[cathyjourdan]

Hi,

I have Lupus and have been quite distraught. My doctor put me on Lexapro this past Friday...now I am freaking after reading all this stuff about Lexapro. I am only taking 2.5 per day because of my fears (he gave me 10 mgs, but I am so afraid of this type of drug) but....it seems to be helping already....what happens if I stop? I can't wean off any lower as I cut a 10 into four pieces as it is...or is this low enough not to have much withdrawal? Thank you for any help.

[NameLess]

I would say you will experience soem sort of withdrawl symptoms no matter what. With that low of a dose, the best way would be to mix your pills with a fluid. Measure and dilute the same amount of fluid per pill and slowly wean yourself by drinking less of the mixture each day. Not sure why you want to wean off already since it hasn't even had a chance to do any good, but I guess it's good info to know before you need it.

FYI I just started taking Lexapro again today after being off it for ~2 years. Not sure if I'm going to stick with it or switch to something else yet....

[cathyjourdan]

I'm just freaking out over this stuff...I was one who never took anything more than one aspirin....Now my medicine cabinet is full. I also have a habit of researching everything online and that can really make you nervous as well. I'm going to give it my best shot, but just wanted to make sure that I knew how to get off in the least painless way, so thank you.

I wish you well!

[llamakiss]

Cathy - I also have lupus and started taking 10mg of Lexapro about a month ago. I had many of the same fears that you do, but my doctor says that if you wean off it slowly, you can avoid a lot of the side effects. I am now being upped from 10 to 20mg because the drug has helped me a lot (gotten rid of the crying spells, excessive fatigue, etc.), but it still doesn't seem to be at full effectiveness. I am a little nervous about switching to 20mg... I'm at 15 for 6 days and then 20... I'll try to have an open mind and see how it goes.

By the way, if you don't mind my asking - how is the lupus? I got diagnosed last summer and was extremely depressed for months afterwards, but I went into remission and am feeling great now.

Take care!