Anxiety and lexapro

[Lisanjohn]

Hi I've been on lexapro for 9 days now...I started out with 5mg in the evening for the first 8 days and than today my doctor changed my dose to 2.5 mg in the morning and 5mg in the evening...my question is...I don't really have any side effects but I do constantly feel anxious...when will this stop? I do take ativan to help me through but I just want to feel normal..when can I expect to?

[Paxiled]

I've been dosed twice a day on various antidepressants for years to minimize sedation, so this isn't unusual.  But you haven't been on it long enough to have it start working yet -- rule of thumb is this takes 4-6 weeks -- but the side effects start right away.  You're also not yet on a therapeutic dose, which at minimum is 10 mg, but when I was put on it the manufacturer listed the appropriate dose for depression at 10mg and for anxiety at 20mg, but the truth is, people react differently and need different doses.  So it's too early to know if this med will work for you, but not too early to feel side effects, which is why you're being tapered slowly up on it (also the way to stop taking them).  We have no idea if you'll ever feel "normal" on any medication, as they affect us differently and do change the way the brain works.  The only way to feel completely normal again is to solve the problem, as, say, through therapy, but there's no guarantee that would work either, but I'd do it and keep trying it if you haven't already done so.

[Lisanjohn]

He's having me take it twice a day because I've been waking up feeling like I "morning sickness" and I wake up so anxious..so he thought if I take the 2.5mg in the morning it would make me feel better and it did, I felt much better when I woke up this morning, I was still shaking but I wasn't feeling like I was going to throw up. The anxiety that I'm getting isn't going into panic attacks it's just preventing me from doing things I want to do like go out to the stores or interact with other people. Before this happened to me I could stand up in front of a crowd and speak and now the thought of that gives me anxiety.

[sunny1018]

Why is your doctor having you take it twice a day?  I took Lexapro for many years and it worked well for me.  It is common for anxiety to increase when starting these meds.  If it increases to the point of panic I would definitely discuss this with the doctor.  You should be feeling a little better within a few more weeks if it is going to work for you.  I was on 10 mg the majority of the time and always took it in one dose.  Good luck.