The taper calculator gave me about 5.5 years left reducing about 1% R/O which is the equivalent to about 3% of current dose (every 4 weeks). And this is from 5.9mg onwards.

I'm actually impressed it's not longer when I used to do my own calculations by hand.

Still waiting for help from Deprescribing, after 6 months. It has to be soon. I want to refine where my limit is between reductions for the brain to settle - if it's say 3.5 weeks instead of 4 thats still better. I won't be trying anything till after the holiday though.

8 minutes ago, The Dust said:

Can I ask you, if you also have sense of impending doom (you mentioned panic) and if you woke up sweaty?

I get impending doom on off from a variety of sources but not from withdrawal - only when I got it wrong years ago. Lack of sleep always hurts me though, way out of proportion. Not having a job in general leads to inactivity and festering thoughts.

I get dehydrated and rib pain every morning but not sweaty. There's a thing I bought to stretch the front ribs+ sternum by pulling the back muscles when you lay on it - that does seem to help before sleep.

Two realisations I've made recently:

1. The removal of about 13% of my original R/O at 10mg (5.7mg now) has given a very subtle improvement in "feelings" nothing major but there's a particular connectedness to the current time and place/nature that I feel, sometimes a peaceful feeling I used to get after work even waiting for a bus decades ago.

   Maybe once a week there's this tiny tangible nature to reality - of course all dwarfed by side effects of Lexapro. Still a good sign.

2. The brain drain that hits me and used to interrupt workdays appears to be because of lexapro - almost precisely 2hrs after my dose. I used to take it 7pm evenings about a decade ago but will try later in evening

Has anyone noticed markable difference in energy after the medication is taken?(even after decades of use)

Also it's not always convenient to be measuring liquid in a syringe any time other than start or very end of day - I'd like to get the fatigue to line up exactly with bedtime.

On 8/9/2026 at 10:27 PM, PaintingDave said:

Still waiting for help from Deprescribing, after 6 months. It has to be soon.

The team at the Deprescribing Clinic only work one day a week, which is why everything takes so long. They've just had a change in staff, as well, so new doctors on the block to be trained.

1 hour ago, PaintingDave said:

Has anyone noticed markable difference in energy after the medication is taken?

Some people notice fatigue, and for others they are wired with serotonin and/or adrenaline. It's your genetics which determine how you metabolise both the drug, and the neurotransmitters which it alters.

2 hours ago, Erimus said:

The team at the Deprescribing Clinic only work one day a week, which is why everything takes so long. They've just had a change in staff, as well, so new doctors on the block to be trained.

Some people notice fatigue, and for others they are wired with serotonin and/or adrenaline. It's your genetics which determine how you metabolise both the drug, and the neurotransmitters which it alters.

I see, do you have any experience with the deprescribing team yourself? It's been 6 months and wanted to check in again.

When you say individuals are different, I have had friends and relatives that took Sertraline for years but were able to come off without too much trouble (or diluting a liquid). Every time I tried to reduce 10-5mg in previous years it was not only unendurable but I suspect it sensitised me to further reductions even but smaller increments. Hence I can't go over 1% receptor occupancy per step.

15 hours ago, PaintingDave said:

1. The removal of about 13% of my original R/O at 10mg (5.7mg now) has given a very subtle improvement in "feelings" nothing major but there's a particular connectedness to the current time and place/nature that I feel, sometimes a peaceful feeling I used to get after work even waiting for a bus decades ago.

   Maybe once a week there's this tiny tangible nature to reality - of course all dwarfed by side effects of Lexapro. Still a good sign.

This is good to see. Essentially reducing the drug is reducing the side effects, encouraging, just do it carefully so as to minimise WD mate.

15 hours ago, PaintingDave said:

he brain drain that hits me and used to interrupt workdays appears to be because of lexapro - almost precisely 2hrs after my dose. I used to take it 7pm evenings about a decade ago but will try later in evening

Basically this is a dose related side effect and one to watch imo. If you are reacting to the dose itself I think tapering will help this. Just as I said, do it carefully watching and hold for WD as you go. If you want to move your time you dose, do it one hour each day rather than in one hit.

12 hours ago, PaintingDave said:

I see, do you have any experience with the deprescribing team yourself? It's been 6 months and wanted to check in again.

Yes, I've been with them since February this year.

12 hours ago, PaintingDave said:

When you say individuals are different, I have had friends and relatives that took Sertraline for years but were able to come off without too much trouble (or diluting a liquid). Every time I tried to reduce 10-5mg in previous years it was not only unendurable but I suspect it sensitised me to further reductions even but smaller increments. Hence I can't go over 1% receptor occupancy per step.

