I've had the bottle of pills in my cupboard for probably 7 weeks now;-). I'd just been too nervous to switch.
Previously, I was on 40 mg. of Citalopram for 5 years, when it quit working for me. That was a huge and scary disappointment, because I'd just sort of assumed they'd always work for me, and I planned to always be on them. Citalopram was the first antidepressant I had ever been on, and I had a really rough time starting them, so I was not keen on switching to something else!!
My doctor wrote me out a prescription to escitalopram. I'm hoping a lower dosage will be effective for me, so I had her start me at 10 mg. rather than the 20 mg, which is what the equivalent dose is for Citalopram. When I started Citalopram, my doctor (different one than this one!) started me on 20 mg, then bumped me up to 40 mg. after a week, so I never got the chance to see if 20 mg. would have worked for me. I'm hoping the 10 mg. of the Escitalopram will work; that way I can always move up if needed:-).
I'll probably keep updating here how my switch is going. I cut the three pills in half, so my first 6 days will be 5 mg.
So far, after taking the 5mg this morning the only side effect I've had was a very minor stomach ache about an hour after I took it, probably from taking it on an empty stomach.
Thought I'd update, since I just took my third pill.
Day 1: Besides the slight stomach issue mentioned above, no other side effects except my insomnia was a bit worse. I had to take two sleeping pills in order to fall in a deep sleep; earlier in the night I just lightly dozed and kept waking up repeatedly. I don't know though if this is actually a side effect of the med, or that I'm so convinced I'll have bad insomnia like when I first started Citalopram.
Day 2: I forced myself to eat a few bites of cereal, and had no stomach discomfort. In the afternoon, I had an increase of anxiety, but it decreased around 5, and by 9 or 10 I was completely calm. I even had an appetite! I managed to read for a few hours, which I hadn't done for a few weeks (too revved up to relax). Insomnia was the same as the night before.
Day 3: So far, a slight increase in anxiety this morning. Appetite gone again.
I forgot to add, both day 1 and day 2 I was a bit spaced out around 5 or 6 in the evening, and also got this chilly scalp tingling. Both lasted just a few minutes, and then I was fine.
Just took my Day 5 dose.
Yesterday, I had a really spaced out feeling in the morning, and it was made worse by turning my head or looking up. Also, a bit of stomach upset in the morning.
I fell asleep on my own last night, which was great, but woke up after an hour or so in slight panic. I eventually had to take two sleeping pills to fall asleep.
No other side effects to report. I think I'm going to stay at 5 mg. a bit longer than I had expected, because I'm finding the side effects quite tolerable at this dose. I just wish I could fall asleep and stay asleep without taking the sleeping pills.
I think you are doing great !
Don’t be too hard on your self on the sleeping pills issue. It’s still too early !!!
Take them until the escitalopram starts it’s work !
I think you will be great soon !
Positive vibes and energy
F x
Thanks for the encouragement, Fay!
Day 8 today. What a relief to have the first week over with! I'll be even more relieved to have the second week done.
I'm having pretty much the same side effects. Except for the spaced out feeling, it's really hard to tell how much is from the escitalopram, and how much is from my anxiety!
I'm still on 5 mg, and, ideally, I'd like to stay on that until we return from vacation at the end of June. I'm taking it day by day though, so I may change my mind and bump up to 10 mg. sooner:-).
Day 15: Two weeks done!!
I'm still on 5 mg. I'm really very anxious about having to move up.
The spaced out feeling is totally gone.
My sleep has been a bit better. I've had a few nights where I haven't had to take anything to fall asleep.
Appetite is better. It's gone in the morning, then starts to come back in the afternoon and evening.
Still anxiety in the morning, as soon as I get up. I have it all morning, it comes and goes all afternoon, and then I feel better in the evening.
Thank you for the update, it really helps! I too was very anxious about having to move up from 5 to 10 mg, started yesterday with the 10, felt spaced out in the morning and some Anxiety but felt better in the evening, it's been 3 hrs since I took my dose this morning, so far I can tell it's much better than yesterday, no Anxiety as of now, just a little spaced out. This is day 4 for me. Have a good day.
Day 23!!
Still on the 5 mg. I plan to move up to 10 mg, after we get back from vacation.
Still having early morning anxiety. It clears up anywhere from mid morning to mid afternoon.
My appetite is still good, with the exception of early morning.
Sleep is the same. Some nights I need to take something in order to sleep; sometimes not. It seems to be on an every other night pattern right now :-).
I've been having a slight headache every afternoon for the last few days.
I'll update again once I'm actually on the 10 mg;-).
I'm STILL not on 10 mg! I think I might start tomorrow, though.
