at that familiar crossroad

[matthew T]

I am at that the crossroad many have been on.
Currently at 5mg of lexapro [ down from 20] . Sui...l Ideations come about every 10 days, the other days I am just flat and dont enjoy golf, movies or other things that I liked even as of a few months ago.
Current docs tell me that at 5 mg I am basically at a low dose and that if I have depression now , then another med may be helpful

I actually have a rx for 10 mg prozac to do the cross tapering thing.
I am at the point where my mind tells me I need a AD drug, I need some relief, and Prozac will help me.
I also hve a RX for 4.5 mg of lexapro, which would be my next taper.
I know I should continue my tapering, but my mind tells me to try another AD med.
I know what all of you will tell me, I need to hear it again, that I should continue my taper......
BUT, maybe I do need another AD med, even if it works for a few years, that is comforting to know I get relief maybe. Some folks on some web sites say prozac saved their life, or really helped them.
Please give me your opinion

fill the 4.5 mg rx to continue taper
or

fill the 10 mg prozac, drop the lexapro than go from there?
maybe the prozac will relive some symptoms then I can taper off that?


matt

[LCrawford67]

So, let's say you do start Prozac....what are you going to do when you get to this point in the Prozac taper? Try yet another med?

YOU have to make the decision whether or not to be med free, we can't do that for you. If medication is what you think you need, then pick one and stay on it. Stop adding and switching medications, you're doing yourself absolutely no favors.

If you want to be med free, then make the decision to be med free and stick with therapy to learn coping skills.

[matthew T]

Originally Posted by LCrawford67

So, let's say you do start Prozac....what are you going to do when you get to this point in the Prozac taper? Try yet another med? thinikng prozac is easier to taper? and in the mean time pprozac may help some?

YOU have to make the decision whether or not to be med free, we can't do that for you. I was hoping I could make a decsion based on a consensus by asking enough people at enough different sites
If medication is what you think you need, thats the thing, i dont know if I need them, FEELING POORLY makes me think I need tem
then pick one and stay on it. Stop adding and switching medications, you're doing yourself absolutely no favors.

If you want to be med free, then make the decision to be med free and stick with therapy to learn coping skills.

hard to cope during the worst of the depressive modes, but sometimes I think lexapro is causing the cycling [ doc actually agrees with me]

[nickels]

Matt, I agree with LC in that we really can't make that decision for you....but here is what I'm thinking...maybe you need to stabilize a little longer on the lexapro for now instead of switching to a new med all together. You might be at a point where you need longer than a months time to adjust to drops.

If you CT the lexapro and start the prozac, there is no guarantee that you won't be dealing with major withdrawal from the lexapro and start up effects of the prozac...seems a bit risky at this point. The prozac won't necessarily cover up withdrawal symptoms from the previous med.

Can you get the lexapro compounded in smaller doses? I think your drops are too big at this point and you might want to consider slowing down with smaller drops to relieve some of the w/d symptoms.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.

[anjopom]

I think maybe its the drugs you have used that are causing the symptoms you are having, and i can tell you that, more drugs is definately not gonna make this go away for ever for you.

if you fast tapered which it seems you have, then symptoms are gonna be more intense and prolonged, why not continue to taper and ride out w/d, adding more drugs means you go through this time and time again.
Sorry to say, one crack at this is enough for me, hence DO IT SLOWLY AND DO IT ONCE ONLY!!

You cannot keep switching backwards and forwards trying different meds, they are all the same, they all produce w/d symptoms, the same symptoms you are complaining of now.

Do yourself a favor here, decide what YOU want to do,how you want to live, what you need in life to make you happy, but bear in mind all these drugs create similar problems, do you want to live drug free, or are you happy to continue taking medication, only YOU knows the answer to that one.

These drugs are filthy, they do not cure anything, they just create a whole host of symptoms in w/d that we never had before, simply because they CAUSE chemical changes in the brain, if that is what makes you happy and you think it may work for you, and you are willing to take that chance, then go for it. If i were in your shoes, and i have been, like so many of us here, i would get off and stay off, and give your mind and body the time it needs to heal, without MEDS.

[matthew T]

thank you all for reinforcing what I know is the right thing. I will continue the taper , not add more drugs. [ just gets freaking tempting to seek relief]
My CBT therapists agreed with this board, she thought more meds would just confuse the issues more.

[luc]

Matt, if you switch to Prozac...you'll have to taper it at some point, too. BREAK this vicious circle. The decision is yours only, but remember; putting more drugs into your system will get you back to the point you were at when you started withdrawal. Hang in there!

[Songbird]

I totally understand the feeling of wanting relief, and I would not tell you what to do either way. But I think you need to weigh up the risks and the probability of Prozac actually helping. Some people are able to switch to Prozac successfully, some are not, and for some it is a complete disaster. Prozac has many of the same start-up effects and side effects as Lexapro and the other SSRIs, such as anxiety, agitation and suicidal thoughts, and it may not cover the Lexapro withdrawal. So there is a lot of risk for a very unknown benefit.

[Toby 4 ever]

Matt - before you take prozac read my signature - I really think it is a crap shoot be so off a drug and re-start - you could be worse off than back to square one...