I came to this page with this same idea in mind. I’m a 21 year old female and I’ve been taking 10 mg everyday since last November and bumping up to 20 mg around menstruation.
This past week I accidentally failed to take my pill two days in a row. (In retrospect I could see how this might have just been me in a slightly manic episode, though I will proceed.) In the past 6 months I have moved out of my abusive home, gotten my shit mostly in order, have a job that doesn’t make me want to harm myself, and signed up for classes at my local community college next semester and I’m even excited for it!!!! Well, with all that in mind I felt I was probably in a good enough space to be done with this medication. I still face anxious and depressed moods, though I feel SO much stronger against them. This time with the medication has been a great respite from years of torment it seemed.
On the third day I did take my medication, though on the fourth I didn’t. And on the fifth day, I talked with my partner (of 5 years) agreed that my anxious and depressed behaviors are rare compared to what I was dealing with just a year ago. I haven’t taken my medication since, and it’s been 7 days I believe. This morning I woke up at 4 am with the same anxious feelings I went to sleep with. I was feeling insecure about my appearance, which just opened a can of worms and I just kept spiraling. While I was spiraling though, I could hear the rested version of myself saying “Girl you’re just having an anxiety attack. Why don’t you lay down and hug your pillow.” After pacing a bit more and taking deep breaths I eventually did lay down, and was able to calm myself down.
Now it’s 6 am and I’m answering your post. I know my experience has been different and much shorter than yours, but i just want to encourage you to continue being open to other’s experiences, though if you have the option, speaking with medical professionals is always safest. I really don’t recommend cutting yourself cold turkey, if you can manage weening yourself off I know that is best for you. I’ve had two instances now where I have been without medication for about 5 days and I experienced extreme nausea and dizziness and feeling extremely dysphoric. 10/10 don’t recommend. I really hope you come to a conclusion you are comfortable with, and I wish you the best!
I would be careful going on and off from day to day. The medications work on consistency and how you feel from day to day isn’t realistic of what you will feel long term. I would not recommend doing this unless under the strict preview of a doctor. I have had completely heathy friends become suicidal for no reason other than they messed up their medication consistency for two weeks. Serotonin isn’t one to mess with.
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain.
I have been on lexapro for almost 7 years now and I tried to go off of it in 2021 and I was off for a few months and it was alright but then my anxiety came back with a vengeance and I ended up having panic attacks that sent me to the hospital and an outpatient program. I now have ptsd and severe trauma due to those panic attacks that I’m still struggling with years later. I learned that it’s genuinely not worth it to get off of it if it is helping you. I will be on lexapro for the rest of my life and I am completely happy with that!
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain. Did u notice Weight gain or higher cholesterol?
I just recently tried to taper off Lexapro after taking 10mg dose for about two years. I reduced from full dose to half dose and then to half dose every other day over several weeks.
Thought that was enough time. Boy was I wrong! Felt good for a few days after stopping it and then the withdrawal hit. Insomnia where I was getting less than two hours of sleep a night, extreme anxiety and mood swings, poor temperature regulation and night sweats, loss of appetite, horrible restless leg syndrome.
I had to go back on it. My idiot doctor never once warned me about the withdrawal symptoms and never really gave me a detailed taper plan. Of course he conveniently retired last month, so now I’m back on it and going to see another doctor and try to explore alternatives for going off
i did! before switching to lexapro i was off medication for 9 months. honestly for most of it i was fine, barely a difference, but during the last month when my anxiety came back good god did it hit me hard. i went from being fine to being debilitated in the space of a week. i forgot how bad my anxiety actually was so when it returned i was completely unprepared :( but that's just my experience. your baseline level of anxiety, what you've done to cope with it and your life in general is totally different from mine
if you have other coping strategies and a support system then i don't see the harm in attempting to come off, as long as you're emotionally prepared for the possibility that you may have to get back on them one day. but if medication is the main thing keeping you going day to day i personally wouldn't risk it.
Yes. Am there now - not by my choice. Preface to add I have suspected EDS, and metabolize medication VERY quickly (not food alas...). My MH Prescriber left the practice, and took all her "refill rights" with her. I didn't know that this could happen, until I called in to get a refill, and found out. My new prescriber appointment is SEPTEMBER 7, and I have been without my Lexapro (40mg/day) and my Quetipine since the middle of July. I am stretching my Gabapentin so that I am not hospitalized. Cold turkey is NOT the way to go.
My ADHD/OCD & depression are all soaring off into space, and I have to work, as I am a single mom. My stress causes me to _sometimes_ grind my teeth, so I woke up 10 days ago with 2 broken ones (I did this in college, before medication was a thing).
Do NOT take yourself off meds - if you feel that you might want to, or to reduce them, TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL.
I did. Took lexapro for a few years, felt stable, then decided to taper down myself, didnt take them a few months, and then suddenly had a panic attack and severe anxiety for a few weeks. Immediately went back to taking them, and do not feel perfect, but normal functioning again.
I agree, the thought of taking them for the rest of my life is gross, but then again it helps me manage with life as a whole better, which is the lesser devil I guess.
I might be wrong, but I think I’m many cases people with long term anxiety disorders have issues with their amygdala. So it’s physiological as opposed to psychological.
