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!
Hmm; interesting to know that someone out there is basically experiencing the same thing as I. I've been on a variety of "Happy Pills" on and off for years (for reasons that further exacerbated my need for such instruments.) Anyhow, I had found Lexapro to be the best of the best in my case because it allowed me to be myself more so than the others who shall remain nameless at this time. However, after about nine months or so I decided to cut loose ala cold turkey style and here I am. Why does getting older seem to only increase the aftereffects of everything...good or bad?
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