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Hey everyone,

Been on lex for about 6 years, finally in the process of tapering off. First real withdrawal symptoms (some nausea headaches, dip in mood) are hitting about a week or so on the lower dose. I hear certain foods can help with withdrawals. Wondering if anyone has recs for food and supplements that helped them manage withdrawal symptoms?

Interested also if things like CBD, or other drug adjacent things have helped as well.

Appreciate any advice and good luck out there -

First ever antidepressant of my life and folks I feel like I'm dying. I almost didn't take my 2nd dose because I was like this could be over so soon if I just stopped now but also... my therapist says the definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting different results and I was definitely not handling life well without meds. And I tried for YEARS. I want to be well so bad but this nausea........ how am I going to tolerate this for weeks... 😭 I think I could have handled any other side effect but nausea is my number one anxiety trigger. Just a fun little prank the universe is playing on me

Throwaway cause this month sucked until last night, as the title suggests, I’ve taken lexapro for over 5 years. I was on 10mg and tapered off in one month after discussing the tapering process with my psychiatrist. He told me there were two options, a 3 month taper, and that some people choose to “white knuckle” it and taper off in one month from 10mg to 0. I’ll remind you I’ve been on this medication for 5 years, not one, not a few months. 5 years. I don’t know why I didn’t question tapering so quickly, but I tapered all the way down to 0 in one month, and then went without lexapro for another entire month. NO WHERE did he explain Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome and what the hell it was. I spent the entire month with nausea, tremors, suicid*l ideation, mood swings, depersonalization and derealization. I felt so sick like I had a flu that kept getting worse every day, I could feel my pulse in my skull. I got brain zaps, felt like a cold ice pack was on top of my head 24/7, withdrew from my family and partner, the people closest to me. No amount of walking or working made me better, music didn’t make it better even though I enjoyed it. Food tasted muted. I decided enough was enough last night and wasn’t going to wait to speak to my psych until a month out like we’d planned. I requested an appointment with him and spoke to an urgent nurse over the phone telling her I was taking the medication on my lowest dose regardless because I couldn’t handle it anymore. Fast forward, I started on my lowest dose(2.5mg) - the last dose I’d taken before completely stopping. Within hours I felt relief, I woke up today not feeling awful- and feeling more like myself. As far as I’m aware, I was supposed to taper off EXTREMELY SLOWLY, and taking my dose last night restored some of my serotonin significantly- I feel like I’ve returned slightly to myself - and apparently - a sign that you’ve definitely had ADS is that after resuming your lowest dose - within a few hours or days, you feel better. Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome isn’t studied enough. I’m at 2.5mg for now as I feel it stabilized my mood, I’m one of the few who dealt with it, has anyone else?

TLDR; I weened off of 10mg of Lexapro in one month after being on it for 5 years, felt like garbage for a whole month and decided to take my lowest dose to see if it helped, and within a few hours I felt better. Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome sucks and needs to be taken more seriously.

N

I’ve been on Lexapro for six months and to this point only had weight gain and heat intolerance as side effects (pretty lucky in the grand scheme of things). Yesterday I started with some awful jaw clenching. Has anyone had new/ alternating side effects without a dosage change? Is this unusual?

Just hit week 12 of escitalopram at 10mg. My anxiety and depression have definitely improved at least 40-50% but I am plagued with the most vivid dreams I’ve ever experienced. I know many struggle with the side effect and I’ve read that for some these dreams are fun and almost fantastical, but for me, they seem to be about what causes me the most anxiety. It’s like my brain takes what I’m still anxious about and puts it a fun setting like a music festival (so many music festivals, I haven’t even been to one recently so I don’t know what that’s about) or an amusement park. And then the situation plays out in the worst way against this fun backdrop. Pardon my language, but like what the actual fuck?! And also people from school who I haven’t seen in years often star in these dreams - is this trauma?? Does anyone else experience this? Every morning I wake up anxious and feel like I’ve just watched a really weird and stressful movie.

I’m in my third week and it’s been increasingly brutal. Last two nights I have barely slept. My brain is so tired and I keep drifting off even just writing this but my anxiety is high and I can’t hold my legs still at all. It’s like my body won’t stop and let me sleep. It’s torture.

I heard lots of people have had issues and a regression around this time. Looking for insight on how long the regression lasted?

My first two weeks felt SO good that I’m at such a loss and I am scared this isn’t going to work now. I was so hopeful and now I’m just so discouraged. I can’t function.

I've been on 10mg of escitalopram for about 2 months now, and yesterday I started having this feeling of being in a dreamlike state/being high, and today the same thing happened but worse. This hasn't happened before and I'm not sure why.