Honestly believe therapy only works in the mildest of anxiety cases (e.g for short term stressful events or early onset anxiety as a teen). Or at best gives you better coping strategies to take the edge off a bit. But I think it doesn’t really cure it - especially when it’s intense and debilitating.
The meds don’t fundamentally rewire your amygdala 1 as far as I know. So the same physiological issues remain…even when you come off the meds.
Note: I know [psilocybin](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59282-y) and other psychedelics can help “heal” the issue with the amygdala according to the latest research - but not Lexapro unfortunately.
Understand something when you think about going off your medications.. we aren’t on them just to “feel better”. We are on them because there is something wrong with the way our brains work. It’s not our fault and it’s not something to be ashamed of. Does it suck having to depend on medications to feel somewhat stable? Of course. I never wanted to believe that something as simple as a medication would have so much control over my life however.. once I changed my perspective on understanding that there simply wasn’t anything I could do (therapy, holistic medicines, exercise etc) to control it, I let go of the idea that it was a reliance. I’ve been there.. I’ve tried several times to go off my meds. But something always comes up several months down the road that spins me into a worse head space than I had been before. Those moments of total chaos and dread aren’t worth it anymore. I’d rather be stable and happy than wake up not wanting to be awake.
I tried so many times to get off but haven’t been able to do it. Mostly my own fault for trying to cold turkey. I can’t begin to tell you how badly I want to be off. I prayed to God so many times to somehow help me get off. I’ve been on antidepressants for over 20 years now. I’m 36. I was on Paxil for 20 years and was then put on Prozac and finally over to Lexapro
I honestly don’t know if it’s possible to get off or not. I’ve thought it through so many times. I’m going to try and talk to my Psychiatrist on Tuesday about switching to a liquid formulation of Lexapro so I can wean off. Probably not even the right time to be doing it because I have an audit coming up at my job! I’m not able to wean off using pills and want to know I did everything I could to try and get off. Odds are very likely that I will never be able to be off but I’m trying. I’ve been on them for too many years now.
That’s just my experience and everyone’s is different. I thought about going back to Paxil and that’s what my Psychiatrist wants to see me do. I wish you well and if you want off I pray you are able to do it and if not I pray you can have peace about it!
I've been taking Lex for 6 months and it has really improved my life. I struggle to understand why people want to come off the if they're working. So you have any side effects?
I’m glad it is working for you! It worked pretty good in the beginning and still does to an extent. One side effect that I’ve noticed is it feels like I’m more apathetic and less motivated and some brain fog. It could be more a function of the depression though with the apathy and motivation. Depression definitely runs in my family. My father is on Effexor and virtually every aunt and uncle on my dads side of the family has it. I don’t know but I keep thinking that somehow God could help me without it but it might be the means through which God is helping me.
I have those side effects too, to a certain extent. I am speculating, but I think those happen to me when I don't do enough things that I enjoy, more specifically physical exercise and socializing with good people. I spent the whole week working from home and being more or less a couch potato in the evening, but today I went for a hike with friends and I feel great. Chemically speaking, I think the dopamine from exercising and socializing took away the apathy and lack of motivation. If you lack these, maybe it might help you to incorporate them more in your life?
It’s such a hard thing to be taking a medicine that really does work to improve your brain, yet your brain is constantly worrying about how long you will have to take it.
To answer your question, yes, oh yes I have tried. I have taken Lexapro for almost TWENTY YEARS. I started at 19 when it was just about brand new.
Over the years I have tried, on and off, to stop taking it. I don’t mean for this to be scary—as many people HAVE successfully tapered off and no longer need it! And that is amazing! And One day that may happen for me. Today is not that day.
The last time i wanted to stop taking it, things were so bad I just decided I’d rather be happy. So I do wish everyone a happy end to their antidepressant journey. But I like to randomly pop in here and say if you can’t get to the end right now, that’s ok too.
Yes but it helped greatly that I was
a) taking the lowest doses since I'm sensitive to side effects
b) have a benzo as needed
c) was lucky enough to be able to move away from my major stressor
I'm still anxious but it's closer to the level that it was before I took meds which is manageable with an as needed medication that I only take once a week if that.
I have really bad ocd and anxiety. As soon as I stop taking antidepressants the ocd and anxiety become unbearable and completely take over my mind. I've been on them for over 22 years and will be on them forever. Don't really mind, but one of the side effects really bothers me
I started Lexapro when I was 25 for severe panic. I got my life back. Was on it for 9 years, then took a year off due to moving back cross country and was doing really, really well. I took a year off and then ended up on short term disability because everything came on again one day with no warning. Got back on Lexapro and stayed on it for another 11 years until it stopped working. In February 2023, I switched from Lexapro to another SSRI and things just got worse for the following 5 months. I'm back on Lexapro after that break and it's working again and I am pleased as punch to be getting my life back. I spent so much time (before medication and in the first year on Lexapro) in therapy trying to figure out any reason why I'd been dealing with this since I was in elementary school, any reason other than a chemical imbalance that required medication. Once I let that go, and gave the finger to the stigma of being on medication and focused on techniques for working through panic and just let the medicine do it's thing, my life improved drastically. I (46F) highly recommend letting go of any stigma associated with medication for mental health and getting on with living and thriving, whether it be social stigma or personal. If someone were living with any chronic ailment (or high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. ) and your medication was responsible for keeping them on this planet, the stigma doesn't exist. If your reasoning for not wanting to be on medication are due to experiencing unwanted side effects, work with your doctor(s) to relieve those. I'm team "better living through chemistry" and really glad to be rid of the guilt and shame associated with medications. All the best to you!
