Zoloft to Lexapro

[technonyc]

Am currently on 200 mg Zoloft, split morning and night. GP prescribed Lexapro 20 mg once daily to start. Said to just skip a dose of Zoloft and start right away on the Lexapro. Does anyone have experience making this change? Would I be better off cross-tapering by splitting the 20 mg Lexparo and dosing it in AM and Zoloft in PM for a while? I'm all for a quick switch instead of completely tapering off one and onto the other. Just want to see what advice is out there. Thanks.

[alankay]

Just skip a dose and begin the lexapro as the doc said. Switching ssri's is often not too bad at all. Alankay

[technonyc]

Thanks for the reply Alan. I wound up breaking the Lexapro in half and taking 10 mg this morning. It was suggested by my pharmacist, since 20 mg is a high starting dose. It made me a little loopy, so I'm reluctant to take the whole 20 mg at once just yet. But now I've only taken half the SSRI dose I am accustomed to. Do I take the other 10 mg of Lexapro tonight, take 100 mg of Zoloft (the equivalent), or not take anything and continue with another 10 mg or 20 mg Lexparo tomorrow morning?

[technonyc]

I know people don't usually return to the forums once they are feeling better, so I just wanted to update in case anyone is searching for answers or is experiencing a similar situation. I did as suggested and took 20 mg Lexapro the next morning. The following day I felt some side effects: headache, slight rise in anxiety (though it was high to begin with), bit of dizziness and nausea, and head zaps. Most of this went away over the next two days, and within three days, I was feeling back to normal with little anxiety and lifted depression. For me, a quick switch was virtually painless. Of course YMMV, but for me, considering the alternative was to taper off one and then onto another, a process that would take weeks, it was absolutely the right choice.