Getting off of an SSRI

[outontheweekend]

Hi guys, I've been wanting to get off of Lexapro for a long time now. I've been on it almost 5 years. I want to get off of it because I don't like the sexual side effects, the horrible hangovers from drinking alcohol, and I want to take a more natural approach to my GAD (generalized anxiety disorder.) I'm trying to figure out a good time to start tapering off. If I start tapering off now (as in within the next week or two) then I will be completely off by my spring break when I'm traveling to NYC- (I have horrible anticipatory travel anxiety.) Or I could wait and start to taper off after my trip...which would mean putting off something that I really want to get going with.

Any suggestions? Also, would anyone like to share their experience with tapering off of Lexapro? (I currently take 10mg and have for the entire time I've been on it)

Thank you!

[stevo1111]

I only took Lexapro for about 4 months at the 10mg dose. It didn't do good things for me and didn't really seem to be helping much - a holistic natural approach totally changed everything for me- so it was time to move on from it. Being young and having a vibrant social life and great friends means that I just can't keep myself from occasionally drinking, the Lexapro basically robbed be of being able to hang out with my friends and be a normal 20 something so, like you, I decided it wasn't right for me.

I tapered down to 5mg first for a few weeks then just cut to 0 because I had been on it for such a short time. I noticed a lot of mood swings but my anxiety didn't seem to increase at all. The physical symptoms were minimal if anything. It seems like physical symptoms move on after a relatively short time, a week or two, but your mood might swing for a while afterwords. It really wasn't half as bad as getting onto the Lexapro in the first place. In terms of swings I would just notice that for a few days I'd be sad for no reason and then I'd feel like my normal self. After a bit this goes away.

When I stopped taking it I really boosted my working out, water intake and cut the caffeine way down. I noticed that I was hyper sensitive to caffeine for the 1-2 weeks after stopping it but after that I was back to normal.

The two best suggestions: 1. work with your Dr. to taper off. Often at the end they may give you one or two doses of prozac (much longer half life) to take the edge off of the first 1-3 days. A slow taper always works best. 2. If you have big plans for the near future and you're feeling pretty good right now, I'd suggest just hanging out for a little bit then after your spring break come off of the Lexapro.

It seems like you're young also, so your body is still able to relearn pretty easily. I always operated at such a high tension level before, always pushing myself to the edge and living under huge self imposed stress. I totally retooled my life at 24 because I was burning myself out and my body was pushing back. Exercise and meditation have totally changed my life and being young really helps that. Also, I forced myself to bring the stress back into check.

Best of luck, have a fun spring break! NYC is spring is great. Such a fun city.

[outontheweekend]

Thank you so much for your reply, stevo!

Although Lexapro has done great things for my anxiety, being 25 and very social I feel like you were in the exact same boat as me with Lexapro. I'm definitely planning on taking care of my anxiety and stress through natural alternatives once I'm off of Lexapro. I already do yoga and exercise regularly, but I plan on practicing regular mediation techniques and seeing a naturopath to prescribe natural, anxiety reducing supplements and possibly dietary changes....oh, you also mentioned caffeine, I am definitely going to cut that way down as well! 

I really appreciate your suggestion on waiting until after spring break to start tapering off...my anxious, impulsive mind was telling me "get off this stuff ASAP!" but my rational mind was telling me to wait...and getting that advice has prompted me to wait. I think that it's the best idea. I won't be able to drink in NYC but oh well, there's lots of other stuff to do! ;)

Thanks again,

outontheweekend

[coeus]

I'm currently on 10mg Lexapro though it has only been close to a month for me. I plan to wean off Lexapro in the near future as I believe that I have met my therapeutic goals whilst on Lexapro.

Given that you have been on Lexapro for almost 5 years now, it would probably be best for you to cut down your dosage gradually and allow for each reduction transition to occur for at least two weeks allowing your body to adapt to the new changes. Like stevo suggested, best to speak to your GP to work together on how to prudently cut down your medication.

Meditation and exercise was a fantastic suggestion to combine in your regimen. Exercise can alleviate the symptoms that come with GAD and depression while meditation can help you deal with your cognitive functioning.

