359 replies to this topic

[mimi10]

Thanks iUN for your response.  I am now at 5mg lexapro for about ten days after a week at 2.5mg.  Some things seem to be settling but sleep is absolute torture still. Fall asleep about 930, wake up about 11 and if still lying there awake by 1230 or 1 am, I have to resort to a trazodone to fall back asleep but only get about 2 or 3 more hours.  Since starting lexapro I have needed the trazodone most nights to get some sleep. Hoping it settles soon.  I have been very slowly reducing the MMJ along the way, the bedtime gummy I’ve been taking for years now has been reduced to a weight of 1.3 grams, it was originally about 4grams.  The 1.3 gram is probably a dose of about 7cbd/3.5 THC.  I’ve only been reducing by about .01 every day or every other day.  

[invalidusername]

Hi Mimi...

 

My apologies if you had tried to reach me by PM - I didn't realise that my inbox had hit its quota so it was maxed out at 100%. But it should be ok now for a while.

 

I am so sorry to hear about your continuing sleep issues. That REALLY sucks. I will never forget those days. It was amazing that a lot of persistence in meditation, along with what was then KSM-66, and it got me to a better place. However, my issue was more situational rather than neurological as is your own issue. 

 

So as you have been reducing the MMJ, has the sleep maintained as the Lex kicks in? Or has it got worse?

 

There is no harm in maintaining the MMJ. 3.5THC is such a small dose!! It is becoming more and more used as a means to replace conventional methods - much like a lot of other such substances which have been used since the dawn of time. 

 

I won't underestimate what advances have been made in the last 60 years, but let's not forget that it was only a similar sort of time when the greatest minds thought that a frontal lobotomy was the way forward!!!

 

Please keep me updated

 

IUN

[mimi10]

Hey iUN 

, so nice to hear from you

I’ve upped the lexapro to 7.5 four days ago and feeling the startup effects again.  So 2.5 for one week, 5 for two weeks and now 7.5 for four days.  Sleep is still torturous.  I fall asleep but wake up an hour later and after that it’s drift in and out of sleep, mostly out, for the rest of the night.  Start to feel some anxiety about 4am and no sleep after that.  MMJ is now at 1.25 weight but thinking about holding that there for a bit. Sleep has been no better, no worse on lexapro so far but even the tiny reductions in the MMJ may be playing into that.  Right now the planis to stick with the lexapro and see if it brings any relief.  See my pcp Friday afternoon to discuss where we are going with the lexapro.  The lexapro makes me so fatigued I wind up having to lie down and rest just about every day in the afternoon, hoping that abates with time.  Thanks for your help and concern, most appreciate.

[invalidusername]

Hey Mimi...

 

I think you would do right to maintain the MMJ for now and let things balance out. 

 

At the moment, I have got the complete opposite. I am sleeping way too much. I have got post-viral fatigue after a bout with the flu. I have been under so much stress and it just knocked me out. I can't stand lingering around the flat - it drives me insane.

 

You are gradually increasing your Lex which will limit the effects. 7,5mg is still quite low, with 10mg being considered the minimum therapeutic, but better to slowly increase to see how it works for you, but again, I would strongly suggest you maintain the MMJ where it is for now. 

 

Keep us posted regarding the sleep - I really am hoping for the best for you

 

IUN

[frog]

Hi Mimi!

I sent you a message but reading here now. Lex can be pretty activating at first, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, not as much waking up in the night but just falling asleep in the first place, but everyone is different. It got better after a couple months. Then I had to up the dose from 10 to 15 because my anxiety was getting worse again and all the sleep problems came back even worse. Basically when I get in bed and turn out the lights my brain just wont wind down, it just starts cataloguing the entire day, singing little songs, thinking about this or that. My psych just told me to really step it up with the sleep hygiene. I've had some luck with playing sudoku or doing a crossword the past few nights. It requires my brain to focus but not be too excited and seems to tire it out faster. I agree with IUN, I would keep everything else the same as you adjust to the lexapro and then you can start changing other things. Give it some more time. 

 

Are you taking the lex for anxiety or something else? 

[fishinghat]

Great to hear from you again frog. Excellent advice on the sleep.

[mimi10]

Hey frog, so glad to hear from you, you’ve been missed.  Doc thought insomnia had an anxiety component to it and that’s why he started me on lexapro but so far sleep is still awful, but I’m giving it time.

