[tamra]

Hi Gapske! I was wondering about you! I thought you must be feeling better! That's wonderful!! You are so right about being outside. It's cleansing and healing. That's exactly what I need right now. Thanks for checking back in and sharing the inspiration!

Live every day to it's fullest!

[sarita]

Gap,
Thanks for your reply about the memory loss. It's been bad, some days worse than others. And the lack of sex drive (well, i really want to make love to my husband everyday cause i love him so much, but my friend downtown won't produce), i want to feel things like you described. i was so jealous when you described the trees, etc..and so happy for you. it gave me such inspiration. i consider
myself very spiritual and haven't felt my spirit in a long time on lexipro. it really did save me and my husband from a bad situation, but i almost which i just did the xanax.

michael,
i don't have depression. but actually, we i got on lex, i did have a brief period of crying spells (miscarriage).but i have only anxiety and that's only sometimes. but i just plain ole just felt wierd and spaced out and no doctor could tell me what was wrong. so they figure it was anxiety. maybe they were right because i do feel better. i'm like you, i'm going to try to get off, but if i don't feel better, i'll go back on or try some alternative cures like these supplements. do what you feel is best for you. take in what people say alittle. what you say alot cause noone knows you better.

tamra,
you are funny girl. but wait, you're off completely? for how long? and you're still alittle fogged?

[mhillqt]

Gapske - why did you come off the lexapro - sounds like you did ok on it? Well, im glad you are doing ok OFF of it....

Sarita - sounds like you might have GAD which from my understanding, doesnt always need meds....I would probably try to do med free if I were you, eliminate coffee/sugar/alchol/cigarettes/excercise and meditation/vitamins, etc.....My experience is that Ive always been on again off again on low dosages of meds but never feel 100%, not even 50% but better than no meds and then I find these sites and get scared about the meds.....my doctor told me tonight that the stories I related about this site/and others are rare.....he admitted that it happens - ie bad effects./withdrawal, etc but the majority of his patients never experience this....well, he thought I should be doing better on 5 mg lexapro .....but he will let me do what i feel comfortable doing -ie increasing to 10 OR coming off completely and either back to prozac(which also only helps 50%) or stay off meds completey......

Michael

[mhillqt]

BTW....I am getting the flu like thing...any thoughts on how to deal with this withdrawal? I also tend to break out with cold sores ....any thoughts...thanks

Michael

[tamra]

I've been off for 33 days...yup, still a little foggy at times. I think I'm suffering from "mommie overload"...and I've got PMS. deadly combination...at least there's ice cream and chocolate in the house! So...friday...I have an appointment to become blonde and get a funky new haircut. I've been looking for pics all day! It kept me from blowing a gasket. My boys have sooooo much to say...morning til nite...non stop. I can be 16 thoughts behind what they're talking about and unable to hear or comprehend another word...and they keep right on going until their eyes close for the night.

So, Friday is mommie's day of beauty. Out of the house, by myself. I'm hopeful that my sense of humor returns after that. I'm definitely one of those people that puts everyone and everything else before myself. I'm not sure that I'll ever change.

Live every day to it's fullest!

[sarita]

michael,
my mom is on paxil for GAD. i wonder if it's heriditary. god. i hope not. anyway, i'm going to find ways to control it. naturally. and if it doesn't work, i'll go back on if it gets out of control. i wonder why nothing has worked for you 100%. does your doc say it's cause you're on low dosage? cause 5 mg. is kinda low for the way you seem to be describing yourself. but i don't know the whole story.

quote:Originally posted by mhillqt

Gapske - why did you come off the lexapro - sounds like you did ok on it? Well, im glad you are doing ok OFF of it....

