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...

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aisel | @aisel | Oct 16, 2022
In reply to @deegee75 "I never asked my doctor how to taper -- but I told her that when I..." + (show)
@deegee75

I never asked my doctor how to taper -- but I told her that when I tried to go from 10 mg to 7.5 mg. (this is the type of taper I see and hear about), I became "jittery" after three weeks; then I let her know that I wanted to try the 10% taper that I read about on the website "Surviving Antidepressants" - to do that I needed her to prescribe liquid lexapro. She was fully willing to try it my way and prescribe what was needed.

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My doctor cannot prescribe the liquid. Said to try taking every other day for a month or so, then every 2 days, etc. anyone try this method? Any success?

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2 replies
deegee75 | @deegee75 | Oct 16, 2022
In reply to @aisel "My doctor cannot prescribe the liquid. Said to try taking every other day for a month..." + (show)
@aisel

My doctor cannot prescribe the liquid. Said to try taking every other day for a month or so, then every 2 days, etc. anyone try this method? Any success?

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What do you mean your "doctor cannot prescribe the liquid"? That doesn't make any sense.
I would switch doctors. According to information on the Surviving Antidepressants website, alternating dosages for antidepressants is not recommended. I have heard it does work for sleeping pills like lunesta.

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deegee75 | @deegee75 | Oct 17, 2022

I tried to post a link to an interview with the individual that created the website Surviving Antidepressants. (I HIGHLY recommend this site if you are trying to come off psychiatric drugs. ) As a new member, I am not allowed to post links -- so google "Mad in America" interview with Adele Framer. Also check out the Mad in America interview with Dr. Mark Horowitz entitled "Peer-Support Groups Were Right, Guidelines Were Wrong: Dr. Mark Horowitz on Tapering Off Antidepressants." Also, the article "Very Slow Tapering Best For Antidepressant Withdrawal" also in Mad in America about an article in the British Medical Journal Lancet.

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1 reply
sears | @sears | Oct 18, 2022
In reply to @aisel "My doctor cannot prescribe the liquid. Said to try taking every other day for a month..." + (show)
@aisel

My doctor cannot prescribe the liquid. Said to try taking every other day for a month or so, then every 2 days, etc. anyone try this method? Any success?

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Never heard of a doctor that “can’t” prescribe liquid. Why??? Your doctor doesn’t know how to taper . This isn’t unusual, the vast majority of doctors don’t.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 25, 2022
In reply to @deegee75 "I tried to post a link to an interview with the individual that created the website..." + (show)
@deegee75

I tried to post a link to an interview with the individual that created the website Surviving Antidepressants. (I HIGHLY recommend this site if you are trying to come off psychiatric drugs. ) As a new member, I am not allowed to post links -- so google "Mad in America" interview with Adele Framer. Also check out the Mad in America interview with Dr. Mark Horowitz entitled "Peer-Support Groups Were Right, Guidelines Were Wrong: Dr. Mark Horowitz on Tapering Off Antidepressants." Also, the article "Very Slow Tapering Best For Antidepressant Withdrawal" also in Mad in America about an article in the British Medical Journal Lancet.

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Hi @deegee75,
I noticed that you wished to post a URL to resources with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the links you wanted to post are not spam. Please allow me to post them for you.

- Peer-Support Groups Were Right, Guidelines Were Wrong: Dr. Mark Horowitz on Tapering Off Antidepressants https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/03/peer-support-groups-right-official-guidelines-wrong-dr-mark-horowitz-tapering-off-antidepressants/
- Very Slow Tapering Best For Antidepressant Withdrawal https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/03/slow-tapering-best-antidepressant-withdrawal/

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nyc511 | @nyc511 | Mar 22, 2023

Hi. I signed up specifically to join this group. I was on Lexapro for 6 months. I was not prescribed the medication from a therapist, but rather my cardiologist that also serves as our family doctor/ internist. I was going through grief management and my blood pressure was rising and was struggling with anxiety. Having gone through something similar himself, he recommended the Lexapro. This was my first time using any sort of antidepressant, although I am on a betablocker for blood pressure as well. I do not know if it helped or not, but after 6 months I felt as if my issues had subsided so I weaned myself off based on what I read online. I was at 10mg, and reduced to 5 mg for a few weeks, then every other day, then zero. It has been a month or so and all is fine emotionally, thankfully!