[mimi10]

Hey hat and iUN,

thanks guys for your support and encouragement and advice.  Doc said stick with the 7.5 dose for a few more weeks to see what happens, so I have now been on 7.5 for 2 weeks.  I just wish sleep,would straighten out and some of the fatigue would lift.  Lexapro seems to be giving me a lot of daytime fatigue, I’ve been taking it right before bedtime.

[fishinghat]

Dr is right. Lexapro often takes 6 weeks to kick in.

[mimi10]

I was on 2.5 for one week, then 5 for 2 weeks, and now 7.5 for 2 weeks, does it all count towards the six weeks or just the last two weeks.?

[fishinghat]

You are considered to have taken 2.5 mg or more for 5 weeks, 5 mg or more for 4 weeks and 7.5 mg for 2 weeks.

 

This means the 2.5 mg will be completely kicked in on another week and the 5 mg completely kicked in in 2 more weeks and the 7.5 mg completely kicked in after 4 more weeks. 

[invalidusername]

Wow - hey Frog!! Superb to see you here... hope you are well...

 

Regarding the current thread, I would have said and confirmed what Hat is saying as it still takes time for updoses to kick in even whilst you are on the drug in question. It is a common issue and you need to remember that updoses can have their own issues just a downdoses/withdrawal.

 

It is a nightmare - make no mistake. But it is always a question of time.... so exhausting!!!

 

IUN

[mimi10]

After week on 2.5, two weeks on 5 and now three weeks on 7.5.  I started having horrible explosive watery diarrhea.  Wakes me up at 4 am and continues multiple times a day plus nausea.  Doc did a cdiff test and it was negative.  He prescribed loperamide which helps slightly but he said no more than 4 pills a day and can’t take I more than 2 days in a row.  I don’t know why this started after five weeks and if it will go away or I need to get off.  It has been helping a lot with anxiety but I can’t go on like this.  I’ve lost 5 pounds in this one week which I didn’t need to lose.

wondering if I should drop back to 5 again, will there be withdrawal if I do free 7.5 for three weeks.

[fishinghat]

WOW, that is terrible. So sorry to hear that. If this was just after a dose change I wouldn't be shocked but it isn't.  I am surprised the dr didn't stop the Lexapro or put you on a different ssri given the severity of the issue. 

 

Just my opinion based on what I have seen here but I would expect some withdrawal if you down-dose or stop. I wouldn't think it would be too severe but there is a lot of variability in withdrawal symptoms under these conditions. 

 

Prayers and hugs to you Mimi.

[mimi10]

Hat

i was thinking about going down to 5 tonight and see how that goes.  When would I feel the cut with lexapro.  The people on the lexapro withdrawal forum, of course, wanted me to follow a taper schedule that would take me over a year to get off, doesn’t make sense since I’ve only been on a total of six weeks. Doc is unreachable until Tuesday so I figured I would drop to 6 and see if that improves the side effects and if it does stay on 5 but if not then I would have to taper the rest but not over a year.

[fishinghat]

You are right, it shouldn't take a year with such a short-term use. I have seen a few cases that are exceptions but in general I would say the withdrawal would be just a few months at most. I am afraid that the withdrawal symptoms may be serious enough to mask if it is alleviating any of the side effects. If it proves necessary to come off I would try to taper off over about a 12 week period. Of course, if things do get really bad you may have to pause awhile.

 

This is why it is so difficult to come off an antidepressant. Once you are on one it is difficult to go through the withdrawal, difficult to cross taper to a weaker antidepressant and hard to find things that work for treating any withdrawal or side effects.

[invalidusername]

Good grief... there is no call for a years withdrawal for something that small - and we are quite regimental with withdrawal times!!

 

Just ignore what you have been told - that is nothing short of crazy!!

 

I agree.just to drop to 5 and see what happens. There is not so much of an issue to drop at this point. Unless is is close to a life-threatening issue would I consider such a long-term taper. Do yourself a favour and at least try 5mg and 7,5mg every other day and bring it back to 5mg after a week. if you want to cautious.

 

You have a long enough half life to allow that means of dropping doses.

 

Three weeks is long enough to consider it more than a transitional move to the SSRI. I had the same with Cymbalta after around the same time and it just did not clear up. I think it started around 5 weeks the same as you, and it was still there after 10 weeks. I had to call it a day, and hell, was it a nightmare. 

