[tavee]

HEY SARITA AND SKYWALK!!


HOW ARE U GUYS?

WELL, I STARTED 4.5 ML TODAY. SO WE WILL SEE WHAT THIS BRINGS IN A WEEK.
I ALSO NOTICED THAT IM MORE SENSITIVE OF THINGS AND I CRY IN A DROP OF A HAT. ARE U GUYS LIKE THAT TOO?

FOR THOSE OF U WHO HAVE KIDS. THIS WILL MAKE U LAUGH.

IF U HAVE LITTLE ONES U ALL HAVE HEARD OF THE WIGGLES RIGHT?
IF U DONT THEY ARE A BUNCH OF AUSTRALIAN GUYS THAT HAVE A SHOW FOR KIDS. THEY DANCE AND SING. THEY ALSO HAVE A SITE.

WELL, THE ONE GUY IS LEAVING THE SHOW DUE TO A HEALTH CONDITION.HE IS BEING REPLACED BY ANOTHER GUY NAMED SAM.
I STARTED CRYING WHILE I WAS READING IT TODAY ON MY 3YR OLD'S SITE.THATS HOW MESSED UP THIS DRUG HAS MADE US. I DIDNT HAVE EMOTIONS WHILE ON THEM AND NOW IM CRYING LIKE A BABY!!

I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE!!I KNOW U GUYS ARE LAUGHING AT ME!!LOL

ANYHOO, I HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH U GUYS.

TAVEE

[db3]

Tavee..HAAAAAA!!!

Looks like we both had a good cry yeserday.my cry was because a young teacher is being deployed to Iraq and your cry is because a WIGGLE is leaving the show because of health problems!!

DOnt worry..no one is laughing at u..(heheheh..just kiddin)

XO
DB

[Christinaml]

Hi Everyone,
I am so glad to have found this website. I stopped taking 10mg Lexapro on Friday because I found out I am pregnant. I am very happy about this but have been experiencing withdrawal symptoms that I can't stand. The brain zaps, the dizziness, the no sleep. It's driving me crazy. Please tell me that they will go away. I need to be healthy for my baby and I. This is my first pregnancy and I didn't want to continue taking the drugs while I was pregant. Any help and advice you can give will be appreciated. I wish all of you good luck in your ride to get off Lexapro. Thanks for any advice. Christinaml[?]

[Skywalk]

Tavee and Db3: I don't cry often, never have, so even with my hormones messed up I have only cried a little bit during this. But, I have a similar story. About three weeks ago my fiance and I were at a restaurant and there was a college football game on and one of the players got really hurt and the people in the stands were very concerned. When the medical team took him off the field the player held up his arm with a thumbs up to let people know he would be OK...and I had tears flowing! I don't even like or care about football!! I'm just so fragile like you guys.

[rubiek]

I have just discovered this site a few days ago and am so thankful about it. I too am in the middle of fighting with the withdrawal symptoms and dizziness is just killing! I have been tapering down the Lexapro intake for almost 1 1/2 month--from 10mg a day to 5mg, then to 2.5mg a day--and stopped taking the med a week ago. Prior to this, I tried to go "cold turkey" but doing so for 2 days was max as on the third day, dizziness knocked me out, which forced me to go back to the med. Until know, going back to the med stabilized me but this time, taking 1/8 of 10mg tablet on the 4th/5th day made the withdrawal symptoms much worse![xx(] So, I have decided to stop taking it no matter what. I have been in bed for almost 10 days by now and yesterday was the worst, which was the day after taking 1+mg of the med. Ugh.[xx(][xx(][xx(] That was so bad that I seriously doubted if I could even walk straight on the Christmas day... yes, I can totally relate to your experience, Christinaml. And today, finally I feel much better, thank goodness. It doesn't mean that I am free from dizziness and nausea, but I feel that I have enough energy to get out of the room and walk around (may be run an errand, too, if I can). If I feel good enough, I am planning to do some meditation and stretching later. Reading posts at this forum is really encouraging to me. Thank you everyone for taking time to share your experiences.

