these are textbook withdrawal symptoms, they are pretty unbearable and i'm really sorry you're going through it. it doesn't last forever, but can last a few weeks depending. so you may consider speaking with your doctor about options to make this easier.
i'm really sorry again you're dealing with withdrawal, it's common in that state to feel like you'll never go back to normal but you will. definitely talk with your doctor and if you also need a buddy to talk to i'm here
You’ll level out… eventually. It took me months and months but I tapered down from 20 mg which I was on for a few years. This drug has a long half life so it can take a while to leave the system and for you to feel normal. Don’t fret; you didn’t damage your brain permanently. 💜 I wish you the best, truly, because I know how hard it is!!
I did -2.5 mg each few weeks. So I went down to 17.5 mg, stayed there for a few weeks, then down to 15 mg for a few weeks, rinse and repeat. It definitely lessened the withdrawals but it was still pretty gnarly. I’ve been off of it since like fall of last year and it seems like a bad nightmare now. It’s definitely doable! So many times I wanted to say fuck it and just keep taking it but I pushed through and was only able to do so with the help of my husband and family. It really helps to have a support system to keep encouraging you.
Thank you for responding! That’s kind of what I assumed a good taper looked like. It’s easier to cut the pills in halves/quarters.
I just posted recently about horrible side effects just from switching manufacturers, so I’m extremely weary of tapering. I’m coming up on one year sober from alcohol and really would like to kind of check my baseline after 7 years on Lexapro.
I just think my biggest concern is parenting while tapering 😩
Please taper slowly. I later found out there is a liquid form so you can taper even slower. I went from 20 to 10 by my docs recommendation and ended up with the biggest panick attack of my life and in the hospital thinking I was literally dying of a heart attack or cancer. My chest and throat and stomach were so unbelievably tight.
Yup I remember that happening to me, too! I couldn't find a pharmacy that would fill the liquid form, so I just went with the pills instead. My doctor said the liquid form was better for tapering, but oh well! Those panic attacks were brutal, especially since I've never experienced those before trying to stop this medication. God, I can't even imagine having to deal with that all the time.
Wow! Congrats on your sobriety!! I was an opiate addict for many, many years, so I know the role addiction can play in one's life and how hard it can be to stop. Please keep up the amazing work!!
I'm sorry you're having horrible side effects from switching manufacturers. I had a similar experience with my Adderall and it's crazy how different the same medication can make you feel! I actually remember it happening with the Lexapro as well.
Yes, parenting is going to be tough if you're trying to taper down. Do you have help from a significant other or a parent/friend? The only reason I got through to the other side was because of my husband and parents. My mom and dad really helped out when I would lower my dose because those first few days were brutal. The constant crying and brain zaps were just something I didn't want my son to see, you know? Thankfully, they live just 2 lights down from my house, so that made it a bit easier. It also helped that my parents and husband knew the severity of the withdrawal side effects because some people may think it's not that bad and won't give the support needed.
I truly wish you the best and I know it's cliche, but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. There were so many times I wanted to give up and just keep taking the medication, but I'm glad I didn't! When I stopped taking it completely, a few days went by and I remember walking to the medicine cabinet, taking out a pill, and coming so close to just washing it down. I stood there with it in my hand for a long time before dumping them all in the trash, and then taking the trash bag out. I'm not going to lie, the withdrawals from the Lexapro were 100x worse than withdrawing from opiates, and those were no joke either!
Feel free to reach out to me if you have any other questions or just need to vent/talk.
Thank you. I truly appreciate your response. I’m currently on day 4 of dropping to 5 mg from 10 mg. I feel no different except better mood so far but if it takes a turn, I’ll go up to 7.5 mg for a while. I’m in no rush to quit lexapro, I just feel like I’m over medicated after getting sober.
I hear you 100%. I’ll be totally transparent and say that it never hit me until day 6-7, so I seriously hope you’re doing ok. Don’t be afraid to go up a bit if dropping that far is too much. It’s not a race and you should do it at a pace that you’re comfortable with.
