Weaning off Lexapro... [escitalopram]

[jen5276]

hey everyone!

I have made the difficult decision to start to wean myself of the Lex...I just don't feel it is working that well anymore, and the weight gain is awful. So, I have been on 10mg for about 1 1/2 years, and today I started splitting the pills, so I will take the 5mg for a month and the 5mg every other day for a month, etc... So far, I took the 5mg today and don't feel at all different, probably too soon to tell though.

Hopefully, this way I won't experience too bad of the withdrawals..I have some Xanax to get me through just in case..

Just wondering for anyone who might have been through this, how long did the weight take to start coming off (if ever)? I don't expect it to magically start dropping immediately, but I assume that some if it will eventually start to fall of :crossing fingers:...

Any input would be SO appreciated,

Jenn

[Dweii]

For me, the Lithium and Zyprexa weight gain stayed long after I quit taking both of them. Now I've lost some weight, but that took some work.

I think it depends on if you gained weight because it made you hungry or because it just fucked with your metabolism. If it made you hungry, your appetite should go back to normal soon and you'll lose weight. Hopefully.

Glad to hear you're tapering down slow. Always a good idea.

[Croix]

If the 10mg didn't work so well after a while, why didn't you go up to 20mg? Are you tapering off just because of the weight gain?

I personally didn't taper when I took Lexapro. I was only on it a couple weeks. Made me bounce off the walls. (Told those damn docs I wasn't depressed!) I had to take an AC and a benzo to counter the effects for a couple of weeks. Not fun.

Croix

[Velvet Elvis]

If you were not losing weight with your current diet and activity level before you started taking meds, a med change won't be enough to lose anything. You'll just quit gaing or going back to whatever you were doing before you started the med. More likely than not you'll need to make dietary changes and start a workout routine and get in shape and all that.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i've taken both paxil and lexapro.

my experience with paxil was that i gained a little weight, about 5-10lbs, and it never seemed to go anywhere. i could diet and exercise all i wanted and it was still there.

when i quit paxil, within about a month this weight was gone. like magic. i just dropped a dress size instantly.

with lexapro, i only took it for a few months, and i gained back the weight i had lost with stopping the paxil. it is like an SSRI weight for me or something. it went away when i discontinued lexapro, just like it had when i stopped the paxil.

[jen5276]

i've taken both paxil and lexapro.

my experience with paxil was that i gained a little weight, about 5-10lbs, and it never seemed to go anywhere. i could diet and exercise all i wanted and it was still there.

when i quit paxil, within about a month this weight was gone. like magic. i just dropped a dress size instantly.

with lexapro, i only took it for a few months, and i gained back the weight i had lost with stopping the paxil. it is like an SSRI weight for me or something. it went away when i discontinued lexapro, just like it had when i stopped the paxil.

Loon - I would love to lose just one dress size, that's all I ask!!

Considering I was a size 6 before meds and I am between a size 12 and 14 now.... Would love to just stay between a 10-12, not go back down to my skinny weight necessarily.

It's funny, because I have dropped down to 5mg and I don't feel ANY different, maybe a tad more alert, but that's about it! Knock Wood!

As far as whether or not it's my diet, it's not. I eat very sensibly, and hardly ever snack. Granted, I don't work out like I used to, but still. This med is definitley causing the weight, I don't care what the docs try to say! So hopefully, my metabolism will bounce back somewhat..