Hey everyone. I’m totally new to this site it was recommended to me by a new friend who is also tapering. I’m happy to see that I’m not alone in this journey. As my signature states I’m currently suffering the side effects of a sudden taper of Lexapro 20mg to 10mg. I’m experiencing:

- Crying spells/depression

- INSANE irritability

- suicidal ideation

- decrease in appetite

- high anxiety

- occasional nightmares

I’m very angry at my psych NP for putting me in this position. I have no idea what to do….I’ve been surfing through the site today 8/9/26 about reinstating at this point I’m desperate to stabilize so that I can taper properly. Going from 20mg 10mg is a 50% decrease!! I’m so tired of feeling like this. I don’t know if I should reinstate back to 15mg or even back to my original dose of 20mg…. To make matters worse, I have borderline personality disorder so it’s been exacerbating all my symptoms of that. My poor boyfriend has to deal with my emotional lability. He’s been so supportive but also feels helpless rightfully so. This sucks.

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

I’m totally new to this site it was recommended to me by a new friend who is also tapering. I’m happy to see that I’m not alone in this journey.

Glad you found us :)

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

As my signature states I’m currently suffering the side effects of a sudden taper of Lexapro 20mg to 10mg. I’m experiencing:

- Crying spells/depression

- INSANE irritability

- suicidal ideation

- decrease in appetite

- high anxiety

- occasional nightmares

Sorry to read. It is very common, especially from long term use, to experience WD symptoms when tapering too quickly.

Could you confirm your taper doses and dates from 20-10mg?

Here is our guide to tapering. Tapering Information

 

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

I’m very angry at my psych NP for putting me in this position. I have no idea what to do…

I can understand, we put our trust in the health care system only to get let down.

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

I’ve been surfing through the site today 8/9/26 about reinstating at this point I’m desperate to stabilize so that I can taper properly.

Sounds like a sensible move. You want to be stable to taper further for sure.

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

Going from 20mg 10mg is a 50% decrease!!

It is a big decrease over a short space of time, however on the hyperbolic scale it isn't as big a jump taking into account RO:

5 mg	~60% RO
10 mg	~64–70% RO
15 mg	~72–74% RO
20 mg	~75% RO

In the maudsley they actually suggest going from 20-10mg in one go, this is however for very stable shorter term users, and there is no guarantee that this will be tolerated for anyone.

Clearly this was way too quick for you.

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

I don’t know if I should reinstate back to 15mg or even back to my original dose of 20mg….

Have you noticed any improvements or waves and windows since you have been holding? The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

Given the amount of time that has passed since your last cut, and the fact many of your symptoms are signs of your nervous system being over activated, I would not updose personally if it was me, you might find your system does not tolerate this and it will worsen you.

If you wanted to try I would do no more than 5% of your current dose so 10.5mg.

How are you taking your 10mg? Is is a whole pill? If you tapered from 20-10mg in steps, how did you make up these doses?

It is really important to have consistent doses each day. Cutting pills in half for example is not accurate enough.

Have a read: Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

3 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

To make matters worse, I have borderline personality disorder so it’s been exacerbating all my symptoms of that. My poor boyfriend has to deal with my emotional lability. He’s been so supportive but also feels helpless rightfully so. This sucks.

It is lovely you have such a supportive partner, good to hear.

In WD it is important to look into coping skills to help us through this journey.

Symptoms-Coping-Strategies

Acceptance is key - Why does acceptance feel impossible?

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.bu

I can't really add anything to what @Chippy has said, other than to also welcome you to this forum and that I hope that you find this place to be supportive.

You'll find others here who can relate to what you're going through.

20mg Lexapro 2021-2026

10mg Lexapro May 28th, 2026

I was prescribed a whole 10mg tablets by my psych NP.

3 hours ago, Chippy said:

Could you confirm your taper doses and dates from 20-10mg?

What is RO? Sorry. I’m completely new to this 😅 Also, how are you able to quote multiple sections of my post and then reply? Still trying to learn the logistics of everything. After reading what waves/windows were I have been experiencing those for sure. Yesterday I had an intense “crash” which looked like me being in bed sobbing refusing to get up and almost checking myself into the hospital which led me to joining this site. It seems going back up to 15 or even 20 will do more harm than good. So I should ride it out?

3 hours ago, Chippy said:

It is a big decrease over a short space of time, however on the hyperbolic scale it isn't as big a jump taking into account RO:

5 mg	~60% RO
10 mg	~64–70% RO
15 mg	~72–74% RO
20 mg	~75% RO

In the maudsley they actually suggest going from 20-10mg in one go, this is however for very stable shorter term users, and there is no guarantee that this will be tolerated for anyone.