Sarita - sounds like you might have GAD which from my understanding, doesnt always need meds....I would probably try to do med free if I were you, eliminate coffee/sugar/alchol/cigarettes/excercise and meditation/vitamins, etc.....My experience is that Ive always been on again off again on low dosages of meds but never feel 100%, not even 50% but better than no meds and then I find these sites and get scared about the meds.....my doctor told me tonight that the stories I related about this site/and others are rare.....he admitted that it happens - ie bad effects./withdrawal, etc but the majority of his patients never experience this....well, he thought I should be doing better on 5 mg lexapro .....but he will let me do what i feel comfortable doing -ie increasing to 10 OR coming off completely and either back to prozac(which also only helps 50%) or stay off meds completey......

Michael

[mhillqt]

Hi Sarita, I cant tolerate high dosages ....Ive actually gone into remission for years at a time and then it comes back....so there is hope.....like i mentioned, i live a pretty normal life with the exception that I am limited in what i can do...but i work fulltime, run, workout, movies, etc but once outside my comfort zone, the panic can get pretty bad and sometimes leads to blacking out - ie wedding 4 weeks ago, flight 2 years ago, etc etc.....GAD is not as bad as panic disorder if thats any consolation and like i said, they say its easier to treat with lower dosages of meds/therapy....keep us posted...as will i..

Michael

[annaoffmeds]

hey everyone,
sorry its been so long- I hit some big rocky points and got the flu. bleh.
Anyways, my anxiety and panic are back and my physical effects are halted.....so I'm going in to talk to the doc. lex actually reallyhelped with low side effects, so i may end up back on.....I've actually tried other meds but they made me sick to my stomach big time......so we'll see. I'll be in touch....I guess it'll be a trial and error for a while,
anna

[mhillqt]

Sorry to hear anna....how long have you been off meds and in remission....what dosage of lexapro helped you? Best

Michael

[Gapske]

Hey everyone,
Check out this article. It's about depression meds. I thought it might be interesting for those who are considering just switching at this point.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060323/...ing_depression

[Gapske]

Michael,
I got the point where I felt like I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. I'm an artist (painting, drawing, sculpting) and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why I wasn't motivated to create anything. I had no inspiration what so ever. This was highly unusual for me and wasn't just a dry spell.
Sexual side effects.
Sometimes worse depression than when I was not taking anything.
Weight gain, no matter how much excercise I did or cut back on calories.
For the most part I just felt numb. Sure I was less irritable and had no anxiety (well minimum anyway.) I just thought about it and decided that it was time to try to go without it.

Since going off I've had a few panic attacks and some anxiety. Now after 35 days off, I'm doing well. Not to say something won't come back to haunt me, but for now I'm just sailing smoothly along.

I have to admit that after I started taking the Lex. I felt 100% better and was so glad I didn't have to think about panicking. So for awhile it was good.

I wish that we could all be in the same city to help one another out when needed; to talk, to just be there. I guess this forum will have to do.

quote:Originally posted by mhillqt
Gapske - why did you come off the lexapro - sounds like you did ok on it? Well, im glad you are doing ok OFF of it....

Sarita - sounds like you might have GAD which from my understanding, doesnt always need meds....I would probably try to do med free if I were you, eliminate coffee/sugar/alchol/cigarettes/excercise and meditation/vitamins, etc.....My experience is that Ive always been on again off again on low dosages of meds but never feel 100%, not even 50% but better than no meds and then I find these sites and get scared about the meds.....my doctor told me tonight that the stories I related about this site/and others are rare.....he admitted that it happens - ie bad effects./withdrawal, etc but the majority of his patients never experience this....well, he thought I should be doing better on 5 mg lexapro .....but he will let me do what i feel comfortable doing -ie increasing to 10 OR coming off completely and either back to prozac(which also only helps 50%) or stay off meds completey......

Michael

[Gapske]

sarita,
are you still taking Xanax? I tried that a couple times and didn't like it. I also heard it's extremely addictive.

whew, the sexual stuff came back great for me. Things have been very strong, if you get my drift! I know that sometimes we women have to try a little bit harder any way to get in the mood, which is what I needed to do on the Lex. Try some imagination excercises.