[db3]

too funny sky!! We have to laugh at all this..

[sarita]

rubik,
if you have the time to rest like it looks like you do, then i think you'll make it through, but remember, sometimes, unless you're a man, it takes alot longer to heal if you go cold turkey.

chris,
congrats on the baby!! how many weeks were you before you quit the lexipro? what did the doctor say about that?
how r u feeling now? i think the baby will help you recover. if not, ask the doctor if you can take omega 3's but i doubt it since it has fish in it. can u take a multiple vitamin? DO NOT TAKE LEXIPRO WHILE PREGNANT!!!!!! there's not enough research on it to risk it. you can make it through for your baby.

[clairebear]

I've been on Lexapro 10mg for about 2 years now. Anytime I try to get off of it, or miss a dose, it's awful. In response to the person who was able to get of Prozac cold turkey, that drug has a much longer half-life, meaning it stays in your system much longer. Lexapro does not, which is why missing one days dose can have such huge effects. Because I'm doing really well now, my psychiatrist is going to try to get me off of the Lexapro in 6 months. He didn't really go into the particulars, but I do know that for some drugs, like Paxil, they have liquid versions to wean people off of it. It seems that SSRIs are extremely addictive.

[chris83]

Anybody?

quote:Originally posted by chris83


CLA is a supplement created by www.theroadback.org that supposedly helps you drop the weight created specially by anti-depressants. i haven't started it yet cause i wanted to wait until i finished the taper which today WILL BE MY LAST DAY!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm, I went to The Road Back, very encouraging - but expensive!!! And congrats on the last day!!!!!
Did anyone here try this program word for word? Or try the Omega 3s plus CLA in the doses they recommend? PLEASE SHARE EXERIENCE with us!!

And, do you think there is a diffference b't the supplements on thst site and cheaper ones if they are pure, and how many mg of Omega 3 is he suggesting we take 3 in am and 3 at noon - and don't we need to take with food?

I appreciate this site. I lost my fiance during this process, he was not as understanding or supportive as it sounds like some of your partners have been. So I am on this determined plan to take good care of myself - not get into a deep depression - starting with getting OFF Lexaro - getting high Chol and BP under order - and trying to lose this 30 lbs that is killing my 5 ft 3 frame and self esteem. I have been going to gym, and noticed less cravings to eat so much so often. But I would sure love any feedback on these suplements as far as weight loss, before I send money on them

Thanks in advance!

Chris

Chris

[sarita]

chris,
i'm on the roadback program and it worked for me.

i haven't started the cla yet. but i think i will tomorrow. just didn't want to have any side effects or ajusting while i was on an airplane. but i'm so fat it's starting to piss me off now. i'm done w/the pill and yet i'm still gaining weight. this had better stop.


how r u doing?

[tavee]

hey guys, how's everyone doing?
i cant wait till the holidays are over. im so sick of stressing over shopping.
im on day 4 of 4.5 ml. so far so good.im thinking it might start on day7 RIGHT SARITA????I
i cant wait till im done.

SARITA-HOW ARE U FEELING? U ARE COMPLETELY OFF NOW. ANY NEW WITHDRAWALS?

SKYWALK-HOW ARE THINGS WITH U? DO U FEEL STRESSED WITH THE HOLIDAY?

HELP ME- WHERE HAVE U BEEN. CALL ME IF U CAN OR WRITE. IM WORRIED ABOUT U.

I WOULD SAY THAT I DONT HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE LIKE I USED TO, BUT IM TRYING FOR MY LITTLE BOY. IT SEEMS FOR HIM I HAVE MORE PATIENCE THAN I DO WITH ADULTS!! LOL

ANYHOO, I WISH ALL OF U WHO ARE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS A MERRY XMAS AND ANYONE ELSE HAPPY HANUKKAH, KWANZA, ETC...


