10 hours ago, Rekonum said:

Dang so the drop from 10mg to 5mg may still not even prevent the hyperactivity if it’s that severe 🥲

We cant know that, however I suspect a much lower dose is going to be your landing spot.

10 hours ago, Rekonum said:

My parents think I’m full of shizzam for believing this about how SSRIs work rather than what psychiatrists/doctors say about it.. which sucks when you feel like **** and no one agrees with you about what’s really happening

When I got injured, it took me some time to believe it myself and generally trusted the doctors until the penny dropped. This happens for all of us eventually, it is just a case of how long that takes and how much additional harm is done in the process. Unless you experience this it is very hard to understand. Ultimately as Sarah has said, you have to make these choices for yourself and not for them. @Kahran has first hand experience of what extra drugs and pressure from family can do, and I appreciate him sharing his experiences with you.

10 hours ago, Rekonum said:

If it doesnt work I’ll order this scale and try to reduce to 1… how long would you say i should stay on 5 for to see?

I would grab the Gem-20 scales now anyway, you'll almost certainly want them at some point in this journey.

How would you be taking your 5mg? If it is cutting a 10mg tablet then you would need the scales anyway, cutting tablets in half isn't accurate enough. Try and get a set asap so you have them, amazon will probably get them to you next day I would think. Cost about £35-£50 here so I suspect similar in dollars.

There is no right way of doing this. Generally when we taper we want to do i slowly, 10% of your last dose more often less.

Here we are not really tapering as it were we are trying to reverse a too high reinstatement that has gone on for too long.

Staying at this high dose is not a good idea. Getting down to a dose which is better tolertated as quckly as possible I would suggest is a good idea.

So you could go 10mg, 5mg then 1mg or 10mg then 1mg. The advatage with both is that you can do those drops quickly, less time on a dose that is too high, less additional dependance and less aggravation from the dose. The down side of course is you have been on this dose for a few weeks and we don't know how well you will tolerate dropping that quickly from a WD persepective.

So the second option, which is perhaps a more harm reduction option is to this is to treat this like a taper from short term use, which it is, kinda.... In that situation we would suggest a 25% linear taper possibly over the same period of time you have been on the drug.

If we apply this concept to your situation but rather than get from 10mg to 0mg we go 10mg to 1mg, and if we do it rather than a 25% linear dose taper we do a 25% linear RO taper over the 26+ days you have been taking the dose it would look something like this:

Day	Dose	~RO%
0	10mg	67%
6 to 7	4.75mg	58%
13 to 18	2.75mg	48%
19 to 25	1.65mg	38%
26	1mg	28%

These are approx values, and you can stop where you feel is right for you, you may find 3mg is good, I suspect a goal will be at least that 1.5mg range or lower. Perhaps this approach might get you quickly and evenly down in dose with min WD but max speed.

Unfortunately being on this dose is causing you issues, but dropping the dose won't be kind to your nervous system either. It is just likley the better of the two evils. The hope is that the lower dose will be more tolerable, act as a crutch to your cns and hold back WD, and given enough time you will stablise and feel better.

It is really important to not jump doses up and down, just see how you feel at each stage make a choice and stick to it. When you get to the final dose you settle on, it will likley be a case of then holding without any change and trusting your system. It is so much smarter than us or any doctors, it knows what it is doing, it may be a rough ride but set the scene for healing right it will sort this out for you given enough time.

As I said, not medical advice, just my observations of the community and suggestions for you to consider.

I don’t have a scale right this second.. in the mean time, would you suggest just to cut the 10mg into equal fours and get it as close as possible if I want to try 2.5mg over 5mg… I just want to make the jump if this is delaying me feeling better…

Tired of this kindling or whatever it is..

It has been so hard for me not to want to just take klonopin/xanax the last couple days but I haven’t

Also I have a new side effect.. I keep getting a vasovagal response laying around and then when I stand and try to walk around, and it happens a lot before a bowel movement… Is this also stemming from the hyperactive nervous system? @Chippy

Edited August 20Aug 20 by Rekonum

2 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

I don’t have a scale right this second.. in the mean time, would you suggest just to cut the 10mg into equal fours and get it as close as possible if I want to try 2.5mg over 5mg… I just want to make the jump if this is delaying me feeling better…

I would advise you get the scales next day delivery. The last thing your nervous system needs is inconsistent dosing.

3 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

Tired of this kindling or whatever it is..

I know and I’m sorry

3 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

It has been so hard for me not to want to just take klonopin/xanax the last couple days but I haven’t

Good. Be proud of yourself this is hard. You’re stronger than you realise as you’ve proven.

