About Slowly Starting Lexapro

Slowly Starting Lexapro

Slowly Starting Lexapro in Q&A

Is it possible that Lexapro could make me sad? After reviewing my journals from the past 3 years, I noticed that after starting Lexapro- my self-esteem and will to live slowly started to slip away. I'm now too self conscious to go inside of a gas station to get a pack of cigarettes.

Thomas H replied: "Get on another medication or work on your coping skills and say no to docs and their pens!"

Sandeep R replied: "it sure is possible, medications have a lot of unpleasant side-effects. I currently take 10mg of Lexapro myself and it works great for anxiety."

Waiata replied: "Yes, I think we have to be careful about the side effects of these medications that we are taking. Mine gives me memory loss and lack of concentration and my job requires high attention to detail so Im in trouble at work through taking medication that my workplace doesnt know about."

bulldogbeautiful28 replied: "The medicine could be an issue, sounds like talking with a therapist may be better for you than medicine, but do not stop taking the lexapro on your own. Always discuss stopping meds like lexapro with your doctor to avoid even more harmful side affects."

butterfly replied: "no i honestle think its yoru mind your realizing your depressed and are finally doing something about it the more you think about your depression can upset you more and make you more depressed i strongly recommend not to stop it it helped me iw as like that in the beg i took it for 5 months and CANT ENJOY LIFE ANY BETTER!!!!!! but remeber you cant just depend on med YOU have to help your self and be more positive and grab life in the ass AND YOU CONTROL IT AND KICK DEPRESSION AWAY YOU WILL BE SO MUCH LIGHTER ONCE YOU DO GIRL GOODLUCK AND GOD BLESS!"

brain interactive construct replied: "Yes drugs have nasty side effects. Nothing is worse for you. Give up all drugs including smoking the very addictive nicotine. Then you have a chance to be happy. If you do not have enough money, you could take drugs, like alcohol or crack, to feel better and many do. But that does not cure it. The cure is to make more money. If you are depressed, the cure is not to take a drug, like Prozac. The cure is to be happier. If you have panic or anxiety, which everyone feels at one time or another, the cure is not to take drugs. The cure is to feel more tranquility and peace of mind. See site below for more on this. Kevin Trudeau says in his best selling book, Natural Cures They Do Not Want You to Know About, "All illnesses and diseases are caused by the same things; (1) too many toxins in the body; (2) nutritionally deficiencies; (3) electromagnetic chaos exposure; (4) mental and/or emotional distress." "The most effective way to cure and prevent disease is by getting the toxins out." "One very powerful cleanse is, of course, fasting." "Drugs only suppress symptoms, and they cause disease because they are toxic." In More Natural Cures Revealed, Kevin Trudeau says "The facts are clear, drugs, both prescription and non-prescription, do not make you healthier, they make you sicker. Drug companies are not interested in your health. Drug companies only want you to buy and use more drugs. If you want to cure yourself of any disease you have and remain healthy, you must eliminate all non-prescription and prescription drugs." Kevin Trudeau says in Natural Cures, "In the Natural Cures book I talk about the fact that the sun does not cause skin cancer. The sun is needed for life. If you do not spend time in the sun you will be sick. The sun is vital for health, longevity and to be disease free....Without sunlight you develop diseases including depression, lack of energy, poor sleep, poor digestion, weight gain, arthritis, constipation, bad breath, body odor, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, ADD, stress, headaches, susceptibility to colds, flus and viral infections, PMS, male erectile dysfunction, loss of sexual desire in women, infertility, anxiety and more." Leo Galland, MD, director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine in NYC, says that exposure of the unblocked eye to sunlight causes the pineal gland in the brain to make less melatonin. "This hormone, which may cause symptoms of depression, is produced at increased levels in the dark." The National Mental Health Association reports that when the days are shorter and darker, the production of melatonin increases. "

? replied: "FIRST THING: If your feeling suicidal, call your psychiatrist emergency number. No go? talk to family and friends or check yourself into a hospital. It might be that the dosing is inadequate, or that the drug might not work for you at all. You should be seeing a psychiatrist every three months (once stable) while taking these medications so he/she can evaluate your mental health and medication."