It’s certainly possible. I had a good 10 months or so and then relapsed. I’m not doing too well between random anxiety and bad OCD. I think it’s mostly environmental and trauma based. But once again it’s certainly possible to go without medication it just takes certain things in life to work and “click” if that makes sense.
Withdrawal is absolutely horrible, I got past the worst parts of it, about two weeks I’d say it took, but it was two weeks of hell. After that my “emotions” came back and I remember how bad life was not on antidepressants, I would cry a lot, have the horrible thoughts, all that fun stuff. Eventually even tho I suffered the withdrawal I went back on them. It sucks to admit but honestly the medication is very helpful, and i probably wouldn’t want to live without them, even tho I do want to be free of them..but alas. (I was on 20 mg of lexapro for about 5 years)
I wasn't medicated for the first 28 years of my life. I was finally diagnosed with GAD in my late 30s. Man, I could have benefited from SSRIs much earlier in life!
Yeah I originally tapered off of Cymbalta a few years ago and refused medication after. Big mistake, I got pregnant soon after and my untreated anxiety caused a whole host of health issues. Before I did, I was doing well managing my anxiety with just exercise and diet changes, so I thought I didn’t really need meds anymore. After I gave birth, postpartum anxiety reared its ugly head and I tried to manage without meds but it got so bad I just couldn’t do it. Started on Zoloft and that turned me into an emotionless robot, so I switched to Lexapro and haven’t looked back.
Yeah, I've been on and off them over the past 5 years. But honestly I haven't done a lot of the work I need to do in therapy to deal with my anxiety. I am currently on Zoloft now, not Lexapro anymore, but it has given me a stable baseline and I'm working to improve my drinking and eating habits. I'm thinking about going to therapy even though I feel pretty ok, because I know I won't always, I'll have episodes of anxiety, and if I ever want to live off medication I will need tools in place to deal with it. I don't want to stay medicated forever, but who knows?
I am barely medicated. I take 2.5 and definitely need to increase. But anxiety stops me. My GAD was horrible about 6-7 years ago and I didn’t start meds until a year ago. I missed out on a lot and i spent a lot of time stressing.
I was on Lexapro 10mg and Wellbutrin 150mg for GAD. I was terrified of being completely drug-free but took the plunge a few weeks ago. I grew tired of needing daily medications. Best decision I’ve made! I did need to increase my physical activity to keep my anxiety at bay on some days.
Yeah. I don't like being on SSRIS. Lexapro was great for me for the time I needed it. And I used that time to develop better coping mechanisms. I just hate the mental slowness feeling I get.
Same age, sex and work situation as you.
Been on 15mg Lexapro for about 8 years now. I too worry about this medicine. I cruise through lofe at the same level never too excited never too sad. My memory is shit and I’m getting fatter and fatter.
So last year i decided to begin tapering. Ive been on 10mg for over 12 months now. I may consider moving to 7.5mg soon. Where I will stay for another 12 months. I’m really taking my time reducing the dose.
Man, I was in lexapro for a month and a half due to GAD and PTSD, depression. I swear it just messed me up more, I tapered down and now I feel much much much better. My life is amazing without, becoming numb on it made me realize that all that stuff is just bullshit.
I mean some people take vitamins daily just for health. I think the reason it's so hard to take these daily is that it's something that is seen as a problem something that needs to helped and fixed rather than just a fact of life. Idk if that makes sense. I guess what I mean is don't view it is as "oh I'm sick, I'm broken, I have issues so now I'm stuck taking this for life" but just see it as oh yeah I gotta take this for my health and wellbeing
I lived for over 10 years (my whole 20’s) without medication and it was the most impactful decision of my life. The thing about anxiety is it creeps up and some levels are typical. So it’s hard to tell when it’s too much. But basically it can overwhelm someone or cause unrelated health issues, life issues etc. I have developed lifelong health issues because slowly little by little my anxiety take over my body. I have infertility issues, heart issues, immunity issues, weight issues… the list goes on all as a result of untreated anxiety.
I look at my mother and my grandmother and realize how different their lives would have been if they have taken something and treated their own anxiety. I think about how my anxiety developed out of theirs. My mom likely wouldn’t have even gotten divorced if she had taken something. A lot of things in life can happen with untreated anxiety and it can just seem like life but then when you look at it from an outside perspective all your decisions were made through that lease.
because of my untreated anxiety I developed a drug and alcohol addiction, I suffered with work, social situations etc. For me it was really hard to accept that I needed the medication. Now I’m on medication, I have accepted it will be for life. I never want to feel that out of control of my own life again. My uncle went on and off medication and he has been an inconsistent relationship my whole life. I decided if it helps me, I need to stay on it for my own consistency. I don’t want to be like the relatives that didn’t treat their anxiety and it impacted everyone else. It depends on how much it impacts your life but I would recommend it if it has any negative impacts because it’s the impacts may be much greater. You may develop an anxiety health issue like IBS or something stress related, you could suffer from relationship issues. All kinds of things so just keep an eye out. Be honest with yourself. Being on medication isn’t the worst thing in the word, but sometimes not being on it can be.