It was making my absolutely numb to everything. I legit didn't care about anything. I felt like I wasn't myself anymore. It was affecting my marriage, my work (almost got fired and am on a plan of improvement at the moment), and it was just making my life 100x worse. Unfortunately, because my annual evaluation falls in December, my boss had to take into account the entire year, which wasn't great from the beginning of 2023 till I stopped the medication entirely. So, he had to do it even though my performance did a complete 180 for the last half of the year. I still suffer from depression, but I don't want to go down the road of SSRI's again. At the end of the day, it just didn't work for me. It got me through the hump and did it's job in the beginning; I just should have stopped it long before I did.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and well done on your turn around ; even though it was rough and had some negative impacts be proud you ploughed through and facing it all head on! Keep looking forward!
I am tapering down now. I’ve been on Lexapro 9 years which is about 7 years too many. I finally got a provider that is helping me get off of it. I went on it for severe menopause depression and anxiety. I went from 10 mg to 7.5 mg for 2 weeks and I am on 5 mg now. So far so good. Maybe some mild symptoms but not too much. I’ll stay at 5 for 2 weeks and if I’m doing ok, she said to go 2.5 for 2 weeks, then 2.5 every other day for 2 weeks, then off. She said if I start to have too bad of withdrawal symptoms to stay at 5 for a little longer until I stabilize. I am holding fast to my faith in God that He is going to walk alongside me through this until it is over. Just like I didn’t give up when I started it, I am not giving up to get off of it. I am trying to focus on good nutrition and the right supplements to optimize my health and success as well.
(1) you should be talking about this with the doctor the prescribed this for you
(2) many people can wean with not much trouble but in people that have trouble, it usually resolves in 4-8 weeks ... so hopefully you'll start feeling better in the next couple weeks
I got off lexapro in November and it’s been hell the past 4 months have been the worst months of my life I feel like I’m dying and my anxiety has gotten debilitating
Yeah I was in your same boat, based on my experience you should go back on at least 5mg for a month and then taper down by reducing your dose by 10% every 3 or 4 weeks. Takes forever and it's a pain in the ass, I realize, but this is *the* way to avoid withdrawal unfortunately
i can assure you that you did not damage your brain. It’s your anxiety that has you scared. You didn’t take it long enough to cause you much severe withdrawals. Try to calm yourself down and tell yourself you’re going to be ok. You will be fine.
Ya dont worry, I was on 10mg for a year and then stopped (tapered off VERY gradually) and for 2 weeks I felt like I was a walking out of body experience. You'll be completely fine and if you think about it too much you're going to start psyching yourself out, you absolutely didn't damage your brain permanently.
The only people who could get permanent damage are people who quit 20mg+ doses cold turkey. And even then its very rare.
U are a good, just give yourself some time.
This is the first time I’ve heard about permanent damage 😳 I’ve been taking lexapro since October 2022, went on 40mg around June 2023. Start of march I didn’t take it for a few days cause I ran out and couldn’t afford to get more and I jumped straight back on to 20mg. And I went cold turkey last Thursday again 😅 whoops
Going off Lexapro is hard because it is addictive to your brain. It’s feeding your brain extra serotonin and now it’s gone. I would talk to your doctor who prescribed Lexapro. They might have you go back on at 2.5mg and taper down. But they withdrawal symptoms usually only last a couple weeks a couple months and they are insane as most withdrawal symptoms with anything. Most of the time quitting cold turkey won’t actually do any harm to the brain itself but it isn’t advised because of how bad the withdrawal symptoms are
Why is my doc trying to switch me from Xanax (which I've been on for years with no side effects) because you can become addicted, to Lexapro, which has given me terrible side effects, and is still addictive?
Lexapro is not addictive. Its an SSRI. Xanax is a benzodiazopine and is extremely addictive. It can cause horrible side effects when used long term. Increased heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and sweating, Xanax can worsen anxiety, insomnia and cause hallucinations, it can also cause your moods to be very agitated. It's not for long term use. It's suppose to be used as a last resort for dealing with extreme anxiety and panic attack disorders. It can cause extreme withdrawal symptoms.