 

The longer you give it, the worse it will be - that much is axiomatic. Do yourself a favour and nip it in the bud and find an alternative. It is unlikely that this will work...

 

IUN 

[mimi10]

Well guys for the past two nights I have taken 5mg and the diarrhea has stopped so maybe I will stay at 5 for a bit and see if it helps. When do you usually feel the withdrawal from a  dose reduction on lexapro.

[fishinghat]

Lexapro has a half-life of around 30 hours so any withdrawal should begin to be apparent in 3 or 4 days.

[mimi10]

Well the diarrhea came back horribly again so doc says we need to get off lexapro.  Since I had been on 5 for a week he told me to drop to 3.75 so I did last night and he said since I’ve only been on a short time we can try to drop to 2.5 in another week.  I can’t seem to tolerate any of the drugs.

[fishinghat]

It seems like changing an AD during withdrawal is sooooo tough for sooooo many. Sorry for your ordeal mimi. Hang in there.

[invalidusername]

Right with you there Hat - it can be really nasty... and you have my every sympathy. 

 

Just keep your presence known here, we are always here for you. 

 

Take care.

 

p.s. Sorry for late response. My stress levels are off the chart atm

[mimi10]

Hi guys,

thanks so much for being here with me.  I am currently almost a week into a lexapro dose of 2.5, in a few more days or so I’m going to try 1.25.  The marijuana gummy is now at weight of 1.0 so till about 2.75thc.  Sleep is rough and diarrhea while a bit better has not gone away.  
iun, I am sorry to hear about the stresses you’re dealing with.  These are such stressing times.  My husband had covid  and I was lucky to not catch it as they don’t think things would go so well for me because of my compromised immune system.  He was given an antibody infusion but was pretty sick for quite a few days.  Due to my immune system I’m still required to wear a mask and try to keep distance, we still can’t do anything indoors like shows, movies, or dining.

hat, hope you’re doing well.

I love both you guys, you’re the best.  Thanks for being there.

[fishinghat]

Hang in there Mimi, you are doing great. I am doing well, thank you for asking.

 

My wife and I are both immunocompromised and have been for many years. It was so bad I was even in reverse isolation for 7 years. We NEVER leave the house without masks and gloves. Adapting is part of life.

 

Always here for you Mimi. Best wishes as you continue to succeed. 

[invalidusername]

Hi Mimi...

 

I am so sorry to hear that your husband has contracted covid and what that means for you both, but this is not your forever, it will soon be over. I will be thinking of you both.

 

As Hat has just said, he has been used to that way of life for years well before covid. He, if anyone, will understand so well.

 

Thank you for your kind words as well. I am really suffering stress at the moment. I am on the brink of having to take on another member of staff, but even that involves stress in itself. Whichever route I take will cause more issues!!

 

I am sure that your reduction will result in better health conditions in due course.These ting can unfortunately take time - often longer than the time it took for them to start. So hang in there. It is logical that they will stop, but I know just how difficult it is.

 

Take care my dear - much love

 

IUN

[mimi10]

Hi guys,

I have now been off lexapro almost 2 weeks, there was some withdrawal but it is starting to settle down, other than sleep.  Sleep was actually doing ok for the first 10 days off but the past 2 nights it’s been an issue again.  Some of it could be because I am working on lowering the marijuana dose again, very slowly but still cutting a speck of it off every other night, down to weight of .9 so almost down to 2.5.  
how are things going with you guys, I hope you are both well.  I will be back in a few weeks and check in with you guys again.  Thanks for all you do and just being there.

[fishinghat]

Well, as you know Mimi, slow but steady wins the race. Well done. I look forward to the time that you are completely off.

[invalidusername]

Hi Mimi....

 

How have things been with you since your last post? Would be nice to hear that you have continued to improve. Its a very difficult time and as Hat has said more times that I can remember, it is a marathon not a sprint - slow and steady.

 

Unfortunately, I have not been at all well. I have had some very stressful issues with my epilepsy which has made me completely exhausted. Days and days spent mostly in bed and various tests. It has not been easy. It seems to be easing off now, but it has been a bit of a mini-trauma and I need to calm myself so I can get back to normal asap...

 

IUN

[fishinghat]

Prayers and hugs my freind.

[invalidusername]

God bless you, Hat....