Table of Contents
What Are the Emotional Symptoms of Lexapro Withdrawal?
What Are the Physical Symptoms of Lexapro Withdrawal?
How to Quit Taking Lexapro Safely
Lexapro is a popular antidepressant, perhaps one of the most often prescribed in the United States. Thus, it is important to be aware of the symptoms of Lexapro withdrawal. It functions as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). In addition to treating depression, Lexapro is also prescribed for anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder.
Lexapro is usually taken for a period of many years, either until a person feels that they don’t need it anymore or until they begin experiencing negative side effects and decide to switch medications.
However, ceasing to take Lexapro should not be undertaken lightly—or without clinical oversight. Lexapro withdrawal symptoms can be severe, particularly if you attempt to stop abruptly. Instead, the dosage should be slowly tapered down over a period of time and under the guidance of medical professionals who can help prevent or mitigate any withdrawal symptoms. Clinical oversight is especially valuable in the rare case of a complication as expertise is vital for both identifying and effectively addressing potential problems before they become critical. You should speak with your doctor about any concerns you have in stopping Lexapro.
What Are the Emotional Symptoms of Lexapro Withdrawal?
Changing or ceasing a medication can be an emotional experience in and of itself, but it becomes especially so when the medication in question directly affects your mood. As Lexapro is an antidepressant, it may come as no surprise that the symptoms of Lexapro withdrawal include emotional experiences such as:
- Anxiety. This is a result of the low levels of serotonin levels in the brain.
- Concentration problems. This is due in part to the negative effects of the other withdrawal symptoms but is also related to imbalanced neurotransmitter levels in the brain.
- Depersonalization. This is a sort of inexplicable sensation where a person simply does not feel quite like his or her natural self. He or she may feel emotionless or listless.
- Depression. Since the drug is often used to treat depression, once a person stops taking it, it is possible that the depression may return or worsen in the absence of other treatments that can provide adequate emotional support in place of Lexapro.
- Irritability or mood swings. Some people may experience bouts of unexplained anger as well as irritability and mood swings, either when taking or when quitting Lexapro.
- Suicidal thoughts. These thoughts can increase or intensify during withdrawal. It is important to seek medical support as soon as possible if this occurs.
Many of these effects can be difficult enough to deal with on their own. However, the effects of Lexapro withdrawal are not limited to merely the psychological—there may be physical effects as well.
What Are the Physical Symptoms of Lexapro Withdrawal?
There are a wide variety of potential physical symptoms you or your loved one may experience during Lexapro withdrawal, some of which can be quite serious. Possible effects include:
- Appetite changes (generally, this will be opposite the appetite you experienced while on Lexapro).
- “Brain zaps” (the sensation that small electrical shocks are running through one’s brain).
- Dizziness, fatigue, or confusion.
- Headaches.
- Insomnia.
- Fever.
- Nausea or indigestion.
- Sweating.
- Weight changes (often, weight loss).
- Dry mouth.
- Frequent urination.
- Altered perception of certain senses, such as smell or taste.
Several factors can influence how severe withdrawal symptoms are. These factors include how long you or your loved one has been taking Lexapro, how high the dosage is, and other factors related to your unique individual physiology.
In short, the longer you take the drug, the harder it will be to come off of it. Similarly, the higher the dosage, the harder the withdrawal process will be. There is no set timeline for how long you can expect withdrawal symptoms to last. Many people will see an improvement in symptoms after about three months—which can seem like an eternity if you are struggling with these symptoms on your own. It’s always good to have a medical professional behind you to help gently taper off Lexapro.
How to Quit Taking Lexapro Safely
Lexapro can be an effective solution for many people, but if it is time for you to change medications or quit taking antidepressants entirely, do not be discouraged by the long list of potential withdrawal symptoms. While withdrawal can be a serious challenge to manage at home, seeking clinical support from trained medical professionals can help prevent or mitigate these symptoms and provide the best possible results.
Note: While we are glad to see the community actively helping each other in the comments section, these comments do not represent the opinion of New Choices Treatment Centers, nor do we endorse them. We remind everyone that medical advice should always be received from a medical professional.
I am just coming off Lexapro after a month of tapering and I feel horrible. Feeling swimmy-headed, confused, and such other side effects were my reason for stopping the drug but now I still feel that way and even worse, anger and irritability have become the new order of the day. Today had conflicts with my sister and my neighbor of 24+ years across the street. Hate this whole drug thing. Just need to stay away from people who irritate me in the slightest and keep physically busy. I still can read, thank goodness, and cleaning my house is a challenge that I do not ever want to face, even on the best of days. Yardwork in 90+ degree weather also does not appeal to me. Don’t ever start these drugs if you absolutely do not have to – they are terrible.
Hi Patricia! I am right there with you!! My head feels like there is static in in and sometimes I can hear like a wire static sound. Its hard to describe! I’m mentally exhausted just having to constantly reassure myself that this will all be over soon. It’s been about 2 weeks of being off.
So I was JUST prescribed this at 10mg last week! I haven’t started taking it. I’m a recovering addict so taking any kind of pill or medication gives me great anxiety in of itself. I NEVER want to experience withdrawals from meds again! So I look it up online to find out a bit more about it before I take it and I somehow came across this page n ALL your comments n now I honestly have no idea what to do!? My anxiety and depression has been severe hence my Dr prescribing me this med when I was asking about marijuana (as a natural alternative) she scolded me n prescribed THESE! I was scared to take it from the get go (BEFORE reading ALL these comments lol) because it’s a pill!! Which ALWAYS have some form of side effect or withdrawal that I want no part in. That’s why I was curious about marijuana as a natural alternative with few to no withdrawal but nope she gave me this bullshit NOW I honestly have no clue what I should be doing?! But I KNOW I don’t wanna keep feeling the way I have for years NOW!! I just wanted some help…this sucks! Thanks guys I appreciate the honest comments cause they’ve helped me to make my choice not to start them…
Hay. I’m a physician myself who is having some trouble coming off Lexapro as well, but I just wanted to reply to you to say it really is a great medication for anxiety and depression. It helped me through some really tough times. There is very little risk of addiction, so don’t worry about that. There are no cravings to take it. It just has to be tapered off VERY slowly. However the first time I was on it was not this bad. 10mg is still a pretty low-moderate dose too, so you will be less likely to have severe symptoms when stopping. All that to say, it is a great help that is more of a long term solution than THC (especially when combined with counseling). Good luck!!
I really hope you’ve looked into and started either CBD oil, or some type of hemp extract. I’m just getting off of these Lexapro tabs and I can’t wait for all the withdrawal symptoms stop! I’m also using CBD oil to help curb the after effects. Crossing fingers I’ll see the good in all this soon!
Kristina, I am starting to come off of Lexapro and it is difficult yes, but that is because it was an effective drug in the first place. Please don’t think of it as withdrawal symptoms, but rather a readjustment period for your brain as it learns how to cope without it. The way I see it is that, now that I know what it feels like to feel better, it’s that much harder to bear the symptoms I had before starting it, before I knew how objectively bad I was feeling. However, when you’re on it, hopefully you can build strategies for managing mood outside of medication- that’s what I’m currently relying on (meditation, healthy diet/exercise, positive relationships). All of these things are difficult to manage when mood is effected. When I went on it about 1.5 years ago, it helped with my mood immensely and I do not regret starting it in the slightest. Further, marijuana may make you feel better in the moment, but it can also make you more anxious, and while it can make you feel sleepy, you’re not actually getting REM sleep after using it and you may wake up feeling more tired because of it.
I wouldn’t recommend using Lexapro. Prozac and Zoloft work just as well, if not better with fewer side effects and much easier to withdraw from. I was on only 2.5mg for 2 weeks and am having withdrawal symptoms. I had to quit due to an asthmatic reaction and couldn’t taper off.
Kristina, marijuana is a DEPRESSANT. Negative comments are the norm since those with good experiences “move on.” If your depression is chronic and has burdened you for years, I would experiment with anti-depressants. It did wonders for me. Withdrawal sucks, but staying on a med indefinitely is often a good idea. Just ask any diabetic!
I have had no withdrawal symptoms. Now this makes me wonder if the drug was ever working in the first place?
Look into homeopathic ignatia amara and aurum metallicum
Is this a real comment? Do people really still believe in homeopathy lol. it’s utter nonsense.
It really is a good medicine. I am in recovery as well. I have been on it for many years along the way. It doesn’t get you high and you won’t have cravings for it if you and your doctor decide to wean you off it down the road. Best wishes to ya.
Hola Kristina,
Natural methods, in my opinion, should always be a consideration prior to the toxic big harma chemical industry, however there is no profit in prescribing a natural remedy that might actually remedy the issue. I hope that you have found a natural solution to the anxiety that you have been experiencing. I would encourage you to look at plant medicine therapies as they are showing incredible results. I work with Kambo and Ayahuasca and have seen complete turn arounds in those dedicated to the process. If you have any questions, I am available!
HealthyHealingGoddess.com
Thank you for this information, and this too shall pass! ❤️
hi friend plese help me .plz tell me after withdrawl from prolexa after how much time symtoms finish.
I agree I feel horrible. I don’t know what to do.
I took Lexapro for 7 days and then stopped cold turkey because they made me feel worse than I did before taking them and they gave me heart palpitations. I feel like they should warn you of the withdraw ahead of time. It has been 3 weeks since I stopped taking them and I wanted to share what it’s been like this far. The entire first week or so I thought I was going to die. I had chest pain, numbness/ weird feeling in my legs and brain fog BAD. I didn’t feel like myself at all, I thought I was going to pass out every time I got up. I threw up and had diarrhea for 4 days, making my potassium levels so low I had to go to the er. The second week I started to feel better but I still had vertigo and brain fog. It was hard to focus on things and I was very frustrated. I just wanted to feel like myself again. This is the third week and I’m glad to say I’ve been getting better. I still have to really focus sometimes and my anxiety has been hanging out, but nowhere near as bad as before. I just wanted to let others know it gets better. I honestly thought I might not ever feel like myself again. It was terrible. Prayers and good vibes sent to everyone else who has to go through this.
OK, I am so glad to find this. I took Lexapro for 6 days before I woke up having massive back to back panic attacks one night. I couldn’t make it stop, so I went to the ER. It was extreme enough they seriously suspected a major medical problem. I was only taking 2.5 mg during those 6 days. But I am a complete mess now. I have crazy mood swings. I have intense bouts of anxiety/depression that are unlike anything I have ever experienced. It’s terrifying. I thought I was getting much better last week, but then I had two days of the deep depression. I feel like this will never end. I have never had issues like this before, and the anxiety my GP prescribed this for was laughable by comparison. What dose were you taking for the seven days you took it? My new psych NP says there’s no way that small a dose of Lexapro for that short of a time caused this.
Regarding what the NP said, I’ve learned from my research that every person reacts differently to SSRI’s. Some people are more sensitive than others. I took 2.5 mg of Lexapro for 5 days and 5.0 mg for another 5 days and stopped taking it as I was becoming more ill by the day (lightheaded, terrible anxiety, rapid/pounding heart rate, overwhelming fatigue, inability to function). I am in my third week of withdrawal now and am slowly feeling better, but still have waves of feeling anxious, shaky and lightheaded. It may be awhile before you, and I, are back to normal.
My doc prescribed Lexapro 5mg for 5 days and then increase to 10mg to treat severe GAD and depression. My first dose literally knocked me out for 44hours and I was sleeping on the floor on a thermarest. I got up to pee and ate 1 but otherwise I was unable to function not hungry (forced myself to drink a smoothie) and was TKO as soon as I laid down. I decreased the dose to 2.5mg because my negative thoughts were getting worse plus I couldn’t function at all. I was on 2.5mg for 18 days and during this time I experienced side effects of complete exhaustion, increased negative thinking and anxiety, woke up to panic attacks the first week, sleeping too much or not enough, crying every day (even at work) and unable to concentrate (almost caused 3 car accidents). I got into a car accident this past weekend (that I caused). No support from my doc at all during this entire process. She told me she’s been prescribing this antidepressant to at least one person EVERY SINGLE DAY. My doc cancelled my follow up appointment (scheduled 3 weeks after she started me on these meds) and I was told I needed to rebook, but next available appointment is in 3 weeks. No time for her to consult on my side effects unless I rebook. I had NO IDEA how dangerous these pills are and I wish someone had warned me of the side effects prior to this experiment I put myself through. The stress and anxiety I was experiencing prior to going on these meds was nothing compared to the damage these meds have caused me. I just hope I don’t have permanent brain damage from this BS. I took myself off the meds cold turkey 2 days ago and holly shit it’s horrible. The mornings are the worst (I was taking the pill at night because I couldn’t stay awake during the day) dizzy spells, nausea, headaches, vertigo, blurry vision, unable to concentrate, incr. anxiety, so angry and irritable….I’m supplementing with GABA to try and stabilize the serotonin levels. Hot showers, eating, drinking tons of water is helping. Meeting with a natural path doc this week and hope to get more guidance on how I can support myself recovering from this bullshit experiment. Terrible to hear about what everyone else has been experiencing but comforting because my support circle keeps telling me to endure these side effects because things will stabilize eventually and that I should trust my doctor……
Hi, as for why you had such a severe reaction to such a low dosage and short use of escitalopram, it’s hard to say. I would recommend getting a blood test involving: Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, thyroid function, lipid panel, vitamin d, and Complete Blood Count. There’s also a pharmacogenomic test available called Genesight that evaluates your gene-interactions with antidepressants like Lexapro. It could be that you have severe gene-drug interactions or are allergic to an actual chemical ingredient of the drug. It honestly very unusual for you to experience such a severe array of symptoms to such a low dose taken for that short of a time span. It depends if you have any underlying medical condition to, sometimes these things aren’t entirely caused by medication, but rather exemplified by it.
Cannot tell you what this comment means to me. I only took 5 mg for 3 days and it made me insanely anxious and I could stop crying. I am 3 days out snd it feels like it will never end. I’m hoping I have a quicker turnaround because I really didn’t take that much.
Ik ben een 13 jaar geleden gediagnosticeerd met pdsd en heb er na al die jaren leren mee om gaan door een nieuw pad te maken doe zich verdiept door mijn wandelen, de oude patronen zijn er nog steeds, en die hebben me uiteindelijk van Groot nut geweest om die moeilijke periode te overleven, maar ik kies voor het nieuwe pad die ook een vallen en opstaan is, maar nu ben ik zeer traag van 20 Mlg sipralexa naar 10 mlg gegaan op een tijdspanne van +- 22 maanden met grammen met keer, ik hat dan meestal een 3 tal weken zweten beven koortsachtig gevoel spierpijn nerveus prikkelbaar enz maar deze waren na een 3 weken over dan is men zoon geboren en ben ik een 2 tal jaar gestopt met afbouwen en ben ik onlangs terug begonnen, en men dat ton ik van 10 naar 8.83 mlg ging de afvoer 4 weken duur en van 8,93 ‘ naar 7,83 waar ik nu inzit naar de 5 weken aant gaan is ok bovenop de andere symptomen duizeligheid maagpijn en een opgeblazen Hooft krijg en huilbuien, wat de andere keren niet-voorviel ook vermager ik veel omdat ik veel wijnig binnen krijg ik vroeg me af of er nog mensen zijn die langer last hebben van onwennig dan 4 weken bij het zeer traag temperen? En met deze symptomen? Vriendelijke groet maarten
Hi Maarten
I, too, have found myself very very sensitive to tapering Escitalopram. It has taken me over 2 years of intermittent tapering to get down from 10mg to 3mg where I am at now. I have found 10%-taper increments too much to handle at one time, wth too many side-effects, so I have resorted to 2-3% tapers at any one time. It is frustrating to say the least. The 2-3% tapers have also meant that I am decreasing by mg’s at a time. It is eqsier to protect the brain with smaller more frequent tapers (2weekly) than to wait for the brain to heal after a large taper. All this to enfourage you to hang in there. A low carb (keto) and paleo diet (eating grain and dairy free) has been crucial for me in this journey.
So ive been on lexapro for a while now sadly my meds fell off my nightstand into a cup of water i had forgotten about and they had dissolved its been 4 days i think i tried to get more but instead of ot being free of charge my pharmacy wants me to pay 135.96 and I think i may get off of them because first of all im horrible about taking medication I take some 1 day then I dont so flip flop medication I know sounds crazy right!? ive taken zoloft before and never and anything close to how I feel I feel like im walking on a boat in the water I feel so off balance i threw up this morning and i have a wonderful feaver I know its bad to quit cold Turkey like I just did and I cannot afford 135.96 right now its kinda a money situation and Ive been having a little bit of anxiety feeling like im gonna die from withdrawal
Hi heather !
Just wondering if you finally felt like your complete self again thank you
I took Lexapro for 3 weeks (5mg) and then developed the only allergic reaction I’ve ever had, I ended up covered in hives. Before finding out Lexapro was the cause of the hives, my anxiety was crippling and I was constantly panicing. I have taken the steroids(tapering)/meds to counter the hives it’s been a week since I stopped Lexapro. During stressful times i considered self-harm, I have been sleeping so much during the day and not at night, the need to just cry, irritability, and brain fog.
Thank you for writing this. I took Lexapro for a week at 5 mg and experienced an immediate improvement in anxiety. I did have an anxiety attack at the end of the week, but it still was a better week than I had been experiencing. As per my doctor’s instructions, I then increased my dosage to 10 mg. Within just a short while of doing this I ended up going into the ER with rolling feelings of going to black out (though I never did), in a feeling that both felt like a hot and cold flash at the same time blasting up and down my body (these might have been panic attacks, I’m not sure). My pupils were constricting and dilating every few seconds, I was having such bad diarrhea and profuse sweating that they gave me an IV, but my blood pressure and oxygen were normal so they sent me home. After two weeks of recuperation, my doctor advised me to try 2.5. I really want to control my anxiety so I decided to do it. Two days in, panic attack after panic attack and very similar symptoms to when I went to the ER. I stopped cold turkey again and I’ve had nightmares, profuse sweating, paranoia, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, pain in my chest and arms (but my EKG looks normal) vertigo, lightheadedness, feelings of aggression and fear, feeling like my limbs have no life to them anymore and I assuredly keep thinking, as I did when I went into the ER the first time that I’m not going to make it. I’m now 88 hours since my last dose and I’ve only just had my first panic attack of the day and it was when I was fighting a feeling of sleep, so your message that this will end and I won’t die really has given me hope.
Omg Thank you for this I was on 2.5 for 4days then 5mg for 10 days and my Dr said to stop because it didn’t agree with me at all I said I’m afraid of withdraws she said I’m not on a therapeutic dose I would have 0witj draws …. Well I am goi g through them I’m very dizzy day 5 of it out of my system but total off for 12 days my body feels like I’m on something but I’m not … just really strange
Hi Gloria,
I have been using a Valerian Root tablet, which is from a plant so all natural and non-addictive. The valerian seems to make me calm so it helps with anxiety and a bid with the lexapro medication.
I was wondering how long it will take for the withdrawal of Lexapro? I stopped taking the Lexapro 10 days ago and today is worth than yesterday. I’m also not sure if it is the withdrawal or the actual anxiety? Any help would great appreciate it.
I’m pregnant and currently weaning off, I feel absolutely rotten the electric jolts are sending me crazy I don’t know what to do
Did you taper off of just stop taking
Hi I stopped taking Lexapro 10mg about two weeks ago I tried tapering off of it without a medical professional because I moved recently and haven’t found a Psychiatrist I took a half a pill for a week and then went to a quarter for about three days then sleep in a miss a dose and then figured I might as well not keep taking it I have been feeling Terrible and I’m really scared my moods have been all over the place I have been starting fights with love ones that make no sense I feel lightheaded from time to time and I have a burning sensation throughout my body mostly at my arms I feel like I can’t feel my legs and I feel like I am having heart palpitations I have been sleeping fine also my hand cramps up and hurts and I have to massage it to help with the pain I visited the doctor and they told me my heart is fine and that I am in fine condition and I just need to wait it out but I’m really getting scared that I will never feel like myself again I took Lexapro about 5 years ago and quit because of the side effects but I don’t remember having any withdrawal symptoms and I thought since I took it years ago it might help me now but it made my anxiety much worse and the side effects were terrible and the same as the ones I just listed that I am going through from not taking it anymore I don’t know what to do or if I should be concerned.
Word of caution : “Natural” doesn’t mean it isnt addictive or dangerous ! Most drugs are plants
Most drugs are not plants. Sorry.
i agree, i am trying to wean myself off and find i am extremely sad. its embarrassing, trying to hold it together …. its good to know others are having similar issues. (and yes my brain sometimes feels as if it’s detaching from my scull) – I am thinking about going back on the prescribed dose just so I can elevate the symptoms.
Amen, finally realizing I am not losing my mind. Thank you to everyone here who shared their experiences as they stop taking this medicine. I have stopped taking a generic form of Lexapro a month ago and thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was having small seizures (these brain zaps) and around 3 everyday I am dizzy with vertigo and that swimmy head feeling. I was going to call the doctor tomorrow but not willing to take more meds to create another problem. I am open to CBD but exactly what symptoms will it help alleviate?
I’m in the same boat as everyone else, weaning off of 10mg. Currently down to 2.5mg but am having withdrawal symptoms from this. Cloudy head and almost constant ringing of my ears. I feel best during and immediately after exercising but can’t do this all day.
Reading everyone’s comments actually settled my mind a little.
I feel the same as you too except today o felt so unwell I could not exercise. I’m in week 3 tapering off from 20 mg …. I’m terrified and am supposed to start another new medication in a few days
I’m curious if you were able wean off and start new med? I have been taking 20 mg for 30 years but my new dr wants to taper off, 10 mg one week, 5 the next and then start cymbals in hopes it will help with chronic pain also. But this is day 4 of 10 mg and I feel very weird. Not sure it’s worth it reading all these posts. Thank you!
I’ve been weaning off 10mg. I went to 5mg every other day and 10mg alternating days. Then moved to 5mg every day. Then I went to 5mg every other day. Each step I did for 2 weeks. I have been taking Lexapro for 2 years. I quit taking 6 days ago. I had zero problems at all until 3 days ago. I have been feeling dizzy and extremely sleepy. I broke down and took a 5mg just now, hoping it will help. Maybe I can take 5mg once a week for 2 weeks, then be done? All I can think is to spread the dose out further and further until my body/brain adjust.
I took citalipram (which is a sister to lexapro) for 20 years. I tried to wean myself off several times but failed. However I decided to take a long and patient approach by first lowering the dosage, then taking half a pill everyday for several months and then skipping a day between dosage. The last regiment I was on was 5 mg two times per week. I was finally able to stop taking it altogether. I remember each time I started having the brain zap or insomnia I would take a small dose that would relieve the symptoms. Good luck It took me about a year and a half to get off the meds.
I have had similar terrible withdrawals after a tiny dose for 5 years. Physical exertion helps tremendously, especially weight training and it assists with stamina which is basically zero during withdrawals.
I quit alcohol 14 years ago: very hard detox, this is way way worse because it makes no sense. With alcohol, there is a horrible logic: if I have a drink I will quickly feel a little better (of course that runs out but it has a weirdly reassuring reliability- part of the cruel trap of course. But with Lexapro nothing makes sense in terms of even visualizing relief. But, take it from people who have been through tough withdrawals and won: you can and will make it. Nobody is trying to hurt you. Everyone is trying to help you . You don’t need to worry about figuring out which way is up yet. Just put one foot in front of the other and remember: it’s actually just as easy to think a good thought as a bad one. I know that sounds like it should be embroidered on a cushion, fake as $9 bill, but try it. Saccharine is fake but sweetens the tea nonetheless. Your own body wants to help you. It’s just confused and hurting right now – but it is loyal and it will respond to helpful inputs like exercise and diet.
The tragedy is that the kind of routine and mindset it takes to get off these drugs is what doctors should have encouraged many of us to do instead of going on the damn drug. Your body and your mind are on your side. Be on theirs.
Thank you for your post. Before I began, my doc told me my body would have to re-adjust and basically recalibrate. I forgot, and you reminded me. My body is confused and I totally get it! Patience with myself is critical. I appreciate your honesty and encouragement. I’m in a fight to be off Lexapro (under my doc’s supervision) and I will win! Amen!
Hi there!
I’m so glad I’m not alone. I had an incredibly unsettling panic attack the first week I stopped (sort of cold turkey? Hard to explain) and since then the brain fog, vertigo and nausea have been nonstop. I can’t get much sleep and I had a very challenging time today not falling asleep in my classes. For reference, I’m a 3rd year college student who has been taking Lexapro for the past 2 years. I started on 5mg, went to 10mg last year, and then 20mg in the past couple of months. Then I decided I wanted not to be on SSRIs anymore and my therapist told me to taper (without any other context or information given). My primary care physician is booked until December, and I ran out of my medication 2 weeks ago. I have been experiencing a lot of shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and stomach issues. I was getting scared but now after reading the comments I feel less afraid. This will pass eventually. Im going to stick to this, ride the wave, and come out the other side.
Hello! Did the dizziness ever go away for you? How are you feeling now?
Hi, my story is similar to yours, I quit cold turkey sometime the end of September and I also was on 20mg for nearly two years, I wondered if your symptoms have gone away ? My headaches are gone finally but I am still foggy headed and easy irritable. I am thinking of getting back on a low dose to get rid of my withdrawal symptoms.
Hi crystal how you doing I know you don’t know me but my name is mike and I quit taking lexapro cold turkey around the same time that you did in the beginning of November of this year I was only on the 10 MG but since then I had horrible side effects numerous trips to er I’ve been having severe panic attacks emotional feelings nausea brain fog brain shocks moments where I brake down and start crying for no reason I keep thinking that I’m dying the first couple weeks after I quit wasn’t that bad i wanted to know are you experiencing any serious symptoms like that
I quited lexapro 2 weeks ago, symptoms are horrible : huge anxiety, agressivity, mood swings, loss of drive and so on. Those ssri are worst than depression.
I took one 5mg dose of Lexapro and it did me horrible. I ended up in the ER 3 times. I had waves of fear all through my body and head. Something I have ever experienced before until I took that one dose. I am still trying to recover I hope this goes away soon.
I finally came off Paxil in 2021 and month 1 was energised, month 2 started agitation, nearly end of month 3 started Lex. Weaning off the Paxil wasnt as bad as I thought, did one day 40mg, next day 30mg and did that for maybe a month or more, then down from 30 to 20 but jumped up to 25 alternate days. The did 25/20 and so on till my last 5mg/0 and did that for about 3wks when I came off. I did read somewhere you should stay on that last little piece for 9-12m but not sure if thats true. Took time though, couple of years and would only drop when i felt stable enough to do so. Key will be the same I think, cant be rushed
I have taken antidepressants for over 20 years. Have not had my Lexapro in over a month. I am sick as a dog. My depression is not the issue but the withdrawal IS depressing. I feel dizzy and nausea all the time. I can’t function like this. HELP
Hi Rhonda,
I have been on Lexapro twice in my lifetime. The first time was for 7 years and the second time was for 3 years. I can tell you from experience, it is a bitch going on and coming off Lexapro. When you stop Lexapro, regardless of how slow or fast you wean off, you are potentially going to feel dizzy, confused, headache, nauseous, stomach cramps, brain zaps, ear ringing, etc.
You just have to strap in and ride it out. It can take 3 months or more before you start leveling out and it can take a year or more before feeling totally normal. It gets better I can assure you. Take it day by day, there will be good days and bad days, but you can do it.
Omg it’s so true! And I hate to admit that. I too have been weaned off lexapro and start Wellbutrin. I am so irritatable and can’t seem to stop arguing and fighting about the smallest things. I also am experience weird body sensations that are painless but shocking at the same time. I can only compare them to euphoric waves. So strange. I am not easy to be around at all right now! Ugh!
I have been off of this medication for about 2 weeks now. I am having the brain zaps severely. Can you please tell me how long it was for you before these stopped?
Hello,
Doctors who prescribe Lexapro should be required to tell the whole story about what you are going have to go through when you quit or try to quit taking it.
I agree!!! I am having Severe severe withdrawals and I wish I was told this was a thing before ever taking the medication! I feel like I have a combination of the worlds worst concussion and stomach bug at the same time. I have been off for about 10 days now and it seems to be just getting worse and worse.
Completely agree Ed,
Hello… I’ve been on lexapro for about 3-4 years and finally stopped taking it but the withdrawals have been awful… the brain zaps, lethargic, stomach problems and so much more it’s awful… it’s been about 9 days and i just want to feel normal/better again. If anyone has advice please help:(
Yes!! Had I known I wouldn’t have started taking it!
Passionflower and chamomile tea can help with the anxiety and withdrawals. Swisse has Relax and Sleep tablets that have these ingredients plus magnesium and lemon balm which helps with stomach issues. I would not even attempt going through withdrawals without these tablets.
I could not agree more! I’m so angry that it was prescribed so easily, but no mention of how hard it is to get off of it.
I agree
I completely agree with the above comments.
When I was first weaning off Lexapro( I was switching to a new medication), my doctor nonchalantly instructed me to cut my dose in half for one week then go off the medication entirely on week 2 (I was originally on 20mg).
This did not go well. I was moody, irritable, easily brought to tears, and at one point did not want to live.
Luckily my partner is a pharmacist and had me go back on 10mg (eventually agreed upon by my doctor), which I eventually was able to tolerate.
I stayed at this dose for another 1.5 years and am now trying to wean off again. I am taking it very slow. 10mg one day 5mg the next on week 1, then just 5mg each day this last week.
I am still experiencing serious withdrawal symptoms. I’m going to stay at 5mg now for another week or 2.
I had no idea this was going to be so hard!
I know I want to be off the medication, because emotionally I have moments of happiness that I haven’t had in a long time. But the down side is very challenging.
I feel that both my doctor and therapist are not well versed in the experience of withdrawal from this drug. It is very hard to find information on what is normal and not normal and how to cope.
If I didn’t have my partner, I would feel very alone in all this. I can’t imagine how others are doing.
While this medication did help me early on, I do wish I was fully informed that this could happen, and been given alternatives.
All I can say is that it does seem to get better. If you are going through withdrawal, it’s not forever and you need to be kind to your self and ask for help when you need it. All the best,
My 18 year old daughter has been taking this medication for 5 weeks now, is it to late for her to just stop taking it? Cold turkey… she is nauseous all the time and has headaches like crazy. She has a doctors appointment in a couple days, but she don’t wanna feel the way she has been feeling any more. We are now afraid if she continues to take it or come off of them what will be worse. She is taking 10mg.
Hi there!
I had both nausea and debilitating headaches (I called them migraines) when I took the 5mg my Dr prescribed for starting Lexapro. Dr then suggested to drop to 2.5 mg for a while, and build up by 2.5 mg a week/every couple weeks after that to mitigate side effects. I found taking the meds with food helped stop the migraines. After a couple months, the food wasn’t necessary for keeping migraines at bay, but I still take the pills at breakfast so I know I don’t forget them.
If she does the titrating up, be sure to note it in medical files to make sure she follows the same dosage going back down (if she wants to stop after being on them for a while).
As for being too late or cold turkey? Ask her doctor and don’t leave anything out.
I know you probably thought nothing of it, but inserting that bit of reassurance in there saying it seems to get better, etc. God bless your heart. I’ve been going through these withdrawals crazy and hearing that from someone who has gone through similar makes me feel great. My heightened anxiety from the withdrawals often makes me feel like things wont get better, eventhough they clearly are. Have a good day, man. Hoping things work out for us
So im 17 and started 10mg lexapro around 3 months ago. I made a stupid mistake and realized I was almost out of pills 2 days before I left for a trip that im currently on. I couldnt get a hold of my therapist for 5 days because of memorial day weekend. It came to a point where I had to cut my pills in half and I didnt think anything of it because I was not warned what symptoms I could have if I did this!!!! After around 3 days I had a massive headache the whole day and was extremely irritable and an emotional wreck. I didnt think it was the pills at all I genuinely thought everyone around me was pissing me off and this vacation just needed to end. So I finally got in touch with my therapist and she sent a refill at the nearest pharmacy to where I was. I picked up the prescription and called my mom who immediately told me to take 2 pills and wasnt aware of the fact I was taking half the dosage I should’ve been taking and was extremely mad(shes been taking 20mg Lexapro for years and it has drastically improved her life) after about 5 hours I felt so much better and finally felt like I could have a normal conversation without hating my life and I actually almost started crying because of how unhappy I was before taking those 2 pills. Eventhough I feel so much better, im now extremely worried about the day I have to stop taking Lexapro. If I have to go through what I just went through for months, I think that would be 100 times worse than the depression and anxiety I had before Lexapro.
You worry about the day you come off Lexapro. If it is very helpful, why would you stop? Diabetics never stop taking insulin!
I started on Lexapro 20 mg for depression 1 5 years ago. Decided to try and get off of it on June 4, 2021. My doctor instructed me to take 10 mg for a week, then 10 mg every other day for a week, t hen stop it. I stopped taking it completely on June 18, 4 days ago. I am starting to feel some of th e after effects with the withdrawals . I am undecided on w hat to do: .1. Stop and put up with the after effects, 2. Go see my doctor and get his advice or 3. After only four days off of it, should I ween myself back on lexapro by doing the opposite by getting off it, ( by taking 10 mg every other day for a week, then 10 mg every day for a week, then 20 mg daily (back the way I took it for 15 years ) ANYONE HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS?
Weaning off of Lexapro has (is) taking me a long time…like I reduced the dosage by half for +6months…and then took that half dose every other day for another month or two…and I havent had any for two weeks now..so give yourself LOTS of time….I am actually feeling better now in many ways, although a little less stable emotionally…
I was on 20mg of lexapro then switching down to 10mg I felt terrible very dizzy, brain fog, and sad. I am now taking 10 mg every other day. What should I taper down to next? I have been on lexapro for 6 years and recently it just doesn’t help with my anxiety so I just want to be medication free.
I am withdrawing from Lexapro. Been on it for 5 years now and I quit cold turkey (20mg) and I have had bad vertigo, loss of appetite, heartburn , vomiting, and stomach upset problems resulting in diarrhea, I feel sick as a dog. Antidepressants are no joke.
Thank you for this positive and helpful comment. I’m going for an ultra slow wean like you and hope I have the same results. How did you go when you stopped completely?
Hi, 15 years on Lexapro is a very long time. I assume you want to go off the medication because you feel better? If so, I think it is worth it getting off but you should probably take your time. I went off 5mg but it took me 4 weeks and i still have some withdrawal symptoms. Don’t be afraid to go back a little if you need more time. 20 mg for 15 years is high doses for a long time. So if I wear you I would try to get off 20mg and try 15 mg (10mg & 5 mg)…this takes 4 weeks (Week.1: 20|15|20|15..etc. Week 2: 15|20|15|20..etc. Week 3: 15|20|15|15|20|15|15…etc. and Week4: 15|15\15|15|…until you feel comfortable to do the same thing again with 10 mg and than again a few weeks later with 5mg. Keep 5 mg for a few month before you reduce to 0 in the same rhythm. I hoe this helps. Good Luck! and if you are not sure, always run this by your primary doctor.
I took lexapro for many years and unsuccessfully tried to go off several times. Upon retirement I was determined to go off of it. I took 10 mg daily. Reduced it to 3/4 pill for two weeks. Then reduced to half pill for two weeks. Took 1/4 pill for two weeks and then every other day for two weeks. That worked for me. I didn’t have any of the bad side effects that I had before when I tried to wean off of it more quickly. The only thing I experience still is i cry very easily. Doctors who try to get you off of it quickly have no idea how horrible the side effects are
I’ve been on 10 mg a day of the generic Lexapro for three and a half years. When I started tapering off I took 5 MG a day for 2 weeks without major side-effects. Three days ago I stopped taking any. That was a mistake. Got hit with brain zaps and dizziness, so I think I’ll slow the decline. Your plan sounds about right.
I had no idea the withdrawal would be that debilitating. If I had been warned when I first started, I doubt I would have done anything different, though. I was past caring at that point. I needed the help. But now I’d like to know what it feels like to be unmedicated.
How are you feeling these days? It’s been awhile since you shared here so I’m curious how it’s worked out for you.
I was on Lexapro for almost a year when I started to notice this flat, no emotion me. In fact I just didn’t feel like myself. Went to dr and asked to get off it and put on something else. I was told to reduce from the 20mg to 10mg for 3 days then reduce to 5mg for another 3 days then stop and start the new meds. Because I started feeling better right away I decided not to take the new meds. I just want to be off psychotropic meds so I can be myself again. Well although I started feeling better it’s now day 5 that I’m off it and I’m now experiencing the awful withdrawal. I’m miserable. Feeling irritable, fatigue, sweating and the brain zaps are awful. I just want to be done with drugs.
I can identify with all the comments in here.
I stopped taking it Saturday and now I’m having the worse withdrawal symptoms. I literally stopped it cold turkey without knowing it was gonna affect me this bad. I’m just like in a daze and cant remember anything. I’ve been having alot of crying spells and felt like I was insane. And now I’ve been having these real bad cramps, and everytime I eat I get sick to my stomach. So I dont recommend stopping it cold turkey.
Stephanie, see my comment above….hope you start feeling better!
Thank you Jessica,just hoping this isn’t long term cause I feel so hopeless right now. 😔😔
Stay off it.. You just keep the cycle going.. It will get better but takes time.. I will never go back on it..
I hate it I feel like crap everyday all day I’m trying but it’s getting the best of me I hate I ever started taking them. Now that I’m trying to get off it’s even worse one day at a time everyone
I feel all this and done that. What have you done about it? I’m not sure what to do I don’t want to take more meds without being certain to start feeling like myself truely.
I was on 20mg weaned to 15mg for a week 10,for a week 5 for a week and then stopped worse thing I ever did the withdrawal symptoms were so bad head zaps ear rings,shake, dizziness felt like I was on a boat and a complete emotional wreak I ended up at a detox center I got back on the 5mg for about 2 weeks then 2.5 for about 3 weeks and 2.5 every other day for about 2 weeks it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve taken any i do feel a little dizzy my body does feel different but I’m not having terrible withdrawal symptoms I guess just wean yourself of slowly
CBD is a really great help when enduring these withdrawals… it is non addictive and definitely helps you cope until the withdrawals cease … I’m not a supplier or anything other than a retired lawyer wanting to feel normal without SSRIs … try the CBD from a medically certified provider and trust me you will cope better (eat a sweet with the drops because it tastes yuk lol
Will. See my comment above June 23. after I posted the comment, I decided to partially do number 3 of my comments. But I only did t he first of my comments (took 10 mg every other day for a week, but then just quit taking any at all) I am now this date feeling some of the same side effects of withdrawals , nervous, dizzy, you name it. I have an appointment with my doctor first week of August but he is the same one that suggested me just to quit after the first two weeks of quitting the first time. That is a long time too feel like crap. I agree with Jessica on a semi-long term approach on withdrawing. I think I will try this approach she has chosen. Seems like we are all in this together!
Thank you all for your comments . I’m just coming off them after taking 10mg for over a year. I’m taking 5mg now for two weeks, then I go to 5mg for a further two weeks & hope no great side effects. Only ones I’ve got so far are a headache of a morning & a bit teary..
I’m so glad I found this thread. I have been on 10mg of Lexapro for a year and a half. I started weaning off 2 weeks ago. The first week I took 3/4 a pill, last week I did half a pill, and this week (the past 2 days) I’ve been taking 1/4 of a pill. The only issues I had at first was a dull headache, easily crying and kinda tired. Today has been the worst. I feel that static feeling in my head which started yesterday. I feel off balance, chilly, nauseated, and overall just worn out. I found that CBD does help with my side effects. I also started working with a personal trainer once a week to help keep me excising and busy. The side effects I had when I was starting this medication were way worse. So, I’m thankful they aren’t quite that bad, but I’m ready to feel normal again. Lexapro really did help with my anxiety and PTSD, but I’m ready to be off of medication.
I’ve been coming off this for a couple months now. 20 mg originally. I alternated 20/10 for a couple weeks. Then 10, then 10/5, then 5. This wasn’t so difficult, but after that it became more problematic. I tried skipping days but after 24 hours of a dose I started feeling the brain zaps and by the next day I was a mess.
So at this point I did some fancy work: Using a food mortar and pestle I crushed a pill into powder, mixed it with some crushed vitamin powder, and with a very sensitive scale was able to weigh the mixture, and divide it to weigh out what I needed, making effective 3.25 mg doses that I put in empty pill capsules you can by. This is a very time consuming and delicate procedure that requires some pretty expensive equipment and a lot of experience with math and measurement techniques. This is something I’m privileged to be able to do and I don’t know how other people can otherwise reduce their dosage.
This dose was a lot easier to handle, needing to take it daily still. Then I got my doctor to give me 5 mg pills, so it was easier to go to 2.5, then 2.5/1.25 alternating, then 1.25, with about 1-2 weeks between dose reductions. So this is 1/4 of a 5 mg pill, but am still was unable to skip a day even after getting used to this. I still get electrical sensations in my head and a little disoriented.
So now I have to go back to crushing pills, diluting them, and weighing out very small doses on an analytical balance. So now I’m starting a 1/6 of a 5 mg dose now (0.833 mg of Lexapro). Once I get used to that, I’ll try going to about 0.6 mg, then 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.15 and 0.1 mg. Of course I hope that at some point I will not be getting the physical withdrawal symptoms and can just stop. But the point is this is insanely difficult even for someone who can basically do their own pharmaceutical compounding in their house. The physicians clearly have no idea what people go through when withdrawing. Beware.
Lol you have to be tweakin or manic
Peeps are suffering. You find it funny. Make fun of them. My friend, you do know better. Please go elsewhere. This is no joke. OK? Peace
Got down to 5 mg/day and another doctor told me to take 5 every other day then quit. Well, I was so emotionally charged again that I literally felt like slapping someone (my neighbor again) and others. My son said I was like a crazy woman. It was the worse experience with weaning off drugs ever. Paxil was hard but this was worse. My neurologist wants to have an appointment with me about Lexapro in 4 weeks and I have (laughingly) said he is going to send me to a detox program. Yes, docs prescribe meds without telling you side effects or worse, withdrawal effects. I would never have settled for Lexapro as I was coming off Paxil if my doctor, a psychiatrist, had told me how bad it would be to stop this horrible drug.
I’m 16 and recently gotten advice from my psychiatrist to taper off from 20mg, to 10mg for a week, and then down to 0. This is my 6th day on 0mg. It’s been definitely really hard, I could say that. No appetite, and anxiety has been going through the roof. I’m definitely getting better everyday but my anxiety is still telling me this will last long or for forever. Basically what I’m doing is begging for some reassurance here. Anybody whos gone through similar, just please tell me how better its gotten for you. It feels awful. Anything would help.
Hi there:)
You have tapered too fast. Unfortunately psychiatrists and doctors are unaware of this. Please reinstate and taper 10 percent a month. You should use at least a year for tapering. Check surviving antidepressants for how.
I was actually on it for only 4 months, which is what my psychiatrist said is the reason as to why I was tapered on only about a week. Do you still think this is fast? It’s my 16th day off lexapro, I dont think it would be good for me to go back on it while I’m already this far in at this point
1 .First taper down 10 % for a month
2. Then taper fown 20% for a month
3 . Reducing 30 % for a month until you are totally down to zero %
In this case you will plesantly weaned off the pill
100%
90%
80%
70%……..until 0 %
Be patient it take about a year .
I have followed this advice and it works .
That is a REALLY fast taper…If you do it slowly you will find it is much easier to tolerate the transition. There is a Facebook Group on Lexapro Withdrawal that is excellent – the administrators are very experienced and give you very specific information on a slow taper. Based on their advice, I am making my own liquid and tapering in very small quantities. Good luck!
Thats pretty helpful, I’ll look into that group. So, I was actually only on lexapro as a whole for about 4 months, which isn’t long and I suppose is why my taper was fast? I’m on my 16th day off of it completely and I do feel like it’s getting better
Oh I wish I’d known about this group! Doc suggested a week of half dose then stop (after 4 years at 10mg). I thought that was too quick and tapered for a fortnight. Was fabulous the first few days, then started horrid nausea, that seems to have eased and now it’s vertigo and humming sounds in my ears. I’m at the end of week 2 at 0mg. I went off it due to a diagnosis of micro colitis as it’s a major contributor to the disease developing.
I have been on Lexapro for two years or so. Helped with my anxiety but about 6 months ago got into a relationship and was unaware of the sexual side effects of Lexapro. I thought i was going through menopause or some other reason I couldn’t reach orgasm or anything close. My Primary care said, oh you are on Lexapro, your screwed. I cut it in half for a couple months, then to 1/4 of a pill for another 4 weeks. I have been completely off for about 10 days and wow. I am so irritable, the brain flashy things are constant all day long. I feel like running for the hills. I am just going to tough it out though. I keep trying to remember I am grumpy because of the withdrawals and apologize every time I say something nasty.
After stopping lexapro my body began to have a numbness Tingling sensation all over even my lower part of my face and Tongue.. my leg muscles and stomach and back hurt so bad I haven’t been able to get out of bed for days.. I’m glad I found this and I am not the only one who is having problems.. I have been on 10mg for a year and had cut back to 5 and then nothing ..
I relate to that tingling in my mouth and tongue!
I was taking 5 mg Lexapro for 5 years. I weaned myself off in June. But probably not gradually enough. The withdrawal symptons have not eased at all. My anxiety is back, which i was expecting. What I wasn’t expecting is feeling “off”. Like my brain is misaligned. You know the feeling you get when you return home from vacation…that odd feeling you have for a day or 2 until you get back to your routine? Well that’s how I feel all the time. And I feel disconnected from my body and my life. I hope this isn’t permanent. Do antidepressants permanently damage or change the brain and how it functions?
Have you tried specific vitamins to help your feeling off? Try B Complex. I have done tons of digging to treat anxiety naturally and B complex keep appearing. I recently starting taking it in order to wean off 10mg LEX.
