I've been having severe withdrawal symptoms after my doctor made me ween off of Lexapro recently. These symptoms are severe restless leg syndrome all throughout the day, being jittery, uneasiness, and being overall restless. I'm also sleeping a lot less, waking up during the night, and I've been smoking a lot more, and I mean a lot. Has anyone else experienced these types of withdrawal symptoms from Lexapro?
Lexapro withdrawal symptoms?
Question posted by sfsyed on 10 Aug 2006
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
116 Answers Page 7
drugbuster
16 May 2007
Load up on Benadryl nighttime. It'll help you sleep.
Dramamine or Gravol will ease the dizziness.
Drink lots of water and exercise.
Sunglassses... some people get extremely sensitive to lights during withdrawals.
The brain zaps are inconvenient... and harmless.
Make sure you have someone you can call and talk to. It makes life a whole lot easier.
Yes, you'll live thru it. The worst time is for about 2 weeks after the last pill. But if you've tapered down okay, you'll survive that.
numb
15 May 2007
Day 4 of 10mg and so far so good.
numb
12 May 2007
I just found this message board and am relieved to see what others have gone through.
I've been on Lexapro 20mg for almost a year (began with about 2 months of 10mg) for depression. I guess I'm pretty numb/detached, but overall still sad. I don't feel like it's doing me any good, and maybe more harm than good (lack of concentration, mild weight gain), and so I want to get off.
Whenever I've forgotten to take a dose 2 days in a row, I get that vertigo swimming feeling in my head. That's what reminds me to take my pill! It's very disorienting.
One time when I had trouble getting my subscription re-filled, I went off Lexapro abruptly for a week. It was HELL. I was deep in some nether-world walking around like a zombie hearing voices and feeling desperate. I dread that feeling again, which is one reason I haven't quit before now. But it's time quit!!
I'm a little scared of these brain zaps I keep hearing about...
Today I cut my 20mg pill in half-- to take 10 mg. I'm thinking of trying to take 10mg/day and see how I feel. If I have trouble, I may alternate a day here and there with the 20mg, but I want to get this over with! We'll see...
drugbuster
7 May 2007
Thank you shell68.
I spent a lot of time on Paxil message boards taking notes of the withdrawal symptoms and little tricks they used to stay alive.
With Paxil and I bet with ALL the a/ds, the last 10 mgs are by far the hardest to stop. If you write to me, I'll give you a list of Paxil withdrawal boards that have forums similar to this one.
The people at www.truehope.com have tried with little success to have people use EmpowerPlus during withdrawal. But it certainly helps once you're off the drug.
drugbuster
20 April 2007
Tips from my Paxil friends...
The worst part of withdrawals will last about 3 weeks. For the following 3 weeks you will begin to feel a whole lot better... and the extra weight should start to come off.
Benadryl Nighttime will help you sleep
Dramamine or Gravol will help with the dizziness
The brain zaps are harmless and will disappear.
Exercise as much as you can
Eat fish or take Omega 3
Tim
mulleme
30 March 2007
Hello - I just found this website today. I took Lexapro 30mg for 18 mos. I just got switched to Cymbalta 3 weeks ago. When I would miss a does of Lex I noticed the same eyes and brain did not match that I saw mentioned. However, taking both meds for a week and then going straight to Cymbalta was great for me. No ill effects. I am also diabetic -fyi. I hope this helps some of you out there. I also took Effexor for a couple of years. I do still also take Xanax and Klonopin. I also go to weekly talk therapy. For me, the combo approach to my depression has been very helpful. Find a great therapist and doctor and let them help you get better! Good luck!
brucemw
7 Nov 2006
Hi All,
I have been on a low dose of lexapro (10mg/day) for over a year. It was prescribed, along with talk therapy, for depression. The combination of these things worked very well to alleviate depression. I quit lexapro last week, and have been experiencing many of the symptoms described: attacks of vertigo, nausea, my eyes hurting, general body pains, insomnia, hot and cold sweats, and other vague flu-like symptoms.
Strange to say, the best way to alleviate these symptoms is working out! Going out running is not what I feel like doing while feeling this sick--- but while running and afterwards, my head clears, vertigo and nausea go away, and stay away for the rest of the day. The symptoms resurface the next day, unless I work out again.