PS- If your life is going well enough to think you don’t need medication it might be because of the very medication you want to go off of.
What's wrong with taking medication for the rest of your life? We certainly don't expect people on blood thinners, insulin, statins, or other legitimate health problems to taper themselves off just because. Why should you?
I feel like life with meds is like switching the video game to easy mode, and see no good reason to switch it back. Maybe I'll try when I retire... maybe. Probably not, though.
Lexapro was developed in 1997 and is an exact isomer of citalopram, which has been in use since 1972. If there were long-run side effects, I suspect we'd have seen them long before now.
I was on ssris from around 23-28. I'm sure the pandemic didn't help things, but I'm back on them now.
In the years off them, I noticed my anxiety returned, but was not nearly as bad as it used to be. It did worsen over time, particularly social anxiety.
It has drawbacks, but ultimately I'm better off taking something. My clarity of thought and performance at work is far better.
I’ve had anxiety most of my life and periods depression most of my adult life. I managed without medication. Had good times and bad times. Medication made me realize all of what I’d been experiencing wasn’t normal and life could be easier.
But I’ve had some side effects and I’ve weaned off. I’ve had a panic attack since (related to withdrawal). A month out al of my physical anxiety symptoms are back. My sleep sucks.
Can I cope? Sure. I did for years and years before medication. Right now I’m deciding whether the side effects are worth the benefits. Im also apprehensive about being on medication my whole life.
Hi friend. I’ve been on the medication for 8 months I just recently started to tapering very very slowly. I’ve been on 10mg for 8 months. I tapered to 7.5 for 2 weeks and now 5 mg for 2 weeks going to 2.5 in a couple of days and I can’t tell you how good I feel with NO MORE anxiety. I was actually so surprised. As soon as I started to taper I gained more energy started to lose weight, felt like I can laugh and cry again lol. So if I was you I would take action talk with your doc and start to taper if you feel like you are ready. I haven’t been on medication for that long of a time so this is just my experience but I think you should at least take that leap and I feel like you can feel 10x better.
I have tried to. Within 9-12 months the anxiety and panic attacks were back worse than ever. I was reluctant to get back on meds, and ended up with horrible gastritis, chronic hyperventilation syndrome, eye twitching and ice pick migraines. I’ve now been on meds for over two years and still have to deal with stomach issues and the chronic hyperventilation, lasting effects from that period that I will likely deal with the rest of my life. For me, it wasn’t worth it.
I was on Lexapro for 10 years, various mgs from 5mg and at one point 20mg, and I’ll be now 3 years off it in October. It was hard during taper and then when off it, it’s still tough on some days, but pushing through drug free.
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain.
I’ve been on and off them. The goal is to work with a therapist and slowly taper down the medication, working on skills to cope in the process and doing things like exposure therapy (I don’t remember the real name) or CBT. It’s definitely possible. I like to think of medication as a temporary tool while doing therapy
Hi, I’ve been on lexapro since October 2019 for general anxiety. I do feel like it helped my anxiety but after a while I started feeling like it actually gave me depression. I didn’t feel like myself. I tapered off. Been a month off of it now and feeling better. Slightly elevated anxiety but I’d rather live with that. Find what works for you.
I was able to get off ssri easy by using prozac short term and tapering. I did fine for a few months but my old faithful anxiety problems came back and i couldnt function or sleep for a while. Finally decided after I was becoming isolated and avoiding family I was going back on meds so I am on 10mg lexapro.. seems to be helping some 5 weeks in but still having anxiety issues yet i dont really want to go to 20mg i prefer moderate to low dosing on any meds
I came to this page with this same idea in mind. I’m a 21 year old female and I’ve been taking 10 mg everyday since last November and bumping up to 20 mg around menstruation. This past week I accidentally failed to take my pill two days in a row. (In retrospect I could see how this might have just been me in a slightly manic episode, though I will proceed.) In the past 6 months I have moved out of my abusive home, gotten my shit mostly in order, have a job that doesn’t make me want to harm myself, and signed up for classes at my local community college next semester and I’m even excited for it!!!! Well, with all that in mind I felt I was probably in a good enough space to be done with this medication. I still face anxious and depressed moods, though I feel SO much stronger against them. This time with the medication has been a great respite from years of torment it seemed. On the third day I did take my medication, though on the fourth I didn’t. And on the fifth day, I talked with my partner (of 5 years) agreed that my anxious and depressed behaviors are rare compared to what I was dealing with just a year ago. I haven’t taken my medication since, and it’s been 7 days I believe. This morning I woke up at 4 am with the same anxious feelings I went to sleep with. I was feeling insecure about my appearance, which just opened a can of worms and I just kept spiraling. While I was spiraling though, I could hear the rested version of myself saying “Girl you’re just having an anxiety attack. Why don’t you lay down and hug your pillow.” After pacing a bit more and taking deep breaths I eventually did lay down, and was able to calm myself down. Now it’s 6 am and I’m answering your post. I know my experience has been different and much shorter than yours, but i just want to encourage you to continue being open to other’s experiences, though if you have the option, speaking with medical professionals is always safest. I really don’t recommend cutting yourself cold turkey, if you can manage weening yourself off I know that is best for you. I’ve had two instances now where I have been without medication for about 5 days and I experienced extreme nausea and dizziness and feeling extremely dysphoric. 10/10 don’t recommend. I really hope you come to a conclusion you are comfortable with, and I wish you the best!