Hello…I’ve been on 5mg Lexapro for 3 weeks & I feel terrible…dizzy, lightheaded , ringing in ears, nauseous, no appetite & disconnected. I had no idea I would feel this way! I want to stop taking it but scared to do it cold turkey. Should I start taking 1/2 a pill? For how long ?
I took lexapro once after changing from Welbutrin. Only took (1) 10mg dose on Monday and has the worst panic attack I’ve ever had in my life. Called my dr the next day and was told to discontinue. Been feeling pretty terrible since but trying to remain hopeful. Can’t shake this feeling of dread , nausea, clouded mind, muscle aches. Wish I never took this drug. I just want to feel like my old self again.
I’ve been on a generic version of Lexapro for a little over a year, and I suddenly started getting dizzy spells every day. I tried to ignore it but they kept getting worse, so now I’m tapering off. Any time I move my head too fast I get dizzy and my tongue feels tingly and numb. I haven’t been able to find this happening to anyone else from looking online, but hopefully once I get off it will go away. My doctor has me tapering down over 14 weeks!
Been on anti-d’s for 30 years since PND.
Adult weight gain stable until Dr started me on Escitalopram 40 mg. 3 years later I’m 18 kilograms heavier. Just adds to the whole depression/low self esteem thing. Never gained weight with Citalopram my previous med taken for 10 years. 8 months ago I started reducing. Instead of 2x 20 mg tablets daily I took one and a half 3 days per week, other days full dose. After 6 months I reduced further to one n half tabs per day. End of this month will
Reduce to 20 mg (1 tablet) per day. Then for 2 months half tablet per day. Aiming to be totally off Escitalopram by Christmas. So this is a Long, steady tritation down completed over a year.
Until pharmacological companies (and some doctors) gain an understanding of psychopharmacology linked weight gain Women will continue to avoid/undermedicate themselves to an insufficient therapeutic dose to avoid significant upsetting side effects
I started lexapro almost 18 months ago,I was suffering PTSD after my husband suffered brain damage. I have felt it was time to ease off the dosage. I started on 10mg which was increased to 20mg about 10 months ago. I cut to half a pill a out 8 days ago & felt OK initially. About 3 days ago I noticed I wasn’t feeling quite right, I feel like I am getting a cold or flu, just generally off. I feel a bit sad & generally down. I hope this is only temporary until my body gets used to the lower dose. I intend to stay on the lower dose for the foreseeable future, I don’t feel ready to stop altogether yet as my situation is not going to improve.
I was on 10 mg for one year I recently went off it with my doctors support. I went to 5 mg for 10 days and then 5 mg every other day for a week. Symptoms aren’t that bad. Had runs for a few days, trouble sleeping and have hot flashes and sweats at night. I feel really down and feel like isolating. However taking Lexapro when I did really helped me through really difficult time and dealing with COVID and not taking it wasn’t an option. Hang in there it will get better just be gentle with yourself. Reach out to friends and ask for support.
You did it correctly half dose for 2-3 weeks then half dose every other day for 2-3 weeks. Good job!!
When I started taking a 10mg dose of this medication I got really sick. At one point I had to go cold turkey on it (as advised by my doctor) because I had to take a very strong dose of antibiotics. A few months into taking it I noticed my period pain was worse and some months it was excruciating. I started to ween myself off this medication after feeling like an emotional wreck and having thoughts of self harm every day for 2 months. It was really scary. I’ve now been off the medication for about 2 weeks and the last few days have been feeling extremely angry and easily triggered by trivial things. I will never take this medication ever again.
So I didn’t have my
Prescription filled and haven’t had my
Lexapro for 4 days and I’ve started to feel like I’m having some sort of slight vertigo or something. I turn my head and there’s a delay on my vision. I’ve been taking Lexapro for 90 days at
10mg. Other than that it’s not bad. I start back tomorrow but after this thread I’m not sure I want to.
hi
I have been using lexapro for a while but went several months without taking it. I then started up lexapro at 20 mg for three days and then got ringing in my ear so i stopped taking it completely. Is it possible I coul be experiencing withdrawal symptoms due to the ringing?
Charlie i get ringing all the time! it’s super annyoing and yeah it’s a side effect of the medication
I’ve been on lexapro for years because of depression and anxiety. I recently found out I was pregnant and after reading about effects on unborn babies, i made the decision to stop. It has only been 5 days, and i feel awful. Crying constantly, no focus, brain zaps, exhausted, irritable, prone to rage….any herbs that anyone can recommend since I have to be all natural?
I have been on Lexapro for a year now. It has been difficult getting off 10mg a day. A few times I tried going cold turkey and by the third day I was a mess. I was very dizzy even when sitting down and drinking plenty of water. My headaches became more intense. The brain fog became real. I have been wanting to either transition to a new drug or get off them completely. While it helps me with anxiety, depression and panic attacks it also negatively impacts my sex life with my husband. I never desire sex anymore and cannot get aroused or get anything close to an orgasm. I wish I can have the benefits of feeling level headed while also enjoying intimacy. Going to visit my doctor again to see what other options I have.
What can I use as a natural seratonin supplement? I did a very slow taper per my doc recommendation and am now a week completely off and crying at every little thing! I’ve been on 20 mg lexapro for 2+ years but went through Paxil withdrawal years ago. That was tough. This seems more challenging, maybe because I’m older?
Off course it’s my birthday… a landmark one, and everything is making me cry. I’m going through so many tissues. Also so many body aches this time. Just managing to keep it together!
Experiencing withdrawal for the first time right now. Any slight change in position of my head makes the room feel uneven and spinny, constant nagging that I’m going to throw up but not enough to actually do to, sluggish, heavy limbs. I can’t look at my laptop or watch videos or listen to music or read without feeling like my head is slowly caving in. Typing on my phone to make this comment is barely manageable. I did my best to taper my last pills on my own, because my medical providers were being finicky with refilling my dosage (several calls, emails, and talking about it in person (in which they agreed to the refills and told me they had sent it in) and even then whenever I called my pharmacy they told me they hadn’t received a refill ok yet…)
I experience vertigo and some nausea regularly because of other medical problems but I could tell immediately that this was no my usual. This is very inconvenient.
Really relating to everyone on here, I find myself reading these comments often. I was on Lexapro for about 2 years before I decided I didn’t prefer to be so emotionless and zombie-like anymore. I accidentally stopped it cold turkey about 3 months ago and thought nothing of it because the symptoms don’t kick in immediately.
I suffer from morning panic attacks/ anxiety and even when the panic attacks aren’t as bad, the tingly skin, headaches, irritability, and depersonalization is almost unbearable. I think if I didn’t already suffer from nausea during my morning anxiety then maybe the nausea side effect wouldn’t bother me so much but it’s definitely my least favorite part. Seems like this will be a gruesome and long process, feeling for all of you as well! I feel like this may take a year or more for me.
Hi Jill, how are you going, now it’s about 5-6 months after cold turkey?
Anyone else experiencing wird ticks or habits? I have this weird neck, hand, and diaphragm think. I pulsate breathe very shallow and fast breaths what seems like every few minutes for days now and it’s starting to hurt my chest and throat. It gets worse when I get stressed out or frustrated. I’ve been off for a month now and some days are really nice. I had a couple days of like wow that was easy, then all this kicked in hard. On my second month and I’m just hoping I can get back to normal. These ticks are driving me nuts. I’d rather just feel sick.
Hi Lucas,
Not sure about ticks, but my ears are summing (Tinnitus) after a month off the Lexapro, which is super annoying.
It is hard to concentrate. Not sure if it means my anxiety symptoms are back or if it is withdrawal symptoms. I hope your ticks will improve. Try meditation. That helps me sometimes.
I started to take this medicine 8 years ago. In April I started to taper off and did it pretty slowly, took my last dose 4 months later. Now after a month off the drug I have all the described withdrawal symptoms! I am using cbd and I am also microdosing with psilocybin. Hoping this will help!
Wow, thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences here. I took 20mg of Lexapro for about 12 years, and always noticed that missing even one pill triggered the dizziness and brain zaps you are all describing. According to my psychiatrist that was unusual, but it seems like I’m in good company. It also made me sweat buckets every night, regardless of temperature, etc. This summer I decided I wanted to stop taking it, and I knew it would be hard but like many of you had no idea. I started cutting down from 20 at the beginning of May. Now it’s mid-September and I just went from 2.5 to 0mg two days ago. I thought that since the dosage I went down from was so low it would mitigate side effects, but I’ve really been suffering the past couple of days.
It just occurred to me to read about others’ experiences with this process and it’s been reassuring and scary simultaneously. Has anyone out there had an OK transition from 2.5 to 0mg and how long did it take to feel better?
OMG–I went through this with Paxil about 15v years ago and for some reason thought Lexapro would be nothing like that. I was only on for about 4 months, 10 mg, so thought going CT would be no big deal. And it wasn’t, at first! I’m three weeks in now and I can’t keep anything down, I’m eating nothing but ginger. My band has a big performance we’ve been excited for all year this weekend, and I’m just hoping I don’t pass out or puke on stage! 🙂 Bringing lots of seltzer water and raw ginger, the only things I can imagine ingesting and keeping down .
I can’t believe this could last for *months*. Fortunately, I feel great emotionally. Just ticked off at the doctor who prescribed this stuff with absolutely no warnings about how I would feel if I stopped. My bad for stopping cold turkey, I should have known better! Now the only question is whether I should go back on a small dose, and taper from there!
Did you decide to get back on or keep the turkey cold??? I am currently in your EXACT position. Well not exact. Ive been on it for 3 years or so. And took the last month to taper. I only got up to 10 mgs n have been taking 5 the last month. I lost my prescription the other day. And ive been kind of meh physically, so i just decided id go cold turkey and get it over with. After days of crying at the drop of hat. And irritability, im like gah. I should of just stayed on longer😭
I don’t know how effective Lexapro was for me, but I stayed on it just in case it was helping. I haven’t been able to get a refill so I haven’t taken it in days and I’m so scared for withdrawal to possibly set in. I think I feel okay so far but I don’t know what to do especially because one of my anxiety symptoms is derealization which is awful. When does withdrawal set in?
I was only on Lexapro for a month and it gave me horrible insomnia and a pounding heartbeat. I got off of it after being miserable for those 4 weeks. I’ve been off of it for 2 months and still have insomnia and a constant racing heart when I lay down. My anxiety has been the worst it’s ever been. I was never a depressed person until now. I can’t even function. Has anyone experienced this with lexapro? Does it get better?
I took Lexapro for 10 days and stopped as it made me feel really unwell with lightheadedness, terrible anxiey, shakiness and a racing/pounding heart. I’ve been off of it for 13 days now and continue to feel unwell with a racing heart, insomnia and lightheadedness. I was wondering if you’re feeling any better now, as it sounds like we share a lot of the same withdrawal symptoms. I am so glad I found this website. It makes me feel less alone in all this.
I’m unfortunately still having insomnia and the pounding heart. I switched to Zoloft and had the same experience so I’m done taking SSRIs. I’m working with my physician to find another solution. Let me know if you find another solution as well or if your symptoms start to subside.
Hi Carissa, Just to see how you are doing now, I hope you are finally getting there, I have posted a similair case to you self Greg Norton
Don’t let the Big Pharma salesman put you on a statin, unless, you want your whole mitochondria and nervous system damaged.
Hi, I have been using a Valerian Root tablet, which is from a plant so all natural and non-addictive. The valerian seems to make me calm so it helps with anxiety and a bid with the Lexapro withdrawal symptoms.
I was wondering how long it will take for the withdrawal of Lexapro? I stopped taking the Lexapro 15 days ago and today is worth than yesterday. I’m also not sure if it is the withdrawal or the actual anxiety? Any help would be great appreciate it.
Wow, I am so glad I looked on this site. I stopped lexapro cold turkey in mid July, not to my own desire. I have been on the drug for a long time due to menopause and a a divorce. I felt I was ready to come off the medication but as not given the proper withdrawal timing, I have experienced horrible withdrawal symptoms. The first 3 weeks were fine, then I experienced horrible fatigue and muscle pain, this had been going on for four weeks. The last 3 weeks have been horrible anxiety and NO patients with anyone. I finally talked to my doctor and was put back on the medication and maybe withdraw at the proper dosage.
Hi Ann, how long from going cold turkey to getting worse and how long after cold turkey did you go back on? How long did it take you to feel better after restarting?
Teresa, how are you doing? I only took 3 days of 5 mg this past week I’m only 2 days out and anxiety/tingles/obsessive thoughts/sweating/insomnia through the roof. I am hoping because I took it so briefly I’ll feel relief soon but all these comments sounds like I’m in for a ride still. Curious what your experience is after only 10 doses.
Alex, I’m coming up on three weeks post-Lexapro and find myself having good days and bad days. Sometimes I can actually go to the store or outside for a walk. Then I’ll have a night of insomnia and feel terrible the next day or so. I’m still having waves of anxiety with a pounding heart and shakiness, but it seems to happen less frequently. It’s been a roller coaster ride and I don’t think it will be over for awhile. My GP says it’s quite unusual for someone who took so little of the drug to have such a reaction. I believe that GP’s really don’t know enough about psychotherapeutic drugs and should not be prescribing them (just my opinion). I wish you all the best. Let me know how you’re doing.
I’ve been off Lexapro (10mg for five months) for nine days, cold turkey, but that’s because I ran out of meds early (they fell into a wet sink) and can’t more until my next appointment six days from day. It is absolute hell. It’s brutal.
My entire body is tingling, movement makes it worse, especially my face, lips, and tongue. I keep feeling like I’m about to slip out of my body. I have the random brain zaps, but also these jolts through my body. Just extremely disoriented, and it’s difficult to make my eyes focus on something for more than a few seconds. The anxiety, of course, is excruciating, and sometimes I experience brief bouts of paranoia, like, “hey, look at that dark corner, something’s there.” Rational brain is telling me to calm down, but it’s mostly outside of my control. I also have bad nausea after I wake up, which goes away after a couple hours. Insomnia, mood swings, total lack of interest in sex.
I’m super prone to experiencing side effects with meds, including withdrawal symptoms, and I got really lucky with Lexapro not causing any side effects, but I have never experienced anything this awful. The worst part, though, is I’m one of the unlucky few who experience the “rage attacks” after being off an SSRI. The dumbest things have set off this absolute FURY, like Netflix froze and buffered last night and I nearly threw my laptop at a wall. Yeah… So much fun. It helps to know that I’m getting my prescription in less than a week, but oh boy, just the thought of six more days of this is horrifying.
I’m currently taking 10mg everyday for three months now and I’ve been thinking of getting off but seeing how hard it might be is really freaking me out… I wanna get off it asap and idk what to do!
After about 5 months of tapering down it still feels like I’m never going to get off it completely. I’m down to 1/4 of a milligram per day. Every few weeks I reduce the dose by ~30% and when I do I feel awful for over a week especially overnight. Eventually I get used to it, but it’s ridiculous how strong this drug is. I missed a day last week at the next day I felt like hell. Starting next week I’ll be going to 1/5 of a milligram per day. It seems there is no minimum threshold to get off this horrible drug. Who knows… maybe a year from now I’ll still be at 1/20th of a milligram and still not able to stop completely.