Unfortunately, some of us become extremely sensitised to even the smallest of reductions. Most people who end up on support forums are having difficulty tapering.

The ones with limited symptoms are probably ultra-rapid metabolisers, which means their body breaks down and expels the drug before levels of serotonin have chance to build up and impact the brain.

Edited August 17Aug 17 by Erimus

"The ones with limited symptoms are probably ultra-rapid metabolisers, which means their body breaks down and expels the drug before levels of serotonin have chan

On 8/17/2026 at 10:28 AM, Erimus said:

The ones with limited symptoms are probably ultra-rapid metabolisers, which means their body breaks down and expels the drug before levels of serotonin have chance to build up and impact the brain.

Thats very interesting thanks, I'm sure from the deprescribing perspective there's a lot for doctors to study in how individuals differ in withdrawal, particularly how many bad taper attempts they made.

It reminds me of people trying to lose weight and each successive diet becomes harder because the body remembers it's "starving" programming and clings on to any existing calories.

On 8/17/2026 at 9:07 AM, Chippy said:

This is good to see. Essentially reducing the drug is reducing the side effects, encouraging, just do it carefully so as to minimise WD mate.

Basically this is a dose related side effect and one to watch imo. If you are reacting to the dose itself I think tapering will help this. Just as I said, do it carefully watching and hold for WD as you go. If you want to move your time you dose, do it one hour each day rather than in one hit.

Yes, had a bit of a bumpy day trying to change the dose time. I'm currently shifted to about 7pm, aiming for just before bedtime. Because of the inconvenience and public spectacle of water syringes and drops (instead of pills) I've premixed the solution for the day and drink it wherever I am normally away from home.

I've also had to factor in my trip away and a different timezone so I take the stuff at an equivalent hour. All the more reason to never get stuck on Lexapro.

• Another thing (!) It could be unrelated but since my first significant reductions this year I've been getting successive rashes for the first time. A bit like whack a mole treating them. Now either it's a chance infection, or stress, or Lexapro has some part in it. Never got gut problems though, despite celiac.

Cheers

4 minutes ago, PaintingDave said:

Another thing (!) It could be unrelated but since my first significant reductions this year I've been getting successive rashes for the first time. A bit like whack a mole treating them. Now either it's a chance infection, or stress, or Lexapro has some part in it.

Could be unrelated but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not.

.... and perhaps it's worth mentioning, I cut back my drinking for the first time in years, not that I was often exceeding healthy limits. I'm also cutting down on snacks because of doctor advice - I was accustomed to eating junk in my former ears when I was miserable with undiagnosed celiac, anemic and not absorbing nutrients(inc. fats). To look at me you wouldn't guess! After taking account it was definitely overdue a change.

I still get vitamins, fresh stuff and plenty exercise just without the junk. Straightforward.

Something definitely shifted this month after 4 days off a single pint feels like plenty. It goes without saying that we keep extra substances at a minimum when reducing dose. Some days no caffeine, and I try to stick with morning, early afternoon at the latest.

I've got to say I didn't expect it to become this easy. I will say flow thingy helps me still (despite the expense) - but also there must be more dopamine, and reward for everything I try to do with my current level of the drug. Just the basics a regular human takes for granted.

@PaintingDave Drinking alcohol whilst in WD really isn't adviced mate. Please look atter yourself, eat well, plenty of water, fuel the body the best you can, it will help loads. We can't choose much in WD but we can select what inputs we deliver it.

Sorry for the quality, this is the taper clock/dial that I made, to track my progress in receptor occupancy (from Maudsley guidelines) with approximate mg dose . Had a real struggle lowering the image size to upload, hence the blocky look.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by PaintingDave
missed my text off

This is really good. It would be great if we could have charts like this for all the common drugs. Excel could maybe do it, or an AI model. It's so much easier to understand visually. Shame the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines just gave us tables.

10 hours ago, Sminismoni said:

This is really good. It would be great if we could have charts like this for all the common drugs. Excel could maybe do it, or an AI model. It's so much easier to understand visually. Shame the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines just gave us tables.

Yes I reckon it could be done in a spreadsheet, but I'm not smart enough for that right now. Total progress is about 2-3 years since Dec 2023 (10-5.5mg). Looking at about 4 years now to get to the end.

So I'm averaging about 3.5% of previous dose every reduction, and 3.5 weeks between reducing. And actually somehow feel better than before, not hitting the wave of death anxiety I previously had 2 days after reduction.

It does feel like a good pace to go at. Now I just need to get a job 🫣, that should occupy me plenty.

2 hours ago, PaintingDave said:

So I'm averaging about 3.5% of previous dose every reduction, and 3.5 weeks between reducing. And actually somehow feel better than before, not hitting the wave of death anxiety I previously had 2 days after reduction.

