Could it cause heart damage if you took Lexapro for four days then stopped cold turkey?

Answer

You should never stop taking medications before talking to your doctor. Some meds have serious side effects if stopped cold turkey. Call your dr.

Answer

lexapro, and all other selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRI's) should be tapered off. this applies to starting them as well. you may recall your doctor starting you on half a tablet or so for the first week, then moving up to the proper dose.

the question is how long have you been taking it? were you regular with your medication? if yes, your body is most likely adjusted to the higher than normal levels of serotonin. abruptly cutting or starting ssri's leads to what's known as seratonin syndrome.

this is particularly important with teenagers who are non compliant with these medications due to sexual dysfunction. please stop them slowly. they have a half life of around 2 weeks (which is why you probably didn't feel better till about a month or so after starting the medication). even if you were to withdraw from the drug, it will remain in the system of at least 2 weeks.

in regards to damage to your heart, there are none directly. however, you may experience problems which may worsen a current heart condition.

signs include

-altered mental states (eg agitation, confusion, including coma's) -restlessness or tremors -abdom pain, increased heart rate, sweating -hyper thermia, live and kidney failure

these are only examples of a few. these last between 6-48 hrs. depending on serverity.

bottom line, don't stop drugs unless you've talked to your doctor. second point, don't stop SSRI's abruptly either. if you want to do it personally, cut to half your normal dose for AT LEAST one week.

tan quach

md, adelaide, australia

Answer

I wouldn't think severe damage could occur after only four days but it depends on your original problem and the dosage you were taking. Lexapro causes serious rapid heartbeat in some people and other horrible side effects. The witdrawl symptoms aren't much better.

~ T

PS: Your other concern should be -- why you are stopping prescribed anxiety meds on your own and after only four days.

First answer by ID413364944. Last edit by ID3407650695. Question popularity: 64 [recommend question]