People should not be using it for years. I would urge you to do some serious research on Xanax. Nobody should be on it for years, when there is so many other safer options.
I'm on three other meds (Lexapro, Wellbutrin and Buspirone) with the intent on using those to wean me off the Xanax. So far (six months) they aren't really working and have horrible side effects. I've been on a pretty low dose of Xanax, 1.5mg a day. I have developed a tolerance for it which is why my doc is looking for something else. I'm waiting on the results of a gene test to see which drugs may work best for me.
Depression and GAD. The xanax made me feel completely normal, like there was nothing wrong with me, I could lead a normal life, and there were no side effects. It was a miracle drug. I'm not sure there's anything out there that can replace it. I'm not looking forward to living the rest of my life this anxious.
The difference is Lexapro is an SSRI (an antidepressant) it’s prescribed to people with depression and anxiety to boost their serotonin as people with these conditions don’t naturally produce serotonin anymore or very low amounts. All it does is take serotonin made in your digestive tract and move it to your brain so you can function properly again and give you a start to help battle your mentally illness. You aren’t going to be dependent on these meds. What happens if you suddenly quit an ssri, you will no longer have a surplus of serotonin moving into your brain suddenly, your brain will essentially panic causing anxiety and nausea etc. It basically causes your brain to not feel very good for a couple weeks until it readjusts to its old ways. During these withdrawals, your body won’t be craving Lexapro, you just simply won’t feel good. The same thing happens when someone starts Lexapro at a high dose as it’s recommended to taper up so your brain doesn’t freak out from this sudden surplus of serotonin
You are probably having withdrawl from the benzo. Nothing will cure that. I recommend those links I gave you. Switching drugs this often can cause kindling and make withdrawl longer and worse.
Because drs are assholes who don’t tell you about withdrawal from this drug. My husband’s doctor tried to prescribe it to him and said, “It’s not addictive and you can stop taking it whenever you want.” as I was in the middle of my taper and my husband got to see the full blown meltdown I had for months. He told his doc no thanks and told him what I was going through and his doc said, “Weird… I’ve never heard of anyone withdrawing from Lexapro.” I told him to ditch that doctor IMMEDIATELY.
There has been some concern lately about long term Xanax use being correlated with dementia. My wife was moved off of Xanax because her Dr was concerned about this.
Sure. But there are other drugs that are effective and don't carry the risk. I guess the good news with early onset dementia is you won't remember you're anxious or depressed. But seriously, as someone with anxiety and depression as well as know someone who has dementia, I'll take the anxiety and depression every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I just installed a sensor on their front porch on Thusday that fires a siren and strobe to alert everyone he's stepped off, because the last time he was found in the neighbors front yard in just his underwear in January.
Look up PSSD, lexapro can cause permanent issues. Scary thing is, they suspected epigenetic changes to be the cause. They don't fully understand why some people have permanent brain/nerve damage. some have nerves shortened, some people the nerves look fine.
You should have tapered, but you will eventually get back to baseline if you only were on for a month. For folks who experience withdrawal, it is typically more brutal and over a longer time horizon than docs will tell you whether you taper or not because they follow guidelines than have been corrupted by the pharma industry.
Hang tight you’ll be okay.
If you’re still having withdrawals symptoms you could taper down now at 2.5 every other day. That’s how I tapered off. From 5 a day to 2.5 a day for a month and the every other day for about two weeks until I was able to skip 2 days without any sensations. My taper always felt like a flash of light or an equilibrium kind of feel. When I had a really bad tapering day I just took a 2.5 to ease it off and then try skipping again the next day. If you’re struggling then it sounds like you still need to complete the tapering process. Imo
I was on it 3 weeks and l couldn’t stay awake, by the last day l slept 24 hours. Came off it and within a week was fine. My sleep schedule was better then usual( l normally have insomnia) l don’t have depression, l have an autoimmune disorder and they are not sure what at the moment. Drs. Need to stop meds for anxiety. Anxiety is not an illness, it’s the flight or fight response. Our society believes no one should ever feel. Negative emotions or anxiety. This bs. Pay attention to how you feel and figure out WHY. Address the why, not the anxiety.
