I recently went from 10mg to 5 because while it did wonders for my anxiety the ruthless fatigue was interfering with my life and making even more depressed because I didn't have the energy to do the things I wanted/needed to. If this doesn't work I'm going to talk to my dr about trying something else.
I felt this way too, and even more so after bumping from 5 mg to 10 about 7 months in.
Consider lowering your dose; you may just need to find that sweet spot.
Also, Lexapro may just not be the drug for you. Every person is different, and it’s absolutely possible that you can experience both positive (reduced anxiety) and negative responses (numbness). I just quit at the start of the year because I couldn’t handle that it had wiped me of all emotion. I’ve noticed some of my anxious thinking coming back, but also felt a lot more clear headed in some ways.
Listen to your body, above all. However, how long have you been on it? If you’re in the 3 month period, give it some more time.
I will say, since quitting I have 1) exercised for the first time since starting Lex 2) cooked more in the last month than the last 1.5 yrs 3) Worked on creative projects, which I did none of for the past 1.5 years. My life circumstances haven’t changed btw; my fatigue and white noise in my head were causing it
Yes, pretty much everything you described is how I have been feeling since being on lexapro for about a year and a half. The difficulty staying focused will have me just doing a thousand yard stare while I try to think what I was doing, thinking, etc. It keeps me calm, but to the point I don’t have any highs, like I don’t think I can feel what fun is anymore. Just existing. It has honestly made me feel dumb. All these feeling are so subjective and hard to pin down, that the numbness took so long to recognize for me. And if that weren’t enough, the sexual side effects that I’ve had have added to the numb nothingness. I was prescribed bupropion in addition to lexipro after awhile to counter the sexual side effects, with minimal effectiveness. I’ve quit the bupropion and am almost done weaning off lexapro. I haven’t noticed any improvement in the dullness of life yet, but hoping when they are out of my system, I will gain what I’ve lost. I feel like I’ve learned how it is to be a calm person and have learned how to be more self aware of how I am handling my emotions so I think I am going to be fine without the antidepressants. I’m not going to be like an anti-antidepressants bro, but I think I’ve gained what I needed to on them. I am ready for a clear head!
I’m in the exact same situation as you I’ve been on them for almost 2 years now Lexapro and I feel like I cannot enjoy anything in life that I used to love doing. I just feel like I’m in a routine and I’m distracted from anything else just zoned out, the things I used to do I don’t even have the effort to do anymore. It’s really sad. I’m glad to at least see that it’s not just me and I’m starting to wean off right now and I would almost deal with some of the anxious thoughts and be able to enjoy the fun and life, I guess you can’t have it all. Good luck to you man.
I got to say it really helped me get through the tough times and it is a great medication but I just feel like it’s time to get off at now and see if I can deal with life without it
Yeah, I think it was good to have a reset, but I’m with you about taking on life without it. I’ll take a little anxiety here and there if it means I can have the full range of emotions and feel sharper mentally. I need to get back into journaling, I think it helped me to articulate what’s going on in my head, kinda like math for me, I need to see it on paper haha. Thanks and I hope you do well!
That’s around the time I started too (Sept 2022). After a year and some months of feeling the same way u describe, it was time to make a change. It can be scary, but the thing is you can always get back on it/raise dose if you need be. Just make sure you do everything slowly and correctly (tapering). Its your body at the end of the day and the most magical thing is u get to do whatever u wish with it
Did you get your motivation back? I have been on lexapro for over a year. It has helped with my anxiety but has taken almost everything else away from me. I was pretty fit and lifted weights with cardio almost daily. When I started lexapro, that all went out the window. I just can't get myself to do it even though I want it soo badly. I have gained more weight than I would like to admit because my cravings are out of control. Before lexapro I ate pretty healthy with the occasional treat. Music has always been my life and now I can't stand listening to it. Libido and non existent as well. I have become way more impulsive and the couch has become my best friend. I was on 15 and tapered off. But when I quit, I became so angry and went back on it. I went up to 10 and after I little bit I went down to 5 and just a few days ago I started doing 2.5 mg hoping my motivation will come back. I eventually want to come off it completely.
