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What Causes Dizziness, Nausea And Vomiting Post Withdrawal From Lexapro?

Posted on Mon, 18 Jul 2016

Question: I have been on Lexapro for years. I rescently changed doctors. He told me to stop taking Lexapro. I quite a month ago; I have beeb han having low grade dizziness z nausea every since, I thought it was Vertigo, but I went into the ER vomiting & I came out vomiting. This has been going on for a month ----- feeling nauseated, no appitite & a headache. I am not getting any better. I had a though that maybe discontinuating Lexapro might be the cause.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hello, and thanks for your question.

You are describing SSRI discontinuation syndrome. This sometimes happens when SSRIs such as Lexapro are stopped too abruptly. Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, flu-like symptoms, and malaise. My recommendation is to resume taking Lexapro, and then SLOWLY tapering off the dose over the course of several weeks. This will help your symptoms resolve.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (10 minutes later)

Thank you so much! I have so miserable for a few weeks; at my age, you always wonder if this "thing" is going on till I die. Of several doctors, I have seen, two in the ER, none have asked me it I recently started taking or discontinued any medication. I thought of it myself! They thought it was a strange case of vertigo.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (34 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Followup

Detailed Answer:
This will certainly not go on forever! Simply restart Lexapro and titrate off more slowly, and these symptoms will go away.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (20 hours later)

I began to take Lexipro (10 mg.) yesterday. I still have symptoms ( nausea, headache, & dizziness) but I noticed all of these seem to be getting less. I now know how a person on "bad" drugs feel. I was afraid to go back to ER (for more valium & Zofran which they used to treat my "Vertigo"). All of the three doctors, I have seen, said it was vertigo. Since my primary doctor (which I just started seeing, told me to stop taking Lexapro (4 -5 weeks ago), none of the doctors were aware that I had been on Lexipro. Since I had just started taking a Gout drug, I thought that it might be the cause. They all said "no, it is vertigo".
My question is, if I continue on Lexipro, "What are the long term affects? & if I do stop taking the med., how do I gradually stop? ex. 4 tables a week, then 3 tablets?
How long should it take to stop, so I won't have these horrible symptoms?"

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Followup

Detailed Answer:
I'm glad you are feeling a bit better.

You cannot taper Lexapro on your own. You need to be under the close supervision of a doctor to help manage this taper. The speed of the taper will be symptom-based, as monitored by your doctor.

Lexapro has few if any side-effects long-term. This is likely to treat anxiety and depression. Some people have sexual side effects including erectile dysfunction long-term, but this is not the norm.

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Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad