Yes,I have had the same experience. When you come off this anti-depressant, they will have you step down slowly. If you take 20 mil they will step it down to 15mg for a few weeks then, 10mg for a few weeks, etc. Never stop cold when trying to come off an antidepressant. I took Lexapro for about 4 yrs. did fine then came off it but, gradually. I did fine till my son was killed in a car wreck and I relapsed and had to go back on Lexapro. Hope this helps.

Oh my gosh, yes, I had the swooshing in my ears and the dizziness. I didn't have the zaps that you described..... But I did quit all at once, not gradually as recommended. I wouldn't recommend it.

If/when you do feel it's time to stop taking it, make sure you have a plan with your doctor. As old biker said, if you step down gradually, you'll be much better off. Good luck.

Brain shocks are pretty normal when you stop taking one of these meds. Sorry

Yes, I had them when I was on Paxil and would forget to take them or try to get off the med. I don't know what your overall health is but when I lost a significant amount of weight and got off my High blood pressure meds I then experienced no brain zaps at all when I weened off the paxil. Overall health played a major role in my recovery from Meds and alcohol. I tell you this because I hated feeling trapped by that recovery process of quitting paxil and going through the brain zaps. There are other drugs you can get from your doctor that may not affect you that way. I looked at it this way because ultimately I wanted to be drug free (hopefully at some point) Improving my overall physical fitness and health gave me something to focus on while I prepared to face my fear of the brain zap experience. After researching the long term possibilities for paxil I wanted off that particular drug asap. All drugs can affect us all differently for so many different reasons but if you are getting brain zaps when missing doses, it is my opinion to consider another choice. I feel very fortunate to be free of paxil. I went a couple months with nothing but by then my alcohol recovery was making me highly emotional so I ended up on wellbutrin 100mg x2/daily for awhile, currently I'm down to once daily and hoping soon to be off it as well. I hope you find something helpful here my words and I wish good luck on improving your situation.

Thank you all for responding. It's very helpful to get others' perspective. I really understand now why they say to never stop these meds cold. I'm just shocked at how quickly the symptoms appeared after missing just 2 doses. I have also been enjoying more wine than usual over the festive period and I'm sure that doesn't help.
My overall health is good. No other medical conditions. No other medication. I was only ever supposed to be on these meds short term (while recovering from a break up) but over the past year of taking them I have felt a lot more able to deal with all the stresses of life. Besides, I'm still not fully over the break up. I was considering trying to wean myself off in the new year, but now I'm nervous. I think they've got a real hold on me. I certainly won't try it without tapering off. But at such a low dose I wonder how. It's 10mg - the lowest dose pill. Cut the pill in half?

Perhaps I should try another med but I was happy with the results I had from celexa. Maybe I'll be stuck on it for life?!!