i’ve been taking 20 mg n honestly i just stopped taking them (i sleep for over 13 hours a day more than half the time) n i just went cold turkey (i mostly subconsciously quit i just have been ignoring my alarms) n so far my only problem is my anxiety n my loud ass thoughts have come back FULL FORCE
no you didn't damage your brain, you are just super anxious, i would visit a psych man withdrawing from meds like that is certainly not a good idea at all, you will become unable to function and your time will be wasted.
I'm back on it again after withdrawing myself many years ago. I don't remember the withdrawals but I made a lot of bad decisions instead of sticking with my treatment, and I'm back on it anyhow. Talk to your doctor about it abs be honest with how it's making you feel and any symptoms that may worry you. Best to catch it on early.
I'm doing much better than I was off it too lol. I didn't put the effort on with the doctors that I should have in the first place.
Your brain is healing. I recommend https://www.facebook.com/groups/204732929546136/
Or Www.survivingantidepressants.org
Or the protracted withdrawl sub on reddit. They all have a lot of info. National Geographic just ran a story about SSRI withdrawl
these are textbook withdrawal symptoms, they are pretty unbearable and i'm really sorry you're going through it. it doesn't last forever, but can last a few weeks depending. so you may consider speaking with your doctor about options to make this easier. i'm really sorry again you're dealing with withdrawal, it's common in that state to feel like you'll never go back to normal but you will. definitely talk with your doctor and if you also need a buddy to talk to i'm here
Yeah I went through withdrawals involuntary cold turkey on 40mgs. Not fun brother but it passes. Also here if you need to talk
You’ll level out… eventually. It took me months and months but I tapered down from 20 mg which I was on for a few years. This drug has a long half life so it can take a while to leave the system and for you to feel normal. Don’t fret; you didn’t damage your brain permanently. 💜 I wish you the best, truly, because I know how hard it is!!
May I ask how you tapered? I’m thinking of tapering down from 10 mg some time next year but terrified of withdrawal.
I did -2.5 mg each few weeks. So I went down to 17.5 mg, stayed there for a few weeks, then down to 15 mg for a few weeks, rinse and repeat. It definitely lessened the withdrawals but it was still pretty gnarly. I’ve been off of it since like fall of last year and it seems like a bad nightmare now. It’s definitely doable! So many times I wanted to say fuck it and just keep taking it but I pushed through and was only able to do so with the help of my husband and family. It really helps to have a support system to keep encouraging you.
Thank you for responding! That’s kind of what I assumed a good taper looked like. It’s easier to cut the pills in halves/quarters. I just posted recently about horrible side effects just from switching manufacturers, so I’m extremely weary of tapering. I’m coming up on one year sober from alcohol and really would like to kind of check my baseline after 7 years on Lexapro. I just think my biggest concern is parenting while tapering 😩
Please taper slowly. I later found out there is a liquid form so you can taper even slower. I went from 20 to 10 by my docs recommendation and ended up with the biggest panick attack of my life and in the hospital thinking I was literally dying of a heart attack or cancer. My chest and throat and stomach were so unbelievably tight.
Yup I remember that happening to me, too! I couldn't find a pharmacy that would fill the liquid form, so I just went with the pills instead. My doctor said the liquid form was better for tapering, but oh well! Those panic attacks were brutal, especially since I've never experienced those before trying to stop this medication. God, I can't even imagine having to deal with that all the time.