Hi Hope all doing well and getting there? I was on Lexapro for just over 7 months, It never really worked for me but gave it a good go to work, I stopped at the beginning of June now off for 4.5 months I tapered down from 10mg, 10mg to 5mg no problems, 5mg – 2.5mg very little issues, 2.5 to 1.25 really started to have issues, stayed 1,25mg for 6 weeks for stopping and all I can say it has been a brutal Journey, first 4 weeks, total confusion, ringing ears through low level anxiety and panic attacks, through week 8 – 12 having different symptoms every day all very uncomfortable and difficult to function with after 3 and half months I went private to a consultant as I was very concerned as how I was feeling after such a long period, he advised is common from Lexapro, he advised I was about enter the final Phase of withdrawal, symptoms included Severe anxiety, Panica attacks, low mood etc, I didn’t expect what happened to me, after about 10 days into this phase the Anxiety and Panic attacks where off the scale, in the end I had to be taken under the Mental Health Crisis team for my own safety, over the the 5 weeks so far of this phase Anxiety and Panic attacks dont really stop, going into week 6 of this Phase am I slowly starting to see a very small movement, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, ringing ears and very very very low mood are very severe during this period, I have been advised by my consultant this is not out of the ordinary with Lexapro withdrawal, coming up to 5 months and still fighting every day to stay in the game is unbelievable but everyone I have seen in the Crisis team has said the same thing, Its not uncommon for Lexapro and if you hang in there it will pass, to still be having 5 daily panic attacks after this long is mind boggling but not out the ordinary, my brain function as also cleared but its now all dow n the Anxiety moving on to get to the other side, I have been advised it could still take further month or 2 before I really start to see the light and the tunnel end, 2 – 4 weeks as advertised by our lovely companys pushing Lexapro and other SSRI isn’t true in many cases, its a brutal journey but please all hang in there we all be free off this P***SON on day, It would be good to hear anyone else experience particularly on Phase 2, Anxiety, Panic attacks and ear ringing, if anyone needs support Im more than happy to help and use my experiences to date, take care you will free soon
I’ve had exactly the same experiences with this durg. I was only taking 10mg and was side effects free for a whole year but then suddenly one day i just felt gloomy and my heart kept palpitating and i just felt so anxious. Had to do go back onto the medication for it to stop. I’m planning on quitting it soon again but i think i’ll taper the doses extremely slowly and hopefully get no side effects
Hi Greg, I had similar story with my brother he was on Lexapro for a few months due to a difficult period in his life, again when he stopped his life pretty much unravelled over a period of 6 months, he complained of very similar symptoms he had help from our local mental health team after he tried to take his own life (He had never had any issues like this previously}, this how he ended up under their care, unfortunately he took his own life 3 weeks ago, we are all still numb, we contacted the manufacturer around this situation and to be honest the reply I got was a formatted email for such Issues, do these companies have that many people take their own life when trying to come off Lexapro, I thank you for your post and I wish you all the best in your recovery, I wouldn’t advise anyone take this medication without real research and understanding of the potential very dangerous consequences of coming off Lexapro, I firmly believe my brother would still be here is he hadn’t started with medication, Companies don’t care people its about the profit as I have learnt though my dealing of this situation, Thank you John
Wow, Firstly John I am so sorry for you lose. Your comments have really help me to carry on fighting, I was on Lexapro for 5 years after losing my mother to cancer, I tapered down over a 7 month period from 10mg to 2.5mg, I stopped on 6th August 21, I didn’t expect what has happened to me over this period, I have had 2 suicide attempts on my life during the darkest time ever in my life, had many symptoms in the start which where very uncomfortable but manageable then around a month ago Anxiety and panic attacks pretty much played havoc in my life, I couldn’t cope anymore and felt I had no option to end my life, today I’m still in great deal of difficulty but finally starting to climb out of what I would call the hole I have been in for 3 months, I’m have been reassured by my mental health team is normal and I will get there if I keep fighting, Thank you so much and Im sorry for your family lose, I will get through this. Claire xx
I started Lexapro 2 months ago and the side effects were horrible! Headaches, nausea, severe anxiety and panic attacks so bad that I was scared to leave my house. I started with 5mg then went to 10 mg then went to 15mg then back to 10 then back to 5. It has been suck a roller coaster of feelings, emotions and side effects. I hate it! I talked to my therapist and she had me stop taking the medication. I and currently on day 2 off the medication and feel nausea and have diarrhea. I also have the electric shock feeling in my head and whole body at times. I hope I feel better soon. I try to help myself by meditating doing aroma therapy and doing self care like taking long warm baths. Everyone hang in there! There is always light at the end of the tunnel 🙂 stay positive!
I’m currently going through withdrawal, Thank god I found this feed, its not just me going through what I can only describe as hell, Lexapro off for just over 3 months and still having horrendous Anxiety and Panic attacks, this medications in nothing but poison sold as medication. Keep fighting all
Hi, I left the below comment from Steven, after a little further reflection I feel I need to add further Information that will hopefully help people starting Lexapro or coming off and make the correct direction for themselves, I have done a great deal of research on Lexapro as I was to try and understand what is happening to me, during me research I have discovered numerous issues that manufactures have covered up in out of court settlements, this is widespread across many SSRI manufactures, many manufactures have paid billions not millions of pounds in settlement for pregnant mothers due to the effects this medications has on the unborn baby, I will not say anymore but please do your own research its all over the internet on many occasions, there has also been many other out of court settlements on this medication due to people loosing their life, it is about time the world governments got a grip off the wild west of companies manufacturing SSRI, I will also add do you know that your GP or doctor in more than 80% will be incentivised my the SSRI manufactures to push their medication for example in 2019 the UK Glaxco Smith kline paid GP surgeries over £300 million uk pounds in Incentives to push their products, this needs urgent attention as we are heading it to an epidemic with the amount of people being put on this medications without the truth on what happens during starting and withdrawel, does 15% of the US population really need this medication figures in 2020, I hope this help your choice of it to start Lexapro
Im so glad i found this site it makes me feel im not going mad, I took Lexapro for only 3 months and stopped just over 3 months ago and have been having a terrible time trying to hold it together, I have full day panic attacks and still show no signs of easing up. my doctor tells me it is normal but how can this be, only took 5mg for 3 months and Im still having terrible issues longer than i actually took the medication, I had breast cancer 4 years ago and went through 4 rounds of Chemo and it wasnt as bad as this, I starting to worry I have permant brain and nervous system damage, I feel like I just want to die but I must keep going as I have a family and 2 young children, I really do agree with many of your comments on how can a company not advise that this may happen and still put million of people on this drug yearly, If I had any advise dont touch medication at all it will ruin your life like it has mine for a very long period of time
Please Please Please dont take this poison, it will destroy your life like it has mine, same as many of your comments, I have lost my job, wife and cant even function to 10% of what I was before I took this poison for only 11 months, I have been off coming up to a year and Im getting to the point where I will end my life as this is a life destroying drug, If you take this drug you are potential putting a gun to your head if the russian roulette with WD that all pharma comapnies think its ok to do to gain profit, These companies are putting the western world at risk in the next 10 – 15 years if this companies are not held to task at what they are doing to there own people, you read of many people taking their own lifes as in this feed, these company employes should be charged with murder or manslaughter as they are totally responsabile for this messs for profit
Great I have found this site, I can understand all your comments, 8 months off Lexapro and still going through horrendous adrenaline spikes, this medication has pretty much take everything I hold valuable in my life, on for only 3 months getting crazy side effects so stopped even tapered down from 10mg over a 4 week period but a shocking journey. My long time girfreind has left and I’m off sick from work with no pay. trust me I had a normal life until I was prescribed this drug for anxiety, I down have anxiety which is 100 times worse than i ever had after 8 months Im beginning to think this is permanent, you look at some websites and it does shown people who have been really damaged by this drug many years after stopping after only taking for a short period, why can this be th case and this is allowed to continue, please don’t take Lexapro if you value your future it will play havoc in every part of your life, Im now considering trying to register myself disabled due to this medications long time side effects, AVOID AVOID AVOID at all costs
I have been off Lexapro for 5 months and am having the most horrendous adrenaline waves, I know this very common but it last all day non stop, sometimes it comes as anxiety through to the most crazy anger, is anyone else experienced this, i second third and forth all comments on this forum This medication is dreadful do your research as as this stuff could end your life as it clearly already for someone in an above comment, sorry for your loss and i really hope these people who run these companies on day get what the deserve the pain and suffering they put other through in the form of Lexapro. Calma is coming for you maybe not now but it will catch up you all in the future
I was on 10mg per day, and I’ve been off about a week now. Aside from the static-head, jumpy feeling when I move my eyes around…the worst thing is controlling emotion. I’m getting emotional about everything right now, which is annoying AF. I’m a combat veteran- so I initially got on it to stabilize things while I was experiencing some pretty bad depression when I left the service. I won’t say it was a mistake to get on it, but I am ready to be done. I also, started cutting the pills in half to take daily, then I brought that down to one half pill every other day. Now I’m off- and it is a doozy regardless of how you ween it seems to me. Anyway- I am confident that getting it out of my system will be a good thing…I’m just tired of taking medicine and refuse to believe that I can’t retrain my brain with nutrition and exercise instead of a drug. God Bless.
Awesome name! Thank you for your service!!
I stopped for sure! I feel i needed something more for Anxiety vs Depression – my depression was more of an impact of insomnia and other issues. I am moving more toward exercising and eating right to help as a come off this med and am wondering how. you are doing now? only on Day 5 but needed a xanax after reading through some of these comments.
Hope you are doing well!
Lexapro is not the answer. Break up with the person you are with, find someone more supportive who actually loves you, and you’re welcome. It’s just that easy.
If you take Lexapro be prepared to fight for you life when you are ready to get off Lexapro, there are no words to describe what this stuff does to you when you stop.
I was on this medication for a month.
With drawl was insane because i ended up getting serotonin syndrome.
I was perscribed this with the lowest dose for narcolepsy.
I was having sezuires every single morning.
No doctor could figure out why.
No test showed anything wrong with me.
Side effects for me were:
Skin crawling
Skull pressure
Didn’t want to sit stand or lay down
Insomnia
Brain zaps
Consistent shakes
Consistent hot flashes
Twitching alot uncontrollably, head eye, hands, feet
Unable to understand what I’m doing
Time would go by to fast
Staring off with out thoughts
Colors in vision
Brain fog
At a routine yearly physical I was asked to fill out a emotional wellbeing questionnaire. Based on this, my NP said that an “anti-anxiety” med might help with occasional short temper bouts while driving my big rig. He prescribed 10 mg Lexipro to be taken at a half dose for the first 10 days then the full dose thereafter. I sure wish I had looked into this stuff ahead of time. I started on May 13, 2021. In some ways it was “doing its job” however I felt like I was on drugs. My wife, who has been taking citaloprine for years and is nearly intolerable without it, never feels at odds with herself nor does she act oddly. I decided a few weeks ago to do some research on lexipro and found that the Omeprazole that I take for GERD actually DOUBLES the effect of lexipro (Google lexipro-omeprozole). I’m wondering if my NP even has a clue! Nearly 25 years ago I quit using all mind altering substances of which I abused the 25 years prior to that. Needless to say, I know how it feels not to be “straight” in the head. I decided that I would ween myself off of Omeprazole and Lexipro. I went from 10 mg/day to 5mg/day of Lexipro and quit Omeprazole altogether. After two weeks I quit the Lexipro altogether. It’s been about 10 days now. My wife noticed without me telling her. My patience has diminished greatly but I can catch myself most of the time before sticking my foot in my mouth. My main physical withdrawal symptom is the brain zapping that many describe. Being a former substance abuser I can ignore these sensations realizing their cause. For those of you who are dealing with the mind games of withdrawal having never experienced anything like it before, I can imagine how it’s freaking you out. I have been able to function close enough to normal to be safe and sane, especially considering that with the Omeprazole I was essentially taking 20mg a day. To those of you who are having a tough time getting off of smaller doses, I have to ask, are you using Omeprazole for stomach acid? Good luck everyone! Don’t forget that there is a end to it if you choose to persevere.
An ammendment to my last comment: omeprazole doubles the effect of citaloprine. Omeprazole’s effect with Lexipro is a 50% increase. Both are increased due to higher absorption into the bloodstream.
I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones as my main side effects from gradually coming off lexapro have been severe tiredness and constant headaches. Fortunately they’re the only two things I’ve noticed. I was on lexapro 10mg for about 2 1/2yrs .
First – HI EVERYONE!! So happy to find a forum/topic for this!!
I had been on a low does of Lexapro for about 3 months. Im in my early 40s and it really did help in time of need. The onset of taking Lexapro i had crazy dreams and sweating like crazy (not that overweight and am sort of active – as much as one is when they need Lexapro). The issue i had/have is its effect on libido. that occured pretty quick and has been causing some contributions to my sadness and anxiety. However, I had a HORRIBLE interaction as i had a couple drinks (no more than normal and had a glass of wine or two since starting) – where it really affected me and caused me to pass out.
SOOO – I stopped Cold Turkey (not sure why we have that expression…anyway) – Its been 5 days… My withdrawals are: Crazy dreams – nothing scary – just odd and i recall a good deal of detail when i awake; started feeling nausea in the morning/when waking up; brain zaps as well as moments of “what the heck was I doing” – which sucks at work; lastly dizziness…
Not sure if others have similar withdrawals – but I did talk w my Dr and Therapist about my reaction and decision to stop… However – wondering from those w experience – How long should i expect these withdrawals to last and are they going to get worse (knowing im only on Day 5 of my stopping and seeing other comments here).
ANY Thoughts/Advice/Help would be Amazing!
Hoping each and every one of you has a great day and are doing well!! Know there are those out there that are there for you if you need help!!
I have been on 10mg for about a year now – have been on it before and come off. I take it for anxiety – moving to a new country, leaving everything behind, etc was ll too much for me. Now I am on week 2 of having 5mg (I cut tablet in half) then next Monday will do 1/4 for 2 weeks but OMG!! the heart palps, migraines, feeling of overwhelming anxiety, insomnia, upset tummy, etc, etc. This sucks man!
Thanks for all the experience sharing. After 16 years of taking 20 mg escitalopram (generic Lexapro) per day, I started a slow taper over a 6-month period, cutting down 10 mg per week every two weeks, so it took 28 weeks to come down to zero. I spaced out the pills and half-pills as regularly as possible — made myself a little chart showing the 14 2-week periods, the seven days per week and a full or half-circle in each cell to indicate how much to take.
About a month after getting down to zero, I have had no severe symptoms, other than really bad fatigue. I can still function, I seem to have some brain fog and occasional light dizziness, but not too bad. I feel sorry for those of you who described pretty horrible symptoms. I’ve had a couple irritated spells, but I can’t really tell if they were worse than usual and due to the withdrawal. I’m watching this pretty carefully, as this was my main issue before getting on the medication originally. I feel I should probably have tapered even more slowly toward the end, but I’m not bad enough to want to restart taking a small dose.
So… I think those who says you should taper over a full year are correct, especially if you have taken it for years and at doses above 10 mg.
Has anyone else experienced frequent urination/constant urge to pee, increased hunger, and nausea daily while on Lexapro? That’s the only reason why I am stopping it to see if the symptoms are related to the medicine.
Hello everyone ,
I was on 20 mg of lexapro for a little shy of 16 years. With the help of my psychiatric nurse practitioner I weaned off slowly over a 5-6 month period. I’ve been off it for about 6 weeks now and I feel AWFUL. Was ok for the first week then all hell broke loose in my body. Severe hot flashes, headaches,nausea and my anxiety is through the roof. I cry over EVERYTHING. I’m feeling things I haven’t felt since before starting the lex. I also take vyvanse and trazadone so I thought I’d try to give up the lexapro. I also suffer from panic attacks and GAD. I’m wondering if I made a mistake coming off the lex and feel like there’s no end in sight for the withdraws. Will it feel like this forever?? I see my NP next week I hope I last that long. Thanks for listening.
I was on Lexipro for GAD since I was 16 and felt now as a 26 year old with an established job and good friends and family I could come off. I slowly tapered off my 10mg dose from Aug-Nov and for the month of Dec wasn’t taking any doses. I felt fine outside of headaches and dizziness.
Then a month out of taking the medication it hit me. Some of the worst anxiety I’ve had and my first instance with true depression. This lead to horrible nausea and very hard to focus on anything. I decided to go back on my Lexipro but it will take some time for it to get back into my system. I am a week into my mental breakdown and each day I tell myself that I will get 1% better. This truly is one of the hardest things I’ve been through.
What a shocking medication on every front, start middle and finish, its just total poison on every level
People who peddle this medication should be help to account for countless suicides this stuff causes, those responsible should be locked up for life or even worse a taste of their own actions, this medications is responsible for deaths at all levels even unborn children, if you are thinking of taking the stuff of have just started look up out of court settlements for the company that farms this crap, they have paid out billions in out of court settlements, this is not because it a few sleepless nights of up set stomach, no its dead people including one payment of 500 million for over 1000 unborn children, this is fact not fiction, look it up for your own reference, this company has a moto profit comes first
Wow, I have looked in to your claims Ruth Anderson and wow again how can this company Abbvie get away with this, I have now stopped taking Lexapro after what I have read Ruth, this all need looking into by the regulatory authorities in US and beyond in nearly all report its performs no better than Placebo, these companies need holding to account paying their execs millions each while so many suffer, After what I have researched all these companies don’t even know what this stuff actually foes and yet half the world is on it, go help the next few generations, Pharma companies such as Abbvie will be responsible for the downfall of humanity, where are all these execs going to spend all of their corrupt money then, at least the Cosa nostra have morals these guys will make a book at anyones cost unborn, child no one is excluded.
Hi Everyone,
Reading all of these comments has helped me so immensely, and it also brought me to tears. I had no idea that my experience was at all a common one, my doctor made me feel like I was a complete statistical outlier and that I was imagining my side effects. To hear that others experience what I did comforts me but also saddens me because I can completely understand what you guys have been through and no one should have to be doing that.
I started Lexapro after I had abnormal side effects taking Zoloft to treat my GAD and depression. My doctor made me stop Zoloft cold turkey after taking it for over two weeks, which caused me to have two or three days which I still cannot properly remember for I was so out of my mind, angry, depressed, I remember I wanted to put my fist through my window on many occasions but thankfully I didn’t hurt myself during this period.
After I came off Zoloft my doctor immediately started me on Lexapro 10mg which I started taking at night. The next morning after starting I felt like someone had detached my brain from my body, I was feeling very tingly, in a cold sweat, out of my mind feeling. I fell out of my bed and can’t remember anything past that until later in the day. I continued with the medication but at 5mg at my doctor’s recommendation.
Things only got worse. I would wake up twice every night with panic attacks WORSE than any I had experienced before starting meds. I had a panic attack so bad one time that my family called an ambulance because my heart rate (normally resting around 50bpm) went up to 140bpm and i was sweating a lot. Racing heart, sweating, confusion, feeling of loss of consciousness, brain zaps, upset stomach, loss of motor movements on occasion (I would look in the mirror and see my jaw moving without my trying, and my legs would often suddenly give out / spasm when I was walking down stairs). I was on Lexapro for three weeks and at the time I could say without a doubt that those weeks were the some of the worst of my life, with so much pain, discomfort, fear, anxiety and scary thoughts. Then I started coming off the Lexapro because my doctor (finally) realised I was having a Serotonin Syndrome response (which can be life-threatening) to the Lexapro. Looking back now I can tell you without a doubt that the weeks following (when I stopped Lexapro) were actually the worst of my life.
All the symptoms I had while on the Lexapro just worsened, and I even had to start taking 5 – 2.5mg of Lexapro just to mitigate the withdrawal symptoms. I was irritable, angry, depressed, depersonalized constantly, didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, felt like I was constantly about to pass out or have a heart attack. I was constantly shaking and twitching. My mother who was looking after me had to hide the Lexapro pills from me because ironically the medication which had messed me up (Lexapro) was the only thing that could mitigate the withdrawal symptoms for said drug. God it was an awful time. My doctor had to put me on to Valium so I could stop the Lexapro, I found out later that Valium is very very addictive and habit forming, and that too was very hard to get off and to limit my usage of it. There really was no winning.
After about 5 weeks off Lexapro most of the discomfort had eased. To this day (about 3 months after this whole ordeal) I still don’t feel like myself, I feel so much worse than when I started trialing anti-depressants. I have diagnosed PTSD from the whole experience too. I now am on Zyban, which was awful to get used to at first, but now is mostly okay, aside from a few meltdowns and hiccups along the way. During the months I was trying medications I lost 7kgs (I was already a slim/petite woman before so now I am well below the healthy weight I should be for my height). My appetite has finally returned somewhat but it is still not enough for me to gain any weight.
Now I wonder how doctors can prescribe these medications so easily without warning patients of the side effects. I also can’t believe just how much medications can mess you up (short-term and long-term). Worst of all I found out that Lexapro is approved for children as young as 12. My only advice I can give from my experience is to only look into SSRIs and other medications like this as a last resort, and only with the guidance of a psychiatrist you really trust. Make sure they tell you all possible side effects before you take it, and make sure they tell you what to expect while withdrawing from medications. Lastly if you suspect that you have had a serotonin syndrome response to SSRIs and your not sure what other anti-depressants there are that aren’t Sertrogenic, ask your doctor about Zyban, it seems to be a much better medication for people very sensitive to SSRIs.
I hope everyone here is doing well today and that you all have the support you need and deserve. Thank you for these comments and they made me feel better about my experience, and I hope I can help others in the same way, to make you feel less alone.
I was prescribed Lexapro after I supposedly had a panic attack. I never had one and my Dr pushed me to take it, even though I never had a history of depression or anxiety. The Dr also gave me no information or what to expect from taking Lexapro. So, I finally took the first dose. It was freaking horrible! I told me self maybe the next dose will be better. Nope! Even worse! So i just stopped taking it after the second dose. That whole week after I was just constantly feeling scared for no reason at all, and could not really sleep well. After the week, I felt my self again, totally normal, only thing that felt off was my digestive system.
Then after a week of being okay, the following week out of no where i developed severe insomnia, I was hyper focused on my heartbeat which at the time felt like it was beating harder than normal. Not having a clue what was going on, I began to think something is wrong with my heart. After going to a cardiologist and GI Dr, and doing thorough testing, turns out there is nothing wrong with me at all.
That is when I realized that discontinuing Lexapro caused me to withdraw and go into a state of high anxiety and I had no idea. I had to do my own research.
Anxiety over powers common sense in the brain. I had the severe insomnia for two months and it got better after those months. I learned to just have a whatever attitude and give up on trying to sleep (not make it a big deal if I can’t sleep). I had to constantly just be careless of the negative thoughts and sensations. I took a year for me to rewire my brain, I’m am 99.9% my old self and I am still not done sensations are gone and negative thoughts have mostly disappeared but it is not a big deal ( your mind wants you to this it is). It is a slow process that requires extreme patience and simply be fearless, (fake it till you make it).
Like many in this thread have said. Stay away from brain altering “medications” It really is not the end of the world, even though it may feel like it, it realistically is not. Remember anxiety and depression overpower common sense.
It is 100% possible to be happy again naturally!
While doing my research I came across this youtube channel created by an individual who has dealt with high anxiety for years and finally cured himself from it. This is what initially started my path to become my old self but better!
https://www.youtube.com/c/ImprovementPath
Also, these books helped me a great amount on my recovery process.
Anxiety recovery –
Dare: https://amzn.to/2EGyK7Z
Strengthening the your mind.
Can’t Hurt Me: https://amzn.to/3hIgPML
Hi All, to add on from Zoe post, I really do totally agree with all comments this stuff in nothing but poison at every level, you see I think the Companies that make this now how much damage it does to Individuals, we all have experience of this on this platform and we are all adults, theses companies market this also to children of 12 and in some cases younger, If does this to an adult Imagine the long term damage this does to a child, mind boggling I think you will agree, These companies have no morals or standards as long as we make a profit, Targeting Children come this is so wrong on all levels, I really hope that a some point Calm does pay these high paid Individuals that run these companies back, in a very painful way as they have put all of us through offering a solution to a very difficult situation that is never really a solution, greed greed greed, shame on you and all your employees, Childrens lives ruined so some fat cat can have a bigger car or house, shameful
I’m 67 years old. I was physically fit, never had any major health problems or a history of mental health problems. After a sudden life change around a year ago, I had trouble sleeping for a few months & let my emotions get the best of me. I’ve never gone to the doctor much & have been anti medication my entire life. Well, I went to a doctor, was diagnosed with anxiety/depression, was prescribed Lexapro & took it for less than 2 weeks. I had horrible side effects so quit & still have the same side effects 7 months later. Tinnitus, taste & smell problems, weight loss, emotional numbness, no motivation, ED, memory problems, can’t make decisions, joint aches/numbness, don’t feel like myself & more.
I have never experienced problems like this until I took Lexapro. The upset & trouble sleeping was nothing compared to what I’ve felt since taking Lexapro. I just want my life back & to be myself again! Any suggestions are appreciated.
Good afternoon everyone!
I am so grateful that God has showed me this site to help me through my experience with lexapro generally. When I started taking the medication on the 17th of January, the first two weeks was amazing with the lexapro 10 mg. I was feeling like myself again at this time. That following week, I started having the burning sensations in my head, sweating, along with crazy mood swings. As time goes on, the side effects gotten worse with the headaches, mood swings, burning sensations this time going through my whole body from head to toe following in areas that it shouldn’t go. When I was able to get into see my doctor and let her know what was going on she took me off of it right away with ending things with a half of pill. I was on this medication for only 3 weeks and 3 days. I was having all of the dangerous side effects to this medication that you read when you look up the side effects to this medication. My heart rate was even out of control and the anxiety that came with all of this was so terrifying that it took control over my life. I was so scared to even close my eyes. I went from gaining weight to losing five pounds within a few days time. As I came off of the medication on February 9th, I prayed and asked God to heal my body. God works are so amazing, I am on day 6 with no withdrawal symptoms at all. Asking God to heal your body and to give you peace is the best way to get through all of this. I am gaining my weight back, I am sleeping wonderfully every night and I have my life back.
Thank you all for taking the time out to read my testimony about this drug. I do say that now I ask even more questions before taking any kind of medication.
God Bless you all!
Hi Matt, I am practitioner and I see this all the time with Lexapro, It can happen only after taking for a short period, in my opinion it has damaged your adrenal gland which can take up to 12-18 months to heal properly, Pharma companies now about these effects but as you can imagine they want to keep it quiet, I can guarantee it will get better but it can tak up to 18months even off a short term dose as yours, All SSRI medication stops Adrenal gland function as different levels.
Matt, So sorry to hear your Issues, I had similar after taking Lexapro for a very short period, it took me over a years to get right again, I had Severe Adrenal gland damage, I spent many thousands seeing Adrenal specialist who guided my food etc, It is a common problem they see with most SSRI medication, I am in the process of suing my GP I have one offer I am still considering as an out of court settlement, they dont want such news getting to court etc good luck
I have taken the medicine for almost 4 months and started lowering the dose
I was taking 10mg daily once and now I am taking 5mg daily. There is little anxiety and think it is the psychological effect.
Believe me guys its only up to you and not on the medicine.
If you think you can do it no medicine can do it for you.
I’ve been on Escitalopram for around 3 weeks and am on 10mg (have been on 10mg for about a week as of writing this). I’m thinking of dropping down to 5mg again or even switching to a different antidepressant due to a very bothersome side effect. These stories are absolutely terrifying me.
Any advice on tapering or even switching? Anything would help. I’m scared now
Hi Dasha, Sorry to hear you story, please stop lexapro now, once you get past 6-8 weeks your body will really struggle to get off, Antidrpressants are one of the most addictive medications on the planet, GP/Doctors advise it takes 6-8 weeks to fully work, this recommendation comes from the Pharma companies the reason for this that the time scale that it takes for your body to be hooked, there is no money in cure for Pharma companies. Try and make your path under your own steam, please google such articles as SSRI cause unborn child deaths, SSRI cause mass shoots, Pharma companies out of court settlements and you will see the truth, SSRI are not what they say they are, Google Adrenalin surges off SSRI medication because all SSRI actually do is block your adrenal gland that produces all your bodies hormones and fills you will artificial substances to give you energy/productive boost, it has zero to do with Serotonin, again please google and see for yourself, Pharma companies know that 95 percent of your serotonin is found in your gut, I work in this department for Abbvie Pharma, trust me in the next 5-8 years all this will come out and all these Pharma companies have produced one of the biggest scams in human history, poison for profit is a joke we use in our office
Finding this just made me feel so much better. I’ve been on 20mg/day for the last year, and have been tapering for the last 3 weeks. I’m grateful to say that my experience has been challenging, but not too extreme. I’ve noticed I’m sleeping lighter and waking up earlier, but I have hydroxyzine to help with that. I throw up 1-3x almost every morning, and I have a 4/10 headache every other day. I’m still on lamotrigine which is helping a ton in keeping my mood more stabilized. I feel mood swings and irritation, but I know if I just sit and watch it before acting on it, things are still okay.
I guess I’m holding on to the memory of how bad things were that drove me to take lexapro at a high dose in the first place. I was having night terrors multiple times a night, I was having anxiety attacks, PTSD flashbacks, hyper vigilance, massive depression, and suicidal ideation.
And now, even though these symptoms are super not great, I’m no longer a prisoner in my own mind like I was then. Having regular dreams again is worth throwing up.
Please Please Please Please Please dont take this medication its nothing but total poison it will ruin your life life is has mine
I’m 58 and been on 20mg Lexapro for more than 15 years. (I cant exactly remember when I started.) I have had enough of the damn drug. I don’t feel like I can relate to the real world anymore. I went cold turkey on the 10th of March. This is day 4. So far so good. Had some itchy skin but that seems to have stopped. I am expecting bad things ahead and know I should be weening off but I just want to feel what my new reality is going to be like. I always promised myself that when I was in a good place I would stop but the good place never really arrived. At the moment I feel sharper than ever for as long as I can remember. I feel like I am finally in the moment. As the posts all say above, this will probably be short lived, but I feel like the last 15 years have been a dream. I want my future years to be lived in the moment.
Wow. Same here. Last 7-8 years. Numb – did they even happen ?
I’ve been on Wellbutrin and Lexapro for years. I finally got off of Wellbutrin which was horrible. I am now slowly trying to wean myself off of Lexapro 20 MG. It is worse than Wellbutrin. The sweats, fatigue, headaches, irritability, the overall nausea…I feel like I am losing my mind sometimes. This doctor wants to switch me to Effexor. NO WAY. I am getting off all these damn drugs and trying the homeopathic route. Look into Magnesium, as that helps with the anxiety.
