Want to Stop Taking Lexapro...any Advice or Warnings?? HELP

Hi T., Happy New Year and a new begining for you. I work with a Company that has great nutritional supplements that may help you. I also have a friend who is an alternative Doctor who used these supplements to help people like you that I can arrange for you to talk to. I will be very happy to answer any question you may have about the supplements.

Blessings!

A.

I know you don't want to be on the meds FOREVER (and I know when you're in the MIDDLE of things it seems like you will be) but right now is probably NOT the best time to get off of them...at least not until the crisis is over and you can get yourself situation after your divorce.

Counseling is FAB. And I applaud you for exercising as a release, but no matter how amicable your split may be, it can tilt a world off it's axis and I would hate for you not to have ALL the tools you need to get through it.

I vote give yourself 6 months. If you find that your coping is good and that your life is going ok and your stress outlets are still available, then I'd consider weening.

And DO NOT EVER quit them cold turkey. And you SHOULD go to your DR about getting of of them BUT, I find that if you take one pill every day try skipping one pill a week for the first 2 weeks, take them every other day...for the next 2 weeks then take them every 2 days...and so on til your not taking them anymore. Its a more gradual reduction in meds and won't send your brain in a tailspin.

Sending good thoughts your way. Happy new year to you and yours.

Ps. I HATED Lexapro. It made me feel spacey and got off of it after 3 months...if this is the case with you, talk to your Dr about maybe changing your meds for a while...see if those don't work out better...good luck.

Please talk to your Dr.... the withdrawels are difficult even slowly coming off the drug. Headaches , anxious, irritablity, fuzzy thinking.(staying focused) Been there done that. I do think all these drugs are addicting if they werent then why is it so hard to withdraw on them????
Ask your Dr.
All the best in your new life.. Happy New Yr

whatever you decide to do, don't try to go cold turkey off the medication. Odds are that you need to wean off to minimize those withdrawal side effects. Get the advice of your doctor (or pharmacist at least) for how to do this safely.

T.,

I took Lexapro and came off it with no problems. I think you should call your doctor and ask how to wean yourself off. It really needs to be a process. Never just quit all of a sudden. I think if I were in your situation I would wait a bit...you really are going through a tough time. I don't think that means you should never come off the medicine, just wait while you are going through the divorce and all. Anyway, no matter what you decide to do good luck and keep taking care of yourself.

T.,
If you went on it because you had cancer, but didn't need it before then why not try a trial off? You CAN always go back on, can't you?

Talk to your doctor about going off in the slowest way possible. Don't try to do it yourself. In this way you can avoid the scary things you have heard. I'm not a doctor but if you go off quickly I think that's when problems can occur. So take time and go off as slow as you can, reducing just a bit each week. Of course let your doctor guide you there.

Then, if you decide you feel better on lexapro, you can just increase again.

See what your doctor says about that.

Hi T.,
Please call your doctor to get his advice. I take antidepressants too, and I've always been told to gradually wean off of them. Your doctor can tell you exactly how to do this. I wish you the very best. Happy New Year!

I agree whole-heartedly with what the previous posters have said--especially Tamela T. I think you should give yourself time to adjust to being divorced--get in a good happy rhythm with your new life--then give weaning yourself off a shot, with your doctor's guidance. DO NOT QUIT COLD TURKEY! A few weeks ago, I missed a weeks worth of Lexapro because I was being lazy and didn't refill my daily pill dispenser. I morphed into a near psycho lady!! It was not pretty. I won't be doing that again.

I have taken myself off Lexapro gradually in the past with great success.

Good luck to you!!

I was only on it for 4-5 months, decided that I wanted to seek more natural ways to handle my stress, and my doc said to wean in a week. Skip one pill, then 2, etc. I did this, and still went through major withdrawls and became the devil for about a week. I thought I would lose my job. I don't think I was weaned slowly enough.
I agree with the other posters that you should maybe wait until certain things in your life settle down.
God Bless you and keep you healthy!

I took it for a couple of years and then stopped cold turkey when I thought I didn't need it anymore with no side effects. HOWEVER, I've heard that that is not the norm. I would definitely talk to your doctor about weaning off of it and truly evaluate whether your current situation means you should wait a little while.