Can you stop taking Lexapro after 5 days? I started taking Lexapro 5 days ago. After such a short period of time do you need to come off of it slowly or can I just stop taking it?

Kelly replied: "You can probably just stop. By why do you want to? The bad thing about anti-depressants is they make you worse before they make you better. If you're feeling worse, that's a sign they are working. Weird, huh? If that's what's going on, I suggest you try really hard to stick it out for a month. By then you should go thru the worse part and on to the better part. If you're having lots of icky side effects, those usually go away or tame down after a week or so. The ones like nausea that is, because your body gets used to it."

Betty M replied: "Side effects vary from person to person. The most important fact is never go off any medication without your doctors consent or at the very least, informing them."

Regina (SOC) replied: "Stopping after five days should pose no problem. It is when you have taken it several weeks and months that it must be withdrawn slowly. However, if you need Lexapro for anxiety you ought not stop it. This medication takes several weeks to kick into your system to where it will help you. I have taken this medication for about five years, and it has helped me live a normal life. Before that I was a huge basket case of anxiety and panic attacks. Blessings to you."

Pico replied: "Like the first answer, you can probably just stop. After 5 days of a low dose, I highly doubt there is enough in your system to feel any real withdrawal symptoms. Just be sure to mention this to your doctor if you want a 'real' answer. If you're considering stopping because it's not working, you really haven't been on it long enough to see any results. It can take weeks to begin to feel any positive results from these kinds of meds."

mnvikes replied: "if youre stopping because you dont think its working just an fyi it takes 4-6 weeks to get the full effect. and if cost is the problem its pretty much the same thing as citalopram which shouldnt run you more than $12 or so per month max"

Republican Girl replied: "you can definitely stop taking it cold turkey. I suggest giving it a try though. It made me much worse for a month and then one morning i woke up and realized the benefit it had given me. My panic attacks were gone. If you're quitting because of the side effects, they will get better with time. I thank Lexapro for giving me my life back!"

baby4kids replied: "you should be able to just stop taking it."

Best way to slowly ween off of 10mg Lexapro? I'm currently taking 10mg of Lexapro, once per day. My doctor tried to ween me off of it in a 1 week period of time, which turned out horrible. I had all the common side effects of withdrawl starting at day 4, and going into the second week life was terrible. I had to re-start taking the pill, and I want to get off of it, as it was my doctors reccomendation. However, I don't wish to speak to my doctor about a weening off of Lexapro, because she believes that it's non addictive and that 1 week is plenty of time. Can you suggest a better "weening schedule" that would cut down on withdrawl symptoms? Please don't suggest changing, or speaking to a doctor.

Menthoids replied: "You are correct, this drug needs very slow weening in a large number of people. As each person seems different, you need to do it the way that suits you best, but give it a month or maybe even two. Some people have success by starting with a tab every second day for a week or two, then 1/2 a tab on each second dose for another week , then 1/2 tab every second day etc Others seem to have good succcess with 1/2 every day and slowly dropping a day here and there until med ceases altogether. You need someone to rely on while you do this to keep an eye on your psychological state (simply because you are ceasing an antidepressant) however no harm will come however you feel best slowly ceasing, simply because you are doing it your way."

Has anyone successfully weaned themself off of antidepressants? If so, how did you do it? I have been taking Lexapro for over 4 years now, and I have not had any bouts of depression in 3 years. My doctor told me that I could slowly start decreasing my dose (I currently take 10mg daily), and then taper off gradually. After reading several questions and answers on here, I am hesitant to try.

jenniferkay18 replied: "if it helps dont go off of it. your depression could come back then you will have to suffer while you start all over agaian, unless your depression was put on by a situation and not chemically in your brain."

