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AD withdrawal. When do symptoms hit?


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Today is day 5 off of Pristiq. I have to say that I am slightly shocked that the most I have felt is slight andohenia, slight dizziness, and a few headaches that went away with an Excedrin Migraine. Oh, and vivid dreams/nightmares. Weird weird dreams. Last night I dreamt of zombies.

Almost every search I've done says symptoms hit in days 1-3. Then they get more severe and then they ease up.

If today is day five and I haven't experienced anything horrible, do you think I can relax a little?

Oh, useage is:

 

Lexapro:

10 mg Jan 26th to February 21st

15 mg February 22nd to 26th

20mg February 27th to May 1st

18mg May 2nd to May 8th

16mg May 9th to May 16th

15mg May 17th to May 23rd

Had suicidal anxiety/depression for three days which I know was from the med and trying to wean it because I never had depression before in my life.

Doc switched me to Pristiq and thoughts went away.

Pristiq:

50mg May 24th to June 23rd - felt overmedicated.

25mg May 24th to July 6th - felt better than I have in six months.

July 6-9th - cut pill in half but it is time released and I could feel "overmedicated" for a few hours after taking it and then felt better in afternoon and evening.

Long meeting with doc and therapist and decided to stop AD all together based on how I have felt in it and when dose is lowered or none in my system.

So far days 1-4 have been extremely manageable. Don't feel like my old self 100% but feel better than since this whole journey started.

 

Remember, I was put on the AD because the floor came out from under me when I stopped the Ativan c/t.  Nobody connected me feeling how I did to the Ativan use.

 

So all in all I have been on the AD for around five months.

Is the Lexapro out of my system? Which would mean I am only withdrawing from the Pristiq which I've only been in for a month and a half?

Is that why no major symptoms?,

Oh, I also had horrible stomach aches morning one.

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I hardly had any withdrawal symptoms when I got off Lexapro.  A headache, little nausea, a few strange dreams, and some brain zips over a week or so.  It's not uncommon to feel the way you do, I wouldn't wait for symptoms to hit, they may not for all you know.  I would enjoy the present feeling, and keep moving forward.  Wishing you the best!   
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ginger127, How did you taper from Lexapro?. My Aspie son has been on it for 2 years and expresses being flat emotionally, no drive etc. We are planning to either cut his 20 mg dose down or quit it entirely, once we return from an interstate trip next week. So I will be tapering myself from Valium and him from Lexapro. Good times  ::)
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ginger127, How did you taper from Lexapro?. My Aspie son has been on it for 2 years and expresses being flat emotionally, no drive etc. We are planning to either cut his 20 mg dose down or quit it entirely, once we return from an interstate trip next week. So I will be tapering myself from Valium and him from Lexapro. Good times  ::)

 

Hi chenka44, I did a quick taper from Lexapro over a week, I was on 10mg, and I tapered as follows: 

 

7.5mg for two days

5.0mg for two days

2.5mg for three days

Then I jumped on day 8.

 

I seemed to have tolerated fast taper well, and I'm glad I got off Lexapro.  If I was on 20mg like your son, I probably would have tapered at a bit slower pace, but not by much.  I hear you when you say that your son feels emotionally flat and not driven on Lexapro.  That's why I got off of it, among other reasons, because it made me lazy, flat and disconnected.

 

Good luck to you on Valium taper and to your on Lexapro.  It's good you both will be doing it at the same time, you can give support to each other.  Best wishes.       

 

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Fingers crossed for you, Fakeit. :smitten:

 

 

 

ginger127, How did you taper from Lexapro?. My Aspie son has been on it for 2 years and expresses being flat emotionally, no drive etc. We are planning to either cut his 20 mg dose down or quit it entirely, once we return from an interstate trip next week. So I will be tapering myself from Valium and him from Lexapro. Good times  ::)

 

Chenka, I'd suggest you visit www.survivingantidepressants.org for your son's Lexapro taper.  They'll gather all the pertinent info/med history from you and, based on that, they'll give a best practices guideline.

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I felt terrible going ONE DAY without Pristiq, which prompted me to taper it over a period of four months.  My symptoms were nasty stomach problems and lots of anxiety, but they all went away very quickly.  Just going one day without Pristiq landed me in bed for two days.  Oh it was terrible.  If you have hardly anything and it is day 5, count your blessing.  I think you might be in the clear on this one.  :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
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I felt terrible going ONE DAY without Pristiq, which prompted me to taper it over a period of four months.  My symptoms were nasty stomach problems and lots of anxiety, but they all went away very quickly.  Just going one day without Pristiq landed me in bed for two days.  Oh it was terrible.  If you have hardly anything and it is day 5, count your blessing.  I think you might be in the clear on this one.  :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

 

Thanks. That gives me hope. I've been weepy the last couple days and some anxiety here and there if I am not occupied (like laying in bed in the morning).  I also feel more depressed.  How long did your symptoms last?  Did you feel a sudden lifting of depression and anxiety?  Or did they dissipate slowly iver days or weeks? I'm so worried that this is the new me; depressed and negative for the rest of my life. I'm starting to forget who I used to be before all this started.

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I actually had mostly anxiety and some problems walking, which I haven't really seen anyone else talking about, but I had that.  I kind of felt like I had the flu even.  It was the winter when I did most of my Pristiq taper, and then like a few months off, I think it was the end of month 3 or 4, I was hit with a large dose of dp/dr.  I never had experienced anything like that before, and haven't really since it went away.  It lasted about 3-6 months, kind of tapering off and not as scary after 3 months.  That was my biggest symptom from the AD withdrawal, the dp/dr, which didn't even happen until 3 months off.  I read somewhere that at the 3 month mark things get weird during AD withdrawal. 

 

The most uncomfortable part of it, was the nasty physical effects I felt and all of those were right away, the firs few weeks when cutting or stopping.  It really sounds like you are doing okay with this.

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Omg that's my worst nightmare! I had do/Dr when all this started and was so glad when it went away. I can't get that back!!
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