TAKE CARE U GUYS!!

TAVEE

[sarita]

tavee,
i'm so proud of you!! you're sticking to the slow taper and you see!? it's working. little withdrawals and you can still function. although it sounds like your husband is a bit of a jerk (sorry!!!) and isn't helping the situation.
you can taper when you feel stable.

it's been 3 days off of lexipro and i'm doing very well. i had a migraine yesterday nothing to do w/the lexipro. i suffer from migraines and that will be my next venture to the doctor to see if i should go on meds although i don't want to do it!!! other than that, i feel like a beached whale. and the weight gain hasn't stopped. i'm going to start the CLA today and when i get back from miami, i will start to exercise and drop these 40 pounds i gained on lexipro.

happy a great holiday everyone!!

[Skywalk]

Hi Guys,

Well...my personality has come back. I'm really starting to feel like myself and most of the hopeless feeling has been gone for several days now. But I say this all with caution. I don't want to jinx it. I mean, I still have stomach issues, dreams and depersonalization, but it seems better and I don't worry about it much. My fiance noted that I've been off the couch in the evenings now. I even feel like going to the movies or whatever, but with the holidays it's so busy and since I'm not 100% I don't need the added stress. I did all my x-mas shopping at Walgreens this year! I can't take the mall right now. Anyway, I think I see the light and hope this pattern continues. Glad you all are doing well, too. I still expect some more weeks of recovery, but I'm happy to be able to funtion some and glad I'm not feeling depressed or super lightheaded.

It's been almost three months since I stopped 10mg Lexapro cold turkey after a six week trial in which the drug only made things worse.

[sarita]

skywalk,
i'm really happy for you!!! it does take some time quitting cold but slow but surely you'll come back to life.

i've been suffering from headaches the past 3 days. has anyone else suffered from headahes? i'm worrying my headaches are returning. i used to suffer from them but when i went on lexipro they went away. i'm hope it's just the withdrawal. i can't start this whole process over again going to the doctors, mri's of my brain. i have to stay calm.

[felly]

Hey guys. Well it's almost 2 weeks since i took my last lexapro pill (10mg) and I tell you what I feel as bloated as anything and have completely lost my appetite (yet still gaining weight??). I had so little idea only a few pills could do this to me. I only took 7 and then had 2 weeks off and then took 2. I am getting terrible hot flushes too. Does anyone know if it would help with the bloating and hot flushes if I went to the oral contraceptive pill?

Any tips would be really REALLY appreciated. I am going crazy!!

[felly]

oh. the way, I was wondering if it would be safe for me to take aspirin now (2 weeks after last pill)? If not, how long would I need to wait?

[Skywalk]

Sarita,

I'm sorry about the headaches. That's what I hate about this Lexapro withdrawal...when you feel sick you don't know if it's the withdrawals or something else. I had diahhrea the other day and I didn't know if I ate something bad or had withdrawals. Hang in there and try to wait it out. It will probably pass.

Felly,
Welcome and I'm sorry you're going through this. It doesn't take much Lexapro to screw things up. From all I've read I think Tylenol is the safest drug you can take during this. The others compete with the liver enzyme needed to process the Lexapro.

Well...happy holidays! Not the easiest year, I know. I'm trying to not put any pressure on myself. I had a little relapse yesterday in my mood and felt down again, but I'm still better than I was. I think I'm just sad that I don't feel right during x-mas. I also slept for 11 hours last night and had non-stop vivid dreaming. Took a while to shake it all off after I woke.

[chris83]

ITCHING LIKE CRAZYYYYYYY??

So it is Christmas Eve and I am with family, dinner, then church and i have a crazy bad cold (withdrwel syptom?) and then wham, my palms of my hands beging to itch - them my feet - I am taking off shoes under the table of a nice restaturant for a scratch with the end of a fork! My interior of my throat, scalp - itch itch. It apears to come and go.

