Switching Lexapro to Zoloft

Posted by millbrs823 @millbrs823, May 20 2:09am

Dr. is titrating down from Lexapro 40mg to switch to Zoloft for OCD/Anxiety. The 1st decrease was over 9 days, the second decrease over 10 days to 10mg, now after being on the 10mg Lexapro for just 4 days she wants it to be completely stopped. I experienced a severe headache going from 30 to 20mg for 2 days. I now am having back pain when I wake which may be totally unrelated but haven't done anything to stress the back. Has anyone had what seems like a quick crossover from med to med. Basically gone from Lexapro 40mg to coming off completely over a total of 3wks. The doctor doesn't think I need to do a longer titration, not even going down to 5mg which is a minimum dose for a brief period. Also started the Zoloft when I went down to 20mg Lexapro from 30mg in a week. Would like to hear if anyone has had a similar experience. Thanks

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Cheryl, Volunteer Mentor | @cehunt57 | May 20 1:27pm

@millbrs823 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect and congrats on what appears to be your first discussion/ post. I am a firm believer in going very slooowly when switching meds &/or tapering off a med. All meds have side effects to consider plus possible interactions to consider so I like proceeding slooowly. Have you asked your doc for the reasoning behind doing things this way? Another thing to ask is if there are any potential problems to watch out for and if so what to do about them. Many doctors are accustomed to giving prescriptions/orders but are not as comfortable giving their patients instruction or education about the condition & treatment recommendations.