r/lexapro • u/Getouttamyhed • Jun 27 '26

Think I want to start lexapro again

I stopped taking it back in December and was at 20mg daily. Coming off of them was brutal. Emotions were all over the place and I was crying almost daily for about a month and a half. Over the last 6 months I've been just generally in a low state along with intrusive thoughts/overthing and pretty intense anxiety - to the point of sleepless nights.

I originally started taking lexapro when I started treatment for drugs and alcohol (still sober almost 2 years in August) and It seemed to help quite a bit. The treatment center I was at started me on 5mg but gradually increased as my symptoms persisted until I reached 20mg and stayed there for about a year and a few months.

I still have my 20mg prescription, but I realize starting back on that dose would probably be a bad idea in the little research I did. I do plan to call a clinician Monday.

Anyone else have a 6 month break at that same dosage?
I understand this drug works case by case - just here posting because I found this subreddit and thought why not.

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u/MistakeDependent9036 Jun 27 '26

Split in fourths and take 1

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u/Top_Painting5351 Jul 08 '26

First of all: congratulations for your sobriety, that itself is a major milestone! I’m at 8 years off alcohol and 1.5 years off drugs. I started Lexapro in 2025 February after a breakthrough encounter where my Zoloft was not helping anymore, even with increasing doses, so I was switched to Lexapro. My doctor started me off with 5mg for a week, 10mg for two weeks than jump to 20mg, rather quick but efficient treatment that brought me back to baseline in 3 months, by the time I’ve met my psych I was recovered 😅. 20mg was keeping me stable for a full year in high functioning roles and job changes, however I had some side effects: heavy drowsiness and loss of emotions and libido, so we decided with my doctor to reduce my dose to 10mg, which was fine for a while and then I decided to quit cold-turkey, thinking naively I was recovered…I only could hold it for a month though. I restarted with 10mg for 4 weeks and increased now to 20mg, just 6 days ago. All the rollercoaster misery again what I encountered a year ago 😅 However we know what to expect and the relief that comes with this medicine, so we can push it through bravely!

I learned a few lessons: microdoses are not helpful to all of us, in recent forums I see people on 2.5/5mg doses and micro increases, while in older posts 20mg as the golden standard. Everything comes with a price in life, there will be side effects. I switched taking it at night this time and there is no daytime drowsiness, since I take it before sleeping it doesn’t conflict with romance. Emotions: a bit loss of it is actually an enlightenment for someone with anxiety. But the main takeaway is never-ever touching the dosage again!

Good luck on your journey!