Has anyone had worse depression/anxiety after stopping Lexapro?

[JustaGal]

Hi,

I am curious about others experience. I was taking Lexapro for 12 years, and tapered off. 4 months later I felt I needed to go back on.

So the common concern is if you start AD's, you may need to take them for life. Some say it makes your depression worse. Personally, I am on my sixth week and starting to see signs of feeling better.

Thanks for sharing what your experience has been with Lexapro or another AD.

[Anne1221]

I do not think the lexapro has made me worse. I think I have an underlying condition that is being treated. I tried going off it earlier this year...BIG MISTAKE!! It was horrible. I am so much better with the Lexapro than without it, and i have no desire to go back to how bad things were without it.

[JustaGal]

I do not think the lexapro has made me worse. I think I have an underlying condition that is being treated. I tried going off it earlier this year...BIG MISTAKE!! It was horrible. I am so much better with the Lexapro than without it, and i have no desire to go back to how bad things were without it.

Thanks Anne. I also suffered greatly trying to come off. Curious - about how many weeks did it take for you to feel initial relief?

[superchick22684]

I just started taking Lexapro a little over 2 weeks ago. I started with 10 mg but backed off to 5 after a few days because of side effects. Three days ago I went back to 10 mg and while I'm having some side effects there are some positive things happening too. I've heard that it can take up to 4-6 weeks in some cases to get the full effects of the medication.
I took a long hiatus from meds before going back on them recently. Other ad's that I used in the past were Effexor, Paxil and Cymbalta.

[JustaGal]

I just started taking Lexapro a little over 2 weeks ago. I started with 10 mg but backed off to 5 after a few days because of side effects. Three days ago I went back to 10 mg and while I'm having some side effects there are some positive things happening too. I've heard that it can take up to 4-6 weeks in some cases to get the full effects of the medication.
I took a long hiatus from meds before going back on them recently. Other ad's that I used in the past were Effexor, Paxil and Cymbalta.

Thanks Superchick, glad you are seeing positive effects. I started on 10 and went to 20.

[Anne1221]

I did not take as long for the Lexapro to kick in because I was basically switching from one SSRI to another..from Prozac to Lexapro.

[JustaGal]

I did not take as long for the Lexapro to kick in because I was basically switching from one SSRI to another..from Prozac to Lexapro.

That's good. Waiting is a challenge.

[Anne1221]

Yes, that initial waiting is the hardest part.

[Enduronman]

Lexapro is (according to reports, opinions, and patient ratings) a very good anti-depressant/anti anxiety medication.

Good luck to you!

Enduronman :)

[JustaGal]

Lexapro is (according to reports, opinions, and patient ratings) a very good anti-depressant/anti anxiety medication.

Good luck to you!

Enduronman :)

Thank you for that info! I was told today I walk and look different even after only 5 weeks. That is encouraging..

[JustaGal]

Yes, that initial waiting is the hardest part.

Hi Anne,

Does Lexapro give you any issues with sleeping at night? I don't think it does for me. I was getting insomnia before I started it again.

[Anne1221]

The more Lexapro I take, the more I sleep. I've been up and down on it, depending on how I'm doing, but the Lexapro does make me sleep deeper and sleep more.

[Kuma]

I took Lexapro a few years ago. I began with 10mg but I had side effects that I could not deal with. It is a little hard to explain, but basically I felt extremely jittery. Imagine how you would feel if you had a dozen cups of coffee. But at the same time, I was also tired. Bad combination. I felt like I wanted to explode. So I reduced to 5mg. At that level, the side effects subsided. But I also suspect that 5mg may have been a subtheraputic dose. So maybe I was just taking an expensive placebo. Or maybe not. Hard to tell. I was taking a beta blocker at the same time. After 5 or 6 months, I went off the meds. I was not willing to be on meds long term, unless it was absolutely essential. That is not a right answer for everyone, of course, but it was my perspective. I still have a fair amount of anxiety, and who knows - some day I may need to go back on meds. But I would much prefer something that I can take prn, rather than a daily medication, since there are enough days that I do fine...

Just one guy's experience, for whatever it is worth.

[JustaGal]

The more Lexapro I take, the more I sleep. I've been up and down on it, depending on how I'm doing, but the Lexapro does make me sleep deeper and sleep more.

Wow - that is a good!

