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Dangers of Abruptly Stopping Lexapro

My friend was on 10mg/day for a few months. He had brain zaps.. said methylone worked for the brain zaps (stopped them for 1-2 days.) Weird huh? But you might be able to replace the Lexapro with another less-addicting SSRI (maybe longer half-life) to lessen the withdrawal.

Just make sure you're always taking LESS than the time before. Don't quit cold turkey. Take a full dose, then full - 2mg, then full - 4mg, etc..
 
Abruptly stopping my lexapro use after 3 months of being on it nearly cost me my life through suicide due to how fucked up my brain chemistry became, taking MDMA during withdrawls is certainly a terrible idea! Im done with anti-depressants now too many side effects and are way too widely prescribed imo
 
Yeah fuck SSRIs tho. My mom tried quitting her regular Lexapro and Seroquel and had a psychotic episode. Just so happens a typical Seroquel withdrawal symptom is psychotic break, kinda funny how those dependent on anti-psychotics tend to only have symptoms when they try and discontinue use, not to mention the terrible side effects. I feel like those on these medications are being lied to. There is no biological reason to ever put someone on an SSRI. Biochemical alterations to brain chemistry to remove problem behaviors will never sit well with me.
 
QuasiModo said:
Yeah fuck SSRIs tho. My mom tried quitting her regular Lexapro and Seroquel and had a psychotic episode. Just so happens a typical Seroquel withdrawal symptom is psychotic break, kinda funny how those dependent on anti-psychotics tend to only have symptoms when they try and discontinue use, not to mention the terrible side effects. I feel like those on these medications are being lied to. There is no biological reason to ever put someone on an SSRI. Biochemical alterations to brain chemistry to remove problem behaviors will never sit well with me.
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Im gonna have to disagree with this. Lexapro is working great for me now, life seems more positive and I feel a real elevation in mood, motivation, and self esteem. Before starting ssri's I didnt have any problem behaviours, I was simply depressed and in a state of self loathing even though I knew that my life was great. A little tweek in brain chemistry helped me to realize that.
 
Make sure you keep your medication in a safe place incase your mother steals it back off you.
 
paranoid android said:
SSRI withdrawal can be brutal and really screw with your head not to mention your depression could come back in full force.
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Yep. Stopped taking it about 7 months ago and since then have had a LOT of breakdowns. Particularly violent, which is not normal for me. More in the last months than any other time. When I stopped Zoloft it wasn't like this. The hardest thing for me is not being able to structure my head at all, it's not just depression but complete and utter drowning. So I am off to the docs tomorrow to try again. Maybe this time I will appreciate the difference they actually make and keep on them.
 
i started taking my lexapro again because simply life is 5x easier on it... it pretty much stops me from thinking.. .makes my life way easier

The only thing i dont like about it is short term memory loss :(
 
^^ yeah ive been on it for years.. this has been my experience.. other than that its fantastic.. Lexapro and suboxone= i feel great..

I went off it recently for a few weeks and my short term memory was much better; lexapro kinda gives me a head "fog" like i have been smoking weed everyday .. I love it though really helps my anxiety a ton; it rules!!
 
I feel like lexapro has been the single most useless anti-depressant I've ever tried, and I've tried alot! No fucken idea why I'm still on it.
 
Why is there always such a discrepancy regarding the effects of SSRI's?? My doc thinks that I should try lexapro for anxiety (tried it before and it didn't work) or pretty much any other SSRI as benzos, in his eyes, are not meant for the treatment of anxiety. So the Dr plans to taper me off valium (scary as shit) while putting me on lexapro and I'm really on the fence about it. Are SSRI's just bullshit pushed by pharm companies so they can make money or are they actually effective? I don't like putting my brain through all this shit as benzo withdrawal is bad enough.

In particular I'm interested in lexapro, so many people say it helps their anxiety tremendously then so many others say it is bullshit. And the studies on SSRI's aren't very convincing for me, but perhaps i should do more research. I'm not depressed but anxious as fuck; been addicted to benzos too many times and have tons of lexapo/cipralex to use... any advice? (I also have tons of zoloft, welbutrin and trazadone, wish it were that easy to get other drugs from my Dr.)

FWIW i was on cipralex (Canada's lexapro) for almost four weeks and quit cold turkey due to suicidal ideation and intense anxiety. The very things I hoped it would fix. I didn't feel brain zaps or anything, I actually felt better. But if it works, I'm more than willing to try again.
 
