Posted by bleauberry on December 26, 2007, at 17:37:33
In reply to LEXAPRO PROBLEMS, posted by vffmom on December 26, 2007, at 14:01:39
I hear you loud and clear. These drugs are wicked powerful. Great for some people, horrible for others. Life changing in a positive way for some, and absolutely devastating to others.
The brunt of the withdrawals is what you are feeling right now. It will ease. In my own experiences the ssri withdrawal period lasts about 3 to 6 weeks, with the first 2 weeks being the worst. It is usually better to cut down dosage very slowly in very small steps, like maybe 2.5mg steps at the largest.
Three options...1)keep going as you are, 2)go back on a small dose of lexapro and then ween off it slowly in small steps, 3)enlist the help of 5htp. 5htp is the natural supplement that converts to serotonin. Several of us have found it helpful for ssri drug withdrawals, as it keeps the serotonin levels at the synapse high as the drug did without a sudden crash. For me it helped zoloft withdrawals a lot, but did not prevent the nausea or the brain zaps of withdrawal. Mood wise, muscle wise, and sleep wise, it was a good help. I used doses of 10mg to 25mg (empty some out of a 50mg capsule for a custom dose), while usual doses are in the 50mg to 200mg range. I am sensitive.
Longrun you sound like you might be more comfortable with an alternative doctor. One who you can ask to look at specific things such as cortisol, thyroid, candida, food intolerances, and such, and be treated with things like st johns wort, natural neurotransmitter precurosors, and a variety of herbs, vitamins, minerals for specific purposes. I say that for 2 reasons...1)many depressions have a physical cause that can be identified and treated with a doctor who knows what to look for, or one who will look for what you ask him to, 2)you may need some help but you sound terrified of pharmaceutic drugs. I don't blame you.
Ah, almost forgot. There are 2 decent standbys for ssri withdrawals...1)benadryl as needed...don't know why it helps but it has helped others in their withdrawals, 2)a 10mg dose of prozac once or twice a week for a couple weeks...it has a very long halflife (7 days) compared to lexapro halflife of 1 day, so prozac lets you off the hook very gently over a period of time.
poster:bleauberry
thread:802724
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071225/msgs/802760.html