Looking at all the comments on here and on other sites it shocking how much damage this stuff does to people, I will let you into an Industry massive kept secret, I used to work for one of these companies and when you start working you have to sign a NDA – None Disclosure agreement, at first I though why but after only a short period a realised why, these companies have known since the Mid 90s how much damage SSRi do and its kept covered up through NDA and out of court settlements, These drugs shouldnt even be on the market, it is starting to come out now how much of a scam this has been from Pharma Indusrty, the people who run these companies have no value on you or I or children for that matter, I was sacked because I report the goings on to the local press and backed it up with Internal documents, these companies are nothing but scum, SSRi are nothing but a scam,
Another Legends death at the hand of these Pharma companies, Foo Fighters drummer, someone really needs to address this situation on what these companies are doing to society with SSRI, more deaths than any war over the last 40 plus years, it has to stop now, They are destroying lives with this Issues these drugs are causing
I have all of the withdrawal symptoms mention above. I have been on Lexapro 10 MG then 5 MG for the last 4 years. I know my dosage is mild but these withdrawal symptoms are certainly not. How long before I start feeling “normal” again?
Lexapro withdrawal is no joke! I’m so glad I’m not alone because these past three weeks have been terrible! The first two weeks I was basically bedridden due to the severity of panicking. Finally went back to work and the first week went fine. This past week I had to leave early twice because my sensory issues are too much to handle, creating more panic attacks in the process. I can’t handle motion, light, sound, etc. I only took two 5mg pills before the panic set in. I did complete a genetic test and it turns out I am highly sensitive to SSRIs. I feel hopeless, depressed, angry, anxious, not myself. Thank you to all who have shared your experiences! I hope you’re doing well by now…
I actually don’t know what the big deal is after reading these comments :/ everyone panicking having all these weird panic attacks and symptoms… I was one Lexapro for like a year to treat some anxiety and mood issues I was having. I started on 10mg for a month, 15mg for another month, then finally 20mg until I decided I wanted to go on a more natural path to help with my mental state; such as meditation, writing, and as well as natural supplements. I dropped back down to 15mg for a month and instead easing down to the 10mg I was later prescribed I just quit it cold-turkey about 2 weeks ago. I wont lie there is symptoms Ive been having like dizziness and some irritability but honestly.. nothing no where as bad as what every one here is mentioning.. Im actually blown away. I started taking 2000 IU of Vitamin D every day as well as a natural supplement called Ashwaganda which is great for mental stability, only thing is it makes you horny AF, and I been taking some Omeg-3 fish oils to help with memory and cognitive function, and I’ve been fine, other then those minor side effects I mentioned earlier. I guess I can recommend everyone to just find natural supplement to replace what Lexapro does for you. Easy solutions, all the best!
Hello everyone. I want to share a little story of mine, hopefully get a few comments on your thoughts.
I have discontinued years of chronic use of marijuana. I happy to say that I am nearly four months sober. Although, the withdrawals of marijuana are still present, they are much more manageable than before.
Today, I was prescribed Lexapro 10mg. After, reading many experiences I’m leaning towards not taking it. I just don’t see the upside of taking Lexapro if their is a chance of making you worse than before. Marijuana symptoms were tough on their own, who knows if I’m able to tackle another drug or the symptoms they might bring.
Is there anyone out there that has taken Lexapro after quitting weed? Am I making the right choice?
Thanks in advance.
I’ve reached 3 months of being marijuana free. That has brought withdrawal symptoms but I
My bad the last two sentences should have been deleted.
I was on Lexapro for 3 months last year and it really helped me. The first week of taking it was kind of rough, but it started leveling off after that. I weaned off for a period of about 4 weeks, cutting pills in halves, and then quarters. I had a hard time managing temper and mood during that time.
Unfortunately I’ve hit another prolonged episode of severe anxiety and decided to go back on it. I’ve been taking 5mg for about 1 week. It made me a bit fatigued and nauseous, and gave me the occasional headache. Just like last time, it’s already starting to level off and I already feel like I’ve regained crucial parts of myself – I’m happier, joking around with friends and colleagues, I enjoy petting cats again, it’s really astounding how much it is helping me already in just 1 week. I know tapering off someday in the future will be really difficult – but I was so tired of being anxious and irritable all the time, I think it will be worth. I’ll probably be on it for much longer than 3 months this time.
Hi please can you not see what is happening, the severe Anxiety and all the other Symptoms you say are not really you, they are medication, I will guarantee it, you keep going back in it you will never be free, the longer you stay on Lexapro and each time when you come your Symptoms will get worse and worse, Pharma companies only make customers not cures and you are their perfect target, think the symptoms are you and really all along its the medication, please read ts all over the Internet get off now while you can, it will destroy your live
Hi Kris, Sorry to hear you troubles getting off the Weed, please don’t take Lexapro, my brother struggled with getting weed and he was prescribed Lexapro, he had taken weed for many years and he functioned ok, not great but got on with life, after 2 months on Lexapro he went very distant and angry towards his family, unfortunately he look his own life at the end of February this year and us as a family blame Lexapro 100% for him committing suicide, we contacted the manufacturer with a very angry email as you can imagine giving the Information what had taken etc, we got a generic email back from their care department saying that’s for the Information and they will be back in touch, to date no further communication after several further emails, 2 weeks ago we started legal proceedings against Abbvie the manafacturer of Lexapro, I have no words on what this medication had dine to our family but we are determined to bring this shocking company to account, any funds won will be passed over to our local mental health charity to help other in such shocking states as on this group, I hope this helps, please bear with the weed withdrawal symptoms and avoid Lexapro at all costs good luck
Hi, My Name is Thomas Huddard, I am in the UK and 16 years of age, the reason for my post is I lost my father 18 months ago due to the effects of this medications, my mother asked to wait until I had time to try and heal and I was over 16, well here I am 16 and still not healed, my father I adored until he took his own life after being on this medication for 2 years, he tried to get off but he failed, before he took the medication he was my lovely Dad, after he turned very strange, this is why he tried to stop as myself and my 9 year old sister asked him to stop, well me and my sister now have this guilt to live with for the rest of our lives, my sister has already tried to self harm on several occasions, how can this be right, he only started on the medication due to losing his job, now we have lost so much more, my mum is still struggling to cope and generally feed and cloth me and my sister, I have stopped my studies and working in a local warehouse to try and help my mother, I would like to thank the company that not only took my Dads life but destroyed my family, how could you, I am going to spend my life trying to get justice for my father and family, shocking people, please be careful
I tried Zoloft and got tons of mouth sores and had to stop after about 3 weeks. Then my dr. switched me to Lexapro 5mg. I was starting to feel worse so the dr. thought I needed a higher dose and switched me to 10mg of Lexapro. I started feeling gradually worse and worse. I struggle with depersonalization/derealization and it was much worse while I took Lexapro. I felt out of body all the time. I was just watching my life on a tv screen. I have never been one to self harm (life is painful enough) but after 4 1/2 weeks of Lexapro I self-harmed for the first time and my suicidal ideation became much worse. I stopped Lexapro the next day and the urge to self-harm went away.
My dr. then prescribed lamotrigine and told me not to take Lexapro anymore due to the dangerous urges. Then came the withdrawal symptoms. Every evening from about 4:00pm-9:00pm I get really nauseous, dizzy and I feel like my whole brain surface is kind of buzzing. I still feel disconnected and dissociated but not as much as I did on the Lexapro.
I decided to stop the lamotrigine because there were just too many variables. I never knew if I was sick from withdrawals or sick from the new medication. I am on day 7 of no Lexapro and I only took Lamotrigine on days 2 and 3. I still feel crappy but at least I don’t want to hurt myself anymore. I do see that it has made me much more irritable. My partner and I rarely fight, especially for extended periods but because of my irritability I was upset and mean and angry with him for almost 36 hours which is unheard of in our relationship.
Thank you to everyone who shared and made me feel like I’m not alone in this journey. I hope this withdrawal is done soon. I kind of wish I had just stuck with therapy and not tried these medications. I don’t know how they help other people, they only seem to make things worse for me.
Hey y’all. I am needing to find help with kinda the same issue. I took Lexapro 10mg for 2 days. The second day I started having a really bad burning and tingling sensation all over my chest, arms and legs. Went to the ER and they think I had a bad reaction to the medicine. It’s been about 4 days since I first took it and now I’m really lightheaded, ears are ringing, heads pounding, heart rate is going crazy. And not to mention I’m having shaky tremors like absolutely never before!!!!! Like scary tremors that’s so bad whenever I even close my eyes to try to go to sleep I’m shaking really hard one second and it’ll stop the next and if I relax I shake all over on the inside. And majorly lightheaded. Someone help me please I’m losing my mind!!
Hi Rachel, All your symptoms are connected to the medication you have taken the unfortunate thing is even only after taking a small amount it can take weeks, months or even year or so for it to stop, it will go gradually it will stop virtually over night, As you are now probably realising after all the comments on here and else where on the Net this is a massive problem that millions of people suffer from all different medication SSRi and all along the Pharma companies know this is happening but yet have chose to keep it quite for profit, it will 100% go in time, your GP/Doctor should really be advising this can happen but most don’t as they are guided by the corrupt advice of the Pharma companies plus nearly all GP/Doctors are on an Incentive to push more and more of this poison and guess who makes them payments? go it in one the Pharma companies, hang in there do not take anymore even different SSRi.
Its been exactly 2 months today. Cold turkey from taking 20mg of Lexapro for about 15 or so years. I posted here on the 14th of March. Thomas your story is an important one. I am a Dad and I have some understanding of the struggle your poor Dad went through. I think I am okay these days but I was saved by a close friend in the last 2 months and just in time. I was lucky. For those who have quit this drug and are finding it difficult, I can only urge you to have a friend nearby who understands what you are doing. I feel so much better now. I have reengaged with my work and career. I am taking care of myself. I am more in the moment. I am here for my family. While the challenges in my life still seem daunting, I feel like they are in perspective. I don’t feel like its over just yet. It could all go south again but like others say, bear with the withdrawals and stay away from Lexapro. Strength to you all.
Over 15 years on Lexapro 20mg, first week 10mg and anxious; finding it hard to find my center; otherwise ok….I think so anyway. Just feel like in early recovery, an obsessive, anxious mind.
I read that some say they decreased by 2-3%, how did they do that? I think a smaller incremental taper would be better.
I need to hear that this too will pass, and how long it took for people. I do a lot of Wim Hof Method, that helps a lot with the breathing, cold showers, and such, the cold plunges help the most, but hard to do as often as I would like.
Hi everyone,
I appreciate everyone’s comments and honesty regarding their personal struggles. It’s helped me alot knowing that I’m not crazy or alone in going through my own struggles. I recently stopped 20mg Lexapro after taking it for 8 solid years. Initially my doctor and I made the decision to transition to a different medication because I wasn’t getting the same relief from Lexapro as I did in the past. However, on the first day of not being on it, I had a horrible panic attack that I thought was a heart attack at the time. I truly thought I was dying. My wife called 911 and they were able to determine it was strictly a panic attack. The following days included horrible nausea and after an abundance of research I found out that this was “Normal”……I decided I didn’t want anymore meds similar to Lexapro in my system. Almost two months later and I have non-stop Horrible debilitating nausea. I can’t eat or drink anything now without increased severe nausea following. I’m on total disability as it is, from a faulty medical device and working out is something I can’t do anymore. I would love to hear how others are dealing with this horrible nausea. Thank God my wife works, because recently my disability benefits were cut-off. I’m extremely desperate for relief as this nausea has made each day a tremendous grind. I’d be extremely grateful to hear how others are managing. I can’t even wrap my head around possibly dealing with this for a year or more. Based on others’ comments it sounds like this is a huge possibility. I’m absolutely angry that there isn’t a plan in place for people like us suffering. If these companies can make these drugs and make millions, how in the world are they not held accountable to help us get through coming off of them?
Hi Matt , I am going through the same situation . I quit taking 20 mg of Lexapro and was taking it even longer than 8 years , It was a stupid decision on my part to stop cold turkey . The side effects are horrible . Nausea , body weakness anxiety . I am back on it through my Dr , But on 10mg . Go up to 20 Next week . It is like having the flu constantly and I wish it would go away . I am going to try Chamomile tea and see if that helps with nausea . I wish you good luck and hope you feel better soon . I just want to feel better .
I took lexapro 20mg for 8 years and decided to stop, went with my doctor and made a plan for tapering down that took around 4 to 5 months and then stopped completely, 2 months later, i start with sting like sensations in legs, sometimes mild burning, sometimes tingling feeling and so, neurologist an GP say that 2 months is too much to be a side effect of quitting, has this or anything like happend to anyone? Thanks!!!
Lexapro can have withdrawal side effects for months and months after you stop taking it. Lexapro and Effexor are the 2 worst antidepressants to try to come off of. I thought that I was doing the right thing by taking antidepressants to help with my depression, but all I ended up with was burning mouth syndrome, thrush, mouth ulcers, no tears, gum and teeth issues, and a super, super dry mouth that still hasn’t gotten better even though I stopped taking Lexapro 3 months ago. I am also too scared to try anything else fearing the mouth issues would just get worse again. Before I was “just” depressed, now I am depressed and in physical pain that I am afraid will never go away.
Your GP Comments are utter rubbish have a look Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome it can last for years, you GP clear not part of the new GPs that fully undersatnd this proicess
I got my meds increased to 10
mg, and ever since then I have had terrible feelings! while still on the med, i’ve had upset stomach, diarrhea, nausea, and dry heaving but i cannot throw up. it’s the strangest feeling and the worst feeling as well. It took me a couple of days to realize it was probably the med and i just quit cold turkey yesterday. i still feel very similar today but a little bit better, even starting to get a bit of my appetite back. but out of nowhere i had this weird sensation in my mouth that feels like my tooth rubbing against underneath my tongue or a dry patch of skin. it feels like it’s going to trigger my gag reflex, but hasn’t yet. i’m just so tired of this feeling and want it to end! seeing some of the comments saying that it can take months or even years just makes me feel so much worse. i also have emetophobia (idk how to spell it) so feeling like this is mentally and physically draining. it’s gotten to the point where i literally just want to throw up and hopefully feel better. i’m just hoping this goes away soon!
Hi All, I am 13 months through Lexapro protracted withdrawal and looking at all the comments on this site really help, these effects are nothing short of horrific, I hope all get our lives back soon, to give further Information I contacted the Manufacture of Lexopro LUNDBECK via their site on lundbeck.com, I requested my case to be looked at as I threatened them with legal action, give the company their due they took my request seriously but this is now law for such cases, the contacted my Doctor who confirmed my on going issues, Lundbeck came back to me with an offer for damaged to basically be quiet so to speak, I rejected the first offer but have just accepted the next offer to bring this to a close, Its not the answer but it may help if you are struggling with bills etc as I am, I want my life back not cash as we all but it has helped knowing fund are on the way I can use for bills and future treatment Lundbeck made me sign a non disclosure agreement, meaning I cant take any further actions regardless of what happens from here on in, please know your rights its not right new laws mean companies like LUNDBECK have to answer to you, Hope this helps
Hello,
I’m twenty one and have been taking lexapro for Almost 5 years. This has been the longest time I’ve been wheening off this medication for a long amount of time. It’s been SO difficult to talk with others socially, I feel so confused and anxious everyday. I’ve had many days where I’ve thought of ending my life. Usually while I’m on lexapro I’ve been able to control and identify my emotions and control them. Although without it it’s been difficult to identify what I’m feeling and the anxiety I have just grows more and more. I just want the best for myself as a young woman, I want to be social and confident and these withdrawals symptoms are making me doubt myself much more. Does anyone know if these symptoms are common or signs that I should stay on lexapro? Thank you.
