[Skywalk]

Mrs: The congestion and bronchitis IS withdrawal. I have it right now (it is getting better). It's a deep cough...especially when you lie on your back. I haven't mentioned it on this forum before, but I actually tried Lexapro at 5mg for a month about a year ago. It did nothing for me but I got bronchitis when I quit the drug. That was the only withdrawal symptom. I never linked it at that time, but did find it odd since I had never had lung problems before and I did not feel weak or sick at the time. Unfortunately, I was talked into trying the drug again at 10mg because "5mg was not strong enough." I'm paying the price now.

Getting Better: Thanks for your kind words. I'm really happy you can funtion, but am sorry you still feel some withdrawals. We all just have to wait it out. I've reached acceptance, I guess. I think I'm having bad withdrawals because I had a bad reaction to the drug when I was on it. I can't believe I stuck it out for six weeks. I kept getting told "it will get better once the side effects go away."

Tavee: Do you still feel dull or boring?? I hate that I have no desire or passion. I had some during the first two months, but now I have none at all. I guess it's partly the stage 2 emotional withdrawals. Sarita got it back, so that's encouraging.

Sounds like many of us (and there is a lot of us on the boards right now!) are experiencing similar symptoms. It's nice to know we're not alone, but it's not fair; none of us signed up for this.

[Skywalk]

Julie: I went back to look up an old post about something and I came across some info about twitching. It's on page 117. I never got the twitching, but others certainly have.

[JulieC713]

Skywalk-

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am at peace now.

Everyone is so helpful on this board, and I am truly grateful.

[sick_of_sick]

I am new to this forum but need help in figuring out what is going on with me...I have been on Lexapro for about 6 months for presumed depression (have a 17 year old boy who has been suicidal/destructive). After Christmas I severely injured my neck and was put on a string of painkillers but am allergic to every one. My doctor told me to go off all the medication to clear my system out but I think she forgot I was on the Lexapro. I have been feeling insane for about 7 days now (been off Lexapro for 12)and have had horrible electric shocks that send me staggering, blackouts while driving, shakes, nausea, uncontrollable crying and exhaustion....I just want it to stop...is there anything I can do besides going back on a drug I don't believe I needed in the first place - I had a good reason to be sad but it doesn't necessarily mean I'm depressed, does it?

Sick of being sick

[Patience]

Hi all:

I haven't been on for a little while, but still feelin it! I have more good days now than bad, but when a bad day hits, it REALLY gets me down. Like you Getting Better and Skywalk, it's hard to believe that this could still be from the withdrawal. I feel like I got put through the ringer this morning. I dont understand it. I also have a cold, so that probably makes it worse. I just feel soooo exhausted. I guess I need to refer to the article that Skywalk has posted, because it discusses all of the things you go through when you have a bad reaction to an antidepressant. He lists these things as pretty much starting your 3rd month, which is just tooooo long! I am nearing my 5th month though and I have to remember that it is 2 steps forward, 1 step back. When reading back in the forum, Redbled and MissLee (sp?) had a lot of setbacks in the 3rd and 4th month and Redbled took at least 6 months to get his energy back to work out AND he was only on for 10 days!! So that gives me hope

I feel like anything I do that is not completely perfect living, sets me back. I dont eat sugar anymore and last night I had ice cream and whammo, today I am a mess. Who knows if its conected or not.

Skywalk, I will say my mind is getting better and better. I dont have as many days where I am scared and having bad thoughts all day long.

Getting better, thanks for the support on the disease front--I am such a hypochondriac. My problem was that before starting the drug, I was really really run down. I had a big year with getting married and going on tons of trips and a lot of stress. So it's hard to tell if this is the withdrawal or something else that is still happening since before...uggggghhhhh! Its a waiting game.

All new people: everything that is posted is so in line with the withdrawals. Just read the whole lexapro link from page 1 and you will find answers.

4.5 months off, cold turkey.

[sarita]

HI EVERYONE!!! Just checkin' in. For you new people, WAS tapering off lexipro for 8 months, been completly off for about 35 days and i'm doing FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!! i feel happy, calm, normal, sleeping great. I haven't lost any weight though. UG.......but i'll take that over everything else. the other thing is my libido hasn't come back as strong as i'd hoped. hmmmmmmmmmm. a little worried about that.

Tavee,
Don't forget PMS is coming soon!!! Skywalk, your next...

