My stat counter shows me the Google searches that bring you here:
"lexapro withdrawal and stiff neck"
"lexapro withdrawal fever"
"how to withdraw from lexapro"
"lexapro head fuzzy"
"lexapro withdrawal headache relief"
"hypothyroid and heart fluttering"
"lexapro withdrawal symptoms"
It's all the same stuff I Googled. Scary stuff, isn't it?
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11 comments:
OMG OMG OMG Leetie, once again we're chemical sisters!!!
I've had so many of the same symptoms since I started taking neurontin. I had them before when I started/stopped taking antidepressants and antianxieties. I finally got off xanax after taking a year to do it; my psychologist told me to cut down r-e-a-l-l-y slowly, so I did.
Now, with the "new work" on this cough (probably "sensory neuropathic cough" or something similar), my doctor told me to start taking .25 mg of xanax twice a day. I was off it for maybe 6 weeks, felt fine. But I am so exhausted from coughing for the last 6.5 years that I'm willing to try just about anything.
The dr. feels that using xanax with neurotin will help to relax my whatever more and the two will work together better.
I am supposed to increase the neurontin by 100 mg a week (started at 100 10 days ago) until either the cough goes away, I start having side effects, or I read 1000 mg. You read my blog, you saw what starting 100 mg did to me. I'm afraid to increase. That horrible horrible day was only one day, I felt great the next, but it scares me to think of going through that again, especially every time I increase it.
I've been taking Effexor XR for at least 5 years. I know that I really do need an SSRI; without one, I can't stand myself. I'm so weepy and want to sleep even more than I do now. (I've always needed at least 10 hours of sleep a night, since I was a kid. Even on SSRIs I need that much. It isn't a problem, for me at least. I just don't function well on less, and I rarely get more than 6-8 hours a night.)
I hate going through the aggravation of reducing one SSRI and going off it before starting a new one and working up to the right dose. I don't want to feel nothing, and I've done well on Effexor. I can laugh, I don't cry as often, but I still feel things deeply. But I'm not sure that it's doing its job as well as it used to.
I have a friend who's taking Lexapro and loves it. I'm so glad that I found this blog so I don't make that mistake. I'd thought about it.
And OMG--I just realized that the biggest flake in our dept at school takes Lexapro--in addition to many pain drugs. Hmmmmm.
I'm not going to reread this to see if it makes sense. It probably doesn't. But I know you'll understand. I'll keep an eye on what's going on with you, and maybe we can help each other somehow!!!
Rita,
Lexapro and Effexor will do the same things to you when you withdraw.
I'd recommend trying a decrease in your Effexor dosage. Just for like a month. Just see. At a minimum, you'll feel doubly better when/if you go back up to your regular dosage. ;)
And THANK YOU for posting the FIRST! comment to this blog! ;)
Woot! *polishes fingernails on shirt*
Good idea. I'm taking 150 mg a day; I think that I still have some 75 mg. Maybe decreasing Efx while increasing neurontin will make a difference--or will I get the double whammy that way?
Are you planning to stay off anti-deps and -anxieties? I'm so afraid to try that. I'm a really miserable person when I'm off them. I mean miserable to myself and everyone around me. I hate it.
But my mind is gone. Gone. I'm afraid that it'll never come back. I can't remember books I read four years ago. I can't remember tv shows I saw last year. We've been watching 24 on dvd off and on since April and I can't remember what happened in the season we're watching, and forget what happened the first year. I mean, well, you know what I mean.
It really scares me!
I never want to take Lexapro again. Ever. And I won't. I'm quite surprised that I'm doing so well without it, emotionally. I thought I'd be a basket case again, but I'm not. I feel like I'm out of a shell, able to experience life again. Sounds trite, but it's true. I've been living under a glass jar for the past 4 years. I may still be depressed, but I have enough distractions right now that it's not a problem. And feeling like I do now is totally worth the lows that might come. Because the highs are that good.
You might want to ease-down slowly on the Efx rather than jumping to half a dose. But if you can manage it, you go girl! ;)
I think my mind is gone too. I'm forgetting alot of things. What's really scary is waking up in the middle of the night NOT KNOWING WHO OR WHERE THE FLUCK I AM. This has only happened a few times in my life before this, usually on those strange days where I took a nap late in the afternoon and woke up at like 6:30 pm all disoriented. Now it's happening more frequently and it's really scary.
Oh God, that's scary! Do you think that this stuff will EVER end? Will we ever get back the stuff we've forgotten? I used to remember every detail of most books and tv shows that I read and saw, movies too. Now Tom mentions something he said last week, or something that we heard on the radio, and damn, I don't remember anything about it.
The only thing that's of some "comfort" is that my sister, Betty, who doesn't take advil if she can help it, is going through a lot of the same mind things. She's never taken an antidepressant or antianxiety, didn't even have anesthesia when her kids were born. My sister Joan takes all kinds of mental meds and is worse than both of us. So I'm guessing that the meds really do make it a lot worse, but age is doing it to Betty and me too.
We're a lot older than you are!
You're a lot braver than I am. I still feel pretty much everything emotionally and I'm afraid to stop taking Efx. I'm cutting back, but at the same time, I'm increasing neurotin, so who knows WTF is going to happen to my mind. It's a crapshoot.
Stopped taking my pills about three weeks ago.. immidiately started getting brain shivers constantly.. thought maybe they would go away but they are only getting worse. I went to the doctor and all he did was give me a perscription for a different anti depressant when i asked for an alternative.. I don't want more fucking chemicals. This is driving me crazy.
Thank you so much for your blog. I have been on Lexapro for 3.5 years. A couple of months ago I decided "Enough!" and I started going from 10mg to 5mg for a few weeks. Nothing too serious. then 5 every other day, and in between I was lightheaded - like you said "lightheaded but not fainting." Lots of insomnia. And hot-cold-hot-cold with the change coming literally from one minute to the other. That is settling down some. A couple of weeks ago I started doing 1 day on (5mg), 2 days off. then since Sunday (it's now Friday night) I haven't had any. Probably should have gone down one more increment (to 2.5). Main issues: lightheaded, waking of 3-4 times a night. Sigh. Could be worse. Encouraged by your blog. Thanks!
Barb
The best way I know how to describe my withdrawal symptoms is I feel like I am pregnant! Lightheaded, dizzy, nauseous, even threw up a few times. Other than that, I feel great physically, motivated, happy, silly, I actually have emotions again. I have been on Lex for 6 years! This is day 4 with no pills at all, I went from 20 to 2.5 in about a month and a half. Hope this brain Zappy, dizzy, nauseated feeling subsides soon!
Been on Lexapro for about 10 years and only took 5mg for the past 5 years or so then cut back to 5mg every other day about a month ago then stopped all together 8 days ago. It is awful, the dizziness, nausea, and the horrid brain freezes I call them. It's like if I move my eyes too suddenly it feels like I'm gonna pass out and throw up at the same time. Today is better, but still getting these attacks!!! How long does this last, if I make it through this I really don't want to go back on this med again. Upside is I think I can actually feel things again!!!!!!!
Hi! I'm having the same problem with my eyes. And I am having problems remembering things, and heart palpitations. When did you get better? How long to get the Lexapro out of your system?
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