My husband and I were high school sweethearts falling in love at 16 years old. We were happily married with 3 amazing children. We were the envied couple amongst our friends. We had our share of ups and downs over the years but our love carried us through it all as we grew up together and thrived. He was a great husband, father, and provider for our family.
My husband was prescribed 5mg of Lexapro in February 2018 shortly after his best friend passed away from cancer. He seemed to adjust well to the medication and the only real side effect we noticed was that he was tired all the time. He remained on it until August 2019 when he was switched to 75mg of Effexor XR at a routine visit with the ARNP.
All hell started to break lose and I noticed a lot of side effects but not all at once. They came on gradually. We were under a lot of stress at the time as a family and I attributed his behavior to that. It wasn’t until November 2020 when he “snapped” after missing a couple doses while we were on vacation. He became very mad and verbally abusive screaming in my face after having a few drinks and missing those pills. He left me and my children at a campsite just a day after Thanksgiving where he had sat at the table saying he was so thankful for me and thanking me for being so supportive.
The days following were like walking on eggshells. A few weeks later just days before Christmas he told me that he wanted to separate and that he didn’t have any feelings for me or our kids. He said he couldn’t feel anything. I spent the next few weeks searching the internet frantically wondering what happened to him.
That is when I found a list of side effects and was able to determine that the medication changed him. He went to the doctors on January 13, 2021 and was told by the doctor “some people fall out of love, your life seems stressful, and we should increase your medication to 150mg to stabilize you.”
He stopped cold turkey that day in hopes to get his feelings back and save our marriage. The withdrawal symptoms started and continued for the next several years. He moved out 8 weeks after stopping cold turkey.
We have since divorced (July 2023.) Most withdrawal symptoms have subsided now at 4.5 years since his last pill but he still has minimal feelings for me, and is working hard to regain his relationship with our kids. He is healing but at a very slow rate. Below is a list of side effects I can remember that experienced while medicated and during withdrawals. Some of these symptoms are still present today.
- Antidepressant eyes
- Noise sensitivity
- Mood swings
- Lack of motivation
- Aggression
- Vivid dreams
- Akathisia
- Night terrors
- Alcohol abuse
- Vision problems
- Anorgasmia
- Restlessness
- Apathy
- Severe anxiety
- Chest pain
- Restless leg syndrome
- Possible Brain damage
- Suicidal ideation
- Depersonalization
- Tardive dyskinesia
- Headaches
- Loss of feelings for spouse
- Depression
- Low testosterone
- Derealization
- Mania
- Emotional numbness
- Careless spending $100,000’s
- Body aches
- Gambling
- Stomach issues
- Grandiosity
- Hostility
- Had an affair
- Insomnia
- Narcissistic tendencies
- Fight or flight response
- Brain zaps
- Memory impairment
- Tingling sensations
- Muscle twitches, tics
- Intrusive thoughts
- Facial swelling
- IRS Debt