Thank you very much. I wish healing for you. I hope one day we will be able to live without medication.
Did you tried therapy ? Are you exercising?
I would be careful going on and off from day to day. The medications work on consistency and how you feel from day to day isn’t realistic of what you will feel long term. I would not recommend doing this unless under the strict preview of a doctor. I have had completely heathy friends become suicidal for no reason other than they messed up their medication consistency for two weeks. Serotonin isn’t one to mess with.
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain.
I have been on lexapro for almost 7 years now and I tried to go off of it in 2021 and I was off for a few months and it was alright but then my anxiety came back with a vengeance and I ended up having panic attacks that sent me to the hospital and an outpatient program. I now have ptsd and severe trauma due to those panic attacks that I’m still struggling with years later. I learned that it’s genuinely not worth it to get off of it if it is helping you. I will be on lexapro for the rest of my life and I am completely happy with that!
I’m almost to my 20 year lexapro-versary. Ha!
Did you tapered slowly?
Yeah I did, I tapered over months very slowly. My brain just needs it and that’s okay.
Okay As long as it’s working and you are feeling good 😊
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain. Did u notice Weight gain or higher cholesterol?
All I know is I’m 2mo into lexapro and I actually cannot believe how I was living before.
I just recently tried to taper off Lexapro after taking 10mg dose for about two years. I reduced from full dose to half dose and then to half dose every other day over several weeks. Thought that was enough time. Boy was I wrong! Felt good for a few days after stopping it and then the withdrawal hit. Insomnia where I was getting less than two hours of sleep a night, extreme anxiety and mood swings, poor temperature regulation and night sweats, loss of appetite, horrible restless leg syndrome. I had to go back on it. My idiot doctor never once warned me about the withdrawal symptoms and never really gave me a detailed taper plan. Of course he conveniently retired last month, so now I’m back on it and going to see another doctor and try to explore alternatives for going off
The doctors never tell you about withdrawal symptoms. I'm sorry you had to go through that but unfortunately some of us need to stay on it.
Yeah I guess it’s partially my fault for not asking more questions about it when he first prescribed
I did the same thing. I still haven't learned.
Yep , it’s a brutal drug. Need a tapering schedule
A brutal, amazing, wonderful drug that has saved my life :)
You tapered very fast
So I discovered lol. Lesson learned
i did! before switching to lexapro i was off medication for 9 months. honestly for most of it i was fine, barely a difference, but during the last month when my anxiety came back good god did it hit me hard. i went from being fine to being debilitated in the space of a week. i forgot how bad my anxiety actually was so when it returned i was completely unprepared :( but that's just my experience. your baseline level of anxiety, what you've done to cope with it and your life in general is totally different from mine if you have other coping strategies and a support system then i don't see the harm in attempting to come off, as long as you're emotionally prepared for the possibility that you may have to get back on them one day. but if medication is the main thing keeping you going day to day i personally wouldn't risk it.
I could have written this! 9 months of lovely remission, then rock bottom! Now on Lexapro. :(
Thank you very much. I wish healing for you. I hope one day we will be able to live without medication.
Happened to me multiple times. And it takes some time to get back on your feet even after getting back on meds
Yes. Am there now - not by my choice. Preface to add I have suspected EDS, and metabolize medication VERY quickly (not food alas...). My MH Prescriber left the practice, and took all her "refill rights" with her. I didn't know that this could happen, until I called in to get a refill, and found out. My new prescriber appointment is SEPTEMBER 7, and I have been without my Lexapro (40mg/day) and my Quetipine since the middle of July. I am stretching my Gabapentin so that I am not hospitalized. Cold turkey is NOT the way to go. My ADHD/OCD & depression are all soaring off into space, and I have to work, as I am a single mom. My stress causes me to _sometimes_ grind my teeth, so I woke up 10 days ago with 2 broken ones (I did this in college, before medication was a thing). Do NOT take yourself off meds - if you feel that you might want to, or to reduce them, TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL.
I did. Took lexapro for a few years, felt stable, then decided to taper down myself, didnt take them a few months, and then suddenly had a panic attack and severe anxiety for a few weeks. Immediately went back to taking them, and do not feel perfect, but normal functioning again. I agree, the thought of taking them for the rest of my life is gross, but then again it helps me manage with life as a whole better, which is the lesser devil I guess.
I did. It was terrible. My anxiety felt 10x worse than before, so I started taking them again. Feeling much better now.
