[mims]

Originally Posted by pamjg

you are all amazing.
think you for your insight. I am going to try 1/4 of my lexapro as i have been cutting my 20 mg. in half the whole time so i will half the dosage. Like you said Mims i can always go back to the half pill. I'm 55 years old and like i said before i have dealt with panic attacks since i was 27 years old. I'm a Christain and i do have Gods strength that i can to turn to also. That is how i dealt with it before. I will go back and read some more of the post today. although some of the times i feel i might take on other peoples symtoms if i read to much. Agoraphobics seem to do that haha. But seriuosly i'm glad i found you all. What truned me to Lexapro was i was having Burning mouth syndrome,has anyone here dealt with that?

Pam, dropping your dose by half is too fast. You are much more likely to taper succesfully with fewer bad effects if you taper gradually.

In order to taper gradually, you can shave a small amount off the 10 mg you've been taking, and try that for a few weeks. It will be much easier to divide pills if you can get your doctor to switch you over to 10 mg tablets. It is hard to measure a 10% reduction when you are dealing with tiny pieces of a 20mg tablet.

If you don't want to go quite that slowly, you could at least try to start with a 10 mg pill and take 3 quarters of it -- that's still a 25% drop, but less likely to cause trouble than a 50% drop. Take this as slowly as you can. Maybe your doctor has some 10 mg samples he can give you to help you out with this. At some point, you may want to ask him for some 5 mg tablets also.

Look back at Erin's post on Jan 27th. It really is important to reduce your dosage as slowly as you possibly can to minimize withdrawal effects.

[pamjg]

thank. I have been taking 10 mg. i just get it in 20 mg. and cut that in half as to save money. so now i'm going to cut that 10 mg. inhalf to create 5 mg. will that work? i have several pills and i dont want to go and buy 10 mg and cut in half if i dont have too. would cutting my 10 mg in half be 5 mg. and not be tapering to mucH? i havent even told my doctor yet as i'm sure he will have me come in and i'm not wanting to pay an office visit.
you are a great help thanks and i will go baack and read the post

[Laryanita]

Originally Posted by rujoking

Laryanita

anxiety is plagueing me too.....are you still having it as much? What did you take to help it?

Lips -

I have looked at the Rhodiola too....it looks fairly safe - let us know if it helps!

Have a good weekend everyone - hang in there!

ruj

unfortunately, I was put back on lexapro This was before I knew the horrors of the drug.Also, i take xanax for panic attacks. so now, i am tapering off the lexapro again and I don't really know what I'll do for the anxiety once i get off again, but i am going to try natural supplements and hope for the best, good luck!

[mims]

Originally Posted by pamjg

thank. I have been taking 10 mg. i just get it in 20 mg. and cut that in half as to save money. so now i'm going to cut that 10 mg. inhalf to create 5 mg. will that work? i have several pills and i dont want to go and buy 10 mg and cut in half if i dont have too. would cutting my 10 mg in half be 5 mg. and not be tapering to mucH? i havent even told my doctor yet as i'm sure he will have me come in and i'm not wanting to pay an office visit.
you are a great help thanks and i will go baack and read the post

Yes, I really do think that cutting in half is tapering too fast. Cutting 10% at a time is the recommended way to reduce dosage. You're less likely to have withdrawal problems if you reduce by 10%, and then wait a few weeks before reducing 10% again.

Some people have done this by crushing their tablets to a powder and either mixing with water or other liquid, or crushing and then dividing out small doses wiith a razor blade. I never did that, but wish I had tapered more slowly. Maybe I wouldn't still be so ill.

In all honesty, I don't remember personally having any trouble going directly from 10 mg to 5 mg, but after that I wish I had been more careful about going 10% at a time.

