Since Dad died in early April I have been gradually weaning myself off the antidepressant / anti-anxiety medication Lexapro. I had been up to 20mg qd. I have loved the way Lexapro made me feel - carefree and unconcerned with stress. But my lack of emotion related to Dad's final illness and death startled me - could the Lexapro be completely blocking out my emotions? Plus, it was never my intent to be dependent on medication to feel "happy". So I found some 10mg pills in my medicine cabinet (my former dosage) that were still fresh, and started on those for about a month. For the past few weeks I've been splitting the 10mg pills to make roughly 5mg. I'd done enough reading to know that if pills have a split mark in them, it is safe to split them. I also knew enough not to abruptly stop taking an SSRI that I'd been on for about 2 years. As I've gradually tapered down, the withdrawal symptoms have been present but manageable. So far, I've experienced:
- lethargy, spaced out feeling
- difficulty with short-term memory, especially during the day
- headaches
- dizziness
I hear people refer to "brain zaps" which is a little too Hanna-Barbera for me to grasp. I do have weird feelings in my head, especially in the mornings, but it's hard to characterize. I hope to be off Lexapro altogether by July 4 - then just taking the occasional xanax as needed for my nerves. Wish me luck!
