erinliz2008

I was on antidepressants for 5 years (on Lexapro for 3 of those). I finally am off of Lexapro for 7 days now.
I did everything right--I drew down dosages for 6 months; slowly allowing my body to adjust to the lower dosage and then drop down. Once I got down to 5mg, I went every other day--one day on and one day off--just as my doctor recommended and I am still experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Some days are better than others but it seems that some symptoms are getting worse (ie dizziness, nausea and irritability).
It sucks because I did everything by the book and it's still bad. I'm trying to watch what I eat and intake more water to flush out my system of this toxic medication.

After all these years of being on this medication, I am now completely anti-antidepressants. It completely changed my personality. My sex drive disappeared (which was not good for me nor was it good for my boyfriend--luckily, I am with an amazing man who stuck by me through everything), I was much less assertive and I started to feel zombie-like.

I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who is going through the same things and if so, has any suggestions on what to do to make these symptoms at lease bearable while my body is processing this.

skeeweeaka

I thoroughly understand where you are coming from. Withdrawal is awful and sometimes it takes months... I would suggest drinking plenty of fluids, no sugar, and no junk food.... You might even want to stay away from wheat, flour, and foods like that in general.... Try to stick with veggies and meat for a while...

TJ

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2ndDaughter

hi erinliz2008!

i was on antidepressants for a similar amount of time, as well as anti-anxiety pills (both at once), but have now been off them for about 6 months!

my experience was probably quite different from your own, i actually came off mine quite quickly due to medical complications (long story, not fun) and i was actually planning to start up again, but we figured i might as well see how i went without for a while as i was in a fairly stable situation and i had been working very hard to improve myself/develop coping techniques. anyways, because of that there were a lot of things that my doctor failed to advise me of which would have been good to know - such as expectations/emotions/behavior etc.

the biggest thing i would watch out for is the ups and downs u'll experience. when ur on anti d's u they tend to help you to maintain a fairly even mood, and it's easy to forget what it's like not to have that support, especially when you've been on them for so long! i found myself overreacting to things (quite literally) a lot, ie. when good things happened, or if i had a good day or a fun time somewhere - it felt like i'd won the lottery! but then bad things (even minor ones) sent me spiraling down into dark places. suprisingly though, once i managed to identify what was happening it was fairly easy to take back some control - just keep an eye on yourself and give yourself a strict talking to when necessary =)

in terms of the symptoms your having i would check back with your doctor just in case - from what i know it's different for everybody, so it may be that your body is just taking more time to adjust, and it may even help to go down slower. either way, better to be safe than sorry! also, just keep reminding yourself what an awesome achievement this is for you and how good you're going to feel once it's all over! i would also recommend starting some kind of exercise routine if you haven't already - i started with a personal trainer soon after stopping my meds and it really helped me to feel good about what i was doing/the positive direction my life was taking as well as making me feel a lot healthier/more energy.

in terms of the positive effects of being off the meds, there's certainly pros and cons, but some things i have definitely noticed: i am so much more in control now - obviously before i went on the meds i was not, so it's not a case of "i'm back to how i was before", i've literally never felt so in control of myself and my life and my head is so clear - it feels as though i've stepped out of a fog! the work that you put in while on medication really does make a difference. it's certainly not a walk in the park and i still have a lot of hurdles to overcome, but i can see improvement and i know i'll get there eventually. I also have much more energy and drive, which is never a bad thing!

anyways, it's definitely a major development for you and i really hope it all works out! lastly, but possibly most importantly, i'd just advise - be gentle with yourself! it's going to be hard, and your going to take steps back (sometimes even really big ones) but that is definitely OK, and it's ok to ask for help and take it slow too =) good luck!

Sarahsue

I took Paxil for about 6 years. After I came off of it, I too an anti anti-depressent. I will never take them again. I also slowly eased off of my Paxil following the my doctor's recommendation. The withdrawl symptoms were horrible. One of the worst for me was I was super emotional. Anti-depressents block all emotions so when you come off of them you feel all emotions way more intensely. What doctors never tell you is the withdrawl symptoms from SSRI drugs are very similar to the withdrawl symptoms from going off meth. I know understand why it is hard to quit meth!

I would recommend getting some exercise. Exercise is one thing that really helped me. Unfortunately, I hurt my knee during the same time as I was going off my Paxil so I couldn't exercise that much.

My withdrawl symptoms went away completely after about 4 or 5 months. However, I read that some people can experience withdrawl symptoms for up to a year. I feel your pain and frustration and I wish you the best of luck!

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SARAH
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2ndDaughter

don't get me wrong - i'm far from anti anti-depressants myself, i think they are very necessary and work extremely well when used correctly for people/situations. i'm extremely glad that i found medication that worked for me and helped me through, and even though i certainly had my fair share of problems with them i would still go back there if i needed to...

like all drugs though, they come with their fair share of side-effects and also withdrawal and u need to decide whether the pros out-way the cons for u. i think it's really important to remember that anti d's are NOT a cure but are a band-aid or support to allow people to function and also where possible deal with their symptoms through other methods such as counseling (a little like birth control pills for PCOS). as such u simply cannot expect to come off them and maintain that stability entirely - u need to be prepared to put into action all the coping skills you've learned to maintain your mental health.

anyone who has ever been on anti d's and forgotten to take them one day should have a pretty good idea of what withdrawal is going to be like =P (ie. far from pleasant) it's also worth noting that the withdrawal symptoms are different for everyone - for myself i've come down off anti d's several times (not to stop and start but to switch brands etc) and i find it's actually a lot easier to go as fast as you can handle - the quicker it's out the quicker u recover (not a medical opinion, just mine!) but i do have quite a high pain threshold and already experience most of the physical withdrawal symptoms on a fairly regular basis anyways (due to other issues) so that may not work for everyone.

if you're experiencing serious or uncontrollable emotional withdrawal then i'd bring that up with ur doctor asap because it may be that you need to look at some other options, or u may simply need more support to get through this stage. otherwise just do your best to keep busy and try not to think about it too much! it'll be over in no time =)

erinliz2008