Clearly this was way too quick for you.

Have you noticed any improvements or waves and windows since you have been holding? The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

Given the amount of time that has passed since your last cut, and the fact many of your symptoms are signs of your nervous system being over activated, I would not updose personally if it was me, you might find your system does not tolerate this and it will worsen you.

If you wanted to try I would do no more than 5% of your current dose so 10.5mg.

How are you taking your 10mg? Is is a whole pill? If you tapered from 20-10mg in steps, how did you make up these doses?

It is really important to have consistent doses each day. Cutting pills in half for example is not accurate enough.

Have a read: Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

50 minutes ago, Gxldviibes said:

What is RO? Sorry. I’m completely new to this 😅 Also, how are you able to quote multiple sections of my post and then reply? Still trying to learn the logistics of everything. After reading what waves/windows were I have been experiencing those for sure. Yesterday I had an intense “crash” which looked like me being in bed sobbing refusing to get up and almost checking myself into the hospital which led me to joining this site. It seems going back up to 15 or even 20 will do more harm than good. So I should ride it out?

Welcome to the family @Gxldviibes !

Receptor Occupancy (RO) refers to the percentage of Serotonin transporters in the brain that are blocked by the medication depending on the given dosage.

Also you just hit "Quote" and you can backspace to the thing you'd like to specifically reply to.

:)

1 hour ago, Gxldviibes said:

20mg Lexapro 2021-2026

10mg Lexapro May 28th, 2026

I was prescribed a whole 10mg tablets by my psych NP.

Ok got you so you cut from 20 to 10. Big jump for you after many years on the drug.

1 hour ago, Gxldviibes said:

What is RO? Sorry. I’m completely new to this 😅 Also, how are you able to quote multiple sections of my post and then reply? Still trying to learn the logistics of everything. After reading what waves/windows were I have been experiencing those for sure. Yesterday I had an intense “crash” which looked like me being in bed sobbing refusing to get up and almost checking myself into the hospital which led me to joining this site. It seems going back up to 15 or even 20 will do more harm than good. So I should ride it out?

As cherrysquid has said RO stands for receptor occupancy. Sorry should have clarified this.

If you want to selectively quote you can highlight the text on the members post and a link quote box will appear.

Yes windows and waves are very common indeed and that is certainly what you are experiencing.

It’s been over two months so a good while since your cut.

Can you rate out of 10 how you were once you started experiencing wd? 10 being extreme and 1 being mild.

Then how are you now? Have you seen any improvements?

11 hours ago, Chippy said:

Can you rate out of 10 how you were once you started experiencing wd? 10 being extreme and 1 being mild.

Then how are you now? Have you seen a

Honestly I can’t even remember because I wasn’t keeping track back then. All I know is the mood swings were more frequent back then. However, yesterday I had a huge episode. So I’m confused on where I’m at in this journey. When I think I’m better, suddenly I’m not.

6 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

Honestly I can’t even remember because I wasn’t keeping track back then. All I know is the mood swings were more frequent back then. However, yesterday I had a huge episode. So I’m confused on where I’m at in this journey. When I think I’m better, suddenly I’m not.

Thats fair enough, it can be hard.

Sounds like things are fluctuating around, this is a good sign. Waves and windows and a non healing linear profile is so common in WD.

I would personally hold your dose if it was me.

If you choose to updose, as I said before I would try just 5% and see how you react to it. You would need to get a set of micro scales to do this. We can help you with the techincal aspect if that is something you decide to do.

8 minutes ago, Chippy said:

I would personally hold your dose if it was me.

Okay! I will definitely keep the same dosage then.

Is anyone experiencing WD symptoms from an excessive dose reduction from Lexapro specifically? Or am I the only one that got fk’d by my psych NP? Has anyone been on 20mg for more than 1+ years and cut to 10mg? How long was your WD? The main symptom I’m experiencing is irritability. I just want this to end.

2 hours ago, Gxldviibes said:

Has anyone been on 20mg for more than 1+ years and cut to 10mg?

There are people who are very sensitive or been on lexapro for decades, and struggle to adapt to changes that much, despite RO difference from 20->10mg not being that big relatively, it all depends on your personal sensitivity. It's good to know now that you are quite sensitive, and when your symptoms get better and decide to taper again, know you need to taper very slowly, probably slower than 10% a month, but you can never be 100% sure with those things.