[MaryB]

This is so amazing that a drug can do this to someone after you quit taking for such a length of time... I am so upset that I had NO idea the withdrawls for this were so extreme. I am so lucky to not have a full time job or I would have easily lost it by now. I can barely function and its been that way for at least 3-5 days. The other days I can function but would rather not. This is my first full day without ANY of my lexapro and I am feeling worse than ever. I went from 10mg to 5mg and now I am done. I feel lousy when I slowly ween myself so I am just going to go straight from 5mg to none.
I am feeling weekness and aching in my left arm. Has anyone ever had just pain and muscle weekness on one side???? IT scares me a bit as that is a symptom of heart trouble. (I am 39 and currently being treated for high blood pressure and it is controlled with meds at this time)
This forrum is awesome... Even just to know that you can come and vent and people really know what you mean. Thanks again for listening and ANY advice would be wonderful.

[Skywalk]

Patience: Hi...there you are. Sorry you're having a bump in the road. This really sucks!

I think I'm past some of the horrid symptoms I had last week; thanks for helping me during that. I'm OK today, just dealing with slight dizziness and the emotional withdrawals...I'm soooo numb/apathetic and soooo exhausted. But at least my brain doesn't hurt!
I know what you mean about that article referring to the 3-18 months. I was dealing with this OK till the 3rd month and that's when I took a turn for the worse. I've read the whole forum, too and it sounds like there is improvement at the 6th month mark for those of us hit hard. But I refuse to put a time limit on it because that will only kick-start my own anxiety. Like you and others, I get worried about my health too...but the Lucinda Bassett program really helped with that! I seriously think I would be in way worse shape if I had not listened to her program a few months ago (sorry to sound like a commercial!). But it's the reason I feel I can do well without meds/therapy in the future. Once I get over this nightmare!

Starlitt: How are you today? I sent you an email, but not sure if that feature is working on this site anymore. I think about you because I can really relate the depersonalization you have; it's awful. I'm also sorry you have to deal with this at such a young age. I'm 31 and it's hard enough. I'm glad to hear you are at home during this.

Mary: I know what you mean about not having a job. I was lucky I did not. Only a few months before this happened I left the newspaper business to pursue my own business. I'm so glad this did not happen while I was working. It makes me so mad to know that these drugs can cost people their jobs and other things.

[felly]

Thank you so much for this site! I swear, once I got on lex I was worse. I was seriously suicidal and sweated like a pig. I don't understand how an antidepressant that makes you sweat to the point of embarrassment is supposed to help with depression and anxiety..!?

I am down to 3mg of lex. I feel seriously deranged and am so lethagic. I went to bed at 7pm last night, yet woke up hot and sweaty and have some very impressive dark circles.

I went to see a herbalist yesterday who sent me to a doc to get a script for tryptophan. I feel a bit scared about doing what he says. He told me to not take lex once a week and to take the tryptophan instead.. He said eventually I could completely replace lex with tryptophan. What does everyone think? I'm not sure if substituting lex with something else will just cause more problems.

I guess its just a matter of trying to live in the moment (even though we all probably feel really sick in the moment). I often get caught up in being so freaked out that this will never pass. Maybe I've just gotta trust my body to sort itself out.

Its hard too, because noone understands that its the drug that's making me crook. They all say that everything I'm experiencing is in my head and the doc doesn't believe me about the side effects. Shes puts it down to me being "sick"/depressed/anxious. GRRRR!! It's so patronising. I would feel so alone but not for this site. It is awesome and so encouraging. Thanks!

[Seefour]

Hi all, Is there an anxiety stage to this? Passed few days I've been feeling very strung out and on edge, like I want to jump out of my skin.

Has anyone else felt this? how long did it last?

Thanks.

[Skywalk]

Felly: I don't really know about that, but stay away from
5-HTP. We don't to take any herb that will increase our serotonin! Please do some research before taking anything. Read old posts!! Hang in there. A lot of us had the sweats while on (and even off) the drug. They are long gone for me. Be strong.

Anxiety is a HUGE withdrawal symptom.

[Getting Better]

Oooh, the sweats. Didn't those suck. Waking up drenched thinking I was going through menopause at 28. Ugh. Truly awful, but they go away. As do the shakes. And the itches. And hopefully, everything else.

Like Skywalk said: anxiety is huge in the withdrwals. I'm still going through that; Skywalk, sounds like you still have bouts of it, too.