ANYONE ITCH on LEX or WELBURTIN or CLA for Omega 3's or anything??????

Happy Holidays,
christy [8)]

Chris

[tavee]

merry xmas eveyone!!!

sarita- sorry about ure headaches. hang in there!!
u have already gone thru the worst of things and this should be nothing for u girl!! i know it sucks, but it will get better!!
its probably a little withdrawal. are u taking any tylenol? i mean i know it doesnt help to take it every day, but also try not to stress cuz that doesnt help. do ure yoga AND meditation when u start feeling it come on.
do u drink coffee? some people say that coffee helps when u have migraines.
my mom suffers from migraines for years.

SKYWALK GIRLFRIEND HOW ARE YA? IT SEEMS LIKE THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER SLOWLY. HANG IN THERE. THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY. WE ARE DISCONNECTED TEMPORARILY!!!
BABY STEPS, BABY STEPS. IF U FEEL U JUST DONT want to do ANYTHING, DONT PUSH IT. IT SEEMS LIKE U HAVE GOTTEN BETTER HUH?
U ARE PROBABLY PASSED THE FIRST STAGE AND A LITTLE FROM THE SECOND STAGE. U ARE ALMOST THERE!! BY THE SUMMER WE WILL ALL BE 100%. I GUARANTEE IT!!!


ENJOY THE DAY GUYS!!!

TAVEE

[sarita]

chris,
i have had the itching and creeeppy crawly feeling like a freebaser. it's the withdrawals for sure.

how r u skywalk? feeling better
tavee? how r u??

it's christmas, and they lost my luggage last night upon arrival with all my presents in it for my family. so, this sucks. i didn't have a headache tonight ...that's good....and i had baggage insurance so i shopped $400 worth of free stuff..so...that was good..... i'm still a little shaky from lack of sleep last night due to a broken air-conditioner in miami. and suffering from allegies from my mom's cats. so far, not a great trip....

[rubiek]

Sarita--Thank you for your support and best wishes to you on your recovery. I'm sorry about your stressful trip to Miami, and I hope that you are feeling better.

Yes, I am lucky to be able to take a rest whenever I feel like I need one right now during the winter break. Very fortunately, my withdrawal symptoms are much more manageable by now. I am no longer staying in bed, can walk around, eat, and run a small errand though I still need to lie down once in a while to ease dizziness & "brain zaps." My appetite is coming back and I'm finally starting to eat like myself two years ago. I am learning that patience is the key in recovery (yes, better to take "baby steps"!) and trying not to push myself.

Skywalk--Congratulations! As others say, take it easy

auntybiotic--I took Lexapro for much shorter period(7 months) and in amount(10mg/day) compared to your daughter, but hope that this information could be a bit of help. In the middle of tapering, I too had anxiety issues, mood swings, and had terrible feeling of deep dark depression coming back from out of nowhere. Now I see that there is a strong link between stress, PMS, and my depression.

I was in a terrible shape mentally during the final few weeks of this past fall semester (taking 2.5mg/day). Even I had some suicidal thoughts coming back during that period (well--I didn't share this with my doc [], but deep down in my heart, I knew that I won't do a stupid thing), which made me feel freaked out and wonder if tapering is good for me really. I had a similarly devastating end of the semester experience in the spring right before start taking Lexapro, and some of the symptoms I experienced during the tapering were actually worse than what I experienced prior to taking meds. Now I see how tricky the SSRIs are.

Anxiety and depression go hand in hand, and it is critical for me to take things easy, and to take away as many sources of stress as possible out of my life, though it's easier said than done. I now stay away certain classmates and friends of mine who give me meaningless stresses, and say "no" to much more things for the sake of putting my health first. I no longer attend all the parties and am very selective of how and when I use my precious limited energy (prioritize, prioritize, prioritize!). Yes, nobody likes depression but I strongly sense that having depression has helped me to see who is the real friend for me or not--who is truly caring about me or not. I truly wish the very best for your daughter.

