1. < Depression & Anxiety

how to wean off lexapro 10 mg

Posted by littlecroissant @littlecroissant, Nov 1, 2018

Hi I’m a 30 year old female. I have been on antidepressants since I was 16 and I’ve been on lexapro for about 4 years now. Prior to that I was taking Prozac. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m fed up with the side effects of lexapro - feeling numb like a zombie and emotionally detached most days, also gained weight and sleep cycle is affected. I want to wean off it so I’m thinking of cutting down to 3/4 first for maybe the first one or two months and cutting down a quarter gradually until I’m not taking anymore. One of my main motivations for getting off this drug is because I no longer feel like I need it but I’m scared of going cold turkey because when I tried it previously the affects were so bad I had to take lexapro again. Another thing is I want to get pregnant and start a family soon and I do not wish to take the risk of harming the foetus... I’m going to wean off in a week while I resource myself with supplements like b 6, b12 and folic acid along with omega 3s fatty acids. I am also thinking of taking theanine later on. Please do advise on what’s the best way to go about this...

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

deegee75 | @deegee75 | Apr 11 1:51pm
In reply to @deegee75 "The dosage in ml should be the same as in mg. That is 5 ml is..." + (show)
@deegee75

The dosage in ml should be the same as in mg. That is 5 ml is equal to 5mg. I decreased my dosage by 10% every three - four weeks. If I traveled, I would go longer not shorter between dosage changes. At the end I didn’t quite stick to the exact schedule. The first time I weaned off, I followed the schedule I will post below. A few years later, I suffered a traumatic loss that caused extreme anxiety, so I started taking Lexapro 10 mg again. When I tried to wean off this time, it caused me to have much more frequent “silent” or what I called “ocular” migraines. I get vision disturbances for about a half hour; sometimes I have a headache, nausea or fatigue but not always. I stopped the taper at 5 mg. Another thing I could have done, as recommended by the website surviving antidepressants is really slow down the taper - maybe 5% every three to four weeks. I am on hold now to see if the migraines might stabilize- they haven’t and it has been almost a year since I stopped at 5 mg. Also if I get a “bad” batch of the generic Lexapro, my migraines will increase to daily or twice daily.

I will make a separate post with my original taper - don’t want to type it all in and have the post rejected for being too long.

Jump to this post

My Original taper from 10mg Lexapro by 10% every three to four weeks, by week

1) 9 ml - in any combination of liquid and pill: I did 5 mg pill and 4 ml liquid.

2) 8.1 ml/mg

3) 7.3

4) 6.6

5) 5.9

6) 5.3 ( I did 5.0 here to simplify things and it worked fine with no side effects)

7) 4.8. ( I did 4.5)

8) 4.3 (I did 4.0)

9) 3.9 (I did 3.5)

10) 3.5 (I did 3.0)

11) 3.2 ( I did 2.5)

12) 2.9 ( I did 2.0)

13) 2.6 ( I did 1.5)

14) 2.3 (I did 1.0)

15) 2.1 (I did .5)

16) 1.9

17) 1.7

18) 1.5

19) 1.35

20) 1.2

I didn’t follow the taper of 10% after decrease number five. I am not sure how long I did the .5 past the three - four weeks - it was 9 years ago.

I did take some supplements after getting to 5 mg during this first taper - but it may not have been a good idea, because taking supplements that increase serotonin while on an SSRI can lead to serotonin syndrome.

REPLY
linda1000 | @linda1000 | Apr 11 4:41pm
In reply to @deegee75 "The dosage in ml should be the same as in mg. That is 5 ml is..." + (show)
@deegee75

The dosage in ml should be the same as in mg. That is 5 ml is equal to 5mg. I decreased my dosage by 10% every three - four weeks. If I traveled, I would go longer not shorter between dosage changes. At the end I didn’t quite stick to the exact schedule. The first time I weaned off, I followed the schedule I will post below. A few years later, I suffered a traumatic loss that caused extreme anxiety, so I started taking Lexapro 10 mg again. When I tried to wean off this time, it caused me to have much more frequent “silent” or what I called “ocular” migraines. I get vision disturbances for about a half hour; sometimes I have a headache, nausea or fatigue but not always. I stopped the taper at 5 mg. Another thing I could have done, as recommended by the website surviving antidepressants is really slow down the taper - maybe 5% every three to four weeks. I am on hold now to see if the migraines might stabilize- they haven’t and it has been almost a year since I stopped at 5 mg. Also if I get a “bad” batch of the generic Lexapro, my migraines will increase to daily or twice daily.

I will make a separate post with my original taper - don’t want to type it all in and have the post rejected for being too long.

Jump to this post

Thanks for your explanation of your tapering journey. I’ll look forward to your post with your original taper.
My medicine dropper holds 1 ml. So 5 droppers equals 5mg lexapro - (half of the 10mg lexapro tablet)?
Is that correct?
I so appreciate your guidance.

REPLY
1 reply
linda1000 | @linda1000 | Apr 11 4:45pm
In reply to @linda1000 "Thanks for your explanation of your tapering journey. I’ll look forward to your post with your..." + (show)
@linda1000

Thanks for your explanation of your tapering journey. I’ll look forward to your post with your original taper.
My medicine dropper holds 1 ml. So 5 droppers equals 5mg lexapro - (half of the 10mg lexapro tablet)?
Is that correct?
I so appreciate your guidance.

Jump to this post

Your tapering schedule popped up. Thanks. Good to know I’d need 5 droppers full for 5mg tablet. So I will start with cutting the tablet into two 5mg pieces and then just take one piece along with 4 droppers of the liquid? Does that sound right using a 1 ml dropper?
Thank you again for reaching out to explain all this for me.

REPLY
1 reply
deegee75 | @deegee75 | Apr 11 6:16pm
In reply to @linda1000 "Your tapering schedule popped up. Thanks. Good to know I’d need 5 droppers full for 5mg..." + (show)
@linda1000

Your tapering schedule popped up. Thanks. Good to know I’d need 5 droppers full for 5mg tablet. So I will start with cutting the tablet into two 5mg pieces and then just take one piece along with 4 droppers of the liquid? Does that sound right using a 1 ml dropper?
Thank you again for reaching out to explain all this for me.

Jump to this post

Yes - 5 mg pill/tablet with 4 ml liquid = 9 mg/ I also did 7.5 mg tablet (a little bit tricky with the pill splitter!) with 1.5 ml liquid. The liquid I had was a bit sweet and didn’t sit well on my stomach at first. And the liquid was pricey with my insurance the second time around. Good luck! Your meditation practice sounds like you are well prepared.

REPLY
linda1000 | @linda1000 | Apr 11 6:30pm

Very helpful. Thanks for explaining. I will start on Monday.
I hope you get past those migraines. How awful! Be easy on yourself. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot.
Sending my best thoughts.
Linda

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.