[Aeroman]

Congrats Julia for your 1-year anniversary off Lexapro. I am trailing behind you at 11-months (1-27-09). I am currently still in withdrawal with my chief complaint being anhedonia (depression), short term memory issues, concentration issues, still some slight lightheadedness, basically still in a funk. Sometimes I get hit with a wave of anxiety but nothing like before. I sleep better than before (but not 100%), I no longer wake up with morning anxiety, and I eat better (food is one of my only comfort things thus gaining weight). I have no motivation for jack squat. I am a shell that exists, not a human being that lives. I once loved life and I know I will get that again. I still have low back pain and I hope to get that resolved. I've never had chronic pain before so this has been trying my patience. Thats all for now, hope that many of you taper as SLOWLY as you can and get off this shyt before it becomes harder to come off. Many of you may be in the "Honeymoon" phase of the drug but these things dont cure a damm thing...I would take my original symptoms anyday compared to this hell. I learned to tolerate it.

Hang in there everyone, i know this gets better...

[hope for the best]

I just wanted to check back in to update on my daughter's progress since stopping Lex in mid July so she's been 6½ months off. She has done very well since her slow taper which I'll copy from an earlier post rather than re-type. She had been treated for a probable case of Lyme during her time on Lex so she's had alot to recover from.

Anyway, I was watching for the dreaded 4 month off mark and about that time she did go through a period of something of a very mild depression or maybe more of dissatisfaction or frustrated exhaustion. For example, she'd been working hard to re-establish a relationship and then just about gave it up because it seemed too hard to do. She seems to be past that now.

The only thing I think is Lex related is that she gets muscle knots in her shoulders and neck. She doesn't handle stress as well as she probably should but that's improving and frankly that was getting to her pre-Lex and I think was related to the virus she'd had.

All in all she's doing well and I'd suggest a slow taper to anyone thinking of coming off. Anyway, here's an earlier post:

I just wanted to update my daughter's current condition after tapering off Lexapro. To recap, she started on Lex in 10/07 and ramped up to 10 mg. in November. She was on 10 mg for several months and then began tapering off. We expected withdrawal symptoms since she had experienced withdrawal when just being late with a dose at 10 mg. Here is her taper schedule (when it says 2 weeks it may be a few days shorter or longer):
7.5 mg......2 weeks
5 mg.........1 month
4.5 mg.......2 weeks
4 mg.........2 weeks
Decreases of .5 mg about every 2 weeks until down to the last .5
.25 mg.......2 weeks
Off

She did well with very few problems, mostly some vivid dreams until the last two steps down then she had some dizzy spells that lasted a few hours. Other than that she had very few complaints that could be linked to Lexapro. She had intended to take .25 every few days or if she started having any problems but has never needed anything since she stopped. She has now been off since July 15 so it's been over three weeks and she hasn't had any problems at all.

Before she began tapering she started taking supplements and continued most of them through the whole process. They were Omega 3 fish oil, magnesium, lecithin, vitamin C, and sometimes inositol and choline. She also drank DanActive (yogurt drink) and often a whey supplement.

To get the doses small we ground up tablets and measured them out in long lines (think about lines of cocaine) on a paper with increments marked and then put them in empty gel capsules. It was a little tedious but after awhile it went pretty quickly and seemed to be pretty accurate.

I will report back as time goes on if she has any future problems but I did want to let people who might be reading this know that a slow taper seems to be a very very good way to get off Lex. I thank the people on this forum and especially Aunty who started this whole discussion for informing us out in the big wide world of what to expect and how maybe to deal with it.

[artgirl83]

i am so relieved to find this message board. i've been on lexapro for 2 years, and it helped my anxiety tremendously. after 2 years i decided to start weening myself off the drug to try life again on my own. ever since i started weening, i have been having huge angry meltdowns where i scream and yell at my boyfriend, cry hysterically, and all over something i never thought was an issue to me until that very moment. usually these outbursts happen after a glass of wine or two and i suddenly feel "empowered" like i have the guts to say anything. he's at his wit's end, we've been together for 5 years and it kills me that i am attacking him this way and for NO reason. i didnt even make a connection between the Lexapro and these anger outburts, do you think they're connected?? then after they happen i go back into the mindset i had when i originally started lexapro - feeling lost, feeling like everything is hopeless and like im going to be alone and lose my relationship. i can't keep doing this to him and i just don't know what to do to curb these outbursts! right now im at 1/6th of a 10mg pill every day, sometimes every other day. but im scared that this behavior will continue for god knows how long once i stop taking it completely!!! what do i do?????