Best wishes to you all!

[db3]

Hi..
Well, I have some news! Looks like i am finally having some withrawal symptoms..

I have teeny tiny dizzy spells..not major ones where they stop me in my tracks..but little ones..
wat exactlty is a zap???

I am also getting extremely hot..my face feels feverish..
the worst feeling of all is that I feel like I can fight the world!! I am staying calm, but I feel like yelling at everyone I see..

and i thought i wass going to be the first person to ever NOT have ithdraal sysmptoms from this drug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

db

[lizaowen81]

Hi, I am a 25 year old mother of two very small children. I have a two year old daughter and a 4 month old son. about three months ago I started abusing lortab 10 mg/650 about 10 to 15 a day.I quit cold turkey last Teusday and went through three days of physical hell. I am now totally fine physically, but on Sunday started having severe depression. On Teusday I contacted my ob/gyn and told him everything. He put me on lexapro starting today, but after browsing this board I'm petrified to take it. I am experiencing severe depression and I know it is because I screwed up my serotonin levels with the lortabs, but I don't want to go through the hell everyone on here is going through. I specifically asked my ob yesterday if I will have any problems whatsoever coming off these meds and he assured me no. Why would he misinform me so bad? Please advise.

thanks

[rubiek]

(Source: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/lexapro_wcp.htm)

Discontinuation of Treatment with LEXAPRO

During marketing of Lexapro and other SSRIs and SNRIs (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors), there have been spontaneous reports of adverse events occurring upon discontinuation of these drugs, particularly when abrupt, including the following: dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania. While these events are generally self-limiting, there have been reports of serious discontinuation symptoms.

Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment with LEXAPRO. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).

[ends quote]

db--Hang in there. In regards to "brain zap," I meant electric shock like sensations I feel in the head (please see above). And I have noticed that many people here use that term to describe such sensation.

lizaowen81--I understand your anxiety over taking Lexapro (or any antidepressants), and I knew nothing about what I have to go through after stop taking it. My doc (psychiatrist) hardly mentioned about what's gonna happen then and to me, asking questions on such topic never crossed my mind! (I just thought that SSRIs are the same as other any medical pills--when you stop taking it, you just stop taking it, and there would be no major consequences) However, it is definitely a good thing that you have started taking medication because it sounds like that's what you need now, and I am glad that you took initiative to ask for help from your obgyn doc. You definitely did the right thing for you. And, taking Lexapro definitely has helped me SO MUCH to regain my life, even a better life. It must be helpful to acknowledge that your obgyn is not a specialist of clinical depression like psychiatrists, so he must not know much about it. Also, the withdrawal symptoms vary from person to person. Give this, I do not think that your obgym misinformed you gravely, because even many psychiatrists seem not to know much about Lexapro withdrawal symptoms, esp. as Lexapro is one of the newly produced SSRIs in the market. As a doc, I'm sure that your obgyn did everything for you with good intentions, and I hope that he could refer you to a psychiatrist soon. Once you see a psychiatrist, s/he could check if Lexapro is really a good fit for you or not (so as checking the intake amount), and will help you go through the tapering process that is just right for you to lessen the withdrawal symptoms to the max. Don't worry much now. You are doing the right thing for you. Relax and hang in there!

P.S. A friend of mine who used to work for a psychiatrist told me that Lexapro is one of the milder antidepressants, often prescribed to children and youth.

[db3]

is this normal???

If im looking down ot at something..lets say the computer, and i look up at something, it takes a lil while for my eyes to focuse..its as if my eyes arent focusing right away ..its like a dizziness in my eyes!

normal or not??

