Lexapro Withdrawal Help

Hey y'all. I was looking for people who have withdrawn off of lexapro or an SSRI like it and been successful and how long until you felt good? I have been off of it for 9 weeks and am suffering from intrusive scary thoughts and obsessive thoughts. Also a lot more anxiety and restlessness, is this normal?? Any help would be great. My insides feel like they are jumping and I'm alway on the verge of crying and it's worse at night. I just wonder if this is really just withdrawal or what? I did not cold turkey I weened for over a yar and a half.

Hi Treehugger. It has been more than 10 years since I took an SSRI, so I don't know that I have much good advice for you about withdrawal. Back then, withdrawal syndromes weren't recognized as much.

I can remember that I would have problems with joint pain and insomnia and general "jumpiness", but it's hard to be sure if that was a withdrawal syndrome or the "unmedicated me".

There are supplements like L-theanine or SAM-e that would very likely help you to feel better. They are gentler than a prescription medication. They don't provide as much "oomph" as an SSRI, but they usually don't have many, if any, side-effects either.

Another med, Vistaril/hydroxyzine, is one that I've taken sometimes to help with anxiety from meds withdrawal. It's pretty mild, and doesn't cause any withdrawal issues. It can help with the feeling jumpy and like you're about to cry.

I don't know of a good way to tell if what you're experiencing is your brain reacting to not having the Lexapro anymore or if it's an indication that you may need to stay on a psych med.

I know that in the past after I stopped a medication like a benzo, it took nearly a year before I felt like my brain and body had completely adjusted to not having that medication.

From what I've read, your brain actually has to change in structure (growing new neurotransmitter receptors or something like that) to get back to normal, and that can take several months.

Hi Treehugger50, in my experience it is always so hard to tell the difference between withdrawal symptoms and symptoms that indicate I need to be on a medication. May I ask why you were on the Lexapro and why you decided to stop taking the it?

Oh I'm so happy to see this question has been asked recently. I'm going to sign on to my laptop because I can't make any sense of these forums off of my phone. Treehugger, I'm going through exactly the same thing only cold turkey and I feel like I'm so mad at everything. It's a good thing I live alone. And the headache I'm experiencing is horrible. I'll be right back to see if your still here in a few minutes after I get my computer