I'm going through something, eh, interesting right now. I went to an accupuncturist who told me that I should take these herbs to wake up my kidneys. She said they were tired. This was two months ago. I got to that point where I didn't want to put anything new into my body so I didn't take them. But then we all kept talking about adrenal fatigue here, so figured I'd give them a try. I feel WEIRD. I can feel my blood coursing through my veins, my glands kind of hurt, I had soreness in my back in the kidney areas before, only now it's more pronounced. I'm wondering if I should ride it out and let it fix me, or if my poor body's been through enough and I should leave it the hell alone.

And of course, now that Sara Ann said the Relacore is working I want to take that, but I don't want to take too much stuff (still taking Sam-e, B12, Folate and Magnesium--all of which I'm responding to well). Hell, I'm not even sure I want to take the relacore.

On the weight gain: You know, I'm really not that fat. I'm 5'8", 170 pounds, and I carry it to look like I'm 155--not thin, but not fat either. Today I wore a pair of fitted black pants in my new size ten with a pretty pink cashmere sweater and black suede boots, and I didn't look thin, but I looked more zaftig than fat. It felt nice not to detest the sight of myself.

Also, I've always had body issues. I looked great at 140, but it took so much work to stay there. I would freak out if I got up to 145 and cry at 148. Now, at 170, I wish I weighed 148. I looked so good then, and I didn't even give myself credit for it. I'm gaining so much perspective from this experience. Maybe there is some good to come out of it yet.

One more thing: It is so wonderful to hear how many people this board is helping. It's so comforting for me to know that we're all in this together, we have have each other's backs and we can all attest to the fact that we're not going crazy. Thank you all so much. Especially you, Aunty for starting this whole thing.

[MaryB]

The sweats are AWFUL!! I am getting some relief finally but now that I have completely quit my tapering (from 5mg to 0) I am nervous they are going to get worse again... I can't get pass the nausea... I am sick to my stomach all the time and sometimes worse than others. I even vomited again this evening and I am so frustrated. Any ideas on getting through this???

[felly]

Thanks for the advice Skywalk. Think I'll just trust my body to sort itself. Ohhhh that is so good that the sweats will go away. Ohhh I hate the sweats. It is sooooo good to think about how good it will be to be sweat-free, well rested and anxiety free eventually. WOOHOO (not so WOOHOO at the moment though).

Hey mary. Have you tried rennie? I'm an Aussie and we have them here. They are chewable tablets with calcium & magnesium. They do wonders for my nausea. What ever you do, don't drink green tea, especially on an empty tummy. Its likely to make you chuck.

I feel so unfeminine!! What with the sweats and this weird bloated gut thing I seem to be getting! My skin seams to be getting really oily too and zits. ohhhhh the zits. I don't know what the hell thats all about! I'd like to blame lexapro though coz I never had them til taking lex.

[Getting Better]

Mary B:
I didn't experience the nausea, but I had a whole host of other stomach problems. We have seratonin receptors in our digestive systems and they get thrown off. If you go back a few pages, you'll see Aunty recomended a few things, one was Noni juice (from the health food store) and another was Primal Defense.

I had (still have) muscle aches and twitching. I don't remember if it was only on one side, but one side is worse than the other.

You're going through withdrawal. You're freaking out a little bit from the withdrawal. And weird things are happening in your body which are making you freak out more. There is nothing wrong with you other than the withdrawals or you would have noticed that last week or last month or whenever you took your last pill. Everything that is happening to you is withdrawals and as hard as it is, it is nothing to be afraid of. You just have to wait, and be brave, and it will get better and your body will come back to normal.

In the meantime, we are all going through it together and we are all here for you.

[MaryB]

Thanks Getting Better
I appreciate your response... I am freaking out, haha... I can't wait for this to pass! I will look back for some ideas and I also have the muscle pains in my stomach along with the nausea... Might have to make a trip to the health store tomorrow.

[auntybiotic]

Getting Better,

Glad I also started the post, amazing how many people that it helped, including me.

Can I ask a favor, can everyone reading this thread, say a prayer that my daughter makes it off this Lexapro safely.................still slowly tapering. The power of prayer from so many can't hurt.

Try Lecithin for the twitches......it works great.

Thanks,

aunty

[MaryB]

Thanks felly for info! I have not heard of those but at this point I am willing to try anything.. woke up and today the nausea is STILL there... I will see if not under that name maybe some other supplement with same thing in it!