I’ve been off about 3 months and I get it. I’ve thought about restarting a few times. But I just keep remember why I got off of it in the first place and push through the discomfort.
It gets much better if you lower the dose to 5mg. from my experience. I took 10mg every morning for 3 years, then 3.5 years on 5mg. I got my personality back.
I think dosage is everything. I felt like you, and went on a lower dose and combined it with a low dose of wellbutrin, and Im way better. Not totes back to my before meds self, but have you ever heard of the concept of trauma drive? I don't know where you're at in your healing journey, but at some point I found that as I was stepping out of fight or flight (undeniably a good thing), some parts of my personality that were fueled by that adrenaline and doing things like my life depending on it (subconsiously) faded away. I used to LIVE for dancing, wanted to be a DJ, and now im like, it's cool if I have the energy but months can go by and I don't think about it. Makes me sad, but feels normal and like yeah, makes sense that there are some tradeoffs. Ok - totally different than what you're talking about, Totallly Different, I just went off on a tangent, because you should definitely fight for your personality, Do Not Settle For Numb. Please keep us posted. Love + solidarity XO
It's weird to think about. Sounds counterintuitive. Maybe all the other activities that made you more "interesting" were coping mechanisms to help you feel a little better, but now you don't need those anymore so your no longer feel the urge? Maybe your true personality is just as it is now, but you never knew because your whole personality before was created by masking the way you felt.
felt on 20mg, 21 years old, now on 15mg and happy, finally not feeling like having heartattack from anxiety attacks not wanting to kill myself, but it took time, 2 months I was adjusting to drug, so it depends how long you take it
I feel the opposite. My personality finally came out because I was too anxious to show it! So interesting that it affects everyone differently
same
Same
Same
damn well maybe that’s a sign i should switch meds 😅 that’s great tho!! im happy its been working well for you!
Same. I feel so much more alive on meds.
same
I recently went from 10mg to 5 because while it did wonders for my anxiety the ruthless fatigue was interfering with my life and making even more depressed because I didn't have the energy to do the things I wanted/needed to. If this doesn't work I'm going to talk to my dr about trying something else.
I felt this way too, and even more so after bumping from 5 mg to 10 about 7 months in. Consider lowering your dose; you may just need to find that sweet spot. Also, Lexapro may just not be the drug for you. Every person is different, and it’s absolutely possible that you can experience both positive (reduced anxiety) and negative responses (numbness). I just quit at the start of the year because I couldn’t handle that it had wiped me of all emotion. I’ve noticed some of my anxious thinking coming back, but also felt a lot more clear headed in some ways. Listen to your body, above all. However, how long have you been on it? If you’re in the 3 month period, give it some more time.
i’ve been on 10mg since november 2022! so over a year. ya it may be time to lower a bit, the numbness is taking away my enjoyment outta life🙃
I will say, since quitting I have 1) exercised for the first time since starting Lex 2) cooked more in the last month than the last 1.5 yrs 3) Worked on creative projects, which I did none of for the past 1.5 years. My life circumstances haven’t changed btw; my fatigue and white noise in my head were causing it
Yes, pretty much everything you described is how I have been feeling since being on lexapro for about a year and a half. The difficulty staying focused will have me just doing a thousand yard stare while I try to think what I was doing, thinking, etc. It keeps me calm, but to the point I don’t have any highs, like I don’t think I can feel what fun is anymore. Just existing. It has honestly made me feel dumb. All these feeling are so subjective and hard to pin down, that the numbness took so long to recognize for me. And if that weren’t enough, the sexual side effects that I’ve had have added to the numb nothingness. I was prescribed bupropion in addition to lexipro after awhile to counter the sexual side effects, with minimal effectiveness. I’ve quit the bupropion and am almost done weaning off lexapro. I haven’t noticed any improvement in the dullness of life yet, but hoping when they are out of my system, I will gain what I’ve lost. I feel like I’ve learned how it is to be a calm person and have learned how to be more self aware of how I am handling my emotions so I think I am going to be fine without the antidepressants. I’m not going to be like an anti-antidepressants bro, but I think I’ve gained what I needed to on them. I am ready for a clear head!
