Need help with starting lexapro!

[amushky]

Hi there, I am on my 6th day of taking lexapro. I started by breaking half of a tablet in half (2.5mg) for three days. I felt ok for those three days. I then took almost a full half of a tablet on day four, half a tablet (5mg) yesterday and half a tablet this morning. Since starting the full half tablet I am feeling particularly anxious, irritable and 'on edge'. This morning I felt quite sweaty when I woke up and quite anxious also. I do have a lot of anxiety about simply taking the tablet, so not sure if the symptoms are real side effects or my anxiety being particularly bad. I really struggled to take my tablet this morning, already anticipating the side effects that are to follow. It's not my first time on Lex, I have taken in twice previously. The first time my psychiatrist put me straight onto a 10mg dose, and from memory I seemed to cope ok. It really changed my life for the better, so much so that after about a year I weaned myself off it, which is probably the biggest mistake I have ever made. The second time I took it was earlier this year, and on the second night I woke up with the biggest anxiety attack I have ever had, my legs were shaking, I was sweaty and my heart rate was through the roof, I thought I was dying. That episode was enough to put me off for a while. I haven't had another reaction like that this time around however the Lex seems to be increasing my anxiety and I feel really uncomfortable. Any positive encouragement from people who have gone through similar things would be so appreciated. Cheers.

[savedbytheblood]

Hi my name is mike I am 48 I have had anxiety my entire life, I used to get sick before every school day when I was young as a adult I would and still do get nausiated ever time anything is out of the ordinary, I finally gave into that I have anxiety so I started lexapro 3 days ago, I too have the sweats body shakes and incresed anxiety I have read alot of post on how much it has helped people so im going to stick with it, with anxiety the last thing you need to here is bad input, thats why I only try and read the positive,

[amushky]

Thanks for the replies. I am now on day nine. I was really anxious on days 6-8. It was really terrible, a feeling of doom, anxiety, sweaty palms, insomnia. I didn't get to sleep until 2am yesterday morning, my mind was racing, I had restless legs, it was awful. I started thinking that maybe the dose wasn't high enough, as I seemed to be ok for several hours in the morning after I took the lex, then by early evening the anxiety ramped up. So I decided, albeit with great trepidation to take 3/4 of a tablet yesterday morning around 10am. My anxiety peaked straight after taking the tablets, and I know it had nothing to do with the tablets, it was just my anxiety about taking the increased dose.  Thankfully I have a very caring partner who convinced me to get out of the house yesterday morning for a long  walk which helped me to calm down. We then went to a family function in the afternoon/evening. I went to this function reluctantly, as I felt so awful, but I found that it really helped to get my mind off things. I felt a little twinge of anxiety whilst out at the function but managed to keep it at bay. I went to bed and struggled a bit to get to sleep however by about 11pm I was out. So yesterday started off quite poorly and ended up with a pretty much anxiety free afternoon/evening. I woke up this morning at about 7am, and to my amazement I had slept right through. I was laying there and started thinking how I wasn't feeling anxious and before I knew it, butterfly's started in my stomach and I could feel and anxiety attack coming on. I managed to lay there and do some deep breathing and it passed very quickly. I think I am my own worst enemy! anyways, I have since gotten up had breakfast and had another 3/4 of a tablet. I am feeling quite ok this morning, and am trying very hard to be positive today. I guess in the back of my mind there is the fear that the debilitating anxiety will return, but I am trying to  focus on the fact that I feel good right now and am going to try and have a good day. I am hoping that now I have passed the week mark, that the more severe side effects have ceased and that I will now start to feel better and better every day. I think I'll stay on the 3/4 for a few more days, and see how I go. Maybe up it to a full tablet in a few days from now.

[Lauren53]

Hi Amushky, The symptoms you're having are mild side effects.  Hang in there they do go away or get better.  I would of stayed on the 2.5 for around a week then icreased it to 5 mg. depending on how you felt.  I'm currently taking Lexapo and once it kicked it I feel great.  I started on 5 mg. and my Dr. decided to leave it at that dose instead of upping it.  Hang in there, you have to give an anti-depressant at least 4 to 6 weeks to kick in.

Lauren

[nursegirl6572]

Well, it sounds like you've gotten stuck in the same trap so many of us have.  Being on a med for a good while, and deciding for whatever reason to come off of it....only to experience a reoccurence of the initial anxiety, sometimes worse than where we started from.

Another common occurence is the increased difficulty in tolerating a med the second time around.  We may have done super on a med with little or no side effects, but the subsequent times we try to take the same med, the side effects seem much worse.  There are some theories as to why this may happen, but the good news is, if you can try to stick it out, those side effects will resolve after a couple weeks.  You may need a higher dose of an anti-anxiety med during that time, while you adjust.

You also have the added issue of being anxious about taking the meds.  This is also very common.  Again, it's all in how you manage the effects during the adjustment period, even if it means asking your doc if it is ok to bump up your anti anxiety med.  Also, slowly tapering up can minimize any side effects, hence, minimizing your anxiety about taking the med.

It surely is a difficult process, but it can be done.  Ask your doc for some help along the way, and try to stay as busy as you can, so you're not overly focused on the medication.

I wish you luck, let us know how you're doing!

[kickanxietysbutt]

I took Lexapro for eight years, up until last week, as it no longer seems to be effective for me.  It was the only SSRI I've been able to tolerate without extremely bad side effects.  My suggestion is that if you felt fine for the first three days, to contact your doctor and ask if you can stay on this dose for a week or two.  It takes time for your body to adjust and build up a tolerance to the drug.  My doctor changed my prescription to Zoloft last week and she told me to start with a half tablet for at least the first week, and longer if I feel like I need to.  I don't think there is ever any harm it taking a low dose longer than the doc says to.  My doctor told me that if I increase my dose and feel badly, that I should decrease it, as taking too much can actually make you more anxious.  I'd call your doc and discuss.  Hope this helps.