[JustaGal]

I took Lexapro a few years ago. I began with 10mg but I had side effects that I could not deal with. It is a little hard to explain, but basically I felt extremely jittery. Imagine how you would feel if you had a dozen cups of coffee. But at the same time, I was also tired. Bad combination. I felt like I wanted to explode. So I reduced to 5mg. At that level, the side effects subsided. But I also suspect that 5mg may have been a subtheraputic dose. So maybe I was just taking an expensive placebo. Or maybe not. Hard to tell. I was taking a beta blocker at the same time. After 5 or 6 months, I went off the meds. I was not willing to be on meds long term, unless it was absolutely essential. That is not a right answer for everyone, of course, but it was my perspective. I still have a fair amount of anxiety, and who knows - some day I may need to go back on meds. But I would much prefer something that I can take prn, rather than a daily medication, since there are enough days that I do fine...

Just one guy's experience, for whatever it is worth.

Thanks Kuma

[Ahlstrom]

My anxiety and depression were completely gone when I went off of Lexapro, I've been on it since I was 6 and when I came off of it (cold turkey, but DONT do that) I was the happiest person ive ever been. My emotions were much more powerful, both good and bad, My mother put it back on me since I had big anger issues off of it, and the typical westerner way of treating people is to shove pills down their throat. I hope I can get off of it someday.

I can definitely imagine people having worse depression for a while after getting off of it... I hope that I don't.

[JustaGal]

My anxiety and depression were completely gone when I went off of Lexapro, I've been on it since I was 6 and when I came off of it (cold turkey, but DONT do that) I was the happiest person ive ever been. My emotions were much more powerful, both good and bad, My mother put it back on me since I had big anger issues off of it, and the typical westerner way of treating people is to shove pills down their throat. I hope I can get off of it someday.

I can definitely imagine people having worse depression for a while after getting off of it... I hope that I don't.

Wow - I am sorry you have to take it against your judgment. And I do hope you come off it fine when you choose to. That is a interesting subject of people having worse depression when they come off, why is that said to happen?

[Ahlstrom]

Wow - I am sorry you have to take it against your judgment. And I do hope you come off it fine when you choose to. That is a interesting subject of people having worse depression when they come off, why is that said to happen?

Thank you, I hope all will go smoothly as well. I did take it on my own judgement I guess, I was 17 but I still didn't know what the drugs were, I had been on them since I was 6, so when my mother told me to go back on them I just sort of said "Alright" and went with the flow, not realizing that me being off of them may have made me so happy, perhaps when I find a stable spot in my life, get another job and an apartment then I will taper off of them.

I'm not doctor, but I can only guess that people gain depression coming off of them because they're a drug that heavily effects the brain, I've had so many weird emotions coming on and off of different medications, I think the change just shocks your brain and deeper depression is how the brain reacts to it, for some people.

[superchick22684]

I took Lexapro a few years ago. I began with 10mg but I had side effects that I could not deal with. It is a little hard to explain, but basically I felt extremely jittery. Imagine how you would feel if you had a dozen cups of coffee. But at the same time, I was also tired. Bad combination. I felt like I wanted to explode. So I reduced to 5mg. At that level, the side effects subsided. But I also suspect that 5mg may have been a subtheraputic dose. So maybe I was just taking an expensive placebo. Or maybe not. Hard to tell. I was taking a beta blocker at the same time. After 5 or 6 months, I went off the meds. I was not willing to be on meds long term, unless it was absolutely essential. That is not a right answer for everyone, of course, but it was my perspective. I still have a fair amount of anxiety, and who knows - some day I may need to go back on meds. But I would much prefer something that I can take prn, rather than a daily medication, since there are enough days that I do fine...

Just one guy's experience, for whatever it is worth.

Kuma,
Thank you so much for posting. Your experience on 10 mg is exactly how I have felt when trying to take that dosage. I started on 10 mg because my doc prescribed that amount it resulted in irritability, increased anxiety, racing heart and inability to focus. I've dropped that dosage down to 5 mg the last few weeks but after experiencing increased depression tried to go back up a few days ago and felt extremely jittery. I went back to the 5mg about 2 days ago and the side effects have subsided. Good to know I'm not the only one that has had that experience with Lexapro.

[JustaGal]

Thank you, I hope all will go smoothly as well. I did take it on my own judgement I guess, I was 17 but I still didn't know what the drugs were, I had been on them since I was 6, so when my mother told me to go back on them I just sort of said "Alright" and went with the flow, not realizing that me being off of them may have made me so happy, perhaps when I find a stable spot in my life, get another job and an apartment then I will taper off of them.

I'm not doctor, but I can only guess that people gain depression coming off of them because they're a drug that heavily effects the brain, I've had so many weird emotions coming on and off of different medications, I think the change just shocks your brain and deeper depression is how the brain reacts to it, for some people.

I wish you the best in your goals!!