[COHiker]

Does anyone out there have any experience with Trazodone? A friend is being treated for an mild case depression... I have never even heard of this one. Anyone with experience about this drug?
I keep promising an update.... I will try to devote some time to writing soon. Christmas was six months and I have had some struggles but manageable.
COhiker

[swebs]

For artgirl,

I would discourage drinking alcohol during this time. I'm tapering too (after just over 2 years on the drug) and I feel like since tapering my tolerance for alcohol has actually gotten lower.

When I started taking Lexapro I couldn't drink as much as I could before starting the drug, and now it seems like I can get away with drinking even less! Not long ago I had 2 Smirnoff Ices, spread out, even, and I almost threw up like I had gotten super drunk. I couldn't believe it!

I don't know if that is a common thing, but my theory is that withdrawing from the Lex is tough enough on your body. You might make it easier for yourself if you try to avoid toxins like alcohol, try to eat as healthy as possible, etc...

[erinkj]

Originally Posted by COHiker

Does anyone out there have any experience with Trazodone? A friend is being treated for an mild case depression... I have never even heard of this one. Anyone with experience about this drug?
I keep promising an update.... I will try to devote some time to writing soon. Christmas was six months and I have had some struggles but manageable.
COhiker

Howdy stranger! good to see you around. O>K Trazadone is a trycyclic anti-deppressant. It is used primarily to help people sleep. At least, that is what it is most commonly prescribed for these days. In my experience, trycyclics are easier to discontinue. At least the withdrawl does not seem harsh and NOTHING like with lexapro. Hopwever, that said, they can have more side effects. Not sure what all you want to know here so, get back to me o.k....I hope you are well..Have missed you...peace and hugs...Erin

[COHiker]

Originally Posted by erinkj

Howdy stranger! good to see you around. O>K Trazadone is a trycyclic anti-deppressant. It is used primarily to help people sleep. At least, that is what it is most commonly prescribed for these days. In my experience, trycyclics are easier to discontinue. At least the withdrawl does not seem harsh and NOTHING like with lexapro. Hopwever, that said, they can have more side effects. Not sure what all you want to know here so, get back to me o.k....I hope you are well..Have missed you...peace and hugs...Erin

Erin, you are always a God-send with that fabulous brain of yours! Where to start??? Let's see.... I would say that after about seven and a half months off I can say my bigest problem is PMS. This is where it gets tricky for me: I cannot say where the Lexapro garbage ends and the premenopause nightmare begins. The rages and depression surrounding my menstral cycle are just wicked- no other way to say it. This in itself is really effecting my family and even some work relationships-- I am tired of apologizing to the world for my temporary insanity Also, I have been feeling a bit weepy lately and that has me bugged. And I mean weepy to the point that if I start talking about sensative subjects, i fear I will start blubbering.

I will say that one side effect I lay squarely at the feet of Lex was trouble in my gut. I started having major acid reflux toward the end of my tapering (which by the way was a six month taper-- I pushed it at some points and was a bit impatient)and had to start taking the nexium. I hope to be able to not take forever, but will have to see how that plays out.

I have an appointment with a womens health care specialist to try and see if I may be starting through some early peri-menopausal stuff (I am 44). I was whining to a friend about the terrible symptoms that I seem to have about five days during my cycle and that is when she told me about the the Trazodone. I have promised myself that I would not even consider something until I was 18 months out the lexapro hell-hole!