RobotRipping said:
Why is there always such a discrepancy regarding the effects of SSRI's?? My doc thinks that I should try lexapro for anxiety (tried it before and it didn't work) or pretty much any other SSRI as benzos, in his eyes, are not meant for the treatment of anxiety. So the Dr plans to taper me off valium (scary as shit) while putting me on lexapro and I'm really on the fence about it. Are SSRI's just bullshit pushed by pharm companies so they can make money or are they actually effective? I don't like putting my brain through all this shit as benzo withdrawal is bad enough.

In particular I'm interested in lexapro, so many people say it helps their anxiety tremendously then so many others say it is bullshit. And the studies on SSRI's aren't very convincing for me, but perhaps i should do more research. I'm not depressed but anxious as fuck; been addicted to benzos too many times and have tons of lexapo/cipralex to use... any advice? (I also have tons of zoloft, welbutrin and trazadone, wish it were that easy to get other drugs from my Dr.)

FWIW i was on cipralex (Canada's lexapro) for almost four weeks and quit cold turkey due to suicidal ideation and intense anxiety. The very things I hoped it would fix. I didn't feel brain zaps or anything, I actually felt better. But if it works, I'm more than willing to try again.
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honestly dude everyone reacts different.. cipralex is the same thing as lexapro btw; at first while your body gets used to it; it will increase your anxiety then it should lower it.. Some people ssri dont do shit; other it does; i dont know the answers;

I can tell you for me the shit definetly isnt placebo; my brain loves all that extra serotonin soaking lol ; lexapro imo dont do shit for depression its an anxiety med; but lower anxiety to me means less depression get my rift

i hate to say it but lexapro actually makes me dumber; it makes me not think as much personally i love it;
 
Why would you try Lexapro if it did nothing in the past? I belong to the group of people who report no improvement from Lexapro. I fucken hate it. But, as someone else said, everyone is different. I've been on some very potent drugs and elaborate combinations but, in all of it, the absolutely most effective drug I ever tried was Zoloft. Strange, I know.

I think you're fortunate to have a doctor who is willing to do the 'hard yards' with you and look for sustainable solutions. Too many doctors are just benzo-pushers. And in the long run, of course, benzos don't do shit, and in many instances actually result in rebound anxiety many times worse than the underlying anxiety!

In my view, SSRI's are many many many times more effective as anti-anxiety drugs than benzos are. Long-term, anyway. If you can find one that 'works' for you, I think you will probably agree with this.
 
^ i'd eat dog shit if it helped my anxiety, which is why I would try lexapro again lol. But I have zoloft as well, both seem to be the most accepted SSRI's; thanks for the replies, i guess I'll keep trying different meds.
 
I'm on 20mg lexapro (and 45mg avanza) and am reducing it in the following way:

day 1 - 15mg
day 2 - 10mg
day 3 - 5mg
day 4 - 50mg zoloft.

My shrink says that the discontinuation syndrome will be minimised by the fact that I am on avanza, and also by the fact that I am replacing the lexapro with zoloft.

Thoughts?
 
I was on Zoloft for probably around a year and half, give or take a few months. I started off slowly with 25mg then moving to 50mg then finally went to 100mgs. I was also seeing a psych for a while but it got too costly. After being on the 100 for most of the time I stopped taking them and had around ~8 tabs left. For about 4-5 weeks after stopping I took the rest of the tabs, 1 or 2 a week always around 6-7 days after each dose. The brain zaps were there but not overly bad, they were more prevalent around the 5 day mark onward. After taking the last one I was waiting for the zaps but they were hardly noticeable compared the previous weeks. That last one was around 3-4 weeks and I haven't had any zaps since.

At the moment I have entered another bout of depression, and im unsure on whether to go get another script or try to push it with exercise, healthy eating, and so on. I would love to hear what everyone suggests.

Thanks bluelight <3
 
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I stopped lexapro 10 mg cold turkey after about a year and a half. Shit got really, really weird for about 5 days. I was hit by absolutely MASSIVE dizzy spells that would virtually put me on my arse. And I was also suffering from really bad confusion that would last hours on end. It was really unpleasant. I fell off a ladder at work, and then when I was walking home I faded out and realised I was walking on the middle of the road. I don't know if those side effects are normal but you might want to expect some severe confusion, dizzy spells, anxiety, and strong bouts of depression.
 
Yeah thanks...I'll probably use some valium to help with the transition.

The worst WD I ever had from any anti-depressant was with Pristiq. FUCK. That shit was real. My shrink said that pristiq/effexor are notorious for their WD's. I was sitting in front of an AC one minute, sweating this bizarre sweat all over, then tucked up under like 5 blankets the next. And I would see like a flower and start crying. Really intense stuff.
 
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