Lexapro (Escitalopram) Dosage

June 8, 2015 7:30 PM

I have weaned myself from a 10 mg dose of Lexapro (Escitalopram) to .6 mg over several months, and I am wondering if anyone knows if a .6 mg does has any effect. I am going through a rough patch in life right now, so I am afraid to wean any further or increase doseage. I reduced by approximately 10% every two weeks, but I am unclear as to whether I need to even take what I am taking now. I would appreciate your thoughts.
posted by Shylo to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

0.6mg? No point. Even if you're using liquid, I'm not sure you can even guarantee any sort of regular dose with that small quantity. Are your providers aware you are weaning? Please follow-up with your talk therapist, if possible, given the weaning and the increased stress in your life.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:42 PM on June 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

To further clarify, in the literature, it appears that approx. 3mg is the minimum effective dose studied, based on genetic predisposition regarding processing the medication and availability, in an average adult.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:57 PM on June 8, 2015

I know you must know this, but it still needs to be said: you shouldn't discontinue psychoactive drugs without the supervision of a medical professional.

I don't like doctors, and I avoid them when I can. I also don't like paying my $40.00 copay, but with these kinds of medications, you just aren't in a position to determine if you are stepping down too quickly. Especially if you are dealing with external stressors.

I would pay a visit to my prescribing doctor, if I were you.
posted by girl flaneur at 8:42 PM on June 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

yeah, when I tried to switch off lexapro myself I got terrible brain zaps and wild mood swings.

Not stuff you should be dealing with.

Get help
posted by Ferreous at 8:45 PM on June 8, 2015

I don't think 0.6mg is having any effect. The recommended starting dose is 10mg for adults. The lowest dose I've seen in the literature is 5mg, but it's either for off-label use or people with liver problems. I think that you would be unlikely to experience any change if you stopped taking it altogether.

That said, if you are going through a rough patch right now, stopping taking Lexapro may not have been the best idea. Sounds like you are past the stage where you'd be having withdrawal symptoms (which can be truly nasty) but it's still a good idea to go back to your GP or whoever prescribed them and have a chat about what you're going through now and the fact that you have weaned yourself off Lexapro - just see what they say.
posted by Athanassiel at 11:43 PM on June 8, 2015

I've been on smaller amounts of escitalopram than .6 mg and it definitely had an effect on me. But I'm really unusual when it comes to ADs. But this is true: people are very different, and we've very little idea how ADs work. So, probably it isn't doing anything. But it may be. If you wean yourself off it and you feel a difference, listen to what your body is telling you, and don't ignore it because you're not supposed to feel a difference.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:01 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've read in forum accounts of tapering that the slope of decreasing dose needs to be more of a curve than the straight-line dose reduction which you may be describing. More steep drops at the beginning of tapering is OK, but then the reductions need to be much smaller over longer periods of time. Hope this helps.
posted by telstar at 2:26 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all for your responses! I failed to mention that I did get my GP's blessing to wean. This is my 2nd try to get off Lexapro, and his weaning schedule was apparently too abrupt for me the first time I weaned, hence my 10% reduction every 2 weeks. I did experience facial zaps when I reduced each week, so that's what raised my original question. Most of you say .6 mg is too small to notice, and one person in this thread figured it might make a difference if you are sensitive. Now that I have come this far, does anyone think ramping back up to 10 mg would be a problem? (Don't worry, I'll involve my GP in that). I am in a rough patch, but I am very confused as to whether the Lexapro masks my problem or if I am truly me with it. This is all stress-induced so I figured I should knock the stressors down for long term success.
posted by Shylo at 5:26 AM on June 9, 2015

I just want to chime in to say 5 mg was certainly a therapeutic dose for me, and 10mg was too high. I accidentally went off the 5mg for a few days due to a pill box filling fail, and it threw me for a loop big time. So I think it's possible your very low dose could be having some effect... but it would probably be a small effect.

Unfortunately the only way to figure out how ramping back up would feel would be to do it. But it might be better to maintain one thing (low-ish dosage or off meds) for a while. Otherwise it's a medication rollercoaster.
posted by zennie at 9:22 AM on June 9, 2015

Go back up to 10 slowly. Like over 10 days.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:08 AM on June 10, 2015

Also: work on the stressors when the drug is helping. Then you'll be better at coping when you come off it.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:09 AM on June 10, 2015