Tapering down on Lexapro and relapse in symptoms?

Hi, KMH!
It's called the rebound syndrome and many people experience it when trying to discontinue certain types of medications, especially psychotropic drugs.
Antidepressants don't "cure" depression/anxiety and so some people do need to stay on them permanently. There are two types of depression/anxiety... situational caused by a specific event(s) and generally only lasting for a relatively short period of time... and clinical which can potentially last a lifetime.
You might want to discuss this with your doctor and get her/his advice as to whether you should continue taking the medication.
Just for the record, I've been on medications for nearly 50 years and still haven't been able to stop them without a relapse. Since I don't mind taking my meds it's just a matter of doing it daily.
Best regards and I hope you're feeling better quickly!,
Wildcat

Hi Krista,

I was on Lexapro for about 2.5 years and just finished tapering off 10mg over 6 months. Yes, I did feel the same relapse of symptoms. This was my second time tapering off an antidepressant and after the first experience (complete relapse of depression/anxiety which I thought was due to changes in my life, but I now see that it was due to tapering off too quickly) and a ton of research, I learned that the best way to alleviate those symptoms is to taper as slow as possible. I think you coming down 5mg each time may have been too much, too quickly. Even with my very slow taper (I literally cut my pills into tiny pieces and even took some of the powder bits/dust at the end. Tried to do 7.5, 5, 2.5mg, etc and even tried to extend the hours in between to 30 hours rather than 24) I felt like I was suffering, but I got through it. I think it is worth it to go even slower than what you did (3-4 months each taper seems like a good idea... maybe just less of a drop).

Ultimately I realized nothing is too slow because many doctors think a couple months will suffice, but your brain has been accustomed to certain amount for so long, it really takes time to adjust, and everyone is different. I also know I have some vitamin deficiencies which can contribute to anxiety/depression so made sure I was taking care of that as I was tapering.

Sasha