Oh- and for anyone who is conserned about the extra weight... after about 3 months off (after last dose), I lost about 12 lbs. without any changes or effort.
I have started back with exercising (which I had quit for nearly a year and a half-- dumb, i know) and it is really one of those things that really keeps me somewhat in check. When I say exercise- nothing major-- just hitting the trails with my dogs again or the occassional jog or eliptical at the gym. I promise all of you that at least 15 mins a day of walking (mildly winded) will do wonders to improve the mood. It is really important to stick with it-- especially on the days when you feel like it the least-- that is when you will need it the most.
Well, I am drained and need to catch my sleep-- I do sleep very well and have since about two months after my last dose-- good news for those of you who struggle with interupted sleep..
I will be checking in again soon...
My best to everyone and sorry I have been so tardy in my updates....
COhiker

[mims]

Pam,

What good timing! Did you read the taper schedule just posted by "hope for the best" ? This is the information you need.

I don't know where to get empty capsules to put your ground up tablets in. You could ask your pharmacist. Or buy some vitamins that come in capsules, empty them and re-use.

[mims]

My experiences with alcohol were "different" with lexapro (If I drank just one glass or two of wine in a restaurant, I would have trouble standing up and walking. Besides feeling drunk, my legs would feel stiff, heavy and awkward).
I agree with swebs - Try to avoid alcohol completely for a while.

Also, try to avoid missing doses while using lexapro or while tapering. The every-other -day taper causes problems. Try not to skip days. Stay at your current dose, 1/6 of a tablet, until you start to feel more stable, before making the next reduction.

For those who are currently trying to taper, "Hope for the best" just posted a schedule that worked well.

[pamjg]

Yes i seen the tapering off page thanks. I am now doing what i believe is about 7 mgs. i was taking 10 mg. i will go at this slowly thanks so much. i will keep a chart of how i am doing and come back once in awhile. earlier in on of the pages it said to take coral calcium andfish oil and also qa multi-vit. would coral cacuim and a multi vi be simular? i am starting the fish oil ,coral cacuim, and niacin will that be enough? thanks to all.
I think someone ought to call Oprah on this and see what Dr. Oz would say about it. there are more people than i thought would be on Lexapro. but sometimes we go to quick for the fast fix or bandaid.

[mims]

Originally Posted by pamjg

Yes i seen the tapering off page thanks. I am now doing what i believe is about 7 mgs. i was taking 10 mg. i will go at this slowly thanks so much. i will keep a chart of how i am doing and come back once in awhile. earlier in on of the pages it said to take coral calcium andfish oil and also qa multi-vit. would coral cacuim and a multi vi be simular? i am starting the fish oil ,coral cacuim, and niacin will that be enough? thanks to all.
I think someone ought to call Oprah on this and see what Dr. Oz would say about it. there are more people than i thought would be on Lexapro. but sometimes we go to quick for the fast fix or bandaid.

Hi, Pam. I don't know anything about coral calcium, but I have taken a calcium and magnesium supplement called slow-mag that I bought at the CVS. I don't know if it helps, but I don't think it can hurt! I think it might actually help me sleep better when I take it. I recently read in a neurology magazine that magnesium can help prevent migraines. I've had a few of those, so I've decided to try the Slow-mag again. Just started back 2 days ago.

I really don't know alot about the supplements. I took fish oil and lecithin for a while and will probably try it again. I quit because I was tired of having to swallow pills, but I will probably try again because I think I really was improving for a while there.

I hope you get along well while tapering off the lexapro. Good luck, and let us know how you're doing.

[pamjg]

How long have you been suffering from all this. My heart goes out to you! do you mind me asking what is your age? does any of this have to do with hormones? Trust me i've been there and back. I had a complete hysterectomy in 2001. and since then have battled trying to find something to help me hormonal wise. right now i'm back on low dose primerin. I'll try anything! I tryed HRT and something in the products sends my tounge into a burning mouth issue. which started all this lezapro stuff in the first place. Isn't life tough??? every day is a new hunp to get over. also many blessings. if I didn't have my family and God in my life i dont know what i would be doing

[mims]

