Stopped Lexapro (escitalopram) and reduced Lyrica (Pregabalin)

I'm not going to pretend like I know anything about this because I don't. But have you talked to a doctor?

I have just started on valdoxan. come of lexapro. Was on lyrica last year but they had horrible side affects ..can you tell me how valdoxan went for you

I was on Lexapro and I had REALLY BAD side effects from it. For me, it made me very spacy, so one minute I would be focused on something, only to suddenly blank out and then completely forget what I was doing. It would also made me very dizzy to bend over. The worst part of it all was that I started having suicidal thoughts at the time, but if I took my medication I would have very lucid nightmares. SInce my grandmother had recently passed away at that time, I kept having dreams of digging up her grave to find her still alive in her coffin. In another dream, my father shot up a family reunion with a shot gun.

One graphic (and I REALLY mean graphic, so if you don't think you can stomach it, I encourage you to go to the next paragraph) dream that I remember quite vividly was that of my grandmother, my mother, and I all living in this beach house. And while in the house, grandma said she was going to go soak her feet in the kitchen. But she was taking quite a long time in the kitchen, so mom and I went in to check on her. When we walked into the kitchen, there were several pots on the stove.... And somehow, grandma had dismembered herself and managed to get all of her limbs, including her head and torso, into all of the boiling pots on the stove. I looked into the pots on the stove, and I remember seeing all the flesh and muscle had fallen on her bones. The pot that had her skull in it still had one eye ball left in it and it was rapidly looking around with the jaw opening and closing rapidly, until both stopped with the eye looked straight ahead and the jaw was gaping open. I then turned to my mom crying and asking her why grandma did that. Suddenly, I felt this wet, boney hand grab my shoulder. It felt so real that I instantly woke up from the dream and frantically called my mother, and explained to her what had just happened.

So, with having these very bizarre and graphic dreams like that and having suicidal thoughts on top of that, it came down to either continue taking Lexapro and in tern continue to have dreams like that or to stop taking it and put up with the suicidal thoughts. Once I was up front with my primary doctor about what the medication was doing to my mind, he promptly had me stop taking it. I was then switched to my current antidepressant: Paxil (paroxetine). I've made a lot of progress with Paxil, and was able to stop my self harm habits for about a year. Sadly, I just relapsed with self harm recently, but I still believe I've made a lot of progress with Paxil and psychotherapy. I am also going to be taking Lamictal soon (at the advising of my new psychiatrist) to hopefully help curb the suicidal thoughts. 

I think the best advice I could give you is to be up front with your psychotherapist, your boyfriend, and yourself. What about your boyfriend makes you think he is causing to your depression? I'm not doubting that he may be contributing to your depression, but there may also be other factors involved and the best thing you can do is examine aspects of your life with your psychotherapist. And, the most important thing in my opinion, is to be honest about it. If you're not honest with yourself or with others, then the you might not get the right kind of advice that would benefit you. So I encourage you to really take a look at your life as well as your relationship with him. I don't know him, so I can't speak for his individual character, so only you can really determine if leaving him would really be the best option or if there are things you can do to repair your relationship with him. 

I wish you the best and would gladly try to give you more advice if you'd like me to. Best wishes. 

Xxx,

Dragonfly26