My W was on 10mg of Lexapro for over two years. Then her doc got the bright idea to double her dosage to 20mg (December of 2011). Within two weeks her attitude on everything was off the charts. Drinking, flirting, ignoring our children and her anger and hatred for me - all magnified beyond belief. She decided it was time to live for herself and herself alone.
Woah! That's a pretty severe response. The complicated thing about SSRI's is that they effect each person differently. I don't think you'll ever find 2 people that get the exact same reaction to taking them. They help some people immensely while making others engage in out-of-character and even wreckless behavior. I just think they're being prescribed far too often, they're looked at as a first line of defense rather than a last resort. And there is ZERO followup by physicians to see how they're impacting people's lives. There should be mandatory followups (WITH the spouse) to discuss what kind of lifestyle changes the patient is making so the doctor can determine if it's causing more harm in their life than good.
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I can only speak for myself, but, I had to come to the conclusion that I needed to get off of these drugs on my own.
A/D's really helped me through the worst part of my sitch, maybe even saved my life. But my goal all along was to get off of them as soon as I could. I hate taking any kind of medication, but especially long-term med's. I started tapering off months ago (gradually reduced the dosage every 3 to 4 weeks) and finally quit taking them completely last week. So far the only symptoms I'm getting are headaches. Thankfully I haven't had any emotional issues during weaning.
A coworker decided to stop A/D's cold turkey after having taken them for years. He spun into the worst depression of his life. He tried to get back on the same ones only to discover they had become ineffective. He ended up on the verge of suicide and was admitted to a mental hospital for 2 months. He's never been the same since, and it's been a couple of years. He's now on several medications and battling side effects (including significant weight gain). So, anyone who is reading this, be VERY careful about weaning off of them on your own. Most resources recommend reducing the dose by 10% every 4 weeks or so to minimize "SSRI discontinuation syndrome", but definitely discuss it with your PCP before starting to wean.