4 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

Also I have a new side effect.. I keep getting a vasovagal response laying around and then when I stand and try to walk around, and it happens a lot before a bowel movement… Is this also stemming from the hyperactive nervous system? @Chippy

Edited

Definitely.

Also The brain and gut are heavily linked.

Wd affects every part of our bodies unfortunately too so all sorts of odd things crop up.

@Chippy Yeah I just had to get it as close as I could past two days using a pill splitter.. I did 5mg yesterday and cut it into 4s today to get 2.5… It probably isn’t perfect but at least I’m going down

Hopefully you don’t think this was a poor decision over just staying on 10mg for a couple more days before scale comes in…

I wanted to make the jump straight to 1mg if I had the scale, but I guess when it comes in I’ll try to see what 2.5 is like for a week or so since you say I shouldn’t be just jumping to different dosages..

Update on today: Don’t feel like ER level anxiety, chest has been a little tight off and on and I feel like I have 1000mg of caffeine running through my veins in a bad way; it’s uncomfortable

1 minute ago, Rekonum said:

@Chippy Yeah I just had to get it as close as I could past two days using a pill splitter.. I did 5mg yesterday and cut it into 4s today to get 2.5… It probably isn’t perfect but at least I’m going down

Ok can you update your signature with your doses for us? Please get that set of scales and make sure you can get the dose accurate asap. It’s so important.

2 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

I wanted to make the jump straight to 1mg if I had the scale, but I guess when it comes in I’ll try to see what 2.5 is like for a week or so since you say I shouldn’t be just jumping to different dosages..

Just try to be calm and take it one step at a time. Assess as you go and make choices but no up and down on doses without thinking it through.

3 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

Update on today: Don’t feel like ER level anxiety, chest has been a little tight off and on and I feel like I have 1000mg of caffeine running through my veins in a bad way; it’s uncomfortable

This sounds positive…

@Rekonum id keep a daily symptom diary and and note your severity. Could post it here for safe keeping and we can see it then.

Day 1 8/10

07.00 woke up

08.00 had a headache

09.00 ate breakfast

That kind of thing

@Chippy Ngl I’ve been heavily amped with anxiety today.. don’t know if it’s related to the drop in dosage or what… might have to take a Klonopin pill it’s that bad

I’ll try to log that stuff when I get a chance.. been feeling too bad to even feel like doing it… It’s tough

14 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

@Chippy Ngl I’ve been heavily amped with anxiety today.. don’t know if it’s related to the drop in dosage or what… might have to take a Klonopin pill it’s that bad

I’ll try to log that stuff when I get a chance.. been feeling too bad to even feel like doing it… It’s tough

@Rekonum No Klonopin, please dude. Do not add any additional drugs. You will recover from the Lexapro and it's only temporary.

8/20:

12pm: Ate breakfast and took 2.5mg

1pm: Took shower and was anxious ash

3pm: Took blood pressure because felt weird and was 116/53 and the 53 made me panic into a vasovagal response

4pm: Took other 2.5mg

Rest of day to this point: Been feeling incredibly wired and tightness in chest (feels like I need a benzo or this could get worse)

@Kahran it’s just so hard man.. I want relief because I’ve dealt with this chest tightness and constant wired feeling for a month

Everything I try to do seems to make it worse as well

It’s rough man

17 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

@Kahran it’s just so hard man.. I want relief because I’ve dealt with this chest tightness and constant wired feeling for a month

Everything I try to do seems to make it worse as well

It’s rough man

It is hard. But it will make things worse. I unfortunately know first hand as I was dosing my self with Ambien to soften blows. Just keep counting seconds/minutes.

Why the two doses in the day.

@Kahran It just doesnt let up.. It’s so hard to sit like this all day and not take something for it..

Father wants me to stay at 5mg and not make that jump down yet so I respected that

I’ve caused a lot of chaos lately so I figured I’d respect him enough to do that

3 hours ago, Rekonum said:

@Kahran It just doesnt let up.. It’s so hard to sit like this all day and not take something for it..

Father wants me to stay at 5mg and not make that jump down yet so I respected that

I’ve caused a lot of chaos lately so I figured I’d respect him enough to do that

Tell your father it's your body your choice. You need to do what's best for yourself, not anyone else.

@Rekonum I am sorry you are having a hard time mate.

I need you to do one thing for me, slow down. You are making changes without thinking. I made it clear not to jump doses around and to get consistent dosing, take one day at a time. Family are very often those behind silly decisions. I think you should have stayed at 5mg until you had scales, however splitting the dose as you did it another change and can be destablising. Try to disconnect from you family and their emotions, you owe them nothing, it doesn't work this way with WD, you can't trade your tapering choices to please your Father.

You need a scale it is really important buy one now please.