[big eyed fish]

Hi, I was so glad to find this board. You wouldn't even believe it. My story - I am a 33 y.o. female who began taking prozac at 17 y.o. I took 20mg and then upped to 40 mg daily over the years. My doctors never had interest in ever taking me off of meds, they always just said I was depressed and was better off on an anti-depressant. I was seeking help for depression initially, and I was feeling a bit better, so I just stayed on it. I think I was afraid that I would turn into this crazy depressed monster if I wasn't on it. When I was around 26 and married, I had unexplained infertility. Doctors still had no problem with the antidepressants and even suggested staying on them because fertility treatments may trigger a depressive episode. So I stayed on them. I went through years of treatments and finally had a daughter via IVF. I was on 40 mg throughout the pregnancy and my doctors strongly suggested I do so. But after the delivery I experienced post partum. Just overwhelming sadness and confusion. I was never in a mindset to ever hurt my daughter or my self. I continued prozac but at that point it wasn't helping. When she was 9 weeks old I felt better. Fast forward a little while, I have since had 2 more ivf's and I miscarried both pregnancies (still on prozac).
That and the sudden unexpected of my dad just had me in a bad place. Not a major depressive episode, but just feeling like **** and really wanting to be the best person I could be. I am also a severe migraine sufferer. I thought maybe trying a new antidepressant may help lessen my very frequent migraines that I was taking the maximum dosage of imitrex for. So I got a referral for a psychiatrist who was essentially just a drug pusher. First she switched me from prozac to Cymbalta and even when I was concerned about the negative side effects, she assured me that only I needed to take more and prescribed me 120 mg a day. I could not deal with the side effects and told her that I would like to wean off. She was very disapproving and gave me written instructions on how to wean from that to 20 mg/day of Lexapro. When I complained of anxiety on lexapro, she prescribed me xanax. And seriously I had never felt physically worse in my life. I developed all sorts of bizarre symptoms and finally one morning at 5 am I had a migraine and went to the 24 hour pharmacy to pick up another imitrex prescription. The overnight pharmacist sat me down and told me about serotonin syndrome and that there is a potential lethal interaction with imitrex and lexapro. I just was stunned. And then he "off the record" talked to me very seriously about the fact that doctors are in the business of giving drugs and honestly some are not ethical about it. It is a business, they make money. It was probably the best advice I have ever had from a complete stranger in my life. So since then I have weaned myself completely off the lexapro AND imitrex. It has been 2 weeks since any Lexapro and I still have sleep disturbances, mind zaps (I totally thought that people would think I am crazy for saying that)and my husband swears that I am irritable. And I have terrible muscle twinges when I am trying to fall asleep. But my migraines are lessening as well! The negative effects are slowly getting better and I feel the haze is finally lifting. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do. I think visiting a naturopath may be my next step. I do find great effects from sam-e and omega-3's. And I do take benadryl for allergies 1x a day. Whew. I know that was long but it felt good to tell some people who know.
BTW- does anyone know how long the effects could last at most? Thanks for listening

big eyed fish

[sarita]

i've been off lexipro for about 6 days now. last night, i had my first ruff night which i beleive is an panic attack in the middle of the night. i used to have those BEFORE i went on the drug and i'm alitttle worried it's coming back. i started sweating terribly, cold and hot, chills, and alittle dizzy.

i've never had this before while on lexipro or while tapering.

what should i do?

[Skywalk]

Sarita,

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems. I know you tapered for months, but I really believe Lexapro stays in the system a long time. I've never had a n SSRI stay in my system this long; Lexapro is powerful stuff. I hate that you can't tell if the anxiety/panic is your own or caused by the Lexapro. I felt OK enough to go to a festival of lights last night but I had bad anxiety part of the time I think because my depersonalization was there. Made me so mad. Things started to look unreal to me with all the people around.

Are you able to workout? I wish I felt well enough to do so because I really think that is the key to getting rid of a lot of anxiety. Take it easy, Sarita...you just got off Lexapro all together, so perhaps you're having some withdrawals still.