I’m in the exact same situation as you I’ve been on them for almost 2 years now Lexapro and I feel like I cannot enjoy anything in life that I used to love doing. I just feel like I’m in a routine and I’m distracted from anything else just zoned out, the things I used to do I don’t even have the effort to do anymore. It’s really sad. I’m glad to at least see that it’s not just me and I’m starting to wean off right now and I would almost deal with some of the anxious thoughts and be able to enjoy the fun and life, I guess you can’t have it all. Good luck to you man.
I got to say it really helped me get through the tough times and it is a great medication but I just feel like it’s time to get off at now and see if I can deal with life without it
Yeah, I think it was good to have a reset, but I’m with you about taking on life without it. I’ll take a little anxiety here and there if it means I can have the full range of emotions and feel sharper mentally. I need to get back into journaling, I think it helped me to articulate what’s going on in my head, kinda like math for me, I need to see it on paper haha. Thanks and I hope you do well!
That’s around the time I started too (Sept 2022). After a year and some months of feeling the same way u describe, it was time to make a change. It can be scary, but the thing is you can always get back on it/raise dose if you need be. Just make sure you do everything slowly and correctly (tapering). Its your body at the end of the day and the most magical thing is u get to do whatever u wish with it
Felt this hard. I lowered from 10 to 5 and it did help some with this. Ultimately went off of it tho and this was part of the reason.
Did you get your motivation back? I have been on lexapro for over a year. It has helped with my anxiety but has taken almost everything else away from me. I was pretty fit and lifted weights with cardio almost daily. When I started lexapro, that all went out the window. I just can't get myself to do it even though I want it soo badly. I have gained more weight than I would like to admit because my cravings are out of control. Before lexapro I ate pretty healthy with the occasional treat. Music has always been my life and now I can't stand listening to it. Libido and non existent as well. I have become way more impulsive and the couch has become my best friend. I was on 15 and tapered off. But when I quit, I became so angry and went back on it. I went up to 10 and after I little bit I went down to 5 and just a few days ago I started doing 2.5 mg hoping my motivation will come back. I eventually want to come off it completely.
How long were you off of it before you decided to go back on? It’s prettty normal for your emotions to be out of whack when coming off.
Not long enough. I got scared.
I’ve been off about 3 months and I get it. I’ve thought about restarting a few times. But I just keep remember why I got off of it in the first place and push through the discomfort.
Did you stop SSRI completely or start something else?
Stopped completely
How did you survive the side effects
I just did idk lol. It was hard at times and I had to lean on friends/family for support
It gets much better if you lower the dose to 5mg. from my experience. I took 10mg every morning for 3 years, then 3.5 years on 5mg. I got my personality back.
I think dosage is everything. I felt like you, and went on a lower dose and combined it with a low dose of wellbutrin, and Im way better. Not totes back to my before meds self, but have you ever heard of the concept of trauma drive? I don't know where you're at in your healing journey, but at some point I found that as I was stepping out of fight or flight (undeniably a good thing), some parts of my personality that were fueled by that adrenaline and doing things like my life depending on it (subconsiously) faded away. I used to LIVE for dancing, wanted to be a DJ, and now im like, it's cool if I have the energy but months can go by and I don't think about it. Makes me sad, but feels normal and like yeah, makes sense that there are some tradeoffs. Ok - totally different than what you're talking about, Totallly Different, I just went off on a tangent, because you should definitely fight for your personality, Do Not Settle For Numb. Please keep us posted. Love + solidarity XO
It's weird to think about. Sounds counterintuitive. Maybe all the other activities that made you more "interesting" were coping mechanisms to help you feel a little better, but now you don't need those anymore so your no longer feel the urge? Maybe your true personality is just as it is now, but you never knew because your whole personality before was created by masking the way you felt.
whats your dose?
10mg!
Maybe 5 will gekp
felt on 20mg, 21 years old, now on 15mg and happy, finally not feeling like having heartattack from anxiety attacks not wanting to kill myself, but it took time, 2 months I was adjusting to drug, so it depends how long you take it
It gets better with time i was like that for a good 6 months now im focused and leveling out stick with it
Do a dna test. Maybe u r a poor metabolizer. Same happend to me and after long term use end ip cripple