Guess I'm taking Lexapro for the rest of my life...

[andee]

Hello Everyone,
I posted a while ago about trying to get off Lexapro...I have been on anti-depressants on and off, mostly on, since 1988. Anyway, not sure if all of you know but trying to get off this stuff is HELL. I have researched a lot and it seems that docs don't believe there is any problem with withdrawal, etc. But the internet is full of stories of the hell that people have gone through, even when they taper slowly. Well, I tried it for a month, and even took supplements to help me. I got down to like a crumb of a pill, maybe 1 mg, and still had the brain zaps, restless legs, lost my appetite (can't afford to lose any weight), light headedness, and also moody, snappy, irritated...Then my digestive system got all out of whack. They say that most of the serotonin in our bodies is in our gut, so I was wondering if that was part of it. I just would go from not "going" to going a lot, and not hungry, feeling strange...scary for me.

Sooo, needless to say, I guess I'm gonna go back to maybe 2.5 or 5 mg. But I wonder what this stuff does to your brain if you can't get off it without terrible withdrawals. And I didn't even get off completely. People say that you can have withdrawals for months after. So I am chicken, and can't tolerate feeling all that. And is it okay to take it forever? Also, there is evidence of what is called "poop out," where the stuff just stops working. I am just frustrated that I need to be on this forever it seems.

What do you all think? Please advise me all you who are taking "drugs."

[Murder-my-soul]

If you need it, then stay on it. It's hard to get your serotonin levels up naturally. I am on Celexa but I am early into it. I have withdrawn from Xanax and that was a TERRIBLE experience as I could not sleep and had cold sweats, couldn't eat, hallucinated, constant shakiness, brain zaps, moody, BAD n*. I was in my bed shaking and crying and panicking for a month straight. I had to get off because I was abusing them. I stopped cold turkey from 3mg. daily. I have an addicts mind and I just can't use Xanax without abusing it. I got to the point of snorting them.

I know what it's like to withdrawal. It's terrible. I still remember. I got clean in April. But, you CAN be on SSRI's for the rest of your life if they are helping you. It's makes your serotonin levels higher, something hard to do naturally because once they are destroyed, they are gone. You just learn to cope with low levels. Most people end up going back on SSRI's because they cannot cope. It's hard to cope with low levels.

If you want to get off, lower your dosage a little at a time, be consistent, no cheating. Stick out the withdrawals.

There is no problem with taking a pill for the rest of your life if it benefits your mental health. I am going to stay on mine. I have too, I have low levels, I need something to keep them at a normal level.

It's entirely up to you. Whatever you choose to do, you will have support here (:

[olschesky]

i agree that if it helps just stay on it. i've been on and off prozac since the 80s....i'm on again and plan to just stay on...it truly does help me live a better life. plenty of people are on other types of meds "for life" ie. blood pressure, diabetes, etc etc......so why not antidepressants? i've been on the same dosage for all these years. i do have a friend who has had to increase her dose......so i'm sure that sometimes that is necessary.

hope you get your system straightened out....i know how miserable that can feel ...

[leah2713]

I have taken number of different anti-depressants over the years, most recently sertraline. I started it in february and decided to come off it in july. I had really weird side-effects; my head felt funny and shaky, i felt dizzy and tired and sort of sickly but not quite. It lasted for about a month after stopping, then just stopped and i felt fine. I decided to ride the symptoms out, although they weren't nice i felt they were manageable. I suppose its down to the individual, i guess i didnt feel much benefit from the tablets so thought whats the point taking them. However, if you feel they work for you and are happy to keep taking them then you probably should. it is own to you to decide though, only you knows how you feel and what you can manage.

take care xx

[andee]

Thanks everyone, yes, they do help and have not lost their effectiveness yet. I just wonder why you would get all those other symptoms from getting off it and not the anxiety and depression. In the past, I used to get depressed when I got off zoloft, I think. Now it's all this other stuff. Makes me wonder what it is doing to my brain. I worry that what if they find out that using this stuff causes Alzheimers or something like that...then all these millions of people will be in huge trouble! I don't know...I worry about everything!!! UGH!!

[KaydeeJayde]

I think it depends a lot on the person, too. I was on Lexapro for about 2 years and came off it pretty much cold turkey (which I know is bad, I was at a really low point and hated the meds because of how I felt on them so I just stopped) and had some light headedness, and that was all, I know that there's pretty much 50-50 on people who have trouble to people who have none.

Have you spoken to your dr about it? They might be able to offer you some help, but I agree with Murder and Olschesky, if you need it, stay on it.

[jennjt]

Coming off antidepressants is hell. I came off of Effexor in 2004 and I experienced exactly what you're describing. Like everyone else has said, if you need it, stay on it. For me, I went through all the withdrawals only to be back on Meds (Lexapro that time) within a few months because the depression & anxiety crept right back in. It was frustrating because I can't help but think of the "chicken or the egg" thing... Like, do I just need it because I was supplementing chemically for so long and my body stopped producing what it needed? Or do I really have a "shortage" of serotonin? Either way, I function better on it. Like Murder said, I have an addictive brain as well and have detoxed off of "hard drugs"-- I have been clean since July 23, 2010, but the worst withdrawals for me were during my switch from Luvox (old school med for OCD mainly-- psych thought it might help with emet) back to Effexor. I don't know what happened, but in the taper off Luvox combined with the taper ON Effexor, I got serotonin syndrome and literally thought I was dying. I had to be monitored by a doc for 24 hours and have never been so sick (physically AND mentally) in my life. Thank goodness I'm a relatively low dose of Effexor now and have no plans to change. If it loses it's effectiveness, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But, yeah, anti depressants are no joke and they are right up there with illegal drugs in their effects during detox. Sorry this is so long, guys-- just realized I wrote a story instead of a reply :/

[Murder-my-soul]

You get these symptoms because your brain is trying to get used to the decrease of serotonin levels. I know OTC they have St. Johns Wort for serotonin and 5htp and if you want you can take that so you don't have withdrawals.

[andee]

Thanks jennjt, that's exactly what I was trying to say. And yes, Murder, I was trying to look into the 5htp alternative. It sucks no matter how you slice it. I, too, am not sure if it changes your brain permanently so that you always need it or what...but yeah, like my husband says, would you rather live a long life miserable taking nothing, or maybe a shorter life happier taking meds? In other words, if this stuff proves to be bad....well, whatever...Lexapro, you have won!!

[Murder-my-soul]

I know what you mean. So what if you take ONE pill a day to feel 'normal'? Better than being miserable! I am 15 days into my Celexa. (: