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Lexapro (escitalopram) Withdrawal Symptoms, Timeline, and Treatment

Last Updated on November 16, 2023 by Carol Gillette

LexAlternative to Meds Editorial Team
Medically Reviewed by Dr John Motl MD

Doctors prescribe Lexapro (escitalopram) for a variety of mental health disorders, including major depressive disorder. Because Lexapro belongs to a category of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Lexapro can cause uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking the drug, especially if you stop abruptly. This article explains how Lexapro works, possible withdrawal symptoms, and what to do if you are suffering and need treatment.

Do Your Symptoms Require Lexapro?


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When it comes to successful antidepressant withdrawal treatment, our published evidence shows the effectiveness of our methodology. We can provide the necessary “missing links” in your recovery journey such as improving the diet, deep tissue cleansing of neurotoxins, safe gentle weaning, and a wealth of comfort therapies. While some people can come off Lexapro with little difficulty, many will need compassionate and precise assistance to make the goal of natural mental health without relying on prescription drugs truly achievable.
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What Is Lexapro (escitalopram) Used For?

Drug regulators classify Lexapro (generic escitalopram) as an SSRI. Lexapro is considered the “most serotonin-selective” of all drugs in its class.14 SSRI antidepressants are designed to target the neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the brain. Lexapro blocks the reuptake—or reabsorption—of this neurotransmitter by receptors in the brain. Disabling the transport mechanism causes a build-up of serotonin pre- synapse, and may, at least temporarily, lessen moderate to severe symptoms such as impulsivity, rumination, and mood dysregulation.1

The FDA approved the antidepressant, Lexapro, for the treatment of MDD (major depressive disorder) for persons 12 and older, and GAD (general anxiety disorder) for adults 18 and older.2 However, doctors prescribe Lexapro for many off-label uses such as eating disorders, premature ejaculation, pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, and hot flashes.3 A large study published in the BMJ demonstrated that the majority of off-label prescriptions of antidepressants, (85%) were prescribed despite no strong evidence that they actually improved these conditions.4

Because SSRIs alter brain chemistry (neuroplasticity) over time, experts recommend that you not stop taking the drug “cold turkey” as you could encounter untenable symptoms of withdrawal. Always seek the advice of a medical professional before you stop taking escitalopram. Never ever abruptly stop an antidepressant medication, and always ask your prescriber or chosen healthcare personnel tfor adequate Lexapro tapering help to minimize the symptoms of withdrawal.

Common Lexapro Withdrawal Symptoms

Please keep in mind that antidepressant withdrawal can be severe.5,6

Lexapro withdrawal symptoms can include:
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Brain zaps (electric shock sensations)
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Burning sensation
  • Numbness or tingling in feet or hands
  • Shaking
  • Tiredness

Psychological withdrawal symptoms may include:

  • Nightmares or vivid dreams and insomnia
  • Anxiety
  • Hallucinations
  • Excited mood or mood swings
  • Confusion
lexapro withdrawal symptoms

How Long Do Lexapro Withdrawal Symptoms Last?

The antidepressant withdrawal timeline for Lexapro can differ from person to person. Some people will experience symptoms within a few hours of their last dose, while for others there may be a lag of up to a week before Lexapro withdrawal symptoms emerge. The severity of the symptoms and the timeline depend on many factors. These can include how long you took Lexapro, the dose, general health, age, and other factors unique to each person.7

Lexapro has a longer half-life (27 to 32 hours) than some other antidepressant medications. A longer half-life means the drug exits the body slower. So some people may have less severe symptoms that don’t last as long compared to an SSRI with a shorter half-life. The psychological and physical symptoms may last one to two weeks for some, while others may experience lingering, and even worsening symptoms for months. Discuss your options with your healthcare provider to get the medical advice you need for Lexapro withdrawal help.

What Happens When You Stop Taking Lexapro?