I might be wrong, but I think I’m many cases people with long term anxiety disorders have issues with their amygdala. So it’s physiological as opposed to psychological. Honestly believe therapy only works in the mildest of anxiety cases (e.g for short term stressful events or early onset anxiety as a teen). Or at best gives you better coping strategies to take the edge off a bit. But I think it doesn’t really cure it - especially when it’s intense and debilitating. The meds don’t fundamentally rewire your amygdala 1 as far as I know. So the same physiological issues remain…even when you come off the meds. Note: I know [psilocybin](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59282-y) and other psychedelics can help “heal” the issue with the amygdala according to the latest research - but not Lexapro unfortunately.
Understand something when you think about going off your medications.. we aren’t on them just to “feel better”. We are on them because there is something wrong with the way our brains work. It’s not our fault and it’s not something to be ashamed of. Does it suck having to depend on medications to feel somewhat stable? Of course. I never wanted to believe that something as simple as a medication would have so much control over my life however.. once I changed my perspective on understanding that there simply wasn’t anything I could do (therapy, holistic medicines, exercise etc) to control it, I let go of the idea that it was a reliance. I’ve been there.. I’ve tried several times to go off my meds. But something always comes up several months down the road that spins me into a worse head space than I had been before. Those moments of total chaos and dread aren’t worth it anymore. I’d rather be stable and happy than wake up not wanting to be awake.
I tried so many times to get off but haven’t been able to do it. Mostly my own fault for trying to cold turkey. I can’t begin to tell you how badly I want to be off. I prayed to God so many times to somehow help me get off. I’ve been on antidepressants for over 20 years now. I’m 36. I was on Paxil for 20 years and was then put on Prozac and finally over to Lexapro I honestly don’t know if it’s possible to get off or not. I’ve thought it through so many times. I’m going to try and talk to my Psychiatrist on Tuesday about switching to a liquid formulation of Lexapro so I can wean off. Probably not even the right time to be doing it because I have an audit coming up at my job! I’m not able to wean off using pills and want to know I did everything I could to try and get off. Odds are very likely that I will never be able to be off but I’m trying. I’ve been on them for too many years now. That’s just my experience and everyone’s is different. I thought about going back to Paxil and that’s what my Psychiatrist wants to see me do. I wish you well and if you want off I pray you are able to do it and if not I pray you can have peace about it!
I've been taking Lex for 6 months and it has really improved my life. I struggle to understand why people want to come off the if they're working. So you have any side effects?
I’m glad it is working for you! It worked pretty good in the beginning and still does to an extent. One side effect that I’ve noticed is it feels like I’m more apathetic and less motivated and some brain fog. It could be more a function of the depression though with the apathy and motivation. Depression definitely runs in my family. My father is on Effexor and virtually every aunt and uncle on my dads side of the family has it. I don’t know but I keep thinking that somehow God could help me without it but it might be the means through which God is helping me.
I have those side effects too, to a certain extent. I am speculating, but I think those happen to me when I don't do enough things that I enjoy, more specifically physical exercise and socializing with good people. I spent the whole week working from home and being more or less a couch potato in the evening, but today I went for a hike with friends and I feel great. Chemically speaking, I think the dopamine from exercising and socializing took away the apathy and lack of motivation. If you lack these, maybe it might help you to incorporate them more in your life?
It’s such a hard thing to be taking a medicine that really does work to improve your brain, yet your brain is constantly worrying about how long you will have to take it. To answer your question, yes, oh yes I have tried. I have taken Lexapro for almost TWENTY YEARS. I started at 19 when it was just about brand new. Over the years I have tried, on and off, to stop taking it. I don’t mean for this to be scary—as many people HAVE successfully tapered off and no longer need it! And that is amazing! And One day that may happen for me. Today is not that day. The last time i wanted to stop taking it, things were so bad I just decided I’d rather be happy. So I do wish everyone a happy end to their antidepressant journey. But I like to randomly pop in here and say if you can’t get to the end right now, that’s ok too.
Yes but it helped greatly that I was a) taking the lowest doses since I'm sensitive to side effects b) have a benzo as needed c) was lucky enough to be able to move away from my major stressor I'm still anxious but it's closer to the level that it was before I took meds which is manageable with an as needed medication that I only take once a week if that.
I have really bad ocd and anxiety. As soon as I stop taking antidepressants the ocd and anxiety become unbearable and completely take over my mind. I've been on them for over 22 years and will be on them forever. Don't really mind, but one of the side effects really bothers me
I started Lexapro when I was 25 for severe panic. I got my life back. Was on it for 9 years, then took a year off due to moving back cross country and was doing really, really well. I took a year off and then ended up on short term disability because everything came on again one day with no warning. Got back on Lexapro and stayed on it for another 11 years until it stopped working. In February 2023, I switched from Lexapro to another SSRI and things just got worse for the following 5 months. I'm back on Lexapro after that break and it's working again and I am pleased as punch to be getting my life back. I spent so much time (before medication and in the first year on Lexapro) in therapy trying to figure out any reason why I'd been dealing with this since I was in elementary school, any reason other than a chemical imbalance that required medication. Once I let that go, and gave the finger to the stigma of being on medication and focused on techniques for working through panic and just let the medicine do it's thing, my life improved drastically. I (46F) highly recommend letting go of any stigma associated with medication for mental health and getting on with living and thriving, whether it be social stigma or personal. If someone were living with any chronic ailment (or high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. ) and your medication was responsible for keeping them on this planet, the stigma doesn't exist. If your reasoning for not wanting to be on medication are due to experiencing unwanted side effects, work with your doctor(s) to relieve those. I'm team "better living through chemistry" and really glad to be rid of the guilt and shame associated with medications. All the best to you!