I think that exercise naturally raises the levels of serotonin in the body, which is what lexapro does chemically. I recommend daily exercise to anyone weaning themselves off lexapro--it will help with withdrawal symptoms. My doctor also points out that exercise is the best anti-depressant around: all of the benefits, and none of the side-effects.
Lisadrugfree
1 Nov 2006
:(I am off lexapro for 2 weeks now and withdrawl is still going strong. I weaned myself, but this did not seem to make a difference. I am smoking like crazy too, not sleeping, brain zaps, heart THUMPS, the whole nine yards. Just HOLD ON, that is what I keep telling myself. Just get through it, deal with the smoking the sleep-less-ness later. Do what you need to do for NOW. Just hang on!
JLShockley
31 Oct 2006
Hello all! I have browsed some of the back pages... seems to be a common difficulty. I would appreciate any suggestions as my family GP seems to have run out of tests for my symptoms, and maybe I am still experiencing withdrawal.
I have been on Celebrex 20 mg and then Lexapro 10 mg for seven years. Plus Xanax .5 mg twice a day and a beta blocker for irregular stress related heartbeat. My cardiologist placed me on the meds, and I never felt better in my life... also "cured" me of my fibromyalgia symptoms due to the good restorative sleep I was getting.
Gradually gained from 130 to 160 pounds, lost my libido, was aorgasmic..so I made a quality of life decision to stop my Lexapro. Menopause occured during these years, also, and symptoms of vaginal atrophy did not help with my sexlife. I have been unable to take fosamax or others for my bones, so my GP and I decided to go with a low estrogen patch... worked wonders!
On June 16, 2006 I took my last bit of Lexapro. No symptoms of withdrawel evident. On July 4, 2006 I began symptoms of what would be proven to be (good grief..at my age) Mononucleosis. Here began my metallic mouth. The mono abated, but my metallic mouth and then mouth, feet and hand parathesias remain.
Today is October 30, 2006 and I am still taking Xanax at .5 twice a day. I feel the need to take Xanax more frequently... so I am going to drop the dose and gradually get off it.
That will be hard enough... but...
Am I still getting withdrawal symptoms from Lexapro? Could Mono have complicated something here? Do withdrawal symptoms sometimes delay that long before manifesting themselves?
On the bright side... my libido is back... and I am down to 145 pounds by doing NOTHING different! I know you know that my cardiologists kept telling me I had to exercise more and eat less and made me feel so guilty all those years the weight kept creeping on no matter what I did... and I am a chicken farmer who eats light in her middle age!
I know too that anxiety can cause my symptoms, but these are some which I have never had in all my stress filled years. Why now?
Love all your hearts! And good luck with your own troubles. I appreciate any advice or comfort you may be able to give me.
hugs all around,
Jeanne
Gabriel2006
28 Oct 2006
uh, I was given this drug by my doctor for my recently developed panic attacks I had had actually only 2 and the 1st one scared the * outta me *thought I was having a heart attack* after having all my heart issues checked out they found nothing wrong, but 3 weeks later I managed to throw myself into my second attack in which I was able to control after taking a loprozam I was given in the emergency room the 1st time I had a P-attack, so I did'nt go all numb and lock up like the 1st time and actually stayed home . The next day my doctor gave me lexapro *4 weeks worth* I am on day 2 of 10 mg and while reading another feedback website , I actually made myself have 2-3 more attacks the 1st day on it , but I was able to stand up and breath correctly and tell myself that I'll be fine (this really sux not having this condition for my 29 yrs here then outta nowhere it shows up) actually returned back to normal in about 2- 3 min and I think the lexapro had something to do with it.
last night I was awakened by that possible brain zap sensation but I dismissed it as a dream perhaps since it only occured once. I never been on meds before so I'm still wondering if this is a good idea??? it does seem to help my anxiety but I'm am only on day 2 of 10 mg. I'm thinking of going 2 weeks on 10 mg then tapering very slowly till I can quit. I don't like the idea of taking a pill to feel normal.
MichalRose
26 Oct 2006
Hi everyone:
I weened off of lexapro nearly a month ago. I have gone off SSRI's before, and I'm familiar with the brain zaps and mood swings. This time though I am having alot of body pain. It's what I imagine fibromyalgia feels like. My legs really hurt, and I have pin points of pain moving around my body, everywhere all the time! Of course my doctor said that he's never heard of this, but i have found they really don't know alot!
Has anyone else experienced the body pain?