[quote]Originally posted by sarita

Gap,
Thanks for your reply about the memory loss. It's been bad, some days worse than others. And the lack of sex drive (well, i really want to make love to my husband everyday cause i love him so much, but my friend downtown won't produce), i want to feel things like you described. i was so jealous when you described the trees, etc..and so happy for you. it gave me such inspiration. i consider
myself very spiritual and haven't felt my spirit in a long time on lexipro. it really did save me and my husband from a bad situation, but i almost which i just did the xanax.

michael,
i don't have depression. but actually, we i got on lex, i did have a brief period of crying spells (miscarriage).but i have only anxiety and that's only sometimes. but i just plain ole just felt wierd and spaced out and no doctor could tell me what was wrong. so they figure it was anxiety. maybe they were right because i do feel better. i'm like you, i'm going to try to get off, but if i don't feel better, i'll go back on or try some alternative cures like these supplements. do what you feel is best for you. take in what people say alittle. what you say alot cause noone knows you better.

tamra,
you are funny girl. but wait, you're off completely? for how long? and you're still alittle fogged?

[sarita]

Gap,
I tried xanax one day and hated it, so that was that. You know, i'm pretty sure if you try cherry extract, this helps anxiety alot. You can order it at labelmesane.com. I just received all my products to begin the taper, but i have a stomach virus, so i'll start after that. According to theroadback.org, the reason you have depression and anxiety is because your neurotransmitters are off, from drug abuse, bad diet, etc...so they give you natural supplements that supposedly have worked for thousands of people that help those neurotransmitters get back to normal. i;m going to try it.
you can read all the testimonies about it too. i just can't wait to have good sex again!!! i mean, it's ok now because i love my husband. but not like before cause i can't feel as much and can't get moist down there (sorry for being so graphic!). i'm also looking forward to getting my short term memory back (did you lose yours?)
and to lose this gross FAT. i NEVER had a stomach before---EVER!!! i had a six pack. gained 20 lbs. in 8 months on 5 mg.

michael,
thanks for your help. i'll keep you posted and you let me know too.

anna,
did you get anxiety when you were sick? cause that happens to me and also during pms (before i took the pills). please let us know what you decided. look what i wrote to GAP on top.

[tamra]

Quick question....if I don't ask now...I'll forget....has anyone experienced any changes in their "vision" or eyeglass or contact lens prescription now that they are "off" Lex?

I just realized that I forgot to put my contacts in today...and I haven't gotten a headache yet! It could be that the sun decided to shine...not sure. I got hit with another wildly productive day. I guess my "cycles" aren't normalized yet. I painted the boy's bedroom...2 coats, molding, trim, door, and I'm putting it back together. All today...??? (where did this come from?) anyway....vision changes?

Live every day to it's fullest!

[mhillqt]

Im on Day 3 of no antidepressant.....the withdrawals so far are not bad...but feel extremely tired, fatigued and my brain misses that "kick" that I sometimes got from pzac or lexapro.....i do remember a few years back when i came off pzac, eventually I was so tired and it was very disturbing - is it depression or withdrawal....i will see how this weekend goes...i normally run 10 miles on sat/5 miles on sun .....but i have no energy right now.....although like i said, withdrawals not bad(at least not yet)....after only 5 mg lexapro....although do feel that I am constantly fighting a cold/flulike thing...
"

