How Long Does 5mg of Lexapro Stay in Your System?

Lexapro is a prescription drug that treats major depressive disorder. It is a medicine for adults. It functions by assisting in the brain’s natural chemical (serotonin) balance restoration. 

But how long does 5mg of Lexapro stay in your system?

The typical time it takes for a 5mg dosage to leave your body is two to three days. However, If you have liver or renal issues, Lexapro may stay in your system longer than that. Compared to higher dosages, your body will take a shorter time to get rid of 5mg Lexapro.

So, let’s get into more details regarding Lexapro, such as its dosage, safety, medication interaction, and potential side effects.

How Long Does 5mg of Lexapro Stay in Your System?

How long Lexapro remains in your system depends on the dosage you are taking. If you take 10 mg Lexapro, then 5mg of the initial 10mg dosage would be present in your system after 27 to 32 hours. You would still have 2.5 mg of the first 10 mg dosage in your system after 54 to 64 hours. The last bit of 1.25mg of the first 10mg dosage will stay in your system after 81 to 96 hours of taking the medicine.

Lexapro is an antidepressant. It is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. You need to take this consistently to be effective. It treats m major depressive disorder. And also it treats obsessive-compulsive disorders. Doctors prescribe it for panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Lexapro functions just like other SSRIs by raising serotonin levels in the brain.

Do you know the medical term for a medicine’s length of time required to disappear from the body? It’s called the ‘elimination half-life.’ The half-life is the time required for the concentration of a medicine to decrease to half in a body. The elimination half-life is when the medicine has totally left your system. For example, Excedrin Migraine stays in your system for less than a day. Thus the elimination of the half-life of Excedrin is less than a day. On the other hand, the half-life of it ranges from 1 to 4 hours.

Furthermore, different people digest escitalopram (Lexapro) at different rates due to genetic variations. Some people may digest it faster or slower than others. Within two weeks of stopping the medication, most people will no longer have any traces of Lexapro. But in other people, the medicine’s residues may last for a longer time.

When Does Lexapro Peak in Your System

Here’s the cool part. Lexapro hits its highest point of “oomph” in about 4 to 8 hours after you take it. Lexapro’s 20 mg pill or solution, taken orally, takes around 5 hours for its blood levels to reach their peak. Food has no impact on how well your system absorbs these pills.  

It’s like reaching the tippy-top of a roller coaster – that’s when it’s having the biggest party in your body. Imagine it giving high-fives to your brain cells, saying, “Let’s tackle those blues!” Some people experience the results of Lexapro within one day. Surprisingly, others take up to six weeks.

But hold up. Even though Lexapro is having a blast in your bloodstream, it doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly feel like a superstar. It’s more like a slow dance than a sudden jump. You might start feeling the good vibes and brighter moods, but it could take a few weeks. It’s like planting a happiness seed – you need time for it to grow into a big happiness tree.

Dosage of Lexapro

The suggested daily dose of Lexapro is 10 mg. For further information, see Clinical Efficacy Trials under Clinical Pharmacology. A fixed dosage trial of Lexapro showed that both 10 mg and 20 mg were successful. 

However, there is no clinical evidence that showing 20 mg was more beneficial than 10 mg. You need to wait at least a week before raising the dosage to 20 mg. One dose of Lexapro per day, morning or evening, is recommended. You can take it either with an empty stomach or when you are full.

Is It Safe to Take Lexapro in Pregnancy?

It’s extremely dangerous for babies in the womb. Newborn babies became critically ill after birth whose mothers took Lexapro or other SSRIs and SNRIs in the third semester. They suffered from ailments like breathing problems and needed tube feeding. Most of them needed hospitalization. Only take this medicine during pregnancy if your doctor prescribes it.

How Long Does Lexapro Take to Come Out of Your System 

If you take Lexapro regularly every day, the medicine will typically only stay in your blood for three to four days. If you try to stop using Lexapro suddenly, withdrawal symptoms will be quite bad.

Instead, the dosage should be gradually decreased over time. You can take the support of medical specialists who can help avoid or lessen any withdrawal symptoms.

Boosting physical activity or altering the diet to include more fresh food will help reduce withdrawal symptoms. This process will make you feel more energized and less tired.