Hey, Pam,

I took lexapro last winter for less than a month, and then suddenly quit, not knowing it was the wrong thing to do. I had taken it sometime before and quit without any problems, or at least not major problems that I connected with the lexapro. Looking back on it, I'm sure I did have some weird things going on with my body and my vision, and just did not make the connection with the lexapro. Anyway, I got sick last February with a really bad "flu virus", chills, tremors, electric zaps, especially in my head, weird feelings, numbness and shooting pains in my body, especially my genital area. (Thank God that is no longer a problem). I thought I had a flu virus that had gone into my nervous system. At first I didn't think about the lexapro. It was flu season, and lots of people in my area had flu.

It finally occurred to me that it may be a lexapro withdrawal problem. I finally went back on the drug, maybe 3 or 4 weeks later to see if it would stop the brain zaps, etc. I did feel better once I reinstated the lexapro, and realized that was possibly the cause of the health problems.

So I went straight from 10 mg to 5 pretty quickly, stayed at 5 for a long time, several months, then 2.5 for a while. After that I thought it was OK to drop pretty quickly, but wish I had known how important the slow taper seems to be. In all honesty, I had some level of withdrawal symptoms the whole time I was tapering. My doctors don't believe withdrawal symptoms can last so long, so I kept having medical tests. All my tests make me look incredibly healthy -- nobody can find a thing wrong with me. I've been tested for everything from MS to lyme disease, to thyroid and B12 deficiency, etc.

I am 55 years old. I have wondered if the reason I had a worse time stopping lexapro this time was due to hormones being different from before. Who knows?

When I took it before, it was started primarily for pms , two weeks on and two weeks off. Not a good way to use lexapro in the first place. Felt foggy and had weird feelings, but nothing like this.

So, I finally quit the lexapro about the 1st of august. My symptoms change from time to time. Lately, the vibrations are still there, but not as intense. My vision has gotten worse again (saw 4 eye doctors last year). I just had to change my lens prescription again --the 3rd time since last spring. One of the most bothersome problems recently is cold chills that run through my body. And also that weird feeling of paralysis of the muscles just under the skin, and throat spasms and muscle jerks. Most of my problems are when I'm falling asleep or just waking from sleep.

When I'm awake, I'm OK for the most part, except for being very tired in the afternoons and very disorganized and having some word recall problems. Also some depression and anxiety.

Some things have gotten better -- the numbness and cramps in my foot have improved, brain zaps rarely happen, painful numbness in vulva has gone, headaches are much less frequent, spacey feeling has improved MOST of the time.

Didn't mean to write so much!

[swebs]

Hi again,

I had my doctor appointment last week, and she was really supportive. However, she encouraged tapering a lot faster than you guys have on here. I have been on 5mg (down from 10) for 4 weeks even today, and she suggested I start going to 5mg every other day and quitting in the middle of this month.

Now, I know you guys aren't fans of the every-other-day thing, I myself fail to see how that would be effective for anything. So I am going to try 2.5 mg pretty soon here, and if that goes well I will continue on it for at least a month, I think.

I know this is a pretty fast taper in comparison, if I feel it's going horribly I'll slow it down. I have one month's supply of 10mg waiting for me at the pharmacy as we speak, and if I continue on at 1/2 or 1/4 of a pill it will last me a long time. In all honesty, though, my withdrawal symptoms aren't anything like what the rest of you are talking about. Sure, I'm experiencing some issues, but I'm managing pretty ok.

I don't think she is sadistic or evil, I think she just doesn't know fully what happens to people trying to quit this drug. So if it's going badly and I need more time, how do I talk to her about it? I mean, she's a doctor, and (most of us) are just ordinary people without medical background. I know we know because we're dealing with it, but I don't want to argue about it or anything. So what do you say in that situation?