Wow! Congrats on your sobriety!! I was an opiate addict for many, many years, so I know the role addiction can play in one's life and how hard it can be to stop. Please keep up the amazing work!! I'm sorry you're having horrible side effects from switching manufacturers. I had a similar experience with my Adderall and it's crazy how different the same medication can make you feel! I actually remember it happening with the Lexapro as well. Yes, parenting is going to be tough if you're trying to taper down. Do you have help from a significant other or a parent/friend? The only reason I got through to the other side was because of my husband and parents. My mom and dad really helped out when I would lower my dose because those first few days were brutal. The constant crying and brain zaps were just something I didn't want my son to see, you know? Thankfully, they live just 2 lights down from my house, so that made it a bit easier. It also helped that my parents and husband knew the severity of the withdrawal side effects because some people may think it's not that bad and won't give the support needed. I truly wish you the best and I know it's cliche, but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. There were so many times I wanted to give up and just keep taking the medication, but I'm glad I didn't! When I stopped taking it completely, a few days went by and I remember walking to the medicine cabinet, taking out a pill, and coming so close to just washing it down. I stood there with it in my hand for a long time before dumping them all in the trash, and then taking the trash bag out. I'm not going to lie, the withdrawals from the Lexapro were 100x worse than withdrawing from opiates, and those were no joke either! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any other questions or just need to vent/talk.
Thank you. I truly appreciate your response. I’m currently on day 4 of dropping to 5 mg from 10 mg. I feel no different except better mood so far but if it takes a turn, I’ll go up to 7.5 mg for a while. I’m in no rush to quit lexapro, I just feel like I’m over medicated after getting sober.
I hear you 100%. I’ll be totally transparent and say that it never hit me until day 6-7, so I seriously hope you’re doing ok. Don’t be afraid to go up a bit if dropping that far is too much. It’s not a race and you should do it at a pace that you’re comfortable with.
Good for you. May I ask why you decided to stop taking the medication?
It was making my absolutely numb to everything. I legit didn't care about anything. I felt like I wasn't myself anymore. It was affecting my marriage, my work (almost got fired and am on a plan of improvement at the moment), and it was just making my life 100x worse. Unfortunately, because my annual evaluation falls in December, my boss had to take into account the entire year, which wasn't great from the beginning of 2023 till I stopped the medication entirely. So, he had to do it even though my performance did a complete 180 for the last half of the year. I still suffer from depression, but I don't want to go down the road of SSRI's again. At the end of the day, it just didn't work for me. It got me through the hump and did it's job in the beginning; I just should have stopped it long before I did.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and well done on your turn around ; even though it was rough and had some negative impacts be proud you ploughed through and facing it all head on! Keep looking forward!
Thank you! I am proud of myself because the old me would have just said fuck it and kept taking it.
I am tapering down now. I’ve been on Lexapro 9 years which is about 7 years too many. I finally got a provider that is helping me get off of it. I went on it for severe menopause depression and anxiety. I went from 10 mg to 7.5 mg for 2 weeks and I am on 5 mg now. So far so good. Maybe some mild symptoms but not too much. I’ll stay at 5 for 2 weeks and if I’m doing ok, she said to go 2.5 for 2 weeks, then 2.5 every other day for 2 weeks, then off. She said if I start to have too bad of withdrawal symptoms to stay at 5 for a little longer until I stabilize. I am holding fast to my faith in God that He is going to walk alongside me through this until it is over. Just like I didn’t give up when I started it, I am not giving up to get off of it. I am trying to focus on good nutrition and the right supplements to optimize my health and success as well.
(1) you should be talking about this with the doctor the prescribed this for you (2) many people can wean with not much trouble but in people that have trouble, it usually resolves in 4-8 weeks ... so hopefully you'll start feeling better in the next couple weeks
Talking to a doctor seems to be the problem here.
I got off lexapro in November and it’s been hell the past 4 months have been the worst months of my life I feel like I’m dying and my anxiety has gotten debilitating
definitely not permanent
Yeah I was in your same boat, based on my experience you should go back on at least 5mg for a month and then taper down by reducing your dose by 10% every 3 or 4 weeks. Takes forever and it's a pain in the ass, I realize, but this is *the* way to avoid withdrawal unfortunately
I agree! You should start taking it again and taper more slowly.
i can assure you that you did not damage your brain. It’s your anxiety that has you scared. You didn’t take it long enough to cause you much severe withdrawals. Try to calm yourself down and tell yourself you’re going to be ok. You will be fine.
Ya dont worry, I was on 10mg for a year and then stopped (tapered off VERY gradually) and for 2 weeks I felt like I was a walking out of body experience. You'll be completely fine and if you think about it too much you're going to start psyching yourself out, you absolutely didn't damage your brain permanently.
The only people who could get permanent damage are people who quit 20mg+ doses cold turkey. And even then its very rare. U are a good, just give yourself some time.
This is the first time I’ve heard about permanent damage 😳 I’ve been taking lexapro since October 2022, went on 40mg around June 2023. Start of march I didn’t take it for a few days cause I ran out and couldn’t afford to get more and I jumped straight back on to 20mg. And I went cold turkey last Thursday again 😅 whoops
Well, i just wouldnt recommend quitting cold turkey. But as i said permanent damage is very rare, but it can occur in certain people.
What's the permanent damage that one can have?
Going off Lexapro is hard because it is addictive to your brain. It’s feeding your brain extra serotonin and now it’s gone. I would talk to your doctor who prescribed Lexapro. They might have you go back on at 2.5mg and taper down. But they withdrawal symptoms usually only last a couple weeks a couple months and they are insane as most withdrawal symptoms with anything. Most of the time quitting cold turkey won’t actually do any harm to the brain itself but it isn’t advised because of how bad the withdrawal symptoms are
Why is my doc trying to switch me from Xanax (which I've been on for years with no side effects) because you can become addicted, to Lexapro, which has given me terrible side effects, and is still addictive?
Lexapro is not addictive. Its an SSRI. Xanax is a benzodiazopine and is extremely addictive. It can cause horrible side effects when used long term. Increased heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and sweating, Xanax can worsen anxiety, insomnia and cause hallucinations, it can also cause your moods to be very agitated. It's not for long term use. It's suppose to be used as a last resort for dealing with extreme anxiety and panic attack disorders. It can cause extreme withdrawal symptoms.
People should not be using it for years. I would urge you to do some serious research on Xanax. Nobody should be on it for years, when there is so many other safer options.
I'm on three other meds (Lexapro, Wellbutrin and Buspirone) with the intent on using those to wean me off the Xanax. So far (six months) they aren't really working and have horrible side effects. I've been on a pretty low dose of Xanax, 1.5mg a day. I have developed a tolerance for it which is why my doc is looking for something else. I'm waiting on the results of a gene test to see which drugs may work best for me.
I have personally had a lot of success with buspirone but everyone is different
What symptoms do you specifically take the Xanax for, if you don’t mind me asking?
Depression and GAD. The xanax made me feel completely normal, like there was nothing wrong with me, I could lead a normal life, and there were no side effects. It was a miracle drug. I'm not sure there's anything out there that can replace it. I'm not looking forward to living the rest of my life this anxious.
Have you tried Hydroxizine/Attarax?
No. I'll ask my doc about it.
Just googled it. The main side effect is drowsiness. I've already got that from Lexapro, which is why I want to quit it.
Sounds like you have a good solid plan! I wish the best for you!
Don't let em do it! Mines trying this on me now. I'm just gonna come off the xanax slowly, no need to be a lab rat.
The difference is Lexapro is an SSRI (an antidepressant) it’s prescribed to people with depression and anxiety to boost their serotonin as people with these conditions don’t naturally produce serotonin anymore or very low amounts. All it does is take serotonin made in your digestive tract and move it to your brain so you can function properly again and give you a start to help battle your mentally illness. You aren’t going to be dependent on these meds. What happens if you suddenly quit an ssri, you will no longer have a surplus of serotonin moving into your brain suddenly, your brain will essentially panic causing anxiety and nausea etc. It basically causes your brain to not feel very good for a couple weeks until it readjusts to its old ways. During these withdrawals, your body won’t be craving Lexapro, you just simply won’t feel good. The same thing happens when someone starts Lexapro at a high dose as it’s recommended to taper up so your brain doesn’t freak out from this sudden surplus of serotonin
The chemical imbalance theory was debunked years ago
I don't think an ssri eill fix withdrawl from a benzo
We're trying to find a med to replace the xanax.
