coming off Lexapro

[warrior mama]

Anyone have experience of this. I will have been taking it for 6 months soon and I was told to only take it for 6-9 months.
I take 10mg daily.

[friendlymamma]

I have been on Lexapro 10mg for 6 months, too. I just went back to my doctor this week, and he told me that most people need to take it for 1 year, otherwise, symptoms will likely return. So I'll be on it 6 more months, at which time I will go back to him and he will give me a plan for weaning. From what I've heard, weaning is a delicate process, and it must be done very slowly so your brain's chemicals can adjust. I will admit, before I went back to my doctor, I tried to wean myself. And I had one bad, bad day that made me realize I couldn't do it by myself. You shouldn't either. Good luck.

[Fyrestorm]

Weaning off of most SSRIs is pretty icky!!

I was on several over a total of 4 years, It took me three months to totally wean and the withdrawal was still pretty intense. (I was on a higher dosage though)

I started having what I describe as 'lightening flashes' in my head..it wasn't painful as much as weird and annoying. I think they went on thoughout the three month weaning period and for 2-3 months after I was off all meds.

If you don't take them long enough, the symptoms will most likely return. You need to be on them long enough for the seratonin (sp?) inhibitors to reboot themselves.

HTH

[mom0810]

I just weaned off of zoloft, and it wasn't as bad as everyone says. I was really afraid because of things I had read online. But you have to realize that those are only the "worst case" scenarios, which is why people feel compelled to put them online.

I had headaches. Really bad ones. Not every day, though, and they were manageable with Tylenol.

I had some dizziness. I had some of the "brain zaps". But they were nothing horrible. Just a little "blip" in the head.

I had two nights where I did not sleep at all. No sleep. Nada. That was hard, especially when I have two boys under 3.

I had a TINY bit of anxiety but was able to control it with behaviors that I learned in CBT. I have been in therapy and on meds for over a year.

I think that the minimum you should stay on it would be 9 months. This will give you a better chance of having a successful treatment. If you go off too soon, you might find yourself back on meds again, and this time for longer, since the research shows that after a recurrence, you need the meds for 3-5 years to be successful long term.

I would rather do 3 more months on meds than risk going on them for 3 more years, but that's just my .02.

Best wishes,

[diamond lil]

I am in the process of weaning off Lexapro right now. I was on 10mg for 2 years. Now that I am pregnant, I want to wean completely, but I'm not sure if I will succeed

I started cutting my pills in half about 2 weeks ago. So far, I have been doing very well on 5 mg. Last week, I was on vacation, so I decided to experiment and see what it would be like to skip a day. Bad idea. I became completely irrational, crying all day, and full of rage. I started taking the 5 mg the next day and was fine. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it. The last time I tried to wean (before pregnancy) I became suicidal.

I may have to resign myself to being on 5 mg for the rest of this pregnancy. I am also looking into starting Bach's Rescue Remedy, which I tried a few years ago, but I noticed that my body would get "used" to it, and it would not work as well as those first few times.

[warrior mama]

thanks for the replies.
I think i will stay on it for another 3 months now. We have been thinking about ttc and that's why I was hoping to be off it at 6 months....

[mom0810]

Why would you need to go off it to TTC? I think it's pretty safe. If you are concerned, you can switch to zoloft which is very safe in pregnancy and nursing. Talk to your OB.

[AbbottsMomma]

Is it safe to say I will be ok stopping the use of Cymbalta after two weeks of use? First week I took 30mg a night, second week I took 60mg as prescribed..... side effects are not working for me (I was prescribed Cymbalta by my neurologist to control my Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).

I noticed last night was the first night I didn't take a pill and today I have been extremely irritable and restless, but no pain. Think I'm in the clear?

[mom0810]

You should still wean down. If you are already noticing effects after one day, I would not venture to go cold turkey. But that's just me. You could try it.

[AbbottsMomma]

Well what I did was after about a week of taking 60mg, I did one night of 30mg, and then the next two nights nothing.... to counter effect the irritability last night I took a Klonopin (which I was prescribed during my tour in Iraq for situational anxiety) and that worked wonders. I have never had problems with Klonopin, I wonder if maybe I can take it to deal with the withdrawals of Cymbalta.

Wow, what a mess, lol. I don't even like medications, if I didn't have a heart condition I wouldn't have to do any of it!

[mom0810]

How long ago did you do this? I would go at LEAST a week down each dose. When I went off zoloft, I was at 50 mg, so I went to 25 mg for 3 weeks, 12.5 for 3 weeks, and then stopped. I think you should go slower, but if you are okay dealing with the physical stuff that might come up, then okay.

You are really supposed to go off with a doctor's help. I would not mess around with ssri's. Call your doctor and ask what you should do.

[AbbottsMomma]

I took 30mg from April 2-8.... then I took 60mg from April 9-14..... then I took 30mg on April 15th and haven't taken one since. I took one Klonopin (not sure of the mg) the night of the 17th to deal with some restlessness and irritability. I also took an Axert for a migraine on the 15th and 16th but not yesterday or today. (Neurologist also diagnosed me with migraines on top of the POTS so these are not a new thing)

So far today I feel just fine, a little tired but no headache or restlessness.

I know I probably should have waited for a doctor but they couldn't see me until the 22nd and I was afraid to take anymore for fear of getting in too deep.....

Wonderful DH helped me with the baby and dinner last night, and also baby and breakfast this morning. He's off until Monday so he will help me through the weekend if things get rough. I go to the doctor on Tuesday.