[deleted7]

Originally Posted by artgirl83

i am so relieved to find this message board. i've been on lexapro for 2 years, and it helped my anxiety tremendously. after 2 years i decided to start weening myself off the drug to try life again on my own. ever since i started weening, i have been having huge angry meltdowns where i scream and yell at my boyfriend, cry hysterically, and all over something i never thought was an issue to me until that very moment. usually these outbursts happen after a glass of wine or two and i suddenly feel "empowered" like i have the guts to say anything. he's at his wit's end, we've been together for 5 years and it kills me that i am attacking him this way and for NO reason. i didnt even make a connection between the Lexapro and these anger outburts, do you think they're connected?? then after they happen i go back into the mindset i had when i originally started lexapro - feeling lost, feeling like everything is hopeless and like im going to be alone and lose my relationship. i can't keep doing this to him and i just don't know what to do to curb these outbursts! right now im at 1/6th of a 10mg pill every day, sometimes every other day. but im scared that this behavior will continue for god knows how long once i stop taking it completely!!! what do i do?????

artgirl, here's some info I found on another site:

" Avoid drinking alcohol, which can increase some of the side effects of escitalopram (Lexapro)".

The anger outbursts may be caused by the weaning process, as your brain has to get used to producing and receiving the natural brain chemicals again, and just the process of weaning off a psychotropic drug can have weird and unpredictable side effects.

Also, just drinking a small bit of alcohol alone can produce those feelings of "empowerment" and lowering the inhibitions, to where you might say things you'd never say while sober.

"then after they happen i go back into the mindset i had when i originally started lexapro - feeling lost, feeling like everything is hopeless and like im going to be alone and lose my relationship."

I'm not a psychiatrist, but did you have clinical depression before taking Lex? If so, if it's a biochemical depression, it would be normal to go back to the state you were in before you began Lex. Also, you seem so upset about your uninhibited behavior, I wonder if that could be part of your upset, worry, and feeling like you're going to lose your relationship?

I'm sorry, I haven't read all your posts - are you seeing a therapist, and if so, have you kept he/she apprised of your feelings?

[pamjg]

thanks for your imput. please keep me posted of how it is going. good luck
pam

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by swebs

Hi again,

I had my doctor appointment last week, and she was really supportive. However, she encouraged tapering a lot faster than you guys have on here. I have been on 5mg (down from 10) for 4 weeks even today, and she suggested I start going to 5mg every other day and quitting in the middle of this month.

Now, I know you guys aren't fans of the every-other-day thing, I myself fail to see how that would be effective for anything. So I am going to try 2.5 mg pretty soon here, and if that goes well I will continue on it for at least a month, I think.

I know this is a pretty fast taper in comparison, if I feel it's going horribly I'll slow it down. I have one month's supply of 10mg waiting for me at the pharmacy as we speak, and if I continue on at 1/2 or 1/4 of a pill it will last me a long time. In all honesty, though, my withdrawal symptoms aren't anything like what the rest of you are talking about. Sure, I'm experiencing some issues, but I'm managing pretty ok.

I don't think she is sadistic or evil, I think she just doesn't know fully what happens to people trying to quit this drug. So if it's going badly and I need more time, how do I talk to her about it? I mean, she's a doctor, and (most of us) are just ordinary people without medical background. I know we know because we're dealing with it, but I don't want to argue about it or anything. So what do you say in that situation?

Continue tapering the way you're doing it. Don't discourage yourself and the therapist you trust. However, once you stop the drug altogether, you might experience symptoms of withdrawal at 3-4 months off. What happens in most cases, people go to see their GPs, and get put on the medication again. That is to say, prolonged withdrawals often get mistaken for the "illness coming back". I've been there myself, and can say with 100% confidence - WRONG. The longer you stay on meds, the more invalid your brain becomes, the tougher it it to taper.

Once you stay off the meds for 12 months, you'll be fine. I am 12 months free after 2 years of usage, and I am doing mostly fine. However, improvements are still there to happen for me.

[pamjg]

sometimes cold turkey sounds like what should happen. basiclly we are addics to this Lexapro and how do they get addick off of drugs??? cold turkey and they go through withdrawel. I'm very confued about all of this. but i dont want to end up the way i was before Lexapro with the panic attack.