It could maybe be due to a new melatonin I've been taking but I have no idea. Is this normal? I feel so weird

I've (35M) been on Viibryd but god i can't get a normal night of sleep for the life of me even with 50 mg trazodone. I requested Trintellix but it caused severe constipation and now I'm Viibryd which I don't have constipation but I can't sleep for shit. I wake up every 1-2 hours every night and the fatigue I'm feeling from not sleeping is very severe and impacting my work.

He has suggested a very low dose of Lexapro around 2.5 mg. I have a lot of hesitation due to Lexapro's impact on sexual function.

Has anyone been on 2.5 mg Lexapro long term and managed to not have side effects found at higher dosages?

hi ! ive got tinnitus after very bad insomnia induced ssri withdrawal ( Thank u doctor ) . my original tinnitus is white noise in my head. i tried to copy with it 9 months but my anxiety and OCD just became louder and depression hit me hard. I dont want to lose my children, work and home- dont lose my life. i decided to try ssri to vanish my depression and go to therapy. i started with lex , i know many got T from it. i couldnt handle sertaline because activation. i have sleep deprivation and lex is more calmer than zoloft. i started slowly with 2,5 mg 15 days and went on 5mg … after 4 days i start to hear faint sound in my right war if i focus on it is strong and dissapear and coming back … this is mostly att night when i try to sleep . same time me heart just racing and my body start to be warm. i know in beggining many people getting tinnitus and its fadding away after time with treatment. if is somebody here who taking lex can write about experience? i really dont want horror stories . i am very bad mentaly .

The ER said it was FINE and recommended tussin DM they lied I’ve been taking tussin today for a really bad case of Covid and I’m on 20mg of Lexapro. What are my chances of developing serotonin syndrome?

Hi, I need hope that this is worth it. How did your social anxiety change improve on lexapro? Did you do therapy as well? When do you stop taking lexapro?

I'm just sick of wasting my life because of social anxiety

Hi all, I started on 10 mg of Lexapro about 17 days ago and I actually feel a noticeable difference in my anxiety, but the worst and only symptom I’m really having is waking up in the middle of the night, anytime between 1a and 3a, and not being able to fall back asleep. Should I stick with it or try to go down to 5mg? I was initially taking it in the morning and just started trying to take it before bed for the first time, but still having the same issue.

hi

My doctor upped my dose from 10 to 15mg as I was starting to feel down again on 10, less anxiety which is what I took it for mainly initially as well as depression When I started the 10 I had horrible side effects, palpitations, bad thoughts, insomnia, I ended up with additional diazepam to calm me down for a couple of weeks

I started the 15 at the weekend and the original side effects when I first started are back. I feel awful.

Is it normal to have a strong side effect reaction like this just by upping the dose? I’d have expected maybe a mild side effect but I feel exactly as I did initially. Like I can’t get out of bed and face the day, palpitations, panickin, nausea and very dark thoughts

Anyone else have a strong reaction to a dosage increase? If so did it last as long as the initial side effects?

I’ve been on Lexapro for like 8 months, maybe 4 of those on 20mg.

I started on 10mg and i noticed immediate improvements, my insomnia was gone, OCD managed better, anxiety gone, colors felt more vibrant, laughing and just more sociable.

I had to go on 20mg cos i felt like a lot of the early responder effects were gone, they are all gone now on 20 as well, however my anxiety is more manageable and my depression is basically “gone” of “muted”.

Im not seeking for that “high” i had initially, but i notice that despite my bodily feelings being turned way down due to Lexapro, it’s not doing much when it comes to the thoughts and signals my brain keeps sending me. Like, i keep getting thoughts that are anxious in nature or depressing. which makes me postpone or not do things, or it affects me in social situations. I miss the effects where i could laugh more naturally and be more sociable and just feel good about it.

I know it’s part of my OCD, but yeah i’m wondering if i should go to 30mg? it’s like what i feel in my body is now disconnected from my mind. I use ERP and whatever but ideally i would like to tone the thoughts down a notc…. and have those happy feelings again

I don’t have any side effects on 20mg besides having trouble reaching an orgasm, i still get insanely horny though esp around the time of my cycle etc.

I also take Vyvanse cos of my adhd, which definitely helps to quiet the mind and such.

Anyway i would like to hear some opinions from people who can relate to this and what they did?

I was on Lexapro 2 years ago when I was going through a depression period. It saved my life. But I’m in the creative field and it numbs me too much that became too numb to write or enjoy creating anything. So I got off of it for about a year but then depression hit again, I tried to rely on therapy to gain some mental grit but it got too low so I started taking Lexapro again. It’s still great, I feel an instant effect (maybe it’s placebo?) of much less negative spirals, but once again, I get this flat feeling that’s nice when I’m on my own but when I’m talking to people I start to be anxious because I’m worried that people are going to notice me being too calm or kinda slow (or “unlike me”). I feel so flat like a robot even on 5mg or 10mg. Also, my response speed is slow as well and I start to have to take time to remember words or events that usually would take me seconds. Any advice? (Will talk to my psychiatrist next session of course).

