I took my last dose of Escitalopram (Lexapro) on 26/01/26, so have been off for 3 months. I was on it for about a year, before that I was on Sertraline for about a year before switching due to side effects. I tapered very slowly over a 6-month period so didn’t rush to go cold turkey.
My decision to taper was due to emotional numbing, low motivation and generally feeling disconnected from everything around me. Sure, I felt no anxiety but I didn’t feel happy either and like I had lost myself.
Since discontinuing the medication, I haven’t felt stable. The first month I felt completely numb and no different from when I was on the medication. By the second month I was feeling very irritable and quick to lose my temper. Like I was constantly under tension.
Most recently I have been getting very anxious and emotional. I feel like I could cry at the drop of a hat and feeling a lot of anxiety in my chest that comes out of nowhere, usually from when I wake up in the morning. Have also noticed my appetite has gone and I’ve lost weight, no food appeals to me and it’s hard to get motivated for things. Have had stomach upset too.
I have had some days of feeling better but it never lasts and I’ll find myself slowly slipping back into a negative state which feels uncontrollable.
I have seen some people say it takes 6-8 months to feel even slightly levelled out after stopping so I’m looking for some reassurance from those who have got through it and any advice for surviving it all!
Just feeling very sad and panicky about the whole thing, many people seem to just suggest that I need to try another medication which I do not want to do ☹