I think by now everyone is tired of me on this site. I had 3 really good days and nights this week, a tiny bit of underlying anxiety. Then the reverse happened. Instead of being anxious during the day and it lifting around 5, I've become anxious in the evening and sleeping isn't so easy. The other thing I noticed a few of you have mentioned is that choking feeling and loose bm's, and I'm nauseous.... Maybe I'm getting the flu, I'm sure that would be easier to get over. But I am now experiencing both of those. I feel like I'm starting over. In a few days it'll be 4 weeks on 20 mg, I think I see improvement, then something crops up. And on top of it, I'm so sleepy-tired. More so than just the waking up at night. I'm ready to give up on this medicine and go back to name brand Effexor XR.
Hi Tammy,
So a little about me, I'm in the medical field and approximately 4 months ago, I became anxious out of nowhere. I pondered on the possible causes such as insomnia, which I have had for > a year, which started out due to environmental changes...moving in with boyfriend, boyfriend snores, dog barking at night, etc. Then I started having health related anxiety (though I'm healthy), panic attacks in the nights and then full on anxiety, starting in August of last year. For the first 2 months, itwas a shock to my psyche that I could feel the way I did....anxious, depressed (over being anxious). My life was great otherwise w/ no recent stressors. I decided initially to see a therapist who focused on insomnia and anxiety, and he was great. But after 2 months of therapy only, I realized it wasn't enough. I had to see multiple psychiatrist to get to the right one, mostly because in addition to the whole insurance issue, there are some psychiatrists who truly should not be in the business as they are ineffective at their jobs. Initially, I was started on 10 mg of Celexa but I stopped seeing that psychiatrist because she saw me only 5 minutes, wrote me rx and took my money. I did start to feel better on the Celexa but not 100%, so after several weeks, I started seeing a new psychiatrist who was even worse than the first one in terms of his bedside manners. I thought he would adjust my Celexa, but instead he took me off of it and started me on Effexor. I began taking Effexor 37.5 mg twice a day. Effexor is an SNRI so in addition to inhibiting uptake of serotonin, it also inhibits uptake of norepinephrine. You may or may not be aware but norepinephrine is a stress hormone (involved in fight/flight) I believe that this is why my anxiety shot through the roof. The morning anxieties were the worst!!!! After about 4 weeks I did start to feel a little better though and probbaly would have continued to feel better. Anyway around that time, I decided to see a new psychiatrist at the hospital I used to work at in NYC. She was a breath of fresh air!!! She spent hrs talking to me and contacted my therapist and boyfriend to get collateral info (every therapist/psych should do this!) She decided to start me on escitalopraam which is a potent inhibitor of serotonin. Immediately after stopping the effexor, I felt much, much better (no brain zaps or anything) after stopping it cold turkey as I started on escitalopram immediately. After 3 weeks on escitalopram (started on 5mg first week, now on 10mg for past 2 weeks), feeling soooo much better! Yes there is intermittent minimal underlying anxiety at times (not a big deal) but most of the time I'm anxiety free and sleeping better!!! And best of all, no low moods!!! Anyway, I know different meds work for different people. We are all different so don't compare your self to anyone on this forum. Before giving up on lexapro, really give it a chance. These meds can take several weeks to really be fully effective 8-12 weeks sometimes). Things will get better and you will get your life back, trust me! Anxiety/depression leads to anxious/depressed mood so those dark thoughts you rae having is only the anxiety/depression talking. Don't believe them and continue taking care of yourself. Also tune out the negative posts on here. We are already anxious, we don't need anyone making it worse..lol
Tammy... I just read what Lois Ann wrote and I do believe she is right... I feel like as a whole most people that suffer from aniexty and panic disorders are caretakers and really want very little out of life they want to help and they want others to b Happy and we feel like we must control a lot of what we can not control .. That's why we have Soo much Aniexty... so we try and control our aniexty and it makes it worse..I try to tell myself ... Stop Thinking about it.. and it doesn't work.., it just makes me wonder when the aniexty is going to come back .. then I think about the times it's really bad and wonder ok it's going to hit me then... but that is the what ifs in our brain...the stuff we try to control but can't...I'm trying to tell myself if I have aniexty or other body symptoms that r uncomfortable .. what will happen... I'll live thru it... it's not a fun thing but we know it will go away... just ride it out... please give this medicine s little longer to work... I hate the thought of u starting all over.. when u have gotten 4 weeks down... Take Care and Please keep us posted...
Lois Ann... we have the same name Lol.. I'm Nickie Lois...I agree with what u said in your message .. I'm just trying to remove this negative self talk with positive ... I'm positive for everyone but myself... but I do know from where my GAD and Panic disorder comes from.. but sometimes it's hard... I To am on Lexapro 5 mg ..this is going into my 3 red week.. some good changes have happened but still have my Dr. Phobia.. and aniexty over whennthe aniexty will hit but I'm trying to work on that.. it's never pleasant.. Thank You for your post...
Hi Tammy,
Just to remind you every dose increase there is additional time that you have to whait for medication to adjust so if is you increase 4 week ago, give it one more month , you sad there is some progress already, that can be the sign that medicine is slowly progressing.
I was 6 week on 10 mg escitalopram and 8 weeks on 20 mg. and I start to feel better two weeks ago.
Good luck...
Hi Nicole,
Thank you!
Question...is your doctor gonna bump up your lexapro? 5mg isn't really therapeutic. 10 to 20mg usually is....
Lexapro is a med that can be titrated quickly
Hope u feel better soon
L
Sorry typo, meant nickie 😊
Absolutely nickie, it is tough to go through but we can do it. Yes a lot of us have a lot of responsibilites and stress and so it isn't a wonder we are so anxious!