Hey T.,

If it's easy to do, it's easy not to do! Stay in the gym and continue counseling! But let me ask you, are you depressed or dissatisfied? Everyone has problems! Handle them and move on! Do me a favor and call this number: ###-###-#### and enter 827476# when prompted for the code. It's a 20 minute mini seminar on problems. I don't know your situation, but I expect it's painful. Focus on you and your girls for a while. Make yourself happy and those in your life will be happy! It starts with you. As far as the Lexapro, you're setting yourself up for a world of problems if you continue to take the drug! You stated that you wished you would have never started taking it, so back off. Get rid of the garbage in your life and focus on what you want for a change! This is NOT being selfish! You'll never make everyone happy so start with you! It's the start that stops most people! Look around! Everyone seems to be unhappy and overweight! Stay away from these people and become the influence! Take care of you and your precious little girls! You're probably better off without the old fart! Live life! You only get one chance! Send me an email if you want to get to the next level!
Stay healthy!
M. from McKinney.
____@____.com! =D

When I realized the Cymbalta I was taking was making me gain weight, I called my doctor and asked him how to get off. I couldn't break the dose in half because it was a capsule. He told me to go very slowly---a total of 6 weeks, as I remember. The first week I skipped one dose, the second week, 2 doses, the third week I skipped 3 doses, and on until I was down to one dose a week. Then I stopped and I had no side effects. I don't know if this will work with Lexapro. THAT'S what you have to discuss with your doctor. Perhaps he/she will prescribe you a 1/2 dose to take for a while. I agree with one respondent, however, that you might be wise to tackle this after you get through your divorce. Doing both might be similar to trying to stop drinking AND stop smoking all at once! Another thing I did while I was weaning myself off was take mega doses of Omega 3---fish oil. Studies have shown Omega 3 does have an affect on people who suffer from depression. I took 3000 mgs a.m. and 3000mgs p.m. I still take about 3000mgs a day. Just don't cold turkey! It will wig you out!

Please wait until after your divorce to get off the medication & do it with a Dr's help. After you eventually get off then get yourself on some really good multivitamins that are geared toward your age. There are alternatives to antidepressants such as Sam-E. Do lots of research to find out about them. Also know that when you do eventually go off of the antidepressants that you might have a little bit of a withdrawal period (possibly 2 to 3 weeks) where it might feel like you are pms-ing. I used antidepressants to help me get through my divorce & have been off of them for 2 years now. I feel fine with the help of daily vitamins.

I hope this helps!

Good luck & God Bless!

T.,

I will speak for those who live with those with depression. My hubby of 12 years has chronic depression. We have tried to get him off the meds, but it has been a disaster. In the last 10 years, he has tried to go off 3 times and I almost left him each time. This last one around our anniversary in Oct. produced a situation that I was concerned for my safety for the first time ever!
It is no fun to have a chronic condition. I am insulin resistent from poly cystic ovary syndrome, infertile because of that and have a thyroid condition. I will take thyroid meds and metaformin for the rest of my life. You are dealing with a MEDICAL condition of chemical imbalance in your brain that the meds normalize.
I don't know all the details of your situation, but my hubby eventually spirals down to a suicidal situation and there have been months that I pray that I don't come home to find him dead. Now that he is back on the meds...a new medication...this is the man I married! If you don't like the Lexapro there are many different meds out there that can help you live a normal life. You have TWO very good reasons to stay on the meds, especially during a period of major upheaval - divorce.
I strongly encourage you to talk to your DR. Don't go off until you do.

Me personally, I would stay on it until you are completely through with your divorce.
~A.

I too am a long-term Lexapro user. I strongly urge you not to discontinue using Lexapro without talking to your doctor first. The best person to consult about discontinuing this decision would be your psychiatrist (or whoever the prescribing physician is). Abruptly discontinuing the medication WILL cause side effects which can be mitigated by titrating the dose down slowly. I feel withdrawl side effects if I have missed my Lexapro for only 48 hours. As someone who has dealt with mental health issues for years, my personal experience has taught me not to make big changes to medication when I have other major life changes/stressful times going on. Our bodies become accustomed to dealing with life and stress with the assistance of whatever medicines we take. Going through stressful times AND discontinuing medication sets one up for more difficulty than the situation would have already demanded. Message me privately if you have other questions or just if you need to talk to someone who understands.