I am successfully withdrawing from Lexapro, Welbutrin, and Lyrica. Stopped these meds mid December 2015. There are mild side effects but am pleased with progress. I now have mental clarity beyond any hopes over the past 10 years. Yesterday my new new doctor prescribed Ziprasidone HCL 20mg for mild bipolar disorder. I filled the scrip, but have not started the medication. Have been researching the side effects, which are frightening. Am calling the Dr. today to say I will not take this. It seems to me that I am being prescribed medicine for temporary side effects. I am trying to find help for fibromyalgia and think that reducing stress will help. Have had many years of various levels of “trauma” which caused the fibro.
I understand that mental/mood disorders can be difficult to treat but am getting frustrated. I don’t feel like I am being heard by the new internist, pain management Dr. or psychiatric physician assistant.
Liked by littlecroissant
@hollyn thanks so much for sharing your experience. I have taken Lexapro since 2005-13 years-also related to hormonal changes leading to depression and anxiety-which was severe in my case. I am withdrawing now from 30 mg. and am down to 5 mg. I tried to go from 10 mg to 0 and 3 days later experienced dizziness and fogginess. So I am going to 5 mg. and hope that will go more smoothly. I have had no side effects so far, but I am wondering if others have had the experience of more side effects at the last part of the withdrawing process….
Liked by Parus
How have you successfully done this? Doing this now now, went from 20 to 10 for two weeks, then 7.5. I’m scared of brain zaps that I hear so much about. Unfortuneitly, my Dr is of no help. He said cut it in half for a week then stop. Been on this for 3 months. He said he never had anyone have trouble stopping Lexipro. I feel like Im on my own with this and I’m scared.
Liked by Parus
@holycow
I’m loving some of things I’m reading here. I just posted about my issues getting off Lexapro and that I’ve been having funny flashing, electrical-like jolts and zaps. And after doing a little research (very little!), it comes up all over the internet that what I’m feeling is exactly what others getting off Lex have experienced. NOBODY tells you this is what you can expect. You end up finding it out on your own. Thankfully, I read further that these discontinuation effects subside in about two weeks. It’s been a week free of the drug now, so I’m hoping soon it will all pass. I also posted this: “From what I’m reading here (and reading elsewhere), it seems amazing how easily these drugs (in my case, Lexapro), get handed out. Some of the things I read I dare say are criminal. But I think it is up to John and Jane Q Public to become better informed and more wary about doctors quickly handing out meds. I took Lexapro for a year and now weened off. I started the ween and double-checked with my PA that my schedule for the ween would be appropriate. He said it sounded fine. I stuck to it and got off the drug (10mgs) within about 3 weeks. But nobody told me what I was going to experience after being off the drug. This is the reason I ended up here. I got online suspecting some strange things I’ve been experiencing in the past 7 days or so might be attributable to being off Lexapro. And I’ll be damned if what I read isn’t exactly what I’m experiencing. Again, I really believe doctors should be more forthcoming about drug experiences. But we as patients I do believe have to take the initiative because they (the doctors) are not going to. In other words, it’s the informed consumer that ends up protecting him/herself or those they are guardian of.” Anyhow, good luck to all. Stay vigilant, awake and aware. There are problems–and there are solutions to those problems–that’s the GOOD news!
Liked by Parus