What does it mean to have anxiety on lexapro after 7 weeks?

[mfeldsen1974]

I've been on Lexapro for 7 weeks now to treat anxiety- I've been on it before with no side effects that I recall.  I'm noticing periodic agitation during the day which feels like anxiety/spaciness/jitteryness but not panic inducing..just generally unsettled and not comfortable.  My stomach usually gets "tight" and I lose my appetite.   It appears to come on about the same time each day and sort of comes in waves- sometimes I even feel tired while it's happening (but not relaxed)......I don't do anything or drink/consume anything that would cause this- I drink water and eat salads and eat bananas for breakfast so I know it's not my diet...   I had a physical a few months back and everything came back perfect except for blood sugar because the doc forgot to tell me to fast before it..

Thoughts anyone or has anyone else has experiences like this?  I've read that people with bi-polar sometimes get opposite effects- I haven't been diagnosed with bi-polar but I've had a psych doc theorize on it many years ago.

Thank you..

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Sorry for these episodes.  That is very smart to track it.  Let me ask you--  is there any way it is happening with a blood sugar drop?  I know that this can happen to me.  IF I've had something like coffee with creamer in it or something that is sweet (fruit?) and nothing else ---  I will get a bout of low blood sugar.  I know when it is happening because of how it feels.  OR if I haven't eaten at all or am hungry, the same thing can happen.  Have you tried eating a little something at those times?  I would try it to see if it helps.  

[mfeldsen1974]

Great question- I thought that myself and when I started feeling strange I ate a banana and it didn't seem to do anything.. :\   The great con is that when it happens I lose my appetite which will absolutely cause other issues which provoke more anxiety....I force myself to eat  but it doesn't seem to make an impact- this morning I intentiontally ate a banana and a kind bar to ensure I had enough sugar and still ended up feeling ultra weird/strange/agitated about 3 hours later...Thank you for replying!

[Paxiled]

First, it sounds to me like you're eating a lot of sugar in the morning.  That's not unusual in an American diet -- lots of people eat pancakes and waffles and other dessert-like foods for breakfast -- but I'm wondering if you eat protein much?  You mention salads and bananas and now a Kind bar, which is a glorified candy bar, but do you eat balanced meals?  But I don't think that has anything to do with how you're feeling if it wasn't how you were feeling before starting the Lexapro and you weren't feeling this way.  If you're eating the same but feeling different, it's probably the drug, and if it's not working, there's no real reason to stay on it much longer unless your dose is still too small -- you don't mention the dose.  

[mfeldsen1974]

I eat on average one banana in the morning- I don't feel like that's a lot of sugar- I don't drink juice and I never eat waffles or pancakes- ever.  Yeah I know kind bars are basically candy bars but I'm trying to find things I can eat fast when my appetite ***** :)  Honestly I don't think it's low blood sugar- I'm on 10mg-  There are waves though- I woke up feeling excellent this morning- it vacillates to feeling great aka "normal" to anxious/weird/kinda freaked out...I'm really hoping it's the drug taking a while to kick in...Thank you for replying!

[mfeldsen1974]

Sorry- didn't answer the protein- I eat avocadoes and eggs for lunch in my salad among other sources of protein- i eat handfuls of peanuts and almonds almost daily.  i usually eat meat or chicken for dinner every night.