The good thing I took away from my experience is that I'm a more effective provider for my patients going through anxiety because I can certainly relate
L
Lois Ann... Yes she is wanting me to go up to 5mg 2x per day but I'm having anxious thoughts about the side effects from going from 5 mg to 10 mg.. so I'm thinking I may just increase the night time to 5 mg and continue with the 2.5 of the am... I'm real sensitive to meds... she did a saliva test on me to b sure that lexapro was a good medicine for my DNA... I'm really sensitive... I guess that's why I'm going soooo slow with the increase... what's your thoughts on it...?
I understand...
I has no side effects on 5mg. I did find that when I went to 10mg daily, I had mild anxiety but I expected this and the anxiety tapered off quickly
I say go slow since you're meds sensitive but you really need at least 10mg eventually as this is the therapeutic dise
It's only been 3 weeks for me, including 2 weeks at 10mg and doing so much better and hope to keep improving...
I'm willing to go through the motions and give it chance to fully work
You can also ask your doc for few klonopin tabs to offset any worsening of anxiety initially while on meds. Klonopin is a great little drug and is long acting. Rapidly takes care of anxiety/anxiety related low moods, but of course not for long term use.
Everyone is different and all meds have side effects but the side effects usually fade as your body gets used to it.
By the way, still enjoying sex, maybe even more...lol...and able to reach the big O!
I would say really give it a chance😊
L
Your exactly right about being a care giver. I'm that person. And although I think I can control things with advice and good intentions, well, that's just not working. People have free will!!! And worrying doesn't help anything. I did feel really good on Effexor XR, but like I said in an earlier post, the generic went generic and then discontinued and was given something else. But everyone's advice is exactly how I feel about myself. I'm just so tired and the intrusive thoughts never stop. My therapist is excellent and she's given me tools to switch gears in my thinking when it happens and so far, it's working. So patience is a must for me and all of us, I guess, to allow this medication to really do it's job. I appreciate all of the positive feedback. Your experiences make me feel so much better. Thank you.
Tammy... U take care of yourself and let your husband r your family take care of u now just for a while until u get yourself feelings no better.. Please kerp us posted..I'm going to hang at 5mg for a few more days then bump up to 7.5... Baby steps but I have to b comfortable in doing it r it will only cause more of the Big A...Talk Soon 😊
Lois Ann... has your mood improved with the 10 mg. I'm very Sad and low right now .. I feel like I'm going thru the motions of doing things.. but I also have been noticing my mood being down and sad for several months.. That's good about your other.. lol Please stay in the conversation if u can.. we all need each other's support and input.. Take Care and Have a Marvelous Monday...😊
Hi Nickie
So sorry your mood is down.
I struggled more with anxiety but there were definitely periods of low mood...like I wasn't enjoying life...was always in my head
But yes! Dare I say I'm back to myself? But I am. Almost 0 anxiety and no low moods
I think when you fully get on the 10mg, you'll do well eventually. Go slow, slowly adjust to 10 and then give it few weeks. My experience is that I gradually felt better and better...
I will definitely stay in the conversation. I'm here for you honey❤
Another thing Nicki is that these meds aren't adding anything to your body...they are simply preventing the uptake of serotonin thereby increasing the amount left in circulation. Serotonin is the happy chemical..responsible for our mood, sleep, appetite, sex, etc
Yes the body will definitely adjust eventually. Lexapro is great. Hang in there....
L
I will, thank you! I've decided there's no rhyme or reason to these Lexapro side effects. I'm at work, having a little difficulty focusing, and feeling a some butterflies. I want to take a little bit of Ativan but I'm thinking that I shouldn't just to see how well the medicine is actually working without covering up there side effects. My therapist says that's crazy and so does my Dr..... The point is NOT to feel anxiety so they tell me. I am just so sleepy from the irregular sleep, Ativan just makes it worse.... But helps with the butterflies. I just can't win. Wednesday will be 4 weeks on the 20 mg. If it weren't for this site, I'd be really lost. It feels good that we all know what each other is going thru. I wouldn't wish panic and anxiety on my worst enemy! Be well!
Hi Tammy,
I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy either!
I know what u mean by not wanting the ativan to mask your symptoms. I felt that way too and had stopped taking klonopin for that same reason. I did use propanolol once or twice as needed while meds kick in. Propanalol helps to ease the tension
L
Lois Ann... Thank You Sooo Much for the messages... if u only knew and I think u do .. how I have felt off and on these past 40 + years... every time I was put on something it went bad.. I was in hospital 3 times and still all failed .. so this time my Obgyn did a saliva test and found a lot of meds that would work with my DNA.. I think I have posted this but.. I really think Lexapro is the pill for me..I have lost so much weight from this GAD and panic .. and now I'm honestly hungry..so that's a good thing.. I just need to eat healthy but sometimes I jump ship and eat fatty stuff but with what I have been thru a little fat is ok.. lol this am took 5 mg and I really feel much better.. idk if I'm just having a good day r if The bump up helped some.. who knows but as long as I see improvement that's what I want..Thanks for the info on Lexapro.. again Please stay put in our conversation.. Thanks Again.. Take Care and we will all talk soon...😊
Oh wow Nickie, so glad to hear!!!!
Yes, improvement in appetite and sleep is an important sign that meds may be working.
Stick with it...let me know updates
Talk soon😊
L
Btw, I too lost considerate weight going through all this. I think I lost proximately 15 pounds in 2 months and clothes fit differently. Since my appetite returned and am feeling better I purposely regained a few pounds to get to my ideal, healthy weight of 140 pounds. Now making sure I don't gain all those lost pounds back...lol
I'm just happy I'm able to enjoy food again
Cheers, L