It does feel like a good pace to go at. Now I just need to get a job 🫣, that should occupy me plenty.

Really glad to hear things have been going smoothly with your taper @PaintingDave. Best of luck with the job hunt!

@PaintingDave sounds like your taper is going well. Good luck with the job hunt. :)

So, I had some recurring infections in the last year combined with fatigue about an hour after food, add that to that thirst and constant urination, irritable mood and confusion on/off (not iron this time). A doctor suggested diabetes because of likely cause of repeated infection being sugar in urine. The body desperately trying to balance the books when sugar is too high, I'd be surprised if it's not type 2 diabetes. There's a genetic risk of type 1 with celiac genes, but it looks like type 2 I've got from overeating, sugar but also a massive helping of ongoing stress OCD>Celiac>job stress>Lexapro etc.

For some reason I had every blood test on earth and abdomen ultrasound in the last 2-3 years related to celiac disease but not a diabetes test. This has been booked for November 2nd, I'd rather sooner.

This has been slowly increasing apart from or in concert with side effects from Lexapro so it was hard to single out before. I'm probably not going to punch any more holes in the bathroom door, but ideally I would cry or have some emotional response but Lexapro is blocking that up.

My hope is that some of these problems can be rectified, I can prevent further damage but also not feeling like **** for hours a day, irritable and confused. Lexapro is at 5.32mg, reducing 3%... now aiming at every 3wk 4days. Obviously reducing a day each time to see 3 is possible.

In terms of exercise and basic nutrition I already do pretty well. Cycling, sit ups and weights, low BMI, it's just moderating diet and potential medication.

Back to job hunting

Edited Friday at 12:17 PM3 days by PaintingDave
missed a detail

On 10/23/2026 at 11:14 PM, PaintingDave said:

So, I had some recurring infections in the last year combined with fatigue about an hour after food, add that to that thirst and constant urination, irritable mood and confusion on/off (not iron this time). A doctor suggested diabetes because of likely cause of repeated infection being sugar in urine. The body desperately trying to balance the books when sugar is too high, I'd be surprised if it's not type 2 diabetes. There's a genetic risk of type 1 with celiac genes, but it looks like type 2 I've got from overeating, sugar but also a massive helping of ongoing stress OCD>Celiac>job stress>Lexapro etc.

For some reason I had every blood test on earth and abdomen ultrasound in the last 2-3 years related to celiac disease but not a diabetes test. This has been booked for November 2nd, I'd rather sooner.

This has been slowly increasing apart from or in concert with side effects from Lexapro so it was hard to single out before. I'm probably not going to punch any more holes in the bathroom door, but ideally I would cry or have some emotional response but Lexapro is blocking that up.

My hope is that some of these problems can be rectified, I can prevent further damage but also not feeling like **** for hours a day, irritable and confused. Lexapro is at 5.32mg, reducing 3%... now aiming at every 3wk 4days. Obviously reducing a day each time to see 3 is possible.

In terms of exercise and basic nutrition I already do pretty well. Cycling, sit ups and weights, low BMI, it's just moderating diet and potential medication.

Back to job hunting

Certainly signs and symptoms of diabetes @PaintingDave but could be a number of things. If you’re open to suggestions it could be SIADH (not uncommon in people taking SSRIs and some other ADs) contributing to increased urine output. It’s worth getting a fasting insulin, electrolytes, urinary sodium and serum and urine osmolality in addition to the T2DM tests). If you’re wanting to do something straight away it would be cutting back on carbs to <100g per day. I’ve had to curtail exercise as it just drains my energy at the moment. Good luck with your upcoming medical review.

10 hours ago, Catbird said:

Certainly signs and symptoms of diabetes @PaintingDave but could be a number of things. If you’re open to suggestions it could be SIADH (not uncommon in people taking SSRIs and some other ADs) contributing to increased urine output. It’s worth getting a fasting insulin, electrolytes, urinary sodium and serum and urine osmolality in addition to the T2DM tests). If you’re wanting to do something straight away it would be cutting back on carbs to <100g per day. I’ve had to curtail exercise as it just drains my energy at the moment. Good luck with your upcoming medical review.

Well I will certainly be asking a lot of questions on the day. I've not heard of SIADH but will look it up. Ordered a CGM to see where blood sugar is at, a ball park picture. Already cutting out simple carbs and sugar which is sound advice - there's plenty alternatives (but even so I'm gluten free and this will shrink the pool of food options even further).

Exercise is a lot when we already feel rough.

I will update after the meeting

Hey @PaintingDave thought I would also mention resistant starches if you don't know about them. Simply refrigerating/freezing starches before heating them to eat can help as well.