Hope this helps!

[DMB1972]

I want off the Ssri rollercoaster too, any sugestions?

[stevo1111]

The most important thing for me was concentrating on 1. being a good human and 2. concentrating on wellness rather than fixing a problem.

Western medicine is great, but is far too centered on just treating symptoms than getting to the route cause of a problem or PREVENTING problems to begin with. I didn't pay attention to my stress and anxiety and pushed myself to the edge with work, didn't eat well, drank too often and smoked. I wasn't well, how could I expect some pills to make me feel better when what I'm living like will inherently make me feel like poop!?

Second, once I started to be a good human, an animal that is, I began to feel better. What do animals do? They don't sit in a cubicle or behind the tv 15 hours a day, they move around and do physical work. Just because society has changed doesn't mean our body has.  I augmented my lifestyle with exercise, I run every day. If anything, you can't think about anxiety and panic while you're running because you're concentrating on breathing, the pain in your muscles and your next step. Second, it's only like 75 years ago that our food turned into an industry and subsequently got pumped full of crap and processed to the hills. Maybe we should eat things that more closely resemble food?

Just my 2 cents, but intuitively there has to be a link between the huge % of the population that is currently battling an anxiety disorder and the modern lifestyle.

[outontheweekend]

stevo,

That's a great way to look at it. I totally agree with everything you said about lifestyle, diet, etc. Diet, exercise are SO important when for everyone, especially those who battle with anxiety and/or depression. I am definitively  taking all of that into account with my anxiety in general and with getting off of lexapro.

This might sound silly (probably not because you all know anxiety well) but for the last few days I've been having a lot of anxiety and I think that it's the anticipation of having more anxiety while coming off of lexapro...ugh.

[outontheweekend]

PS. I've also decided to get off of lexapro sooner than expected. I'm postponing my trip to NYC and I am going to start the tapering process tomorrow morning.

[outontheweekend]

*bump* Update:

So I decided to go down from 10mg to 5mg 2 weekends ago. BAD idea. I had the WORST withdrawal day of my life. I had an awful migraine, which turned into consistent vomiting for about 6 hours straight. There was also blood in my vomit. I thought that I was going to have to go to the ER but my stomach finally calmed down and I was able to sleep on and off throughout the night, sipping soda water every time I woke up.
Please Please don't let this scare you about getting on or off of SSRI's because I have been on Lexapro for almost 5 years and I have a VERY sensitive system. However, I STRONGLY suggest a slow, gradual taper off of any SSRI.

I saw my psychiatrist today and he said that he has never had a patient with an experience like mine getting off of Lexapro. He decided to cross taper me with Prozac. So starting next week I will be starting 10 mg of Prozac along with my 10 mg of Lexapro, taking that for a month before I start to taper off the Lexapro while using Prozac as a "blanket."

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[mrmanic]

Hello ootw,
 I think you Dr. is a very wise man to give you prozac as an add-on, it has the longest half-life of all the SSRI meds. Hopefully that will make the taper all the more easier. I had a really hard time my self coming off lexapro after 3 years of use. Constant nausea, which was kind of good because I lost the unwanted 40 lbs I had gained while being on it, in a very short amount of time . *We are all different with reactions to starting, being on, and stopping meds*. I was in a bad place. I got switched to Remeron and have been on this for a little over 6 months now and am very stable, I hope to taper from this in another 6 months. We shall see if I'm physically and mentally prepared to do so. Hang in there, there is no need to rush here. Slow and steady is my mantra when starting or stopping meds. Please keep us posted on your progress, best wishes.

[outontheweekend]

Thanks mrmanic,

I agree with everything that you said. I also decided to taper up on the Prozac from 5mg to 10 mg to start out with instead of just going straight onto 10 for the month before I taper off lexapro, I'll probably do 2 weeks on 5 and if I have no side effects then 2 weeks on 10, then start my lexapro taper. Slow and steady is definitely the way!

Thanks again and good luck to you with your anxiety journey.