Taper SSRI Schedule

[istillqualify]

My psychiatrist approved me to start tapering off of Lexapro due to track record of stability. I have been on SSRIS for about 8 years however have been on 5mg Lexapro for about 3 months now which is a huge accomplishment for me. I have failed about 4 different times in this process of tapering off due to withdraw symptoms but am not giving up and have faith! This time I will be going much slower than I have in the past.

My question is, does anyone have an excel spreadsheet to track the dose reduction? I think it would help me see it on paper to track progress.

Any other advice/support/testimonies on this process of withdrawing from SSRI's would be great. Thanks

 

[Retired]

You might simplify the process by using a calendar instead.

If you don't have a current calendar with areas for notes on each day, use MS Word. In the Word menu select New | Calendars and select one of the calendars that has a space for writing notes for each day.

Print just the page for the current month, or just the number of months you need and enter your tapering plan in the calendar.

Each day, check off the completed day so you can keep a log of your tapering schedule.

have been on 5mg Lexapro for about 3 months now which is a huge accomplishment for me

What was different this time?

This time I will be going much slower than I have in the past.

Good idea! Wean yourself slowly and hopefully this might make the withdrawal easier.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[istillqualify]

Thanks Steve, I think I'll try doing the calendar thing and post it near where I keep the prescription. I've read the anti-depressant solution and a few others on tapering off and plan on following a system that may take at least 6 months (I am recalling this from what I read a year ago). Since I have been on these for 8 years, it will take longer. When I failed in the past, I followed doctors advice and weaned off in about 1 month which was way too quick for me, causing me to get back on them.

Once I beat the SSRI, I'll get permission from my doctor work on the lamictal 200mg. That's for mood stabilization, been on that for about 6 months.

 

[Retired]

plan on following a system that may take at least 6 months

I would suggest discussing your discontinuation plan with your doctor, who can advise you based on his/her knowledge of your situation combined with the understanding of the chemistry of this compound.

Dosing and tapering of the dose on discontinuation is calculated based on a rational understanding of the "pharmacokinetics" (the process by which a compound is ingested, absorbed,metabolized and eliminated from the body) of the particular compound.

Your doctor will know the biologic half life and the time to achieve steady state of Lexapro, the information required to calculate the taper schedule.

From my understanding of the data, it should not require six months to taper the dosage for discontinuing Lexapro, but you need to work that out with your doctor.

Additionally I would make sure your doctor knows about all the medications you are taking, both prescription meds as well as all over the counter preparations as well as herbal remedies if applicable, because Lexapro has interaction potential with some medications which might affect the rate at which it is cleared from your system.

 

[istillqualify]

I would suggest discussing your discontinuation plan with your doctor, who can advise you based on his/her knowledge of your situation combined with the understanding of the chemistry of this compound.

Dosing and tapering of the dose on discontinuation is calculated based on a rational understanding of the "pharmacokinetics" (the process by which a compound is ingested, absorbed,metabolized and eliminated from the body) of the particular compound.

Your doctor will know the biologic half life and the time to achieve steady state of Lexapro, the information required to calculate the taper schedule.

From my understanding of the data, it should not require six months to taper the dosage for discontinuing Lexapro, but you need to work that out with your doctor.

Additionally I would make sure your doctor knows about all the medications you are taking, both prescription meds as well as all over the counter preparations as well as herbal remedies if applicable, because Lexapro has interaction potential with some medications which might affect the rate at which it is cleared from your system.

Thank you, I think that's great advice. I actually my doctor give me a taper schedule in the past that I followed to a T. I could not stand the withdraw symptoms therefore I got back on it. Everyone's brain chemistry is different, so there isn't one method that works for everyone. From the books I've read, they go completely against what my doctor tells me to do. The books were written by doctors with PHD's and MD's. Not to mention, they have had a much larger scale of clients therefore they have more applicable data to advise. That being said, I'll go with the longer route this time since the short 6 week route my doctor suggest didn't work.

Just a question -- what is everyone's experience with weight gain after a successful withdraw of SSRI's? I'm curious because I know as my Lexapro and serotonin levels got lower, I had a tendency to binge on carbohydrates and or sugar which could easily elevate serotonin levels. This issue wasn't present when on the 5mg maintenance dose of Lexapro.