AI Search:

How Resistant Starch Works

• Passes Undigested: Unlike regular starches that break down into glucose in the small intestine, resistant starch travels intact to the large intestine. [1]

• Lowers Glycemic Impact: Because it does not digest rapidly, it avoids causing sharp spikes in blood sugar and insulin after meals. [1, 2]

• Feeds Gut Bacteria: Once in the colon, it ferments and acts as a prebiotic, encouraging beneficial gut bacteria that can improve overall metabolic health and insulin sensitivity. [1, 2]

• Boosts Satiety: Fermentation triggers the release of gut hormones like GLP-1, helping you feel full longer. [1]

Key Benefits for Diabetes

• Lower Blood Sugar Levels: Clinical studies and meta-analyses show that adding resistant starch to the diet can help reduce fasting blood glucose and post-meal blood sugar levels.

• Improved Insulin Sensitivity: Research indicates that regular intake can enhance how your cells respond to insulin. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Common Food Sources & Preparation

• Unripe (Green) Bananas or Plantains: Contain high natural levels of resistant starch.

• Legumes: Beans, lentils, and peas.

• Whole Grains: Oats and barley.

• Cooked-and-Cooled Starches: Cooking foods like rice, potatoes, or pasta and then cooling them in the refrigerator (retrogradation) changes the starch structure to increase resistant starch

18 minutes ago, PaintingDave said:

Well I will certainly be asking a lot of questions on the day. I've not heard of SIADH but will look it up. Ordered a CGM to see where blood sugar is at, a ball park picture. Already cutting out simple carbs and sugar which is sound advice - there's plenty alternatives (but even so I'm gluten free and this will shrink the pool of food options even further).

Exercise is a lot when we already feel rough.

I will update after the meeting

@PaintingDave a CGM is a great way to get a handle on things. It’s also very informative to see the effects of exercise. I’m keto but do a carb meal refeed on alternate days immediately followed by 30-60 minutes on a stationary bike to push glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle storage. For me triggering insulin serves a couple of roles for my goals. I’ll be interested to see what your next steps are.

On 10/25/2026 at 12:29 AM, LostinCanada said:

Hey @PaintingDave thought I would also mention resistant starches if you don't know about them. Simply refrigerating/freezing starches before heating them to eat can help as well.

AI Search:

How Resistant Starch Works

• Passes Undigested: Unlike regular starches that break down into glucose in the small intestine, resistant starch travels intact to the large intestine. [1]

• Lowers Glycemic Impact: Because it does not digest rapidly, it avoids causing sharp spikes in blood sugar and insulin after meals. [1, 2]

• Feeds Gut Bacteria: Once in the colon, it ferments and acts as a prebiotic, encouraging beneficial gut bacteria that can improve overall metabolic health and insulin sensitivity. [1, 2]

• Boosts Satiety: Fermentation triggers the release of gut hormones like GLP-1, helping you feel full longer. [1]

Key Benefits for Diabetes

• Lower Blood Sugar Levels: Clinical studies and meta-analyses show that adding resistant starch to the diet can help reduce fasting blood glucose and post-meal blood sugar levels.

• Improved Insulin Sensitivity: Research indicates that regular intake can enhance how your cells respond to insulin. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Common Food Sources & Preparation

• Unripe (Green) Bananas or Plantains: Contain high natural levels of resistant starch.

• Legumes: Beans, lentils, and peas.

• Whole Grains: Oats and barley.

• Cooked-and-Cooled Starches: Cooking foods like rice, potatoes, or pasta and then cooling them in the refrigerator (retrogradation) changes the starch structure to increase resistant starch

That's really useful thanks. A long time ago the was a BBC article about cooling pasta to reduce the level of simple sugar - this must be that effect.... I'd almost forgotten. This would make sense for me to do in a packed lunch :)

Green bananas, I know they taste less sweet but now I guess they're a good option when I'm out and about too. I never trusted yellow bananas in my bag since childhood getting them smashed on my textbooks. Also they spoil so fast.

On 10/25/2026 at 12:44 AM, Catbird said:

@PaintingDave a CGM is a great way to get a handle on things. It’s also very informative to see the effects of exercise. I’m keto but do a carb meal refeed on alternate days immediately followed by 30-60 minutes on a stationary bike to push glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle storage. For me triggering insulin serves a couple of roles for my goals. I’ll be interested to see what your next steps are.

Ideally the CGM arrives tomorrow, we'll see. It's fascinating to know what goes on in the blood and gut etc, driving out feelings and activity.

I plan to keep exercising after food. Today I found somewhere I can eat a relatively low carb (and celiac) meal - one of my existing favourites. And kept things in check. Also breakfast porridge with almond milk is a good slow release of energy now. Less instant sugar than brown gf toast.