Let me paint the true picture, your having a little bit of a bad time in life as we all do, your feeling low due to relationship issues or work issues etc, you go to your doctor/GP they say we have the perfect solution, a little pick me up for 6-9 months its Lexapro lets start you on 5mg see how you go, you are advised it maybe a little bumpy to start but it will help get your life better but your life isnt really broke your just going through normal life stuff, you start you low dose, 2 week in you feel a little more settle, great its helping, not quite, 8 – 12 weeks in you start having severe Issues, back to GP/Doctor, lets up you dose you are worse than we though, upto 10mg you go 2 weeks in it settles, job done, affraid not, same again 8-12 weeks pass severe symptoms and this goes on and on until you go to your GP/Doctor in such a state, they sorry no more can do you on the maximum dose, where you turn, pile more medication on top to deal with the severe symptoms you have, your GP/Doctor would certainly not stop you as they receive nice little payments for each pack youi take, starting to get the drift, unfortunaly your are now trapped in the Antidepressant circle, 100% where all these Pharma companies want you, you a life customer, profit,profit all the way for all concerned, apart from the person who needed a little help 12 months earlier, YOU, at this point your are numb for life or you say enough is enough its time to stop this madness and get my life back as my conditions are now 50x what they where at the start, but NO NO NO, it doesn’t work like that, but I was advised it would only take 2-4 weeks for my body to return to normal, I was advised this, again guess what, It doesn’t work like that, these little super pills dont want to let you go, this is really this will test you to the limits, millions of cases all over the Internet, 1 month, 2 month, 3 month , 8 month, 14months and on its goes but you are so far in I am not going back on this medication I will fight all the way, eventually this little wonder pill will let you out of prison after suffering horrific side effects for many months one after another but when you finally come around from this nightmare you realise, I have lost all my money, couldn’t work due to my disabling symptoms, you home is a bout to go and on on, you got to touch base with all your friends and you realise they have all moved on, all very supportive at the start but again people on have so much patients, at this point you are through the other side so many don’t make, congrats you are made of strong stuff but then you realise how on your own you are, a few people in your life may still be there but them relationship are so badly damaged it will take years on you part to repair, by popping that first pill 3 years earlier you have just struck the match that completely set light to your life and everything you hold valuable, up in flames you past 30 40 50 years of life have gone, trust me STOP THINK DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH before your little wonder pill also burns your life to the ground like millions of others around the world, GOOD LUCK YOU WILL NEED IT
I have been on Lexapro 20 mg for years . One day I decided to stop taking it cold turkey . OMG ! I am going through just horrible sickness . I am back on it through my Dr. after telling her what I did , she didn’t judge me , she just said that it was a shock to my system on such a high dose , I know what I did was beyond stupid not weaning off of it . I just felt I did not need it as I am also on busporine . I was wrong . I am up to 10 mg for this week and then will go back to my 20 mg . Are all of these feelings of having the flu like symptoms and anxiety in the morning , nausea and overall feeling horrible because I was on it for years and stopped cold turkey ? I was off it for about 4 weeks and had to go to the Dr and get back on slowly . Are these all symptoms ? My Dr says it is .
The amount of suffering on here and other sites is unreal, we need to fight back against these organisations, its time to make them suffer and even worse, they have caused 1000s of deaths, fight back, find out your local company and go fight back, give them some suffering, use all you have.
I have also been on lexapro 20mg for the past 16 years. I have gone fom 20mg, down to 10mg in the first two weeks, now 10mg every alternate day for a week. I feel horrible… the brain zapps where intense for the first 2 weeks but a getting milder. The plan is to go on Zolft 50mg. By research, Zoloft seems to have more benefits than Lexapro!
Hello,
I am thankful for all your comments. I have tried twice to come off Lexapro and I became angry. But I am in a totally different place now emotionally. I have been on LexaPro for 10 years and I want to be done. I am weaning off slowly and I am taking htp5 supplement (200mg) in the morning and LexaPro at night until I am done with it. I can’t lose weight, it affects me sexually, and I am past both of my abusive marriages and I just don’t want to take it anymore. I am willing to go through all the withdrawal symptoms to not take this drug.
Good luck on your journey, it can be very demanding on all aspects of your and family but you will get past it, its amazing once you reach the other side, not more Lexapro, its poison, it took me just over 1 years once I took my last dose, it cost me my house and all my saving but I am now free and you will be as well. Good Luck Freedom awaits
Hello,
So glad I found this site. I’m considering tapering from Lexapro (10mg) and Lithium (300mg twice daily) – over 8 years on this combination. I’ve read thru posts and haven’t read this combination from anyone. Any insights?
I took 15mg for 9 months and here are my thoughts. Depression and anxiety have many causes and many treatments. Attributing it solely to a chemical imbalance in the brain does people a disservice. It leads them to doubt the value of therapy and the efficacy of behavior and lifestyle changes. We all need meaning, control, connection, and hope in our lives.
The fact that Lexapro was the first thing suggested by a doctor in my case, over blood panels, trauma-connection, sleep, diet, and a host of other things is absolutely ridiculous. Not only are these drugs purely a band-aid for a much larger issue with both personal health and lifestyle as well as our health-care system, but the side effects (I like to call them consequences) of these drugs are entirely not worth it and simply will not be a long term solution.
My doctor discovered — months AFTER prescribing this — that it actually was making my situation worse. Now, the absolutely terrible weaning process has begun.
Long short here – look into pretty much anything else before just throwing a pill at your severe depression/anxiety/panic attacks. You deserve to thrive, and you can.
Lexapro saved my life — and ruined what I have left. I was on 20mg for 3+ years. It’s been 5 years total taking these. Will I ever successfully get off of them? Will the side effects ever go away? What have they done to me? Did they save my life just make me gain 60lbs as an active healthy adult, to make me lose all sexual function? Did they save my life just to give me the rest of it feeling like I’m being zapped with lightening, like my head is swimming, and have diarrhea so constantly I can barely work? Thanks Lexapro. Thanks for ruining whatever is left of me.
Hi, So sorry to hear your suffering, your not alone Lexapro is poison, it ruins so many lifes and causes so many death, Lunbeck in Copenhagen is the company with the morals of a rat that have caused your issues. I wish you look I really do
Been on Lexapro on/off for 10+ years.
Couple weeks ago I finally stopped, and aside from some stupid road rage and irritability, nothing like when I tried cold turkey years ago.
If you are having a bad time of it such that you’re thinking of getting back on the horse, then really maybe you should
go back on it.
Well thats kind of stupid dude, didn’t you read the page title?
Yes, I did actually.
The reality is that for almost everyone it makes no sense to put yourself, health, welfare, job, not too mention friends and family through something that can have serious, long term negative consequences.
Simplest thing to do is just get back on the Lexapro to get your life back in some sense of order, and do a bit more research on SSRI Withdrawal/Discontinuation and come up with a plan with a realistic time frame.
You may want to be off it in a week or a month, however biological processes work on their timeline.
I just spent most of the last year tapering down from 10mg, to 10mg except weekend, to 10mg M/W/F, to 5mg M-F, 5mg M/W/F, to nothing.
Pretty much every step above was several months long, and while I personally had few issues, if I did I would have kept at that stage for a while longer before testing the next stage.
A picture is worth a 1000 words, so https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Serotonin-physiology-Serotonin-is-formed-in-the-presynaptic-terminal-from-tryptophan_fig1_328554758
Lexapro tells all the Neuron’s in the brain to put their Seratonin Re-Uptake Transporter (Blue box on Right) either on Light-Duty or simply take the day off.
So if you’ve been taking a drug thats been telling parts of all your brain cells to NOT function for a year or 5, 10, the brain did just that.
So no surprise that a cell function thats been shut-down or shut-off for a long time is going to need a certain amount of time to come back online and start functioing.
Your Discontinuation symptoms are going to be majorly impacted by genetic, length of time on Lexapro, and more difficult as dose dependent.
If someone does not meet the ‘Standard’ when trying to discontinue, I’d suggest a realistic tapering plan of 2 months if on it for 1 year, and an additional month for every year longer.
If you are in-between and on shaky but stable ground, you might want to look at giving your brain a little helping hand on the Seratonin front. There are a number of Amino Acids like L-Theanine, L-Tryptophan that are being research in conjunction with SSRI Discontinuation.
Always check with your med pro before believing anything on the internet.
Also be aware staying current really does take a lot of time, and a lot of med pro’s with more than a handful of years in practice are only current on what popular in their niche magazine selection or drug rep’s talking points.
hey there!
looking for any pregnant or previously pregnant people who stopped cold turkey. been taking 10mg for 10 years, stopped cold turkey when i planned to become pregnant . it’s been about 10 days now. not anxious or depressed but definitely having brain zaps, flu like symptoms , trouble concentrating ect. with the surge of other hormones during pregnancy, how long did the discontinuation symptoms last for you?
Wow, happened to find this site again after reading an article on getting of SSRI’s : https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/06/ozempic-weight-loss-ruth-marcus/
Long story short, hyperbolic tapering seems to be very good in a number of studies specifically on Discontinuation symptoms. The studies mentioned above and related googling were primarily done on people who had already tried, often multiple times to quit. Cold turkey, tapering, etc.
The studies seem to have focused on the physiological/biological stages the neurons go through ‘waking up’ various 5HT receptors that had been down-regulated.
Hyperbolic tapering is really simple:
Take your current dose, and cut it in half.
Take that half-dose for a month.
Assuming everything is good and stable, do it again.
Take your tablets and cut them into quarters.
Take that 1/4 dose for a month.
If you have Discontinuation Symptoms within several days, back up and try taking 1/3 of a tablet instead of 1/4.
More than likely the DS will resolve quite quickly, and you can make that your new daily dose for a month.
So the Hypobolic aspect is simply cutting your daily dose by 50% every month.
Whats interesting is that most people are able to make the first couple/several dose reductions without any symptoms whatsoever.
Its really once you hit the 5mg and below that it becomes both more difficult for us regular people to get accurate doses apportioned without specialized training or equipment.
You doctor should be willing to help you along, and at least get you down to 5mg tables for your efforts, as well as knowing a local compounding pharmacy who can help you get to the 3/2/1mg level.
If not, Amazon has good cheap milligram scales, morter and pestles, and Nootropics stores have very small spoons.
The thing is as you get to 5mg and below, although it seems to low to have much effect on people who are started at that level, those levels are really where the rubber meets the road for your neurons. Once you get down to 2.5-3mg, and then to 1.5-1.75mg, and so on, those level are just whats barely necessary for your brain to keep functioning without symptoms occurring.
At these levels, if you’re lucky it may only be a month before you’re able to move ahead at another 50% reduction, but many people especially the longer you’ve been on it, it might take 2, 3, ? months.
One thing I’ve found though, is that once your down to 5mg, a lot, lot, lot of the Lexapro annoyances go away. I wouldn’t be surprised if most people on Lexapro are started at 10mg, still experience problems and are bumped to 20mg. And then they’re at 20 for years, while they might have been fine after being dropped to 10mg after the first couple of months. Wonder if any has done a study on people who want to stop Lexapro because of side effects, and simply dropped them from 20 to 10, or 10 to 5?
Either way, the medical community has finally woken up the fact that Discontinuation is real, their tapering schedule is crap, and if you do some research you’ll find out that there is hope.
I hope this helps someone.
Hello there. My comment will be so far down, I hope that anyone sticks around to find mine way down here at the bottom. I have two observations on taking and quitting Lexapro that I hope will help anyone out there struggling with mental illness. I had been taking Lexapro for 23 years. While it never made me happy to have to take the medication for so long, I am happy that I had an alternative to living in an anxious/depressive Hell.
In the years that I was taking Lexapro, I also sought Cognitive Behavioral therapies and therapy to help me navigate my own issues and relationships. That work was integral to my physical and emotional well-being and the medication allowed me to be receptive to the treatment – it made it EASIER to work on big and small issues when I wasn’t caught up in all of the effects of the mental illness.
Lexapro literally changed my life, but it wasn’t a magic pill. I believe it only worked as well as it did because I coupled the medication with therapy. I learned more about myself, my triggers, my relationships, etc., gained emotional awareness and tried. I also failed, but I kept trying.
When I stopped taking Lexapro, I had an array of withdrawal symptoms, none were comfortable and the moodiness that I experienced was upsetting – I kept it in proper perspective and used my acquired “tools” to work through that phase. I gave myself a little grace, breathed, gave myself space to feel and process and sometimes cursed, then shook it off (as best as I could) and moved forward.
It is work and when you’re depressed or discouraged and exhausted, it sucks. It takes energy – such a valuable resource, but we are each worth that work. We are WORTH investing in – the time, the effort – it’s all worth it if we can climb out and stand up and look saying “that sucked, but I did it. I made it.”
Hi all – I’ve gone on and off Lexipro and other antidepressants several times for different reasons. TAPERING is not to be taken lightly. In fact, I’ve had to taper down to 2.5 mg. May I also suggest taking up meditation or CBT during that time so you have other ‘tools’ to rely on??
Once no longer considered clinically depressed, I realized that I still had anxiety, so am currently on Buspirone.
As well, I’m a recovering alcoholic. So for those of you with an addiction, first off, please remove the stigma from the idea of taking a drug. Remember, there are those of us who have (grave or not) emotional issues. Addiction and other mental issues go hand in hand. The thing is, if you still feel like you need an antidepressant once you come off Lexipro, go back on it at the smallest possible dose or another antidepressant. Life is too short to live it depressed and anxious.
Since I just came across your site I will share my story. I have withdrawn from Lexapro for the last few months after being on it for 12 years. I tapered off and went cold turkey, But it has been disappointing because of the side effects; too much irritability, agitation, sensory disturbances, memory problems, and times of confusion all going in my head. I don’t know if it’s just the mind that is adjusting to the withdrawal symptoms and now I will get better but I don’t want to take that chance. However How was looking into other things in the very near future which my mother talked to me about, and it helps clear the mind such as CBD and prevagen to improve memory
Do NOT take this medicine!!!! My daughter had been on this for 3 months. She skipped a week of medication because of being on vacation. She is a mess!!! She has severe anxiety, depression, shaking horribly, dizziness, lost 30 lbs, she weighs 118 as of now , she said she doesn’t feel like she is real. She said she can’t drive at all, she feels like she is going to crash. She is a manager at a high paying job… this is horrible… there’s SO much more that i can’t even even type what all is going on. Please please please don’t take this medication!! The dr has been no help, we told her that we want her off of this and to be tapered down NOW!!! She told us that she needs to get right before she can taper her. She is on 10 mgs . Any suggestion, please help and message back. She is 22, this med is ruining her life absolutely!! This is a terrifying medication, no one should EVER take this medication without being told of the side effects and withdrawal symptoms. EVER!!!! If my daughter dies , I will be suing EVERYONE!!!!
I was put on Lezapro 10 generic about 6-7 years ago. After 3 months my Dr raised my dosage to 20 because it was not working). After a year or so my Dr raised my doesage to 30. (1 10 and 1 20 since 20 mg is the highest dose they make) I have been on this huge dose for 6 years now and feel like I am not benefiting from it at all.
I plan to lower dosege gradually starting with 25 mg, then 20, 15, 10, and finally 5, or 2.5. Wish me luck.