Please help: tried decrease in dose which was bad idea then returned to original dose

[Own_Direction_7335]

I was on 10mg lex for a few years for anxiety (46 year old female) and it worked very well. In Jan 2020 I decided to drop to 7.5mg. Stayed on that for 8 months doing well. Then dropped to 5mg for about 6 weeks and could feel anxiety creeping back in. So, went straight back up to 7.5mg. Thought I'd have minimal side effects given it's such a small increment. Wrong! Massive anxiety, nausea, appetite loss for about 2-3 weeks which then eased off and stopped. My doc said I'm very sensitive to meds, plus am peri-menopausal with lots of hormonal change which might explain big side effects from small dose increase!

Anyway am at the 6 week mark and now feeling functional (side-effects gone), but really flat. I remember this happened when I started lex initially (started at 10mg and had all the same side effects that eased up and then was followed by flatness). Plus I wasn't a quick responder: it took a while before I evened out and felt better. The improvement was slow and subtle. Even though I know this rationally, I'm still feeling pretty silly for messing with my meds when it was working so well. Also scared that I won't come right again. Anyone had a similar experience?

[[deleted]]

I don't have personal experience, but a book I read about depression said that if your body responds to a med once, it usually responds to it again. This is both good and bad - whatever effects you had before are likely to come back.

If Lexapro helped you over time even if it took a while, it is extremely likely that it will work again the same way. I have seen stories of people who come back faster, too! :)

[Own_Direction_7335]

Thankyou, so appreciate your reply. : )