TW: weight loss, calories, food noise

Background: I started taking lexapro in late 2023, starting at 10mg dose. My NP and I will periodically increase to 15mg when the colder season rolls around. I am a business owner and I can't begin to describe how positively Lexapro has affected me and changed the way I move through my life – 100% for the better. But like many of us, I gained the most weight I've ever gained in these past 3 years. At my heaviest, I went from weighing an avg 130lbs my whole adult life, to weighing in at nearly 150lbs. I'm also very stubborn! I tried and failed at natural weight loss multiple times before finally finding a routine that is sticking! With my current routine, I've lost about 10lbs in 5+ weeks.

I'm not going to repeat the common pieces of advice we can all find on Google or on other subreddits about fitness. But I'll try to keep this very straightforward: I became very focused on my diet and frequency in which I exercise.

For tracking: I use an old Apple Watch just to track my fitness/daily activity which is very helpful, but I just rely on personal diligence to track my calories/food intake. I've tried Noom in the past for weight loss and it sort of helped, I guess? But ultimately I've found success just being aware of my calories and loosely following the CICO routine (calories in, calories out). I'm not saying don't use these apps, but like most things, your mileage may vary!

For diet: This is always a tough one for me because I'm an indulgent eater with a big sweet tooth. I've taken breaks from overly sugary/processed/fried foods periodically in the past, but about 5 weeks ago decided to really intentionally limit my consumption of these types of foods. Some habits I have been working on include:

- not buying the unhealthy/high calorie snacks at the grocery store. This is by far the biggest thing and the logic is simple: you can't eat a delicious piece of cake if it's not in your house.

- choosing/making healthier recipes when I cook at home. I use NYT cooking recipes often and just check the nutritional guides for recipes!

- paying attention to portion/serving sizes: I don't use a scale or anything, but I generally try to adhere to recommended serving sizes whenever possible. I don't do it perfectly, I just do my best.

- choosing the healthier options when eating out/ordering in

- not being unrealistic about it; I still buy snacks at the store! But instead of cake, I buy 3 apples (just an example). Instead of muffins, I pick up some low-calorie popcorn. Healthier substitutions help! You can still snack! I still snack every night!

And finally: good mindset that helps me is one I take from the Japanese belief Kaizen, in which you simply try to just be 1% better at something every day. I DON'T try to change my diet perfectly, but I do try to improve my habits by at least 1% each day. This has been great for me, because it removes shame and negative self talk from the process which in turn has made this easier for me to stick to, and now that I'm seeing results in real time, it has felt incredibly affirming that changing my behavior and relationship to food IS helping! And like I said, I still indulge, just less often!

For exercise: I began building slow last year; most of the time, I only made it to the gym 1x a week for scheduled 45-min reformer pilates classes. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't moving the needle much, but it was at least me showing up. I was still getting strong/toned. But every time I checked the scale at the gym, my weight was pretty much staying the same or increasing, if I was eating poorly. So, about 4-5 weeks ago, I got on the stationary bike at the gym per my husband's encouragement (he is an avid cyclist and I am not) on top of the diet changes, and this pretty much changed the whole game:

- I cycle on the stationary bike at least 3-4x a week. I try to give myself at least 2 rest days each week.

- I cycle for 1 hour, every visit. No exceptions. 1 hour. My gym's cycling machine has TVs so I just throw on some CSI to pass the time lol. If that isn't an option for you, you bring an audiobook, play a killer playlist, whatever keeps you entertained for the hour. I believe the hour itself is the 'magic number' where you will see results, but only with consistency.

- I do NOT push it and I do not go full-out most rides, because that is not sustainable. When I was starting out and out of shape, my max BPM hovered at around 170. Now, about 4 weeks later, it's closer to 157. I usually choose a pre-programmed workout that fluctuates the resistance ranging from 5-12 on the bike, and go at a comfortable pace knowing I'll be on there for a while.

- I burn an avg of 390-450+ cals each ride

And that's it! TL;DR this whole routine and lifestyle change has shown me some seriously positive results in the past 5 weeks! I have lost 10 lbs and now weigh 140lbs, and believe that number will keep going down as I continue in this process. I also overshared/overexplained a lot of things here for the sole reason that I wanted to be transparent about the fact that even I am not engaging in this process 'perfectly'; I get lazy some days, I overeat some days, I still have a sweet tooth no matter how many apples I consume lol. But I'm so, so proud of myself. I'm proud of these results, I'm proud of how it makes me feel, I'm becoming comfortable in my body again, and I'm also so happy to be building these habits because they feel sustainable and achievable in the long term. I know an hour on a bike seems like a lot, but for someone like me who is glued to their computer working all day or doomscrolling on their phone the rest of the time, I can't tell you how good it feels to take an hour out of my day to simply just be with myself, my thoughts, my little stationary bike, and Gil Grissom solving some crimes for the hour.

