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sbrother10/12/20242 repliesview on HN

I’ve been on Lexapro for a few years now, and if I skip it for a couple days I get very unpleasant brain zaps and dizziness. If this is a lack of withdrawal symptoms then I hate to imagine what other SSRIs cause!

Still, it’s been a life changing drug for me and I haven’t really had any bad side effects while I’ve been taking it.


Replies

SOLAR_FIELDS10/12/2024

I took Lexapro for a short period in my early 20's. Perhaps like 3-4 months. I definitely remember having significant brain zaps when I quit. It was a pretty low dose I was taking too - 10mg IIRC. Definitely no more than 20mg. I don't remember the zaps causing me significant stress at the time, but that was primarily because I knew to expect the zaps going in to the experience. Education helps a lot with anxiety. If people know to expect it, and that we are pretty sure that it's completely harmless but uncomfortable, the general anxiety around the symptom will probably be less.

Blackthorn10/12/2024

It's different for everyone. I've been on it for over ten years and have never experienced any of these zaps. When I attempted to go off I just got extremely depressed. Never any zap though.