Colt & Tegan replied: "Most people who take them do stop taking them and don't need them anymore. As your doctor says, decrease your dose. Don't just stop taking it completely. This isn't really because stopping the meds will cause depression. It's because you may still be depressed and you may not know it because the meds are removing the symptoms. If you ease off and you are still depressed you will notice the symptoms of depression returning but you will still be on some meds so it won't be any worse than you need to experience for you to realise that you're depressed. You then just bring the dose back up and continue on with life. If you're not still depressed you'll lower your dose, you'll not be depressed, and you'll continue on with life."

julianna replied: "i have neva took any"

rallman@sbcglobal.net replied: "Do what your doctor tells you, thats why you pay him the big bucks"

Shawny replied: "I stopped all mine in November/07. At first I was feeling great but now not so good. I'm slipping back and now it's too late to go back on them. I don't have a doctor that will get involved in my mental health issues. That sucks.. Just be careful and go slow, and report any odd changes in behavior and thoughts.. Good Luck"

ummm... replied: "liek others said..if you think its helping it may be scary to go off of it...but all the docs i have talked to always talked abotu anti depressants as a temporary thing to get you over the hump. So going off of them may set you back a month or two in tehrapy but the key is to stick with the therapy. You will feel more which will be weird and probably cry abotu everyhting haha (no lie). but you feel so much better in about 2 months. basicall just go to every other day or skip every third day and then gradually stop taking it. its worht it...esp down the line."

Barbara B replied: "I've been off them for 3 months (not very long) after being on different medications since '94..I'm at the point it's not helping anymore..I'm completely off them..whether it's a good thing or not since I lost 30 lbs (which I didn't need to lose) Please follow the advice of your doctor tho..if you been on them for over 4 years now..your body is immune to them..it wouldn't be a good idea to stop cold turkey..because you may suffer from withdrawals..I wish you the best!"

Has anyone experienced severe alcohol cravings while on Lexapro? I have never had problems with alcohol until I got on Lexapro, then all of a sudden I craved it all the time and started drinking large amounts almost every day. Never put two and two together until I got off it and found my alcohol cravings slowly subsiding. Now I have no problem with it as before. I have anxiety, though, and it's coming back - don't want to get back on SSRI's if they cause drinking problems. Anyone else experience this or know why it may have happened? Help! I was taking it for GAD and occasional panic attacks, which it had helped greatly. Have never been depressed nor do I have bad mood swings - just worry a lot. After starting it, I started drinking almost every day because cravings were so severe (never had any alcohol abuse problem before this). Got off it and no longer feel the need to drink like while I was on it - barely ever drink now. Problem is, my anxiety and panic attacks are starting to come back w/out meds. I'm scared to try another SSRI, though, because I fear the alcohol problems will return. Anyone experienced this/know why it may be happening? It's not listed as a side effect of the drug, but it sure felt like one to me...

Kami replied: "i have been on lexapro for about 5 years and i do not crave it or anything like that nor do i know anyone who does. its could all just be psychosamatic with you."

buddys_angeleyes replied: "My alcohol consumption increased while I was on Lexapro as well. However, there are other SSRIs available, and each one affects people differently. Paxil was a godsend to me Although, I recently came off all medications and have begun caring for myself (under supervision of my doctor) with proper diet and excercise. Its working and I drink less now than I have since before I turned 21. No anxiety issues to date either. Proper diet for depression/anxiety includes: minimal caffeine, reduced carbs especially sugars, and increased protein"

Sparky replied: "What you are describing would completely fit the picture of someone who has something called "Bipolar Disorder N.O.S." It is a form of Manic-Depression that can cause a lot of anxiety and depression. For what is a "primary" anxiety disorder, an SSRI such as Lexapro can help tremendously, BUT for Bipolar NOS (specifically a Depressive Mixed State), any antidepressant can often greatly increase both anxiety and depression, which can result in a person drinking or taking other drugs in an attempt to "mellow out". You should see a psychiatrist and talk to that person about another family of medications such as mood stabilizers, which actually is much more likely to help you with your anxiety."

