Lexapro Withdrawal Unwanted Side Effects (Top voted first)

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 have been on Lexapro for 2 + years and am on day five without it. Hooray! I tried to stop taking it about 6 months ago unsuccessfully because I felt terrible dizziness, sickness, headaches, feeling disconnected, tired, irritable, heart palpations and racing and just feeling horrible. I was on 10 mg for 2 years.

I went in and told my doctor (who also claimed this was such a good "clean" drug) to tell him I was sleeping all the time, tired all the time, had nightmares, night sweats, and weight gain (30 lbs) since being on Lexapro. His response was to increase my dose to 20mg, as stupid as that sounds. I about fell off my chair when he recommended that.

I tried 20 mg for only one day and went back to 10 mg because the 20 mg caused me to feel manic and "high". I really disliked the feeling.

I toyed with the mg levels on my own going from 5 mg for awhile then I back to my doctor to tell him that 20 mg was horrible and I wanted to try just 5mg which he allowed. I used 5mg for a couple months and used 10 mg occasionally when I needed it for work.

Then when I went on vacation recently I decided to just use 5 mg per day for 5 days. Then, on Monday of this week, I stopped altogether. My first day off it was torture. It has slowly improved each day. Today I officially flushed my bottle down the drain so I didn't have the temptation of taking one to take the "edge" off. I don't want to go backwards.

The withdrawals symptoms and side effects were never discussed with me by my doctor. He should have warned me and fully advised me of both. His failure to do so really is malpractice in my opinion.

Now that I'm off it for 5 days, I feel like I have the flu still but I don't. Mornings are better than evenings. I fall asleep on the couch at about 7pm each night and have just been trying to eat as much food as I can and drink as much water as I can. Both seem to help. I still feel fatigued and dizzy and disconnected. I am praying it will pass completely soon.

After another week has passed, I will post an update to let you know how I'm faring and whether it's going better.

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Verwon,
I do not mean to sound rude, but you really have no idea what you are talking about. You have obviously not been through withdrawal, thus you have no understanding that SSRI withdrawal is not like withdrawing from caffine. Do a simple Google search with the name of any antidepressant followed by the word withdrawal and see if you find any commonalities. Antidepressant withdrawal can often be as debilitating as withdrawal from illegal drugs AND can often last much longer (several years in some cases). Check out www.paxilprogress.org if you don't believe me. Pharmaceutical companies have fed lies to the medical community and used their big dollars to continue to sell SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome as something that is mild and transient. In reality, withdrawal from these potent and addictive substances is far more common and often more severe than Big Pharma would have you believe.

John - You are not imagining anything. Please do not buy into the return of your original symptoms bs fed to you by people that have no idea how you are feeling and are quoting misguided, biased pharmaceutical literature. Do a Google search and you will find that there are thousands of people on various websites and forums that have experienced what you are experiencing and can help you. Please remember that withdrawal is very serious and may be an entirely different animal than your original symptoms. Be safe, ask for help, seek multiple opinions if needed, and do your research. I wish you well!
May the truth reveal itself!!

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Holly, I wish I had a solution to help. I have gone through withdrawal from lexapro as well as xanex and suboxone. None of these is easy because it is as if the body has forgotten how to function without these chemicals. I have read a lot of what others say and the only thing that seems to be a constant is that during the withdrawal phase it is important to force certain things. Most importantly is water and nutrition. The body needs to stay hidrated when going through the stress of withdrawal. Water helps to flush out any chemicals in the body. It doesn't make the torture any less tollerable, but it does speed the process up. Also, do research on natural remedies. There are lots of herbs and such that will provide some relief. I have read quite a bit about L-tyrosine and it's benefits. The worst part (by far) of withdrawal to me is the depression. I can handle the brain zaps (neurological), muscle aches, fatigue, naseu etc. The depression is the one that cripples me. The only thing that helps is to excercise, eat healthy, and let time pass. The only other thing that has been any relief to me is prayer. Hang in there and do some research on those natural remedies.

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I am frustrated about Lexapro all the way around. I have been taking it for over a year and recently just decided to quit taking it and here is why. I have had thoughts of hanging myself for most of the time I was on it. Well, I just kept telling myself, Man, I must be super duper depressed if I can have thoughts like that while on an antidepressant! So on and on I have gone hoping it would get better. My DVR list was getting long and I wanted to clear off as much as I could and I started watching shows I had DVRd a while back. One of the shows I was skimming through grabbed my attention. It was a father of a boy who had been taking meds and had hung himself. Immediately, I thought, Well, it was probably Lexapro. Guess what? It was. The show was supposed to be about how antidepressants up the thoughts of suicide in young people...I am 43! What about that?? While I am no joy to be around right now due to some withdrawal, at least I don't want to hang myself anymore. I have been extremely irritable and moody. I can't wait for these symptoms to pass.

