Coming off escitalopram

[Atleastitsnotsunstroke]

I think I'm coming off it. I was on 10mg, I only really started due to stress at work. I basically had started to isolate myself from my support network. I'd find that on certain days of the month like ovulation and my period my mood would drop really low. I'd feel so cold and low plus being stressed at work. So I thought I'd try the escitalopram to even it out so I could be more resilient at work. It was bumpy at first but levelled out and was okay.

However I ate more for comfort and put on weight. It messed up my sleep and gave me insomnia. I also felt more detached from work. It also masked other things I needed tests for which have since got sorted. I kept increasing the dose which simply increased the insomnia and tiredness. Everything I increased the dose my mood would spiral.

I started to look for a new job and taper off. I've been ill with food poisoning and it was upsetting my tummy so I've stopped now.

I went from 20 > 17.5 > 10 > 5 over the space of about 2 weeks. I feel a bit 'whoozy' but okay. If I'm mega tearful I could take 5mg over the next couple for weeks.

Do you think this is too fast to come off it, or do you reckon its OK? I was on it for about 6 months.

I'm pretty sure Im not going to fully go back on it. I'm getting the smallest progesterone only coil fitted next month so that might help a bit without messing up my sleep.

I think you’ve gone way too fast and consequently you’re in danger of ending up exactly where you started. Slow the whole process way way down

Yes too fast. I have also been on escitalopram for just shy of 6 months due to work stress which it turns out was masking an underlying autoimmune disease. This has made me realise I probably don't need the escitalopram but I am tapering off under GP guidance. I was only ever on 10mg but I have been down at 5 now for a few weeks and gp has suggested moving to liquid to go down to 2.5mg when my next prescription is due. It is a slow process

I’m tapering off too, I have put on 10kg since December. I was only on 10mg. I bought a tablet cutter and cut the tablets to 7.5mg for 8 days. Then 5mg for 8 days. I recently cut down to 2.5mg which I i will take for a week. Then 2.5mg every other day for 10 days or so. I will see how that amount goes. At first I got bad headaches so just took painkillers. The headaches didn’t last though. This week cutting down to 2.5mg I have only had a few brain zaps. I read the lower you go the worse the symptoms can be. So I will just see how it goes. Good luck OP

Hmm interesting. I feel okay emotionally and mentally, my gut is sore but I've had food poisoning. The only thing is the whoozy head feeling. I already went through the sad feeling as I had PMT last week. I remember bursting into tears over a YouTube video. I don't know. Maybe my PMT will be unbearable next month.

I was on sertraline before. That was a nightmare to come off. Everytime I went down a dose I felt so whoozy (even with a pill cutter). Had to stay at each level for a couple of weeks. Even when I stopped I still felt whoozy for about six weeks. There was no point I remember waking up and thinking it's gone, it just faded though and I forgot about it. The hardest thing was how it affected my gut and skin. I'm not sure if it's coincidental, but I developed terrible IBS when I was coming off it. I had to go right back to eating only the most non inflammatory things like oats, fruit, salmon, avocado, rice, cucumber. Everything else gave me a reaction. I also got acne and skin things - I suddenly had a massive boil in the end of my nose then through it came a nasal hair from the inside of my nose out the other side. It was so weird. All of that makes me think that the benefit of going slow is to prevent sudden emotional and mental withdrawal, which I don't feel I've really got. It also makes me think the whooziness happens regardless of how fast or slow it is, and just takes time.

So I don't know. I'm tempted to carry on with having stopped. I really liked being able to fall asleep. Maybe I'll ask the GP for 2.5mg liquid.