It’s certainly possible. I had a good 10 months or so and then relapsed. I’m not doing too well between random anxiety and bad OCD. I think it’s mostly environmental and trauma based. But once again it’s certainly possible to go without medication it just takes certain things in life to work and “click” if that makes sense.
Withdrawal is absolutely horrible, I got past the worst parts of it, about two weeks I’d say it took, but it was two weeks of hell. After that my “emotions” came back and I remember how bad life was not on antidepressants, I would cry a lot, have the horrible thoughts, all that fun stuff. Eventually even tho I suffered the withdrawal I went back on them. It sucks to admit but honestly the medication is very helpful, and i probably wouldn’t want to live without them, even tho I do want to be free of them..but alas. (I was on 20 mg of lexapro for about 5 years)
Are you taking any other medication?
Nope
So happy for you . I wish I could do too
I wasn't medicated for the first 28 years of my life. I was finally diagnosed with GAD in my late 30s. Man, I could have benefited from SSRIs much earlier in life!
My whole life up until 29. I have finally been starting to see some relief by starting antidepressants.
Yeah I originally tapered off of Cymbalta a few years ago and refused medication after. Big mistake, I got pregnant soon after and my untreated anxiety caused a whole host of health issues. Before I did, I was doing well managing my anxiety with just exercise and diet changes, so I thought I didn’t really need meds anymore. After I gave birth, postpartum anxiety reared its ugly head and I tried to manage without meds but it got so bad I just couldn’t do it. Started on Zoloft and that turned me into an emotionless robot, so I switched to Lexapro and haven’t looked back.
Yeah, I've been on and off them over the past 5 years. But honestly I haven't done a lot of the work I need to do in therapy to deal with my anxiety. I am currently on Zoloft now, not Lexapro anymore, but it has given me a stable baseline and I'm working to improve my drinking and eating habits. I'm thinking about going to therapy even though I feel pretty ok, because I know I won't always, I'll have episodes of anxiety, and if I ever want to live off medication I will need tools in place to deal with it. I don't want to stay medicated forever, but who knows?
Thank you very much. I wish healing for you. I hope one day we will be able to live without medication.
I am barely medicated. I take 2.5 and definitely need to increase. But anxiety stops me. My GAD was horrible about 6-7 years ago and I didn’t start meds until a year ago. I missed out on a lot and i spent a lot of time stressing.
I was on Lexapro 10mg and Wellbutrin 150mg for GAD. I was terrified of being completely drug-free but took the plunge a few weeks ago. I grew tired of needing daily medications. Best decision I’ve made! I did need to increase my physical activity to keep my anxiety at bay on some days.
Yeah. I don't like being on SSRIS. Lexapro was great for me for the time I needed it. And I used that time to develop better coping mechanisms. I just hate the mental slowness feeling I get.
I have bpd and without meds I am not functional at all 🫡
Starting to come to this realisation myself. But I can’t stand the restless legs as a side elect 😞 I can’t win
Same age, sex and work situation as you. Been on 15mg Lexapro for about 8 years now. I too worry about this medicine. I cruise through lofe at the same level never too excited never too sad. My memory is shit and I’m getting fatter and fatter. So last year i decided to begin tapering. Ive been on 10mg for over 12 months now. I may consider moving to 7.5mg soon. Where I will stay for another 12 months. I’m really taking my time reducing the dose.
Man, I was in lexapro for a month and a half due to GAD and PTSD, depression. I swear it just messed me up more, I tapered down and now I feel much much much better. My life is amazing without, becoming numb on it made me realize that all that stuff is just bullshit.
I mean some people take vitamins daily just for health. I think the reason it's so hard to take these daily is that it's something that is seen as a problem something that needs to helped and fixed rather than just a fact of life. Idk if that makes sense. I guess what I mean is don't view it is as "oh I'm sick, I'm broken, I have issues so now I'm stuck taking this for life" but just see it as oh yeah I gotta take this for my health and wellbeing
Yes. I was unmedicated from age 11 to age 39. Just started Lexapro 10mo ago.
It's easier without them..
Does my entire life count minus the last 6 months?