However......I also gained 10 pounds since stopping. I have been very observant of my diet: watching alcohol intake or avoiding completely, avoiding unhealthy snacks, going to the gym almost daily, eating salads, and haven't lost an ounce! Thoughts? Am i drawing a connection that doesn't scientifically exist?

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iddy | @iddy | Jan 24 9:33am
In reply to @deegee75 "I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years...." + (show)
@deegee75

I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years. I followed the advice on the website "surviving antidepressants" -- which is to ONLY lower the dose by 10% every two to three weeks. I lowered dosage every three weeks. It did take a year, but I had no side effects. (I am depressed ON Lexapro, so I see no reason to take it -- I used mindfulness, exercise, meditation to help with depression.) I would suggest taking a course in mindfulness or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. I went through a trauma four years ago and was put back on Lexapro -- I am now in my second week of doing the 10% dosage reduction. Lexapro is available as a liquid so it makes reductions of 10% easy. Right now I am taking 4 ml liquid and 5 mg pill (half the 10mg pill). When I got down to 5 mg I did not stick to the 10% reduction, but did a more convenient titration since I was traveling.

I can provide my titration schedule if that would help.

Best!

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Hi, if you could provide your titration schedule, I'd be grateful!

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linda1000 | @linda1000 | Apr 11 1:08pm
In reply to @deegee75 "I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years...." + (show)
@deegee75

I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years. I followed the advice on the website "surviving antidepressants" -- which is to ONLY lower the dose by 10% every two to three weeks. I lowered dosage every three weeks. It did take a year, but I had no side effects. (I am depressed ON Lexapro, so I see no reason to take it -- I used mindfulness, exercise, meditation to help with depression.) I would suggest taking a course in mindfulness or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. I went through a trauma four years ago and was put back on Lexapro -- I am now in my second week of doing the 10% dosage reduction. Lexapro is available as a liquid so it makes reductions of 10% easy. Right now I am taking 4 ml liquid and 5 mg pill (half the 10mg pill). When I got down to 5 mg I did not stick to the 10% reduction, but did a more convenient titration since I was traveling.

I can provide my titration schedule if that would help.

Best!

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I am just beginning my taper down from a 10 mg lexapro tab. I just got the liquid but cannot figure out dosage for tapering. Could you please detail how you did this? Having trouble figuring out the liquid dosage. Many thanks.
Linda

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linda1000 | @linda1000 | Apr 11 1:15pm
In reply to @deegee75 "I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years...." + (show)
@deegee75

I successfully weaned off Lexapro 10 mg after being on it for more than ten years. I followed the advice on the website "surviving antidepressants" -- which is to ONLY lower the dose by 10% every two to three weeks. I lowered dosage every three weeks. It did take a year, but I had no side effects. (I am depressed ON Lexapro, so I see no reason to take it -- I used mindfulness, exercise, meditation to help with depression.) I would suggest taking a course in mindfulness or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. I went through a trauma four years ago and was put back on Lexapro -- I am now in my second week of doing the 10% dosage reduction. Lexapro is available as a liquid so it makes reductions of 10% easy. Right now I am taking 4 ml liquid and 5 mg pill (half the 10mg pill). When I got down to 5 mg I did not stick to the 10% reduction, but did a more convenient titration since I was traveling.

I can provide my titration schedule if that would help.

Best!

Jump to this post

I’ve been doing mindfulness meditation everyday 20 minutes for the past 18 months preparing to get off the 10 mg. lexapro. I don’t know how to figure the dosage in ml.
Can you detail your taper please? My doctor gave me the liquid but no advise how to use it to taper. Thanks so much for sharing.

REPLY
1 reply
deegee75 | @deegee75 | Apr 11 1:38pm
In reply to @linda1000 "I’ve been doing mindfulness meditation everyday 20 minutes for the past 18 months preparing to get..." + (show)
@linda1000

I’ve been doing mindfulness meditation everyday 20 minutes for the past 18 months preparing to get off the 10 mg. lexapro. I don’t know how to figure the dosage in ml.
Can you detail your taper please? My doctor gave me the liquid but no advise how to use it to taper. Thanks so much for sharing.

Jump to this post

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.

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