How did anyone who was on an antidepressant get off of it?
Question:
thanks Dianne
Answers:
I took Lexapro, and though it worked for me, it doesn't work for everyone. If its not working for you TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!!! Get off gradually, do not get impatient, and try something else. Every medicine is different. Something else might work for you. but at least talk to your doctor about gradually getting off the lexapro.
this will help you. www.paxilprogress.org
this is about all antidepressants
ahhh i'v been on lexapro since i was 15 (almost 21 now). During the sumers i normally don't feel like ineed it so i go off and then find myself suffering during the winters.. or maybe just that "one week a month" time. I know EXACTLY what you mean about going off of lex. suddenly... feel like your walking in a daze, deppressed easily.. etc... the best way i found to get off lexapro is for about 2 weeks when you know your going to be stopping do this
1st week: cut your pills in half and only take a half a day
2nd week: 1/2 pill every other day
by the 3rd week you should be fine to just jump off of them. as for suggestions about doing something else for your deppression i don't have one. I'm not a druggy but i beleive in antideppresseants.. when used as directed of course... i have tried alot of different things, excersise, meditation, etc. and found that they work on the daily times but if something happens that throws me off, i'm right back into the terrible times. If your not liking Lexapro you can tell your dovtor you want to try a different brand. there's tons of them out there!
i was also on lexapro..didnt like it and switched to effexor. i am no longer taking anti depressants. it was extremely hard to wean myself off of it so i will be praying for you. you really should talk to your doctor, as soon as i shared my symptoms and side effects with my doctor she said okay lets fix it. ive been off of them for about 10 months and i feel better now. weaning me off with the effexor helped me alot! because we are both different people and made differently i cannot tell you what to do except to ask your doctor!! he or she is the only one who can truly help you for the better. good luck in getting your life back!
There have been lots of reports here about the difficulty of getting off several antidepressants. This is helpful information for anyone considering the use of antidepressants.
It appears from your post that Lexapro reduces your depression but causes physical symptoms and leaves you feeling detached.
It seems that it would be best to take a different antidepressant since when you got off of this one, you experienced depression. Since you need to get a prescription, talk with your doctor about getting off of this one. You might call your doctor and tell him/her that you need a different prescription and ask if you should come in before or after you are off this one. Ask your doctor how you should get off this one and onto the next one. Perhaps some overlap is warranted or perhaps your doctor will want you off of this one first.
Someone above posted a decent way of getting off of your current medication. You can get a pill splitter at Wal-Mart and you can get off as slowly as you'd like. You can take 3/4 of a pill for a week or until you adjust and then go to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8th.
Good luck.
Well Diane, if you have a mood disorder like I do, then it's a chemical imbalance. I have anxiety/depression and the doc said that seratonin wasn't going to my brain correctly, making me feel yukky. I an in my forties and have felt this way since kindergarten. I will be on the med for a lifetime. One pill a day to keep me feeling great! What a bargain!! My hubby is diabetic because of his glucose. He takes a pill a day so he doesn't die. Again, what a bargain! I took Lexipro, which worked good for me, but Paxil's my med of choice! I just got the prescription and started up the next day! Unfortunately, I got the "body's got to get used to the new med" side effects for the initial two weeks. You know, nausea and fatigue. But, it is worth my peace of mind and SANITY!!!
Talk to your doctor - sometimes you need to be on an antidepressant for a while to kick start your brain then you can go off of it.
I weened off of Cymbalta a couple of months ago and it was brutal. The withdrawal symptoms were horrible and it really took over 2 weeks for them to die down.
http://www.whatwinnersdo.com is my personal addiction site but I have made a lot of posts about going through the Cymbalta withdrawal and what I did to make the withdrawal bearable. Check it out, maybe it will help.
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