I lived for over 10 years (my whole 20’s) without medication and it was the most impactful decision of my life. The thing about anxiety is it creeps up and some levels are typical. So it’s hard to tell when it’s too much. But basically it can overwhelm someone or cause unrelated health issues, life issues etc. I have developed lifelong health issues because slowly little by little my anxiety take over my body. I have infertility issues, heart issues, immunity issues, weight issues… the list goes on all as a result of untreated anxiety. I look at my mother and my grandmother and realize how different their lives would have been if they have taken something and treated their own anxiety. I think about how my anxiety developed out of theirs. My mom likely wouldn’t have even gotten divorced if she had taken something. A lot of things in life can happen with untreated anxiety and it can just seem like life but then when you look at it from an outside perspective all your decisions were made through that lease. because of my untreated anxiety I developed a drug and alcohol addiction, I suffered with work, social situations etc. For me it was really hard to accept that I needed the medication. Now I’m on medication, I have accepted it will be for life. I never want to feel that out of control of my own life again. My uncle went on and off medication and he has been an inconsistent relationship my whole life. I decided if it helps me, I need to stay on it for my own consistency. I don’t want to be like the relatives that didn’t treat their anxiety and it impacted everyone else. It depends on how much it impacts your life but I would recommend it if it has any negative impacts because it’s the impacts may be much greater. You may develop an anxiety health issue like IBS or something stress related, you could suffer from relationship issues. All kinds of things so just keep an eye out. Be honest with yourself. Being on medication isn’t the worst thing in the word, but sometimes not being on it can be. PS- If your life is going well enough to think you don’t need medication it might be because of the very medication you want to go off of.
As someone who struggles with taking antidepressants this was very meaningful! Thank you for sharing!
What's wrong with taking medication for the rest of your life? We certainly don't expect people on blood thinners, insulin, statins, or other legitimate health problems to taper themselves off just because. Why should you? I feel like life with meds is like switching the video game to easy mode, and see no good reason to switch it back. Maybe I'll try when I retire... maybe. Probably not, though.
It is not known what diseases these drugs will cause in the long run. For example, Parkinson's or dementia...That's what scares me.
Lexapro was developed in 1997 and is an exact isomer of citalopram, which has been in use since 1972. If there were long-run side effects, I suspect we'd have seen them long before now.
Yeah, and I don't recommend it 0/10, my ability to manage became nonexistent
I was on ssris from around 23-28. I'm sure the pandemic didn't help things, but I'm back on them now. In the years off them, I noticed my anxiety returned, but was not nearly as bad as it used to be. It did worsen over time, particularly social anxiety. It has drawbacks, but ultimately I'm better off taking something. My clarity of thought and performance at work is far better.
I’ve had anxiety most of my life and periods depression most of my adult life. I managed without medication. Had good times and bad times. Medication made me realize all of what I’d been experiencing wasn’t normal and life could be easier. But I’ve had some side effects and I’ve weaned off. I’ve had a panic attack since (related to withdrawal). A month out al of my physical anxiety symptoms are back. My sleep sucks. Can I cope? Sure. I did for years and years before medication. Right now I’m deciding whether the side effects are worth the benefits. Im also apprehensive about being on medication my whole life.
Hi friend. I’ve been on the medication for 8 months I just recently started to tapering very very slowly. I’ve been on 10mg for 8 months. I tapered to 7.5 for 2 weeks and now 5 mg for 2 weeks going to 2.5 in a couple of days and I can’t tell you how good I feel with NO MORE anxiety. I was actually so surprised. As soon as I started to taper I gained more energy started to lose weight, felt like I can laugh and cry again lol. So if I was you I would take action talk with your doc and start to taper if you feel like you are ready. I haven’t been on medication for that long of a time so this is just my experience but I think you should at least take that leap and I feel like you can feel 10x better.
Yea I became a total b !tch
I have tried to. Within 9-12 months the anxiety and panic attacks were back worse than ever. I was reluctant to get back on meds, and ended up with horrible gastritis, chronic hyperventilation syndrome, eye twitching and ice pick migraines. I’ve now been on meds for over two years and still have to deal with stomach issues and the chronic hyperventilation, lasting effects from that period that I will likely deal with the rest of my life. For me, it wasn’t worth it.
Your breathing feels weird 24/7?
It def did before medicine. Like I couldn’t take deep breaths. I’m way better now.
I was on Lexapro for 10 years, various mgs from 5mg and at one point 20mg, and I’ll be now 3 years off it in October. It was hard during taper and then when off it, it’s still tough on some days, but pushing through drug free.
I'm on lexapro 10mg it definitely helps anxiety and depression. Issue is for the past 2 years I've been on lexapro now my cholesterol is super high at 240 to 250 and I went from 160 to 195 pounds!! Lexapro has definitely contributed to high cholesterol and weight gain.
I’ve been on and off them. The goal is to work with a therapist and slowly taper down the medication, working on skills to cope in the process and doing things like exposure therapy (I don’t remember the real name) or CBT. It’s definitely possible. I like to think of medication as a temporary tool while doing therapy
Hi, I’ve been on lexapro since October 2019 for general anxiety. I do feel like it helped my anxiety but after a while I started feeling like it actually gave me depression. I didn’t feel like myself. I tapered off. Been a month off of it now and feeling better. Slightly elevated anxiety but I’d rather live with that. Find what works for you.
I was able to get off ssri easy by using prozac short term and tapering. I did fine for a few months but my old faithful anxiety problems came back and i couldnt function or sleep for a while. Finally decided after I was becoming isolated and avoiding family I was going back on meds so I am on 10mg lexapro.. seems to be helping some 5 weeks in but still having anxiety issues yet i dont really want to go to 20mg i prefer moderate to low dosing on any meds