Michael

[Mags]

hi all...i've been reading the posts on this site for a while...finally decided to post. my story is different than most. i've been on lexapro for almost a year for a stomach condition, not depression or anxiety. my gi doctor said that it helped minimize signals from my stomach to my brain. when i first went on the lexapro, i felt completely out of it..like i was lost in a fog. i decided to stick it out because i work with kids and knew i needed to do something to improve my stomach condition. eventually, my body adjusted to the lexapro and for quite a while, i felt great. however, about 2 months ago, i decided to stop taking some of my medication. i didn't like being on so many drugs and one of the ones i decided to stop taking was the lexapro. it was not a good decision! for 2 weeks i quit cold turkey and in that time i was more irritable and emotional than i have ever been in my life. i took things out on my kids and at times, i completely lost control. i've never felt so vulnerable in my life. after talking to my husband, i went back on the lexapro and things went back to normal. then, a few weeks ago, i found this site. in the short time i stopped taking the lexapro, i had so many of the same symptoms, including the brain zaps, many of you previously mentioned. i began a taper off of my 10mg by cutting my pills in half and have been doing well so far with the exception of a few headaches. i have spoken with my gi doctor and he recommended the tapering after i made him aware of the withdrawl side effects (he had no clue!). my question is, has anyone else been on lexapro for stomach related problems? if so, how did you taper, and did your symptoms return after stopping the lexapro? any other advise (from anyone) would be more than helpful! thanks for listening to me vent!

mags

[mandymcj]

Hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to reply back, I was visiting my boyfriend last week and didn't have my laptop. Plus it was nice to get away from the computer for a while.

Gapske: No, the chest pain hasn't happened again. It only has happened twice, both after I went running.

I don't think it was an anxiety/panic attack because I wasn't really freaking out about anything, I just had weird physical symptoms, not mental.

I took my last bit of Lexapro on Friday night. Whoo!! So I've been Lexapro free for 5 days. So far main side effect has been fatigue. No surprise there. When I first went on lex I was exhausted all the time, then toward the end of the withdrawal I had insomnia, and now that I'm off it's back to being tired all the time. Weird.

The trip to see my boyfriend was actually really great except for the first two nights or so when I was quite suicidal. But this is the longest stretch of feeling decent that I've had in a long time. I'm hoping it will last. Like I told my boyfriend, I'll take physical symptoms to mental symptoms any day.

My ridiculous thoughts seemed to have slowed down...I'm getting to feel less blank, but not myself completely. We'll get there. Seeing my boyfriend came at the right time (I hadn't seen him in 8 weeks). It was nice having someone physically there to help me when I was falling apart.

[antonio]

Hello everyone...

its been a tough 2 weeks but i am finally feeling better...

the break down the i went through: (quiting while tapering to 2.5 for a week then cold turkey...)

first 2 days i felt normal thought i was going to be the lucky ones..
the next few days i got some insomina and the dreaded brain zaps and brain sloshing effect....

then the flu like syptoms came along with the spacing out feeling (with the brainzaps and brain sloshing combo)that lasted for 4 days...

then around the 10 th day it hit me hardcore....really nausuas,vertigo,everything 2gether for 4 days....

some times during those days it goes away for a couple hrs then comes back...wierd?

now i am at day 16 and everything has subdued so much...i do feel a bit dazed and woozy sometimes but its soo much better than the earlier syptoms...

btw i am a bipolar and have taken the lithium combo with lexapro for 5 years and the lamictal combo with lexapro for less then a year....now thank god i am finally off the lexapro and will be relying soley on lamictal....



Lets do this....

[brandyelf]

It has been about 3.5 weeks since I took myself off of lexapro. I had been on 20mg for only about 3 months, and I tapered down and then off pretty quickly. I've had the brain zapping thing, the zaps in the extremeties, odd balance issues from time to time... all mild, nothing more than annoying.

My question is this: My blood sugar level is elevated. I'm on the Atkins' diet (trying to lose the weight I gained taking this freaking drug), so it shouldn't have been, but it was. My doctor ordered a 2 hour glucose tolerance test, and my baseline was 132. Could this be lexapro withdrawl that's causing it? I'm definitely still in withdrawl, because I still feel the other symptoms, so I just figured I'd ask if others have had this happen. I've always had normal readings before this, and there is no history in my family of diabetes.

Thanks...