jrgannapolis replied: "I was just thinking that! I started Lexapro about 5 months ago and drink often and have many more cravings. While I was on effexor (more effective) I never felt like drinking at all or I could drink a normal amount. Now I get hammered because I keep drinking. I would talk about switching your meds...I am. I thought it was just me."

lexi m replied: "I took Lexapro for bi-polar and I did not crave alcohol at all. (But it didn't help me with depression so I switched to Abilify.) I don't know why that happened with you. I would definitely discuss other options with your doctor after telling him what happened with Lexapro."

jcss_003 replied: "I've been on Lexapro for 2 years and never have had cravings for alcohol. Which with lexapro you're not suppose to have alcohol either. since you are having this adverse effect i'd ask you doctor about your new symptoms and tell him that last time you had extreme drinking and don't want to go on it again."

Natalie T replied: "I've been on Lexapro for about 2 months now and I've noticed the same thing. I already would drink a little bit every now and then but now it gets to the point where I feel like I have to drink or something.. Also, I smoke like a freakin' chimney now! I mean I've been a smoker for some years now although before I probably only went through a pack every 2 days, but now I go through a pack a day! The lexapro has definetly made me feel better but I don't know why it makes me want to get drunk all the time... Maybe we should ask our dr's about that one! The doctor may want to lower the dosage a little bit and see if that will help"

Just started taking Lexapro? I'm 24 and just started taking Lexapro 10 mg this is my first medication like this. When I take it I get a high on life feeling I don't get real angry or upset now, and I'm more focused and active. I've been depressed pretty much my whole life, so this is a nice change. What I'm asking is will this feeling slowly go down and average off, or just stay the same. I've been lucky to I don't get any of the bad side effects either, I just get restless which keeps me on the move so I actually have lost weight.

Emma replied: "Wow it sounds like it's working really well for you! I took it and it just made me feel nothing. I wasn't happy or sad, I was just sort of numb. But if you're feeling really good then it sounds like it's the right medication for you. If you do end up feeling numb after a while, then I'd say you should go to a psychiatrist and talk to them about it. I'm switching to Wellbutrin because I've been wanting to lose weight and that decreases your appetite and makes you more awake. But hopefully Lexapro will keep working well for you :]"

..... replied: "I would say stick with it, if it changes and doesnt make you feel good anymore then it is probably time for a new medicine. I was on Lexapro but like the person below it took away all emotions, i was never mad, happy nothing, i was like a "lite" version of myself !! Good Luck !!"

what to do about nausea and lexapro? This is for my grandmother. She is 79 yrs old and just started taking Lexapro this morning for the first time and she experienced nausea already. She is also taking Lorazepam. I know she isn't supposed to take it but the doctor doesn't want her off it immediately yet until she feels the effects from Lexapro because she's taken Lorazepam for years and would have withdrawal symptoms if taken off it suddenly so she's slowly taking my grandmother off it soon. My grandmother hates meds and always had stomach problems but can take med for gas. She doesn't eat a lot and I forgot to ask her if she took Lexapro with or without food. I'm afraid she will stop taking lexapro because of the nausea which she hates. I told her to keep taking it and if she did the side effect would subside soon and I told her to drink water as that may help the nausea. I'm about to call the doc about this but thought I'd ask here first to see if that saves me a phone call to the doctor.

knicname replied: "You have it right. She should take it with food & maybe take it with a glass of Gatorade. (should be taken with whole glass of fluid.) Carbohydrates are best to take, like a slice of bread, toast, etc. This side effect usually goes away as person gets accustomed to med. It might also help to take it before bedtime so she can sleep thru side effects. You ought still call MD so the doctor knows what's going on. She's lucky to have you! :-)"

geek_girl replied: "How well does she get around? I ask, because that's how I survived: I had wonderful nausea for the first 2-3 days. . . all I could do to keep from constantly being sick for the first half of the day was to get up and walk around. (Why I stuck it out is still a total mystery to me -- but it did eventually end up working out well.) So long as I was up and moving around. . . despite this being a bit interesting as my balance wasn't great. . . I could get a little bit of food and liquids in and to stay down before mid-afternoon when the side effects started to wane for the day. I was taking it at bedtime, or I don't know how I'd have survived."