Is It Safe to Stop Taking Lexapro Suddenly?

Your body will undergo a big change if you stop using the medicine. Severe withdrawal symptoms will occur if you stop taking Lexapro too soon.

If you abruptly stop using Lexapro, you can experience agitation, headache, dizziness, tiredness, and sensory abnormalities. The easiest method to stop taking the medicine is to gradually reduce your dose as directed by a doctor.

According to Harvard Medical School, waiting two to six weeks or more between each dose drop is ideal if you are coming out of an antidepressant. Typically, withdrawal symptoms last up to three weeks. During this period, the symptoms gradually subside. After three weeks, most antidepressant users no longer have effects.

Withdrawal Symptoms of Lexapro

Now that you know how long Lexapro stays in your system, you might be planning to come out of this medication. If that’s so, you must learn about the withdrawal symptoms:

• Dizziness
• Difficulty in concentration
• Confusion
• Chills
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Nightmares
• Tension in muscles
• Crying out of the blue
• Paresthesia
• Dry mouth
• Frequent urination
• Fatigue
• Sweating
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood Swings
• Tremors

You need to consult a doctor before and after stopping this medicine to be on the safe side.

Risk Factors of Taking Lexapro

If you have bipolar disorder, then Lexapro can cause a manic episode if you use it without any other bipolar disorder medicines or mood stabilizers. The FDA started mandating the addition of a “black box warning” to the Lexapro prescription information in 2004.

This warning mandates that information concerning the risk of suicide is written with a black border at the top of the Lexapro prescribing material.

Patients on Lexapro who are depressed are at high risk of suicide. The risk factor is even higher for those under 25 who suffer from bipolar disease. Some who have a history of suicide ideation need to be more cautious before starting this medicine.

Possible Drug Interaction of Lexapro

Medicine interactions are considered dangerous. You need to be careful to avoid such incidents.

• Taking this medicine with aspirin increases the chance of bleeding.
• Avoid using this medication with “blood thinners” like warfarin or dabigatran, as well as NSAIDs, clopidogrel, and other antiplatelet medications. 
• The chance of a fatal encounter between this medicine with MAIO inhibitors is higher.
• Don’t take MAIO inhibitors two weeks before and after taking Lexapro.
• If you are also taking other medications that elevate serotonin along with Lexapro, then your chance of developing serotonin syndrome will rise.
• Escitalopram and citalopram are the same kinds of medicines. When using Lexapro, avoid taking any medicine that contains citalopram.

Share your medical history and all the details regarding the medicines you are taking to get tailored advice from your doctor. Hiding any crucial information can lead to dangerous medicine interactions.

FAQs

What Are The Symptoms of Lexapro Overdose?

Convulsions, wooziness, sleeplessness, nausea, and vomiting are a few symptoms of Lexapro overdose. Seizures, serotonin syndromes, and cardiovascular toxicity are a few possible delayed side effects that patients sometimes experience.

How Do I Know If I Should Stop Taking Lexapro?

If you are experiencing serious side effects or not experiencing any positive changes, you need to stop taking it. However, discontinuing Lexapro should not be done carelessly or without medical supervision.

Do You Go Back to Normal after Stopping Lexapro?

Coming out of Lexapro can be difficult. It takes a long time to go back to normal. If you start a new antidepressant, Lexapro withdrawal symptoms often go on their own or very soon. Even if you start introducing a new antidepressant, relapse symptoms of depression will stay. These symptoms will take significantly longer to go away.

Is It Okay to Miss A Day of Lexapro?

Take the missed dosage of this medication as soon as you remember. If your next dosage is approaching, skip the missed one and resume your usual dosing regimen. Don’t take two doses at once.

Take Away

So, how long does 5 mg of Lexapro stay in your system? You already got the answer above. Within 2-3 days, 5 mg of Lexapro will leave your system. But its effect may remain afterward. Just a friendly reminder for our readers that you can’t self prescribe Lexapro.

Only a certified doctor can give you a tailored dosage of this highly dangerous medicine. Facing mental health issues can be challenging. But coming out of psychiatric medication is even more daunting. If you are someone taking Lexapro and want to stop it, then discuss it with your doctor before leaving it.