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by artgirl83

i am so relieved to find this message board. i've been on lexapro for 2 years, and it helped my anxiety tremendously. after 2 years i decided to start weening myself off the drug to try life again on my own. ever since i started weening, i have been having huge angry meltdowns where i scream and yell at my boyfriend, cry hysterically, and all over something i never thought was an issue to me until that very moment. usually these outbursts happen after a glass of wine or two and i suddenly feel "empowered" like i have the guts to say anything. he's at his wit's end, we've been together for 5 years and it kills me that i am attacking him this way and for NO reason. i didnt even make a connection between the Lexapro and these anger outburts, do you think they're connected?? then after they happen i go back into the mindset i had when i originally started lexapro - feeling lost, feeling like everything is hopeless and like im going to be alone and lose my relationship. i can't keep doing this to him and i just don't know what to do to curb these outbursts! right now im at 1/6th of a 10mg pill every day, sometimes every other day. but im scared that this behavior will continue for god knows how long once i stop taking it completely!!! what do i do?????

On the bad side: Do NOT drink alcohol now. Please do NOT. This is not going to help you. Before Lexapro, I couldn't envision a fancy dinner without a glass of good wine. But then I got it that my body was not tolerating it well. Or at all. I am one year off Lex now, and still can only drink some wine, looking out for the exacerbation of the symptoms. The same was true with caffeine for me, only to a lesser extent.

On the good side: Yes, you will yell at people now. this is "normal". You will have to get used to the new definition of normalcy during your tapering and staying off the drug phase. Educate your boyfriend of 5 years now, and educate yourself. See this as a side effect of your condition, rather than you losing grips and taking it on him. I still cry at small things and yes, used to yell at my lovely husband for very, very minor things. ( dirty cup in the sink, lol). With time, I taught him about the danger of those drugs, and long-term effects that they are causing, and we even learned to laugh at my anger outbursts.

This is not an easy road. But once you taper off and stay off, you'll be fine. Depression is something that every person, at least once in their lives experiences. There is no reason to stay on drugs till the end of your life. You will be in withdrawals for some time, up to 18 months, and then you will be fine.

Julia

[mims]

Originally Posted by pamjg

sometimes cold turkey sounds like what should happen. basiclly we are addics to this Lexapro and how do they get addick off of drugs??? cold turkey and they go through withdrawel. I'm very confued about all of this. but i dont want to end up the way i was before Lexapro with the panic attack.

Typically when they get addicts off of drugs, it is done in an inpatient setting like a drug rehab hospital so the patient can be monitored by doctors and nurses. We're having to do this on our own. Slow taper offers some protection.

Nobody can promise that a slow taper from lexapro will absolutely prevent panic attacks from happening. But I think most of us would agree that you're going to be less likely to have panic attacks if you gradually taper instead of stopping suddenly.

[pamjg]

iam going to taper off very slow if it takes a year it takes a year. I already fear what will happen if i go off of it completely. as you know i've dealt with panic for about 30 years. slow may win the race thanks

[mims]

Originally Posted by swebs

Hi again,

I had my doctor appointment last week, and she was really supportive. However, she encouraged tapering a lot faster than you guys have on here. I have been on 5mg (down from 10) for 4 weeks even today, and she suggested I start going to 5mg every other day and quitting in the middle of this month.

Now, I know you guys aren't fans of the every-other-day thing, I myself fail to see how that would be effective for anything. So I am going to try 2.5 mg pretty soon here, and if that goes well I will continue on it for at least a month, I think.

I know this is a pretty fast taper in comparison, if I feel it's going horribly I'll slow it down. I have one month's supply of 10mg waiting for me at the pharmacy as we speak, and if I continue on at 1/2 or 1/4 of a pill it will last me a long time. In all honesty, though, my withdrawal symptoms aren't anything like what the rest of you are talking about. Sure, I'm experiencing some issues, but I'm managing pretty ok.