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Good luck! I have been off the meds since last september and i have no side effects anymore.... I was thinking today how great it is to not be "zapping" anymore!

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I can tell you after weaning off, I felt the same way for several months. Quickly angered, weepy, unable to handle a lot of stress without an emotional meltdown. But for me, it did improve. I worked with a therapist who supported my decision to not medicate (which is not right for everyone) and did a lot of cognitive therapy to help deal with the emotional side. She's also a nurse and helped me understand the physiological issues with going off the meds and how I would "feel everything" for awhile. She encouraged me to be patient with my brain as it relearned to deal with things that the Lexapro caused me to not have to deal with.

I am now 9 months Lexapro free, and I feel amazing! No more cloud, no more fog, brain zaps are gone and my emotions have leveled out. I wish you blessings on your journey and hope your outcome is positive as well!

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My daughter was given Lexapro during rehab stay for 6 months . She had an addiction to pain killers from a surgery and then went through a divorce..we are trying to back her off this horrible drug on our own as her Dr. said he thought she should stay on it!! Help! She is irritable, extremely sleepy, tired and has vivid dreams. We are giving her `1/2 of a 10 mg and not wanting to stop with this withdrawing but doing it on your own is not right and scary. Any advice out there?

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You need to go search online and look at lexapro withdrawal... You are exibiting classic stage 1 withdrawal symptoms... It only gets worse. You need vitamins and fish oil and vitamin B. You may also benefit from noni juice. I went through the exact same thing... There is one poster "aunty" she has done incredible research! Go and read! All of you should! It's great support! I was on there too! Good luck!

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Lexapro is the worst drug ever. It worked great for a while and then found myself vitamin d deficient and lay in bed for months. Not sleeping but just laying there with no energy to get out of the bed. I gained 14 pounds, my life is out of control and I couldn't find the energy to even try to do anything. My doctor said that this drug would not cause vitamin d deficiency and it doesn't make you tired. I also never have a period when I'm on it. I have stopped four different times and my period would return. My doctor told me that talking doesn't work. Only medication can cure whatever your problems are. He runs a factory mill. I have waited two hours to see him and he then he doesn't talk just asks how the meds are doing and gives me another prescription. I decided to ween off of it. Since then, my life has been a nightmare. The brain Zaps, I act like a monster. I have no patience with my husband, children or other people. I want to just scream at whoever I see if they do something wrong. I've been off for two months. How much longer can this last? I also spent so much money on things that I'll be forever in debt. Oh, did I mention the muscle twitches all night long, restless leg, depression, anxiety, eating anything I can find, sadness, crying constantly over nothing! I'm calling the makers of this drug today. This is very sad for so many people are being put on this drug and have no idea that if you try to come off, it can ruin your life. I just keep praying I will go back to being healthy, happier and the nice person, I once was. Of course, I know that you can become dependent on anything but I wish I had known that if I had, I would known how bad the side effects would be, but when your doctor is telling you this drug is going to chance your life, you want to believe it.

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How horrible. I have never had thoughts of hanging myself until I went onto Lexapro. I have been off of it for a 13 days now and the constant suicidal thoughts have left me altogether.
I have the "brain zaps", nausea, stomach cramps and spaced out feeling. The sweating is awful as are the hot flashes. My appetite has changed...I am not CRAVING food as I was on the drug. (a good thing)
Good luck to all who are going though this. It's not easy but I have read that it's going to take a couple months and I am going to stick it out...I hope you do too. J.

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Been off lexapro for over a month now and i am extremely depressed, to the depth of my soul. I read that this is part of it. I will keep thinking and doing positive things. It has to get better. This is the worst. I still feel the brain zapping every now and then, however it is much, much fainter and much less frequent. I will never take these types of meds ever again.

