Escitalopram Detox

[silent bob]

Heya guys, its been a long time since i was online but havn't really felt the need to be of late. Anyhow last week i decided that since i had run out of Esc i may as well stop. I went cold turkey 7 days ago and so far so good :) the first 3 days kinda sucked as the detox made me really tired and cranky but or the past few days i have been getting a bit better each day! contrary to popular belief going cold turkey and not reducing had little side effectson me. i didnt get the brain zaps or anything just tired n cranky like i hadnt had good sleep for a few days. Just thought id let you guys know that if/when you decide to come off (wether i be cold turkey or slowly reducing) you may be a bit tired for a few days but not everyone is going to get brain zaps or anything horrible like that :)

Have a good day :)

[Sparkle1984]

Please be careful! The safest way to come off these meds is by reducing the dosage gradually over a period of weeks, under the guidance of a doctor. You may be feeling OK now, but you could still get withdrawal effects several weeks or even months down the line. Also, if you suffer a relapse, the tablets might not work so well the second time round if you come off them too quickly the first time.

So what I'm saying is, it's best to restart them now while you are still feeling OK. Then once you feel ready to come off them, reduce the dose slowly. This is the advice given on the patient information leaflets and also a lot of manufacturers put a groove down the middle of the tablets to help people withdraw gradually.

Its not a good idea to encourage other people to do a rapid withdrawal, in fact for some people it could be dangerous. I remember last year one woman on this forum did the same thing with citalopram - she felt OK at the time, but several months later she began to suffer really bad withdrawals and her anxiety returned. She ended up back on the cit, but she then suffered what they call the "kindling effect', which sounded very nasty. It's rare, but I feel I have to warn people about the potential consequences of rapid withdrawal.

As you've only been off them for 7 days, you'll be able to go back on them without any problems. I'd suggest booking an emergency appointment with your doctor, explain you ran out of tablets and they'll give you another prescription. In the meantime, if you take your old box of tablets to your usual pharmacy, they should give you some emergency tablets to tide you over until your doctor gives you a new prescription.

Its best to be on the safe side - there is no rush to come off this medication.