Jaw problems from Lexapro? I started taking Lexapro 10 mg five days ago. The second day I woke up and found I could not open my mouth wide without pain in the joint on one side. It has not gone away. My doctor said she has never had anyone with this problem from Lexapro and told me to stop taking it. I did not take it this morning but still have the pain. Has anyone else experienced this? Did it go away with time? I slowly weaned myself off Prozac after 7 years to try this new drug for depression and anxiety because my doctor said it was so much better.

KOOLDOWN replied: "I took Lexapro for 18 months. The first 2 weeks of Lexapro I had severe muscle tensions, spasms, cramps etc in the nights and sometimes daytimes. So even though jaw problems are not listed as side effects, it could be very possible. Each individual is different, it simply affected your jaw muscles instead of leg cramps and spasms (In my case). It's highly probable that Lexapro caused it even though I didn't experience it."

Gard23 replied: "Jaw problems are common side-effects from the SSRI antidepressants.... many individuals do not make the connection between the drug and the clenching, teeth grinding, spasms, yawning, or waking up with sore jaws (you may have been moving them in the night, and the consequence is pain the next day). "It can be noted at this point, that company healthy volunteer work on the SSRI drugs demonstrates a consistent 50% rate of jaw dystonias and dyskinesias during early weeks of exposure, and a series of disturbances on withdrawal that can generically be described as neurological and in many instances include clear dyskinesias and dystonias." (ref. Healy, link below) "In the clinical trials of all SSRIs, respiratory infections and pharyngitis are recorded as occurring at a much greater rate than on placebo. When the relevant studies, such as studies on healthy volunteers for instance, have been conducted by clinicians with expertise in these areas, it has become clear that these respiratory infection and pharyngitis reactions in many cases are dystonias and dyskinesias of the jaw, throat and upper respiratory system rather than infections. The occurrence of such effects on withdrawal have also been reported and indeed would be expected if such reactions are triggered by the initial exposure to treatment." (ref Healy, below) Also covered in 'Medical Management of Oral Motor Disorders" by Clark (page 4)"

I have been on Lexapro for 4 months. I want to know if anybody has been on this drug? and how hard or easy it is to slowly come off of it? I heard your supposed to stay on these drugs for 5-6 months at the least but I am itching to start a family so I want to do it now. Has anyone tried to get off this soon and succeeded?

skayrkroh replied: "I've taken it. Understand there is a reason it was prescribed. Having a baby and experiencing the hormones, emotions... this would not be your best idea. You need to be 100% to care for your child and take care of you too. Many women become unbelievably depressed following giving birth. What's the big rush? A baby does not eliminate stress and anxiety- it adds to it. Don't come off of it without 1st checking with the doctor that prescribed. Read the info that came with it. Ask your pharmacist to translate it. You may be feeling better BECAUSE you are taking the medicine. God bless."

aali_and_harith replied: "Tell your doc you want to get off it because you want to start a family. It can be done within two weeks. Can you wait that long? :) Btw, if you do need something while you're pregnant Zoloft is an option because it's had lots of clinical studies. Wellbutrin as well."