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I stopped taking Lexapro cold turkey 3 weeks ago. I had been on 15mg for 18 months. Reading here I noticed my withdrawal symptoms weren't worse than people who’d been tapering off for months before quitting it completely. The first week was the most discomforting experience of my whole life. Constant brain zaps, electric shocks beginning from my upper arms stretching toward my head, feeling cold and frozen from deep inside, diarrhea, nausea, my body aching like a junkie off of his drug, feeling exhausted etc I’d take vitamin B complex and Omega 3 to relieve the symptoms and to be honest I’m not sure if they were helping. Anyway by the beginning of second week my flu like symptoms turned into actual flu, but the brain zaps and electric shocks had pretty much subsided so despite the flu I felt better overall. By the third week the stomach problems, zaps and shocks disappeared totally, my other symptoms are less severe now if I keep myself busy especially with physical activity I wouldn't notice them anymore. I still take my supplements but I take Tylenol for the dull headaches too. As for the psychological aspects I never had major depression or anxiety problems before so all the difference I notice now is that I’m able to get happy and things irritate me quicker now.

When I was suffering from my withdrawal symptoms I’d look for people’s real experience telling me how long the symptoms are likely to last so I thought I got to share my own experience too.

The reason I started Lexapro was that I had many issues occurring at the same time in my life, I’d get worried and couldn’t enjoy life the way I did before. True that Lexapro helped with my anxiety but it had made me pretty much emotionless and indifferent. I wouldn't get worried yet I couldn't become happy either. After a year Lexapro’s side effects began to emerge; 30 pounds weight gain all in belly, extreme fatigue that wouldn’t get better even with 10+ hours of sleep, lack of emotions, becoming motiveless and feeling not well almost all the time.

Wish you all- on or off - Lexapro a safe journey. Remember if you don’t have major clinical problems doing yoga, self behavioral cognitive therapy, eating healthy and doing exercise are all the safe way to get rid of anxiety. Troubling your brain with these drugs isn’t the answer to everyday ordinary problems.

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I asked God to help me with my mood upsets after stopping this drug. He did.

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Lexapro withdrawal caused me to have a major meltdown, after 16 yrs on this antidepressant I decided to step down over a two week period from 20mg to 10mg.. It has been a living hell. Dizziness, shaking, feeling like my brain's on fire, confusion, anxiety, crying.. not feeling like myself.. I've been off work for six months.. and staying with my folks.. This breaks my heart. I'm 44.. They're in their 70s.. Before this happened i was very independent.. if only i could turn back time!!

The real truth about antidepressants and withdrawal is it's a painful lonely journey and only faith, hope and love keeps you going for recovery and peace.. Peace and love to all who are doing it tuff..

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I recenetly quit taking Lexapro and the only thing that has helped me is 5HTP. I am having really bad anxiety, but if I take this it goes away. 5HTP is an amino acid that turns into seratonin. You can take this for depression and anxiety as an alternative to SSRI's. I learned all my information from a really good book called The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross. It is extremely informative and shows you how to treat your moods and addictions naturally.

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The web site I was talking about is called drugs-dot-com (not the real name, but if you type it in the way you would for a web site then it should take you there) in the forum for lexapro withdrawal.... There is so much information that could help you Along with this website too.

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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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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 Linda, Being on medication for 2 years and stopping in like 2-3 weeks, (especially that this medication is addictive), to me has to be very hard. I am hearing on this site how people who have been on Lexapro, did exactly what your doctor told you to do, and suffered greatly. This medication did help me with anxiety and I'm thankful for that, but I have gained a lot of weight and don't want to be unhealthy either. My method slowly decreasing the dosage by a 1/4 of a pill and staying on that dosage for 8 weeks has been so much better. Once your body has adjusted to the new dosage and you are feeling better, then I cut it down to another 1/4. I am on a 1/2 a pill now (5 mg.) and have one more week, then I will cut it down to 1/4 of a pill and stay on that for 8 weeks. It's a process, but if I don't have the horrible withdrawal symptoms, then I will keep doing it this way. I have to work and take care of a family and cannot be suffering from major withdrawal symptoms and of course I don't want to. Even if it takes 6 months to get off it, at least you will eventually be off. Lot's of Luck.

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Six weeks Lexa-sober after 2.5 years of 15 mg. I did a drop down to 10 mg for a bit and then almost as little as 1 mg every two weeks taper. The dizziness and vertigo were intense. I am happy I was able to get off completely. I tried to just stop once done with 2.5 but that was a nightmare. Went all the way down to a crumb of a pill every other day. Now I do find myself crying at small things and getting overwhelmed with everyday stressors, but I equate that to trying to run a mile after not working out in two years. We just have to get back in emotional and mental shape. I hope everyone out there going through this same thing or contemplating a taper finds hope in the thread here. We are not alone.

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