[sarita]

mags,
i am convinced that my stomach was the cause of dizziness, wooozie feelings, not grounded,anxiety feeling etc...saw my GI of course, no clue. but all my symptoms went away when the Psychiatrist put me on lexipro. also, during my period, also stomach area, i'd get the anxiety thing, so who is this brilliant GI that told you and please tell me everything about how he figured it out and how lexipro would help. and what was the diagnoses?

tamra,
i had terrible vision problems before i started the lexipro then i was fine. i'm afraid when i get off it again it'll come back. went to the eye doctor. totally fine. sent me to a neurologists.

michael,
glad to hear your better. fatigue i heard is a big w/d. like heavy feeling.

antonio,
congrats. you made it through.

[tamra]

Hi Antonio! Glad to see you made it! Hi to everyone else also. Not much going on ... it's kind of odd... nothing to "complain" about! lol That's a switch. On the good days, I feel incredible because it's been so long since I felt "really good". I've gained an appreciation for feeling good thru all of this. It's nothing to take for granted.

Well, I had my day out of the house yesterday...got my hair done & did some shopping. I'm a "new" woman again. My little guy's birthday is on Monday (a big 3 yrs old). His party is tomorrow. I'm glad that I'm feeling quite a bit better. It's a cloudy rainy day. Relaxing but I'm looking around for things that need to be done.

That's it, I just wanted to stop in & say "HI".

Live every day to it's fullest!

[mandymcj]

Mags: Sounds like you should get a new doctor. He/she prescribed Lexapro for something it is not supposed to help with.

Gapske: I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you had lots of apathetic feelings on Lexapro that were similar to mine. If this is true, how long after getting off of Lex did it take you to start feeling again?

[Gapske]

Mags
Can tell me what you mean?
Thanks

quote:Originally posted by mandymcj

Mags: Sounds like you should get a new doctor. He/she prescribed Lexapro for something it is not supposed to help with.

Gapske: I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you had lots of apathetic feelings on Lexapro that were similar to mine. If this is true, how long after getting off of Lex did it take you to start feeling again?

[Mags]

Only have a minute so I'll be quick...I have been on Lexapro to help stop my brain from registering signals from my stomach. I have IBS and additionally, my doctor things I may have picked up a "cruise ship like" virus, making my symptoms worse. Not so sure about the virus thing but am about the IBS. The Lexapro basically helped me keep from having an "urgency" problem while I was at work. I had problems when I first went on it, but it did work-to a point...occasionally still had problems. But I decided to go off of it. That's about it! Still doing okay getting off of it so far though. Would like to know if anyone else is or has been on Lexapro for similar reasons. Thanks!
Mags

[tamra]

Hi! Spring is happening around here!

Brandy, There has to be some research out there somewhere...but, I do know that Lex has an effect on your metabolism. The side effects of w/d seemed to mimic a blood sugar problem for me at times...not thinking clearly, able to concentrate, gittery, etc. I just started eating small snacks between light meals for about a week. I've been off for 35 days..I would say that my experience was around week 3. I can't say if my "numbers" reflected anything, but I definitely felt not right.
The experts stop in every few days or so...hang in there! help is on the way....we'll post if we have any experiences or advice on anything.

Mandy, so glad your trip went ok.

It must be that some of us are feeling better! (since there aren't many recent posts....[:I])....either that, or the complaints have caught up with the prescibing frenzy....oooooppssss....did I say that?!?

Here's a question....does anyone know of someone who has taken a "prescription" weight loss medication? My doctor says that I qualify...but I'm doing my own research this time! I want to check to see if any of them are on the drugs.com forums & I'm looking for some personal stories. Thanks!

Live every day to it's fullest!