Lexapro falls into the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) category for antidepressant medications and is thought to block the flow-through of serotonin along nerve channels in the brain and the entire CNS. One way the CNS responds to this build-up of serotonin is to stop creating more serotonin and rely on the antidepressant medication to do its job. This is a simple description of the mechanics of drug dependence.13 As a result, when you stop taking the drug, your serotonin levels can drop quickly, which is a contributing factor to withdrawal symptoms.7

As your body adjusts, you can experience mild to severe withdrawal symptoms, which can intensify if you stop taking Lexapro too quickly. To minimize these discontinuation symptoms, the FDA recommends that you be monitored by your healthcare provider when discontinuing treatment, noting that a gradual reduction over time provides the best approach, rather than abruptly stopping.2

Adverse Effects of Lexapro

Most antidepressant medications are known to cause unpleasant adverse effects. These drug reactions especially if severe may motivate you or a loved one to discontinue Lexapro. According to the drug label, these reactions to Lexapro can be severe.2,11-14

side effects of stopping lexapro

  • Hyponatremia (low blood sodium):  Too much water in the blood can cause your sodium levels to become diluted, causing your cells to start swelling. The resulting symptoms can include cramps, seizures, dizziness, lethargy, and confusion. Immediate medical attention should be sought if this occurs.
  • Suicidality:  As with other antidepressants, Lexapro is associated with increased suicidality, especially in children and young adults. This is why the drug comes with a black box warning specifying age restrictions of 12 and older.
  • Bleeding:  SSRIs such as Lexapro increase the risk of abnormal bleeding by blocking the reuptake of serotonin platelets.
  • Sexual dysfunction:  Lexapro can cause both male and female sexual dysfunction, including impotence, inability to climax, decreased libido, and can reduce fertility/sperm potency. One study showed that antidepressants may reduce the likelihood of a woman being able to conceive naturally.
  • Hypomania:  Studies reveal Lexapro causes heightened feelings of euphoria, excitability, delusional thoughts, erratic behavior, impulsivity, and poor judgment.  
  • Serotonin Syndrome:  Drugs can activate too much serotonin in the system. This results in a life-threatening set of reactions. These include sudden high fever, confusion, tremors, and other reactions that can occur very quickly after taking a serotonergic drug like Lexapro. Immediate emergency hospitalization can save the life of the patient experiencing serotonin syndrome.

Seek medical advice from your healthcare provider if you experience unusual symptoms while taking Lexapro. It is safest to seek medical guidance when deciding to stop taking the drug.

Withdrawal Treatment Options

If you or a loved one wish to stop taking Lexapro, discuss your options with a medical professional. Alternative to Meds Center provides many adjunctive therapies and dietary options for physical comfort, de-stressing, and relaxation that can be tremendously beneficial throughout Lexapro withdrawal and recovery. A key fundamental in our program is to isolate and remove toxic bioaccumulation, that may have been an overlooked factor in your original symptoms.9

Cessation Help

Coming off an SSRI drug such as Lexapro (escitalopram) involves gradually cutting the dose rather than abruptly stopping all at once. Adequate support can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk of relapse.8 Seek the medical advice of your healthcare provider and seek inpatient care if that is possible for you. At the very least, choose a practitioner who is familiar with Lexapro withdrawal to help you. Don’t attempt to stop Lexapro all on your own. A healthcare professional familiar with the process can best help you cope with symptoms as you gradually withdraw from the drug. Many medical doctors lack familiarity or expertise so choose your doctor wisely.10

Where To Seek Support

Perhaps you have already tried to reduce or get off Lexapro but ran into insurmountable barriers. You are not alone. Alternative to Meds Center is a specialist in safe and gentle Lexapro withdrawal and helped thousands of clients with successfully getting off antidepressants. We are here to help you.

And, we do understand that not everyone is a candidate for inpatient treatment. Help is still available to you by reaching out to a directory you can find at IMMH.org for holistic-minded practitioners who may be able to assist you. You can search for caregivers by geographic location. The bottom line is you do not want to try Lexapro withdrawal all on your own.

Lexapro Withdrawal and Tapering at Alternative to Meds Center

lexapro tapering & withdrawal sedona drug rehabIf you or a loved one is interested in our inpatient treatment program, we invite you to review a wealth of information on our services overview pages that will help you understand the various protocols used in designing a uniquely tailored program.

We have over 50 staff, all licensed and accredited in their medical or therapeutic disciplines, who are dedicated to your success and recovery.

The important pillars of treatment you can find out more about are orthomolecular-based nutrition, environmental medicine, neurotransmitter rehabilitation and neurotoxin removal, personal counseling, and trainer-led exercise. We blend into each program a wealth of comfort therapies such as acupuncture and spa services and many more that will make your journey stress-free and pleasant.

Please call us for more information on our wonderful programs and services, and get your questions answered including insurance coverage. It could be easier for you to enroll than you may have thought. We look forward to hearing from you.


Sources

1. Harmer CJ, Duman RS, Cowen PJ. “How do antidepressants work? New perspectives for refining future treatment approaches.” Lancet Psychiatry. [cited April 1, 2022]

2. FDA.gov. “Highlights of Prescribing Information.” [Cited February 14, 2022]

3. Skånland S and Cieślar-Pobuda A. “Off-label uses of drugs for depression.” [Cited February 14, 2022]

4. Wong J, Motulsky A, Abrahamowicz M, Eguale T, Buckeridge DL, Tamblyn R. Off-label indications for antidepressants in primary care: descriptive study of prescriptions from an indication based electronic prescribing system. BMJ. 2017 Feb 21;356:j603. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j603. PMID: 28228380; PMCID: PMC5320934. [cited 2022 July 27]

5. Gabriel, Matthew, and Verinder Sharma. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal. “Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.” [cited April 1, 2022]

6. Yasui-Furukori N et al. “Characteristics of Escitalopram Discontinuation Syndrome: A Preliminary Study.” [Cited February 14, 2022]

7. Warner, Christopher H., MAJ, MC, Bobo, William, LCDR, MC, USN, Warner, Carolynn, MAJ, MC, Reid, Sarah, CPT, USAF, MC, Rachal, James, MAJ, USAF, MC. American Family Physician. “Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome.” [cited April 1, 2022]

8. Wilson E, Lader M. A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. 2015 Dec;5(6):357-68. doi: 10.1177/2045125315612334. PMID: 26834969; PMCID: PMC4722507. [cited 2022 July 27]

9. Genuis SJ. Toxic causes of mental illness are overlooked. Neurotoxicology. 2008 Nov;29(6):1147-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2008.06.005. Epub 2008 Jun 24. PMID: 18621076. [cited 2022 July 27]

10. Rasyidi E, Wilkins JN, Danovitch I. Training the next generation of providers in addiction medicine. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2012 Jun;35(2):461-80. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2012.04.001. PMID: 22640766. [cited 2022 July 27]

11. Simon LV, Keenaghan M. Serotonin Syndrome. [Updated 2022 Jul 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482377/ [cited 2023 Mar 21]

12. FDA Drug Label Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) Oral/Tablets [approval 2002) [cited 2023 Mar 21]

13. Peper A. Intermittent adaptation. A theory of drug tolerance, dependence and addiction. Pharmacopsychiatry. 2009 May;42 Suppl 1:S129-43. doi: 10.1055/s-0029-1202848. Epub 2009 May 11. PMID: 19434551. [cited 2023 June 7]

14. Landy K, Rosani A, Estevez R. Escitalopram. [Updated 2022 Oct 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557734/ [cited 2023 June 7]


Originally Published July 28, 2021 by Diane Ridaeus


This content has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician.

Dr. Samuel Lee

Dr. Samuel Lee is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in a spiritually-based mental health discipline and integrative approaches. He graduated with an MD at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and did a residency in psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has also been an inpatient adult psychiatrist at Kaweah Delta Mental Health Hospital and the primary attending geriatric psychiatrist at the Auerbach Inpatient Psychiatric Jewish Home Hospital. In addition, he served as the general adult outpatient psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente.  He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology and has a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Religion from Pacific Union College. His specialty is in natural healing techniques that promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself.

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Lexapro (escitalopram) Withdrawal Symptoms, Timeline, and Treatment
Medical Disclaimer:
Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided on the website is intended to encourage, not replace, direct patient-health professional relationships. Always consult with your doctor before altering your medications. Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision.

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