Now you have taken 5mg in a day, stick to that for the minute. When you cut the tablet please make sure it looks as close to perfect as you can make it. Discard the other half. This is not me saying cutting without a scale is a good idea, it is just me trying to make it less problematic for you. You must get a scale now. Don't underestimate how important this is.

Please don't make any further changes until you have scales.

It is your choice what you do we can only advise however making these rash choices and in particular without a scale is not a good idea. I know you are suffering but please try to stay focussed and methodical.

I agree with @Kahran no more drugs, short term fixes which will likley add fuel to the fire. You have got this.

@Chippy I ended up taking 0.5mg of xanax last night man.. I just needed relief

Wake up this morning and it seems like back to fighting for my life again

Scale comes in today.. I’ll try to stick to 5mg for now

Just ready for this hell to end man.. I don’t know how you guys do this without taking a benzo sometimes.. If I had windows of relief I think I’d be able to fight it but that’s rare so I just get desperate

@Chippy I forgot to mention to you guys during the first period about 2-2.5 weeks I was taking around 0.5mg of xanax a day.. maybe 2-3 times 1mg… then I stopped and in the last week and half ive taken 0.5mg maybe 3 times..

Idk if this is bad just to stop taking it as well.. I’ve read it can be bad to just stop it as well given the state I’m in

@Rekonum

It’s good you have your scales coming im pleased. Read the link I sent you about taking an average weight to work out your dose and ask questions if you have any.

I’m sorry today was so bad for you I really am.

With the benzo this is your choice what to do. Some gain dependance quickly to them so need to taper off others can stop with no problems at all.

As you had already stopped taking them if it were me I would not take anymore. If you take them regularly and do gain dependance they will likely wear off and stop working eventually due to tolerance and you’ll have to keep taking them to hold back benzo wd whilst gaining a second drug to taper from. Less drug in your system is good imo.

If you keep taking them as needed on and off like this I’d be worried that dependence will set in and if you don’t take them regularly you’ll have benzo wd happening whilst dealing with everything else. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.

@Chippy My mind has been all over the place the last couple of days to be honest. Not that I don’t trust you guys, but it’s a constant battle on what decisions to make if you get me. I’m just desperate to feel better. It’s gotten to the point I literally have to take the benzo or I’m going to the ER which my parents cant keep doing.

I don’t know how people go all day for months feeling constant chest tightness, faint, weak, feeling like their losing control, etc and still go to work and do things.. I can only lay in bed and pray it goes away, and it never does

If I do take the benzo (which I know you don’t want me to, but I’m literally not functioning), would u recommend I take small dose of the klonopin instead of xanax? (psychiatrist did not like me on xanax)… she said it’ll give me longer relief without the rebound effect I was experiencing..

I’m just defeated man, and I’m sorry if you guys feel like I’m letting yall down.. I’m just tired of not stabilizing and feeling like ****..

46 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

If I do take the benzo (which I know you don’t want me to, but I’m literally not functioning), would u recommend I take small dose of the klonopin instead of xanax? (psychiatrist did not like me on xanax)… she said it’ll give me longer relief without the rebound effect I was experiencing..

@Rekonum we can't tell you which benzo to take. Our recommendation is not to take them at all, and certainly not to take them on a regular basis or you will likely end up with an even bigger problem.

48 minutes ago, Rekonum said:

I don’t know how people go all day for months feeling constant chest tightness, faint, weak, feeling like their losing control, etc and still go to work and do things.. I can only lay in bed and pray it goes away, and it never does

Unfortunately a lot of people on here are injured to the point that they are unable to work, and some to the point that they have a hard time caring for themselves. That is how severe this injury can get, sadly. But the community's experience shows that if you try to medicate it away with benzos or other drugs, it most often only gets worse.

I'm sorry you're in this position, and we absolutely empathize with how bad it is. Obviously it's up to you how to move forward, but please take our caution to heart.

@Chippy @SarahMc I just don’t understand how it’s possible to endure what I’m enduring without a window of relief sometimes.. I mean it feels like a chore to roll over in the bed right now.. if the chest tightness died down I’m not as bad. I just hate that’s how mine manifests.

I had to call my new job and let them know I have to delay start date longer because I’m dealing with personal things which sucks..

I just want relief and the stabilizing is taking forever it feels like.. a month feels like 10 years.. I just havent seemed to stabilize at all for an entire month

Hard to do anything when you got your parents saying you should’ve stuck with 10mg, the psychiatrist saying let’s try 5mg and also take propranolol/klonopin to help you function in mean time, and then here we want to have an accurate 5mg and hope I stabilize there.. How long does it take for this stabilizing?

