deficiency due to lack of research on long term effects of lexapro and overtime my symptoms have subsided.

To get over the emotional withdrawal may be another 6 months.

This stuff really messes you up. I was on it for six years.

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lots of exercise and high doses of B complex especially B 12

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Week 3 here and still brain shocks/Zaps..I am wondering when they will stop!! actually I thought they were subsiding one evening but to my surprise they're back this AM worse than before? How can this get worse? God I wish I knew when this will end.
God help us!

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approaching 6 months clean............depression was an issue but went back to my self hypnosis and I have that under control and doing pretty damned good.........I have my life back.............

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