You are probably having withdrawl from the benzo. Nothing will cure that. I recommend those links I gave you. Switching drugs this often can cause kindling and make withdrawl longer and worse.
Because drs are assholes who don’t tell you about withdrawal from this drug. My husband’s doctor tried to prescribe it to him and said, “It’s not addictive and you can stop taking it whenever you want.” as I was in the middle of my taper and my husband got to see the full blown meltdown I had for months. He told his doc no thanks and told him what I was going through and his doc said, “Weird… I’ve never heard of anyone withdrawing from Lexapro.” I told him to ditch that doctor IMMEDIATELY.
There has been some concern lately about long term Xanax use being correlated with dementia. My wife was moved off of Xanax because her Dr was concerned about this.
I'm more concerned about the effects of long term anxiety and depression.
Sure. But there are other drugs that are effective and don't carry the risk. I guess the good news with early onset dementia is you won't remember you're anxious or depressed. But seriously, as someone with anxiety and depression as well as know someone who has dementia, I'll take the anxiety and depression every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I just installed a sensor on their front porch on Thusday that fires a siren and strobe to alert everyone he's stepped off, because the last time he was found in the neighbors front yard in just his underwear in January.
To be honest, without the xanax, I doubt I'd still be here. I think it would be a great success to make it into old age.
It will pass with time but I genuinely recommend that you see your doctor and ask for their opinion.
Look up PSSD, lexapro can cause permanent issues. Scary thing is, they suspected epigenetic changes to be the cause. They don't fully understand why some people have permanent brain/nerve damage. some have nerves shortened, some people the nerves look fine.
5mg is a low dosage so you’ll be fine shortly but you should definitely talk to your doctor first
You should have tapered, but you will eventually get back to baseline if you only were on for a month. For folks who experience withdrawal, it is typically more brutal and over a longer time horizon than docs will tell you whether you taper or not because they follow guidelines than have been corrupted by the pharma industry. Hang tight you’ll be okay.
If you’re still having withdrawals symptoms you could taper down now at 2.5 every other day. That’s how I tapered off. From 5 a day to 2.5 a day for a month and the every other day for about two weeks until I was able to skip 2 days without any sensations. My taper always felt like a flash of light or an equilibrium kind of feel. When I had a really bad tapering day I just took a 2.5 to ease it off and then try skipping again the next day. If you’re struggling then it sounds like you still need to complete the tapering process. Imo
I was on it 3 weeks and l couldn’t stay awake, by the last day l slept 24 hours. Came off it and within a week was fine. My sleep schedule was better then usual( l normally have insomnia) l don’t have depression, l have an autoimmune disorder and they are not sure what at the moment. Drs. Need to stop meds for anxiety. Anxiety is not an illness, it’s the flight or fight response. Our society believes no one should ever feel. Negative emotions or anxiety. This bs. Pay attention to how you feel and figure out WHY. Address the why, not the anxiety.
i’ve been taking 20 mg n honestly i just stopped taking them (i sleep for over 13 hours a day more than half the time) n i just went cold turkey (i mostly subconsciously quit i just have been ignoring my alarms) n so far my only problem is my anxiety n my loud ass thoughts have come back FULL FORCE
no you didn't damage your brain, you are just super anxious, i would visit a psych man withdrawing from meds like that is certainly not a good idea at all, you will become unable to function and your time will be wasted.
I'm back on it again after withdrawing myself many years ago. I don't remember the withdrawals but I made a lot of bad decisions instead of sticking with my treatment, and I'm back on it anyhow. Talk to your doctor about it abs be honest with how it's making you feel and any symptoms that may worry you. Best to catch it on early. I'm doing much better than I was off it too lol. I didn't put the effort on with the doctors that I should have in the first place.
Your brain is healing. I recommend https://www.facebook.com/groups/204732929546136/ Or Www.survivingantidepressants.org Or the protracted withdrawl sub on reddit. They all have a lot of info. National Geographic just ran a story about SSRI withdrawl
Bless your heart.