weening myself off SSRIs.... bad idea?

for the sake of being able to do drugs- i'd like to stop my SSRI (lexapro), which i plan on starting again later on, but for right now i want to trip.

is it totally irresponsible and reckless for me to try this on my own without a doctor? would it even be worth it if i wanted to trip in like 2-3 weeks (i heard it can take up to a month to get it out of your system)?

 

all i can say is, i've had to ween myself off of ssri's before. it was a pain, cuttin the pills all down, or with capsules dumping them out and putting like half then a fourth of it back in. i can't comment on what effect it will have on your mental well being though, as everyone is different. and i have no idea about the tripping thing. sorry, guess i'm not much help...

 

get healthy first then worry about trippin, i dont know if the pills are the way to go to get healthy. but thats just MHO

sorry i know im no help...

 

Hard to say if its "reckless". Realistically you should be monitored while weaning off a drug like this. By monitored i mean check ups with your doc every so often, just to see how your mood and mind is adapting to the lesser levels of the drug.

It is definately possible to wean off on your own, just might not be recommended. And i think 2-3 weeks might be too little time to get it fully out of your system, depending on your dose of course.

 

I was taking celexa (which is citalopram, lexapro is escocitalopram and they have roughly the same half life) and i stopped taking it at once, from 20 mg a day for a month to nothing. i experienced normal SSRI withdrawals (dizziness etc.) and no dysphoria at all, its probably in my head but it seemed like i felt better after i stopped. if you dont want withdrawals (which arent that bad) then just go according to your plan to wean it, thats all a doctor would do.

whats your dosage? when it comes to things like this people overestimate doctors alot, a bit of research on the net will make you more knowledgable than him when it comes to something such as this.

 

thanks everyone

the thing is i'm on 20mg a day, which is the highest dose i could be taking... i believe it's equivalent to about 40mg of celexa if i'm not mistaken.

i started on 10mg about 7-8 weeks ago and i've only been on 20mg for about 3 or so weeks, so maybe it hasn't built up in my body fully yet.

 

The only thing youd get out of going to a doctor is this- go down to 10 mg a day, stay like that for a week or so, then take 5 mg a day for a week or so, then take 5 mg every other day for a weak or so and you shouldnt have any withdrawals. for me the withdrawals werent that bad.

 

you could try taking 5htp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan

 

I don't know why everyone raves about 5htp. your brain has to decide to USE it for it to be any good. if your serotonin factory is having a strike, driving up to the gates with a truck full of ingredients won't do any good, because nobody is going to use them.

 

it was just a suggestion..

 

i would advise you to go back to 10mg for a week and then stop...if you have any WD's they will prolly be mild anyways.

 

My experience with quitting SSRI was a little more dramatic that some listed here. I just decided that I was tired of taking pills and stopped taking Zoloft alltogether.

Bad move. Had a bad reaction - My brain just kind of kicked out of gear - I couldn't figure out how or why to do common task. Even walking was difficult. It's weird but I had to consciously make myself move one leg in front of the other to walk!! Bad experience!! I haven't tried again. Good luck but be careful. Peace & Love - Dudley.