Do we even know if I’m truly having a neurological injury/adverse reaction or is my anxiety just worse this go around.. idk.. it’s just hard to believe anything

Idc which is true; I’m just desperate for some relief

9 hours ago, Rekonum said:

@Chippy @SarahMc I just don’t understand how it’s possible to endure what I’m enduring without a window of relief sometimes.. I mean it feels like a chore to roll over in the bed right now.. if the chest tightness died down I’m not as bad. I just hate that’s how mine manifests.

I am very sorry, we all get it. It is such a difficult thing to deal with. What I would say to you, is people think they are the worst they can imagine and it couldn't get any worse, often I see this is not the case and it can get worse. We are trying to protect you from that by suggesting you not add in extra drugs to the mix. I know it seems unreasonable that there is not a quick fix here, however those options are just available to us. We see people take more and more drugs and worse and worse hoping to make a bad situation better. I don't want that to you.

You are much stronger than you realise. It amazes me what a person can cope with. Mindset is everything. You are not the first person to go through this trust me when I say. Others made it through and you can too.

9 hours ago, Rekonum said:

Hard to do anything when you got your parents saying you should’ve stuck with 10mg, the psychiatrist saying let’s try 5mg and also take propranolol/klonopin to help you function in mean time, and then here we want to have an accurate 5mg and hope I stabilize there.. How long does it take for this stabilizing?

You have to make YOUR own choices. Making a move based on the opinions of your family is not a good idea. Psychiatrists will always offer new drugs to try to help, it's absolute epidemic, people are getting harmed left right and centre and when nothing works to fix the harm, 'worsening' mental health is always to blame.

We have no idea if 5mg is the dose for you to be on. What I am seeing is that the dose made you worse, and we know that high RI can and often do this. So we are trying to see if reducing the dose will help any or at the very least not make you much worse, then I think you have a better chance of stablising more quickly, however clearly you nervous system is not very happy at the moment and the dose is partly the reason for this, so reducing it may not be a quick fix. There just isnt enough research to know exactly how things will pan out.

We do know that given time the body heals and adapts. We know adding in more drugs makes things worse. And we do know that high dose RI causes issues. It is now a case of using those facts and trying to find a spot where you can stop moving the dose and hold till things settle down for you. No one here can give you certainties and timelines. I wish it wasn't this way. All we can do is give you the reality of it all and support you this process.

You can get through this! trust your body, one step at a time, become an expert in your own healing. This is key.

On 8/21/2026 at 9:29 AM, Kahran said:

No Klonopin, please dude. Do not add any additional drugs.

Wise words. Being polydrugged is to be avoided.

Personally, I removed the temptation back at the start of my journey, and flushed the additional drugs I was given down the toilet. I was fortunate to learn of the risks before touching them.

11 hours ago, Rekonum said:

Hard to do anything when you got your parents saying you should’ve stuck with 10mg, the psychiatrist saying let’s try

It is very hard. I've experienced it myself.

Does this describe how you felt once you reinstated your AD:

Generally, kindling is an activation reaction -- a sense of overstimulation, which may be an inner electrical feeling, anxiety, nervousness, panic, or at the extreme, akathisia, which includes an urge to move to relieve intense inner agitation.

If it resonates, perhaps it might help for your family (and doctor) to read this link:

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/27800-hypersensitivity-and-kindling/

The article talks about what to do (exactly what Chippy and others have said above)...come back down in dose, but not too quickly. Pause and reassess etc. Immediately dropping all the way back to 1mg would flare up WD symptoms. It's a balancing act.

You're going to get through this.

Do you have money to get a hotel room for a bit? It would be worth every penny to get some space from your family while you figure this stuff out.

I really think @Chippy is on the money here that getting the dose down. It sounds like you're going to have to rely only on yourself to do this. Do the best you can to get that scale, syringe, and pill crusher.

1 hour ago, Kahran said:

Do the best you can to get that scale, syringe, and pill crusher.

@Rekonum scales is fine for the minute. We don’t want you on a liquid right now if we can avoid it just so you don’t think that’s a good plan.

@Chippy I had twitches and teeth chattering last night and went to ER even after taking 0.5mg of xanax.. I’m wondering am I withdrawing from xanax whilst dealing with this stabilization of lexapro..

I don’t want to just cut the xanax out because I think it’s heavy hitting me later when it wears off into the next day..

I know you don’t like introduction to new meds, but would using klonopin and slowly tapering on klonopin ease the blow of these xanax withdrawals ?

I just can’t afford the ER anymore man.. I don’t know how to stress how intense it sometimes

I have been taking my 5mg dosage splits for 3-4 days now though.. not noticing much of difference, but like you said.. kind of hard to tell with the xanax in the mix… cold turkeying the xanax i think is just hard right now considering i took it off and on for 3-4 weeks..