The last two weeks, I was doing really well. Sleeping without trazadone, appetite back, little to no anxiety, depending on the day. Good mood, and most of the time back to my old self.
I had a really bad night last night with insomnia, and now a horrible day today. I pretty much feel like I'm back to square one :-(. It's very disappointing. Now, I'm dreading going up to 10 mg, knowing that I could potentially have weeks (or months) of feeling like this.
No Kelly!!! You're not going to feel awful for weeks or months if took 10 mg, believe in yourself and the medicine, when I went to 10 mg it wasn't bad at all, by the third day it was normal, no side effects, Kelly, everybody has a bad day now and then..That's not your doing or the medicine...It's life...Start taking 10 mg...Good luck
Day 3 on 10 mg.
And, guess what ?! It hasn't been bad at all! A slight increase in anxiety, a slight "spaced out" feeling, slight increasing in sweating. I did get a headache on Day 1, but Tylenol cleared it right up. I've also had occasional scalp tingling, chills, and nausea...but, to be honest, these are so minor that I don't think I'd notice them if I wasn't actively looking for side effects ;-)!!!
I did have to take a trazadone last night in order to sleep, due to anxiety. But the night before (my first night on the increase), I slept great.
I hope the next few weeks continue to be this easy.......
Thank you for doing this! Im switching from Zoloft 100 mg to Lexapro 5mg.
Im down to 50mg zoloft for a few more days, then 25 and then will start Lex. Will be following your journey! Best wishes!
Day 6 on 10 mg.
I'm doing really well :-). I've had no side effects that I've noticed the last three days.
I'm still having mild anxiety off and on, but I do believe this is my "usual" anxiety rather than a side effect.
Sleep is still hit or miss :-). I had two nights where I slept fine, and then last night I was anxious in the night, so I had to take a trazadone. I also think this is just my "usual" insomnia, rather than a side effect.
One thing that has disappeared completely for the last 2 or even 3 weeks is I no longer have morning anxiety/dread immediately upon awakening. Since the anxiety came back in early April, every morning as soon as I woke up I'd have this awful feeling of dread and anxiety. But that seems to have cleared up :-).
Day 12 on 10 mg :-)
I'm definitely starting to feel some side effects now! The most notable is increased anxiety. It's not constant, in fact, I've had one really great day on Saturday when I had no anxiety and was completely back to my old self. But, the other days have had varying degrees of anxiety.
I'm still having the out of it/buzzy feeling in my head at times. Also, the scalp tinging and occasional chills.
I've been grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw more during the day.
Sleep is still pretty much the same. I haven't taken any trazadone for the last 4 nights, but last night was rough. I was up a lot, and it took me a while to fall back to sleep.
Day 16 on 10 mg
I've definitely had an increase in anxiety the past few days. It gets better in the afternoon, then sometimes pops up again in the evening.
I'm still having scalp tingling, and occasional chills. The spaced out feeling has totally gone away though, at least for now;-).
My appetite declines as my anxiety gets worse. I've lost a few more pounds this past week. That's not necessarily a bad thing;-).
I had two nights where I had a really severe headache.
My sleep has been pretty much the same. Some nights I sleep great; some I don't. I do believe the sleep disturbances are all tied in to my anxiety, rather than a direct result of the medication.
I haven't noticed a positive effect yet, of the 10 mg. I'm thinking it's very possible that I'll have to go up to a higher dose. I just hope I don't eventually have to switch to something else.
Kelly,
I am in the same boat as you, but i recently moved up from 10mg to 15mg. I am on day 10 of 15mg and have the same dreadful side effects that I did during start-up, but somewhat to a lesser extent. My main side effect is just constant generalized anxiety that completely ruins my appetite, I have lost 15 pounds since starting Escitalopram 7 weeks ago.
My doctor said to bump the dosage back down to 10mg after the next two days if the side effects do not subside. However, I am hesitant to do this because I know it can take time to adjust and don't wait the past 10 days to be a waste. She says I just may be really sensitive to SSRIs. What does everyone think?
Day 20 at 10 mg.
I'm doing better :-). I think the escitalopram may actually be starting to work!
I had a great weekend. I bit of minor anxiety in the morning, which cleared up by 8 or 9 a.m. The rest of the time I was fine.
Yesterday, (Monday), I had a bit of anxiety in the morning, and again late afternoon. Otherwise, I was fine.
Today, I had a bit of anxiety earlier in morning, but it seems to have gone away by now (it's 8:30 a.m.).
I've been sleeping so much better the past few nights. When I wake up, I am able to fall right back asleep again. I do wake up about an hour before my alarm goes off (and can't fall back asleep), but that could be due in part because I've been going to bed earlier.
Yesterday, I even took a little nap during the afternoon, and still managed to sleep great last night.
I'm hoping this trend continues.