[sarita]

mags.
i have the same problem but not diagnosist about it. but i know for sure my stomach disorder (IBS) causes similar anxiety disorders.

quote:Originally posted by Mags

Only have a minute so I'll be quick...I have been on Lexapro to help stop my brain from registering signals from my stomach. I have IBS and additionally, my doctor things I may have picked up a "cruise ship like" virus, making my symptoms worse. Not so sure about the virus thing but am about the IBS. The Lexapro basically helped me keep from having an "urgency" problem while I was at work. I had problems when I first went on it, but it did work-to a point...occasionally still had problems. But I decided to go off of it. That's about it! Still doing okay getting off of it so far though. Would like to know if anyone else is or has been on Lexapro for similar reasons. Thanks!
Mags

[StacieJ.]

Hi everyone,
It's so funny how different our experiences on the same drug can be. I started taking Lexapro last February when my depression just kept getting worse. I am 5.8 and I weighed 230 lbs back then. I had gained a lot of weight because of depression. By July I weighed 164 pounds. I thought this was some kind of wonder drug, and everyone kept asking me how I was losing so much weight. The only side effects that I noticed were that I would wake up sometimes as early as 4 am and not be able to go back to sleep. I would usually leave the house by 4:30 or 5 am and go walking for about an hour and then come home and start my day. I felt a tremendous amount of energy all day and then by 8 pm or so I would be exhausted and asleep by 9. This was a change for me because before Lexapro I had insomnia and wouldn't be able to sleep until around 1 am or so. But by November these effects started to wear off, I didn't feel as active. I kind of had to force myself to exercise, and I started feeling my depression come back. By January I felt like I wasn't on any medication although I was taking 20mg a day. I dragged myself through the day and I started gaining weight back slowly but surely, which wasn't making me feel any better. I couldn't do anything about switching meds at this time because I go to a low income clinic and the psychiatrist has just up and left and they were having a hard time replacing her. By the beginning of March they got a new doc. and I told him the problems I was having with Lex. He switched me to Wellbutrin XL 300mg once a day. I had already been weaning myself off the Lexapro as it was doing me no good and there wasn't a doctor around. I was down to 10mg a day when I switched to the Wellbutrin. I have to say I noticed no side effects coming off the Lexipro. The first week on Wellbutrin, I didn't feel any difference, and then BAM! it kicked in. At least the side effects. It felt like a wave washing over me and suddenly I would feel all giddy and weightless and when I stand up I experience vertigo. I get nauseaous and jittery throughout the day. Its not like the increased energy I would feel on lexipro. This just makes me feel nervous and strange. I always feel like my jaw is clenched and at times I feel like my brain is going to pop out of my skull, its horrible. Since I have only been on for a little over three weeks, I am hoping that these side effects will calm down a little, otherwise I am going to go completely insane, lol! But on the up side, I have noticed that all my clothes are starting to feel loose, so I must be losing weight. I haven't weighed myself lately, but I'm guessing I've lost maybe 7 or 8 pounds. I'm sorry I have babbled on, but just felt like I needed to get it all out. Has anyone else felt a little nutty on Wellbutrin?

[antonio]

Hey there everyone it is day 20 for me....i can say everything is fine except for the lethargy throughout the day....its really annoying has anyone felt this?? i recently took a kidney liver test and found out that my GOT & GPT were low (15 & 21) i really wish this can pass by quickly because its feeling like the depression before i went on lexapro....is this just a phase or do i need to get back on (hope not)



Lets do this....

[tamra]

Antonio - Congrats! give it a little more time (I know, just what you don't want to hear!) You'll be feeling better by leaps and bounds now. Here's some good news for you.....you won't have the PMS downfall! lol

Live every day to it's fullest!

[Gapske]

Oops,
I meant Mandymcj, what did you mean?
I'm not sure what you meant by having apathetic feelings on Lexapro. If you explain more, I can reply.
Thanks

quote:Originally posted by mandymcj

Mags: Sounds like you should get a new doctor. He/she prescribed Lexapro for something it is not supposed to help with.

Gapske: I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you had lots of apathetic feelings on Lexapro that were similar to mine. If this is true, how long after getting off of Lex did it take you to start feeling again?