new here

June 23, 2026

Hi new here. I am currently trying to taper down lexapro after having some side effects. I started to experience extreme fatigue, emotional blunting, amd strong alcohol cravings. Along with a few others that were tolerable. I've been on 5mg for 1.6 years and everytime I tried to go up to 10mg the side effects were so bad that I just kept going back to 5mg. I am currently on day 5 of tapering down to 2.5mg. I did not know about reducing by hyperbolic tapering by 10%. But I am already starting to feel my emotions again and the cravings have almost completely disappeared. I plan to try to stablize at this dose for a while then decide if I am going to do down more after that. My goal is to either get off the med completely or use the lowest effective dose for MY body to reduce anxiety.. I will give it time on this amount to see how my body and brain cope.

Lexapro —5mg 1.6 years — 2.5mg —actively tapering/ stabilizing

4 Replies

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CatinaJun 24

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi LexaTooMuch! Welcome.... I'm glad you learned about using Hyperbolic tapering to reduce your Lexapro dose. 10% is the maximum recommended reduction. Some people do better with 5% or even lower. It all depends on your own body and how you react. I think stabilizing where you are is a wise move. It's better to take things slowly than try to rush through and pay for it later. We look forward to supporting you through your tapering and healing journey. Let us know if you have any questions! Catina ❤️

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 16.64 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

WolfJun 24

Community AnchorProzac · researching

If any withdrawals arise, keep in mind going down by 100% should be twice as hard as 50%. If you were originally taking these for anxiety, keep in mind there are many effective non-drug ways to treat anxiety, and taking a drug is primarily a symptom treatment.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

guava378Jul 1

Community AnchorAbilify · active

Dropping from 5mg to 2.5mg might be easy, but going from 2.5mg to 0 is a big step. You could switch to the liquid version of Lexapro for a hyperbolic taper. I went cold turkey from 2.5mg and had a wobbly head for 2 weeks. I was only on 5mg for a month but had to stop due to chronic weakness

- Aripiprazole / Abilify:
17-May-2026 (15mg -> 10mg)
11-July-2026 (10mg-> 7.5mg
17-Aug-2026 (7.5mg -> 5mg)
28-Sep-2026 (5mg -> 3.6mg)
11 months - actively tapering
- Procyclidine 5mg - 11 months - actively tapering
- Propranolol - 20mg - 14 months - holding
- Xanax - 0.25mg - 9 months - holding

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CatinaJul 1

Community AnchorEffexor

"You could switch to the liquid version of Lexapro for a hyperbolic taper." — @guava378

True. And if they did, they would need to do a cross-over, which we have instructions for.

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