[Skywalk]

Aunty,

Of course we will all say a prayer. I pray for the day your daughter is well and you both can move on with your lives and put this frightening ordeal behind you.

I also want to say that knowledge is power (as we all know)...you've learned so much and we are so grateful that you have shared your knowledge with us so that we can all get off of this drug as safely as possible. Thank you so much! How long before your daughter gets her last dose?

Patience: I think I am right behind you. I'm dealing with the fatigue, slight dizziness and now my eyes are dry. I think I rubbed them in my sleep and one is red now. Do you have any of the congestion? Do you think it's just a cold you have or related to the withdrawal? Lexapro causes all kinds of sinus problems, I know.

[MaryB]

Has anyone ever tried Colloidal(sp) Silver? My father in law swears its a cure all... I am trying it today! Wish me luck!!!!

[starlittkiss]

Skywalk, thanks for asking how I'm doing, I haven't been on my computer in a couple days. I'm ok, still having the brain zaps, dizziness and tiredness but I'm surviving. I actually left the house yesterday to go for a car ride and that was a big step for me because I've only left to go to the doctor and to get blood work and that was like 5 days ago. My stomach has been KILLING me though, I'm hungry but if I eat, even a small bowl of cereal I get an awful stomach ache and feel like I just ate a pound of greasy french fries. To make matters worse, everything I eat seems to be "staying with me" if you catch my drift ... has anyone else had this problem? I hope you are all feeling better!!

Seefour: about the anxiety, I had it to an awful extreme. I would have these really intense panic attacks that had my nerves so shot I felt disoriented all the time. I was at school and walked to a class one night and realized I didn't even really remember walking down and it triggered an awful panic attack while I was outside in the cold and snow... when I had the attacks they were so bad I wanted to hurt myself because I knew I couldn't live like that. Thankfully, it has gotten better though I still have waves of it, I recmomend you try to ignore it because if you feed it by getting scared the adreline rush just makes it worse. The panicking was actually the main reason I had to leave school and come home this semester. If you are having problems let me know because I know a book that can really help.

[Seefour]

Starlitt thanks for the response, I was pretty sure anxiety was a withdrawal effect, I just wanted to make sure. I've been having it bad, my body is making alot of weird noises and that is setting off some severe anxiety. My family is less then understanding and that's cuasing even more anxiety. (they think I should be better by now, since I was only on it for 3 weeks, and keep telling me it's all in my head)

I also hear everyone who is talking about the stomach issues, Everytime I manage to get food down my throat it feels like I ate alot of beans or greasy food, but in reality it's usually cereal, or something light.
and excuse me for being gross, but afterwords the gas out of both ends if horrific lol.


I'm actually hoping fatigue would set in, so I can get some SLEEP. I rather sleep a week away then sit here shaking like I need a fix of something that you get in a seedy neighborhood on the street...

Actually if I had to take an educated guess, I'd say the fatigue comes from being strung out on anxiety for so long.

[Patience]

Hey there!
Skywalk, I am so sorry that you are getting dry eyes, that might just be from the weather right now. Let me know if it continues.I think that my cold is just a cold, because my husband has the same thing. God, I am so dang tired again today!! And pretty soon it will be time for pms again and I can start all over again. I am really down today. I just want this to end already. My body is sore all over the past couple days I wish that we could all live in a commune together to get through this!

[Getting Better]

Aunty:

I've been praying for your daughter since I read her story on this foru. Of course, I will continue. How is she these days? What dose is she on these days?

[Getting Better]

I was looking up the herbs the accupuncturist gave me. They are used to restore the Liver and Kidney yin. Seems like at the very least they can't hurt. But who knows. My body feels very funny since I started taking them. I don't know if it's good or bad funny.

http://www.activeherb.com/liuwei/

So then I looked up adrenal fatigue. Pretty much describes me. There's some interesting information on how to help recharge the kidneys. Most of it is on this sight, in one way or another, but I figured it might be useful to have everything in one place. I think I might print this out and leave it on my fridge.

http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_do...al_fatigue.cfm

Aunty--If I wanted to take the 24 hour cortisol test, how would I go about doing that?

[Getting Better]

Skywalk: I've had a cold, cough you name it pretty much since I've been off the meds. Of course, I've convinced myself I have lung cancer, so it's a relief to hear that you have it, too.