Thanks!!
psalm91
20 Oct 2006
Yeppers ... thanks for the input (glad to here the libido thing's working for ya ... though I doubt it was one of my mom's main concerns ... hey ya never know with these spunky seniors)!
Quick update from her ... evidently she went back on lex (taking half dosage (5mg/day)and since hasn't had any problem hearing "the voices". Said she feels fine and sleeps great. Yet, she says she wants to get off completely.
This would seem to be a no-win situation, yet there's something in my beliefs that tells me that this is not something she needs to battle alone and that God will help her thru this as she gets off lex 100%. I'm going to pray and fast on her behalf and seek God's wisdom on how best to handle.
yeppers
20 Oct 2006
I just wanted to chime in and say that, although I have yet to hear voices, I definitely have the "brain zings" that others have mentioned. I started taking Lexapro about 2 years ago, at 10mgs/day. I stopped cold turkey a few months in after I started to feel less depressed and anxious -- that was a big mistake. I found myself at a railroad tracks, considering suicide. Yikes!
The doctor put me back on Lexapro, scolded me soundly, and increased my dosage. So, after that, I started taking 20mgs/day, and continued doing so until about a month ago.
My reason for stopping this time was financial: I started a new job and had new insurance but the new insurance wasn't applicable to the Lex b/c it was a script from a previous doctor ... long story short, although I was wiling to foot the bill for one month of treatment without insurance, when it came to the second month, I wasn't so willing. This time, although I was forced to go cold turkey again, I was aware of the dangers of doing so, and I'm happy to say that I have not felt at all suicidal.
Other good things from quitting Lexapro: my libido is back (in FULL FORCE); my belly looks normal again (I gained at least 30 pounds on this drug ... I've already lost about 5 of those); and I can focus for long periods of time. My new doctor tells me that one of the main side effects of Lexapro is that it can make people scatter-brained. Wish I'd known that before ... no wonder I was having such trouble at work!!
Anyway, the worst part of this time getting off of this drug is the zings I experience ... like electric currents going from ear to ear. And they're becoming more frequent. Fun.
I wish I'd done more research before taking this drug--then again, when I started it seemed like there wasn't nearly as much information on the web about Lex as there is now. Those of you who are considering starting Lexapro, please consider the side effects as well as the difficulty with withdrawl first.
psalm91
19 Oct 2006
403lady ... thanks for the feedback and support. God bless you and I pray for your boyfriend that this week God move in his life mightily for a quick recovery.
I did check with my mother's doc and you were right ... docs seem clueless to this issue.
I'm going to go the way of "gradual" in terms of time and amount in lessening degrees - seems that is what may work best.
My question that remains to any former lex users IS ...
HAS ANYONE experienced "HEARING VOICES" when they stopped taking their lex meds?
403lady
19 Oct 2006
To Psalm 91:
I am very sorry to hear what happened to your mother. The withdrawls from Lex are terrible. My boyfriend got off Lex cold turkey during the first week of June after taking it for 9 months. By the 18th, he was in a different world where only him and his problems existed. From what I have witnessed dealing with him and from what I have read, the only things that seem to help the withdrawls are to wean yourself off of Lex slowly and just let time take its course.
I know this is easier said than done, but don't take anything your mom says personally. My boyfriend used to be the kindest, most gentile man that I have ever met. Lex turned him into a complete monster. He yells, is completely impatient, wants to be alone all of the time, and complains about everything. I know its not him, its the drugs talking. Please, just remember that and keep loving her. It will be hard to do at times.
Since your mom has Alz. history in her family, it wouldn't be a bad idea if she went to the Doc. for a checkup just to make sure there isn't more than one problem going on here. You can ask the Doc about Lex withdrawl, but most Docs don't know much about it. I think the drug companies are very hush-hush about SSRI side effects and don't educate the Docs about how to get patients off this stuff.
My boyfriend took some herbal antidepressants after he stopped taking Lex, but all they would do was take the edge off of his panic attacks. They were very expensive and didn't do much of anything. He also took vitamin C and did liver flushes with red beets and spinach (don't ask). All this did was give him a stomach ache and constipate him horribly.
I wish you and your mom the best of luck. I'll watch the site from time to time and let me know if you need some moral support.
Related topics
Further information
- Lexapro uses and safety info
- Lexapro prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Lexapro (detailed)
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