Poetgirl76 replied: "This is largely dependent on what you went on it for in the first place. Was it a random, one time bout of depression or is it a chronic problem for you? I'm currently reading a book about women and psych-meds. It says, if it was just a single episode of depression that 6-9 months of antidepressant treatment may be appropriate. And you may not have a problem with the depression returning. If it is chronic, this situation is more complicated. It also explains that there are no completely safe-during-pregnancy antidepressants...there have been far too few studies done to accurately say what is safe. They *think* some meds are safer than others, but the fact is, they really do not know. The book is called Psychotropic Drugs and Women Fast Facts by Victoria Hendrick and Michael Gitlin, if you are interested in reading up on the subject. It seems like it would answer a lot of your questions and give you really relevant information. I'm only 67 pages into it though. Lexapro should be weaned off of somewhat slowly, but it isn't as bad as some others (like Effexor)."

Had bad reaction to Lexapro, been off it for 11 days, still having weird symptoms, any ideas? Just when I though my reaction to this stuff couldn't get any worse this happened: Last night when I went to bed the ligaments, tendons, etc. in my arms and legs went completely stiff and my left arm is still stiff today. I dug really deep and could not find anything like this related to Lexapro. The closest thing I found was arthralgia. The stiffness started the day I took the stuff, but then got better, now got worse. My doctor said I must have metabolized it very slowly. I am also still having palpitations and my blood pressure is fluctuating all over, not to dangerous levels, but between 90/60 and 140/90. If it helps I was recently diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome. My doctor reviewed all of this with me yesterday and thinks it will clear up, but that's easy to say when you're not experiencing it. Any info from anyone who went through anything like this with an SSRI would be great. Not really anything I can do about this, but knowledge is still a good thing. oh yeah, my lymph nodes and tonsils are swollen too, doctor has seen this, so i'm pretty much out of options. I suppose the damage is done, I'll see if my body can recover from this one.

Joe B replied: "Stick with all natural Ganja, it will help your body as well as your mind."

12stepchic replied: "I have been on Lexapro for a few months and never had anything like you described. I think that maybe you had an allergic reaction. I dont know if you are taking any other drugs that may not interact well. Even certain cold medicines and vitamins can have an effect on anti depresents and how our body reacts to them.Be sure to read labels of EVERYTHING while taking Lexapro. Also it cant hurt to get a second opinon from another docter ,they might be able to see something that your doc cant."

sshazzam replied: "Lexapro was freakin horrbile with me. I just had bad anxiety...untill my doc threw me on Lexapro...then I was suicidal and depressed. Anyhooters....I wouldn't say "the damage has been done" it was just an allergic reaction. You will recover. Don't sweat it."

biogirl replied: "I have never taken Lexapro...but I took Prozac for two years (stopped 2 years ago). When I stopped the Prozac the doc told me to stop cold turkey. He claimed side effects would be minimal since it metabolizes so slowly. However, I still experienced dizziness and strange other side effects as the Prozac slowly worked its way out of my system. I can tell you that over the counter Benadryl has been shown to help SSRI withdrawal symptoms. I just took 1 pill every 4 hours instead of 2, so I wasn't as sleepy. It really helped. Also, it will get better over time, I promise. If the Benadryl doesn't help, talk to your doctor about a 1 time dose of 20mg of Prozac...this has been used for a while to help with SSRI withdrawal. It fills in the missing Lexapro and the Prozac breaks down so slowly over time, the effects are less noticeable. GOOD LUCK!"

candy1974 replied: "I'VE BEEN ON LEXIPRO FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, W/ FEW SIDE EFFECTS I WOULD SECOND GUESSE IF THATS WHATS CAUSING YOUR PROBLEMS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE OTHER HEALTH ISSUES TOO !!!"

Crazy F replied: "I have tried two different antidepressant medications and have had the same thing happen to me. I was on prozac first, and about 2 weeks into the treatment started having what I describe as "allover body arthritis" most noticeably in my ankles, feet, elbows, arms, hangs, wrists and neck. It was most prevalent in my left arm - which you said you had as well. Not only was I stiff - I was very sore and it became difficult to drive or to type. I was switched to Wellbutrin, which is now having the exact same effect and I am being taken off it after 10 days."

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