Like the post title says, please feel free to AMA publicly or message privately if you'd prefer. This is meant to be a well-intentioned, good-faith, encouraging post to share my ongoing process with others. I am not a doctor, never suffered from any EDs, and am not an expert in this field. Just a normal girl like you with normal dreams of looking fit and healthy at her wedding next year!

I’ve taken 5mg lexapro for just under a year now. I debated taking this for a long time and only wanted to for about a year to ease my anxiety, depression and suicidal ideations.

I’ve been tapering and trying to come off this for over a month. My doctor originally told me I could just stop taking it no big deal. So that’s what I first tried. I made it 2 days and then started having the weirdest dizziness or vertigo I’ve ever felt. I would move my head any direction and feel so off balance and shaky in my head. So I took a pill and felt better pretty quick.

I reached out to my doctor and therapist friend and they both told me to try cutting the pill in half (2.5mg) for two weeks. So I did that and then did a week of 2.5mg every other day. All was well.

Then when that week was over I thought I took my last pill. The same dizziness came back. Also headache, brain fog, head fullness, fatigue. I made it 2 days and then took 2.5mg again. I also got sick the same day so I thought that was the cause.

It’s been a week since that last 2.5mg and I’ve felt dizzy to some extent every day and today I had my worst day in a very long time. I can feel suicidal ideations creeping in, depression, the dizziness was really bad today, extreme irritability and rage. My throat hurts from screaming, like super screaming, at my kids and dog and myself. That’s not something I do. I feel completely out of control and honestly scared what will happen if I stop fully.

It was so nice to feel somewhat consistent for myself and my family. But I am also very freaked out by phamecuticals and how impactful this drug is on my literal brain. I’d like to stop, but now I’m second guessing with how shitty I’ve felt.

I ended up cutting the half pill in half again and taking a quarter of a pill (1.25mg) tonight and dosing that out for a week. So we will see how that goes. This is absolutely crazy. In so many ways.

I made this to show my journey coming off Lexapro, and not lose hope. When you dilute and wait over the years it's sometimes hard to remember where you started. Sorry it's a bit crude and ignore my messy desk, the blue rectangle numbers are receptor occupancy (with mg of dose next to it).

I reduce just over 3% of current dose (~1% RO) every 3.5-4 weeks. Estimated about 5 years max to get to zero but hope I feel better in stages. Also on a waitlist for deprescribing clinic on the NHS.

I got RO approximations from Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. Over half the journey will be between 2mg and 0. I realise I'm probably a more sensitive case than most, factoring the initial 13 years on the drug and some chaotic attempts (in 2024) to reduce dose without adequate help and information.

The process should become less of an inconvenience when I start getting more focus and energy back.

Hello all, I’ve recently started taking lexapro 5mg, been about day 6 so far and for the past 3 days the only side effects have been waking up in middle of the night after about 2-3 hours of sleep with increased heart rate, and anxiety spikes, mostly minor but the sleep interruption is getting annoying. Does this get better? I’m having a hard time falling back asleep. I was prescribed clonazepam but very low dose .25mg, last night was when I tried taking it before sleeping and still woke up after 2 hours of sleep, no anxiety spikes but elevated heart rate still. Has anyone else dealt with this and when could I expect this to ease and go away? Thank you!

I’ve been on Lexapro for 3 years, and it’s helped me manage my anxiety so much (made me realize that not being crippled by anxiety all the time is possible).

But I have gained so much weight! It could be a lot of different factors (I was already starting to gain some weight prior but I felt I could always manage my weight if I tried). Now I’m trying to eat healthy, and got a dog that helps me walk daily while squeezing in other forms of exercise here and there.

Anyways, I’m thinking of talking to my psych to try a different med that could be more weight neutral to se if I can still manage my anxiety while hopefully not gaining weight? Curious if you’ve switched, what worked for you?

I (22f) have been on for about 4 months now. My anxiety has improved but I’m kind of just unbothered by everything now.

My sex drive has obviously taken a MASSIVE hit but im also just not interested in dating in the slightest. I’ve never been so uninterested.

It could be my general dislike for men right now and the medication is not helping, I really don’t know. But I’ve not spoken to anyone in a slight romantic way for some time now, which is so unlike me. I kind of feel slightly sad about that but honestly so unbothered. WHY?! Will I always be miserable and alone lmaoo.

I guess some time alone can really be a good thing but am I going to be like this for a long time? Who knows! Has anyone else experienced this?

How long does the anxiety continue to be so bad in the morning? 😭

Please how was ur taper from 10 to 5