I don't think she is sadistic or evil, I think she just doesn't know fully what happens to people trying to quit this drug. So if it's going badly and I need more time, how do I talk to her about it? I mean, she's a doctor, and (most of us) are just ordinary people without medical background. I know we know because we're dealing with it, but I don't want to argue about it or anything. So what do you say in that situation?

swebs,
I think you'll be just fine with getting your doctor to give you another refill if you need it to complete your taper. She has already given you more tablets than you need for the taper she recommended, so she is giving you some leeway to make some adjustments.

I have found that doctors do not like to hear that you've been getting any information from a site like this! It's probably better not to mention that you have found any info from online non-medical people.

Also, please don't consider this to be any kind of medical advice -- I am only telling you what I would personally do. At the end of the month, I would call the doctor's office and say that I decided to wait a few weeks to taper off, maybe due to a stressful event or insomnia, or whatever, and could I please have one more refill to get me through the taper "that you (the doctor)
recommended". Personally, I would not have a problem with the doctor thinking that I was taking 5 mg every other day, when in fact I'm actually taking half that amount every day. If anything comes up like an illness that requires another drug, etc, you can always report at that time what your actual dosage is. Again, that is not medical advice, it is simply what I would do personally.

[babybottom]

Hey, I was reading your post from April of 08 and your were talking about vitamins.I take Womens Ultra mega isn't that enough vitamins, or do I need to take extra like the fish oil and extra megnesium and others.I am always insecure about how much and what to take, so then I never add any.I manage to stick with a multivitamin but that is it.I'm always afraid to over do it.Can you let me know exact amounts of what to take?OR just give your advice.I eat alot of bananas for the extra magnesium and I just ran out of my multivitamin.I don't want to take a vitamin that will rev me up since i'm having trouble sleeping.Also, I don't know if this is related to Lexapro withdrawal but for months I get rashes on and off that have have sores too.THey are like pimples and they itch.I can't tell if it's my normal excema or what they are different and sometimes they are worse over the summer they would come every two months along with my normal excema.Just needed advice on vitamins and supplements, Thanks!

[swebs]

mims,

Thanks for the advice. Everything you said was what I was planning to do.

Actually, the doctor that I consulted with is not the doctor that prescribed me Lex. I saw her for something else awhile back and I really like her, so I decided I just want to go to her now. I have a feeling that the original doc would not be in favor of me doing this, so I figured it'd be best to not go to him.

Anyway, I called in another refill myself, just in case. As of February 28th it will no longer be covered under my plan, so I probably won't be getting anymore. I think if I needed more she would help me locate samples, though. It'll work out.

I started 2.5 mg today, and despite an irritating headache, nothing too crazy has happened. Thanks so much you guys! This forum is the best thing EVER.

[pamjg]

Thanks Swebs
I really want you to let me know how it is goes for you
. I was wondering as i'm new here is this sight mostly women??? what are our ages? i'm 55. Is there alink with all this and Hormones? I just started taking primerin 2 month ago. I know its bad for us but hey Life is uncertain and i want to get a grip on things the natural stuff wasnt working. an I truly havent had any Libdo for over a year. my husband is very understanding but that cant last forever.
so all this to say is i think we as a group ought to try and figure a few things out while we are chatting about the drug withdrawel maybe we are on to somthing and need to dig deeper.

[rujoking]

pamjg-

I am 54 an post menopausal - I was originally PUT on this garbage because of meno symptoms as is the case for many, many women - docs don't know what to do for menopause so they hand out this stuff like candy and it wreaks havoc on a system that is already in turmoil. (this is why I think you see many more women on AD's than men at middle age).

I understand your need for premarin but just be aware that it is not a long term solution and has it's own withdrawals......you can't stay on it forever and the symptoms return when you go off....if you have all of your 'parts' I hope you are using some form of progesterone as well?

mims and everyone else - -
I have had a good couple of days after a bad week last week....the window are getter bigger and better - fingers crossed!

ruj