Big Eyed Fish,

It's really sad what doctors are doing to us. They tell us there is no other way to deal with these problems and so they pile pills on us that are only trial and error. I've taken SSRI's with some success until Lexapro. It made my anxiety worse and I'm 3 months off of it and still feel awful from withdrawal symptoms. I feel out-of-body, have major stomach cramping and diahhrea every morning and slight headaches at night. I don't trust what these drugs to our bodies and it's really scary that doctors have no clue what these drugs can do. I found a great naturopath doctor and she is helping me get through this. I recommend the same for you. It's the best thing I ever did! There are other ways to deal with depression/anxiety. I never believed that until this horrible trial with Lexapro. Now I've found out about Omega-3's, exercise benefits, diet and changing our ways of thinking to combat anxiety/depression by Lucinda Bassett.

Tavee,

How are you? I'm better because my personality is back and I feel motivated about life again, but I'm having so many stomach issues. I also still have depersonalizion and I won't be happy until that goes away; it causes anxiety when I go out. I've been reading old posts from Redbled around page 70 and his journey sounds similar to mine...a lot of stomach problems in the morning when he was at 3-4 months. Just like me. He also said bright, artificial lights were hard to deal with. He got better at the 5 month mark.

Let me know how you are doing.

[TaraD]

Hi to everyone,

Sarita, I'm sorry to hear that you are now having panic attacks, I know what you are going thru. Panic attacks are no fun at all. Mine come on strong, feel like I'm having a heart attack. I keep telling myself that everything is OK and it WILL go away. Breathing helps a lot!! From the stomach, not the chest. They say most people that suffer from panic attacks breath from the chest and that makes it worst. It's like a deep and restful breath you take in and out. I hope all is well with you. How long has it been since you stopped taking lexapro completely?

Just a word of advice, I have a wonderful friend that is very knowledgeable of, well seems like everything. When she found out that I quit lexapro cold turkey, she put me on a detox. 15 days of REPECHAGE Seaweed and Magnesium nutritional supplements. They are 15 vials of liquid you can put into any king of juice or just take alone. My choice was OJ, by them self was awful. You can get them at any Salon/Spa that carries REPECHAGE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS. Also I started taking 3000 mg of omega 3, and a multi-vitamin each day. And of course a lot of water. I think I was drinking about 70-75 oz of h2o a day for the 15 days. I have to say that the withdrawal symptoms have completely subsided. I get dizzy once in awhile, but it's not anything that bad. I haven't had any brain zaps either, which is very surprising. Today is, I believe day 17 or 18, I lost track which might be a good thing, that I quit cold turkey from 20 mg of lexapro. But like they say, everyone is different. This is just a little advice for everyone. This is what has worked for me so far.

After I read what big eyed fish had to say, it is amazing that other people haven't taking things into there own hands. Like Pharmacist's. It seems that they are the only ones that are on our side. My mother, who is in her early 60's, went to a Dr. for a cold (after the company she had worked for, for 30 years closed and she was in between jobs) when the Dr. found out that she was "not working at the time" they offered her some meds for help. (She just told me this last week or so) Of course she said absolutely not. Especially with her watching me. She knew I wasn't myself. Zombie like. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE!!!!!

[jaycee001]

Hi....I too have been on Lexapro for approx 6mos. & recently had to stop abruptly due to some insurance issues & not being able to afford the steep cost of the prescription w/o insurance. I was taking 20mg/day & ran out 2 weeks ago. THE WITHDRAWL SYMPTONS ARE NEAR INTOLERABLE FOR ME! The constant shocking sensations, buzzing/dizziness (tingling sensation, not in a good way) & extreme headaches are enough to drive me mad, not to mention the intense nausea & anxiety along with feelings of depression again. The "mind zaps" (shocking sensations) seem to get worse each day instead of getting better...these last 2 days being the worst. Please, if anyone knows of anything that can help w/o necessarily having to take the drug again, maybe something natural, PLEASE let me know what it is. I have a 6 yr. old daughter & this has truly prevented me from taking care of her & enjoying her like I want to, especially during this time of year. Please, any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.