Stress Center Peer Support

Hi,

Has anyone had any trouble weaning themselves off Lexapro? I slowly weaned myself off Lexapro over a five month period, which ended about two months ago. I experienced nausea during the weaning phase, which my psychiatrist assured me is quite normal, but no emotional problems. About one month after the weaning was complete, I started having severe panic attacks again. This past month has been horrible. I've been having crying spells and scary, obsessive thoughts in which I question EVERY single decision I make, and I question the nature of my existence and if I really exist at all. Just writing that last sentence, I can see how ridiculous these thoughts are. But they seem so real and overpowering at times. To put a positive spin on this, I'm going throught the program a second time, and I do feel that I am learning to "float" with my feelings and not be so scared of being scared. But if anyone has any experiences with weaning themselves off Lexapro that they'd care to share, I would be eternally grateful. Good luck with the program, everyone!

Scott

Hello Scott:
I was on Lexapro for depression and after about 4 months I did a two month weaning process. I had horrible rebound depression. I don't remember the scarey thoughts, but I'm sure I had those at the time as well. I had side effects from the medication, lethargy, loss of appetite, and just a general sense of apathy. I wasn't feeling depressed or much of anything for that matter. I made a choice then to get off medication and deal with the depression and anxiety in therapy. The rebound depression lasted a couple of months but it worked itself out. I think you are in a great place and doing the program for a second time can only help. Stick with it...we are all in this together.

Lynn

This is just my opinion, for what it is worth. I think 2 months or so off a medication like Lexapro, the feelings are yours, not the med withdrawal. I am a firm believer that many times that we think that we are "withdrawing" it is actually just a return of the sayme symptoms we started the med for in the first place and maybe were not ready to discontinue. If you had said you had been on Benzos for years, I'd say maybe protracted withdrawal, but not Lexapro. Just my opinion. Hope it gets better.

Originally posted by Want2FeelGoodAgain:
This is just my opinion, for what it is worth. I think 2 months or so off a medication like Lexapro, the feelings are yours, not the med withdrawal. I am a firm believer that many times that we think that we are "withdrawing" it is actually just a return of the sayme symptoms we started the med for in the first place and maybe were not ready to discontinue. If you had said you had been on Benzos for years, I'd say maybe protracted withdrawal, but not Lexapro. Just my opinion. Hope it gets better.

I have to agree, these are your old symptoms creeping back. The meds controlled them, but now that you are off of them they are returning. Often these are caused by a chemical imbalance and many of us need meds to control this.

When you are 'on' the medication, it is best to use that time to complete the course and your CBT training. Take corrective action to change your thought processes and then you can go off the meds, very slowly!
If you don't make the CBT changes, chances are good that when you go off the meds you may go right back to where you were before.
The meds are best used as a stop-gap measure to give you temporary relief while you work on fixing the problem. And yes, your problem is very fixable. 
Since you are already off the meds, just continue with the course and work very diligently at following through. Do the homework. You will be ok. Hang in there.
God Bless and Peace be with you.

Hey guys!

Thanks so much for the replies! You've given me much to think about. In fact, yesterday I started a very small dose of Lorazepam three times per day, and the difference in my mood and concentration has been tremendous! Also, realizing that I have not spent enough time learning the techniques in the program, I have decided to give the one-on-one coaching a try. In fact, my first session is in a half hour. I'll let you know how it goes!

Scott