Seefour: The sounds and smells coming out of my body the last few months, dear lord. Mostly now it's just sounds unaccompanied by smells, so at least that's an improvement. Also, the frequency of the, eh, noises has subsided.

Patience: My body is so sore also. My back, my neck, legs, bones. It hurts. I hate it. I hope you feel better!

[MaryB]

I had the dry eyes pretty much throughout the whole time I was on the Lexapro. They are really tired now. Feels like I need to clip them open. I use a lot of eye drops but just the natural tears stuff... helps a little... Good luck on the dry eyes!

[Patience]

Getting better:

I know, its hard not to think you have a disease! I just try to tell muself that anything weird that I feel for the next few months, that I never felt before, is the drug. Ugh. Thanks for telling me that you hurt, unfortunately it makes me feel better I really like the Dr. Lam site, very good for life long health...
Mary: thanks for the note about your eyes. Its so weird how this affects us all so differently and similarily.
Hi skywalk

[Mr Spock]

Well, this is the first time in many months that I've checked on the forum, and who do I see? AUNTYBIOTIC!!!! I was wondering where you'd got to. I have only read the last few pages so I haven't followed the whole story but have noticed that your daughter is now down to 7.4mg. It probably seems like an eternity, but I can remember when it was 20 mg!!! I have tried to send you a few e mails to the Yahoo address but no reply... If you still have my email address, I would really love to hear from you and catch up...
To the rest of you brave Lexapro withdrawers, keep your chins up, you will conquer this. Unfortunately, due to the extreme sensitivity of the human brain, it takes a while for it to adapt to even modest chemical changes, so the fact that you are having such a hard time withdrawing from these powerful mind-altering drugs is understandable!!!
If you've read through the postings of this topic (now 212 pages!), you will see my ramblings from about pages 65 -150 I think. In my previous life I was a psychiatric nurse who used to dole out and recommend these SSRI drugs, such as Lexapro. Nowadays, I would only advocate them for someone in a severe melancholic depression, and mandate that the person should start to be weaned off them if possible within 3 months of onset, before the brain gets too hooked on them. The important thing to remember is that Lexapro and its cousins increase the AVAILABLE amount of Serotonin by re-uptaking it after it has been used once (recycling- see Body Electric and Auntybiotic page 28 for a full explanation),and after say 2 months the pineal gland in the brain compensates by REDUCING the production of Serotonin. This is even further complicated by the fact that the Serotonin receptors get temporarily "fried" by having all the extra Serotonin, so lose their sensitivity to a degree. Furthermore, as mentioned by Aunty, Cortisol levels increase, which brings on the weight!!!
Therefore, when one withdrawals from SSRI drugs such as Lexapro, several things need to occur before one feels over it. First, the receptors need to grow back, and then the Pineal Gland needs to start producing more Serotonin, and the cortisol level needs to settle. The latter can take awhile as there may be some degree of adrenal exhaustion due to the strain of having to produce so much cortisol...
I suppose the message I would like to pass on to you is that the human body has an innate inclination to re-establish good health and normal function, but like watching water boil, it can take a while so please be patient, and remember, that THIS WILL PASS!!
By the way, after chasing the Lexapro withdrawal scenario for many months, it was finally ascertained that I have, in fact, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I would like to say, though that although there is no treatment for it, most people improve in time (3-5 years), and over 50 % recover substantially withih that time, I'm about 18 months down the track. So, although my circumstances are different, the comments about patience, and the recuperative powers of the human body also apply to me!!!
Live long and prosper.

[felly]

Hello Mr Spok. Thank you very much for your explanation and encouragement! I'm sorry to hear you have chronic fatigue. That sounds like a real bugger.

Aunty. I said a prayer for your daughter last night when I woke up all hot and sweaty. I hope she is doing ok and that you are too. I have a mental image of what you look like in my head and last night I was visualising scenes that you have written about.

It makes me so sad thinking about how hard this is for so many people coming off lex and other drugs. I hate the way our world now doesn't know how to really help people with there feelings so we are given pills to take away the pain. I saw a shrink who wanted me to take another antidepressant because lex was seriously messing up my sleep. Then what about the side effects of the other antidepressant? I'm sure he'd want to give me another pill for those.

Does anyone get serious cravings to binge at night when withdrawing? Oh I have them reeallllllly bad right now.