Well its been exactly 1 week on Lexapro and I know there were a few out there that were starting at the same time as me. I was on ZOLOFT which was terrible for me and I weaned down to 25mg pretty quickly from 100mg. I stopped Zoloft and started 5mg of Lexapro in 1 day. I took 5mg for 2 days and upped it to 10mg. I am having anxiety; nothing like the Zoloft and I dont feel great....but I understand it takes time. I have been on Lexapro before and it worked for me. I am taking .25 of Klonopin in the morning until I wake up with no anxiety and then I will stop.
I could use a good week upcoming. But the side effects so far are increased anxiety a little. Other than that....no Side Effects
I am coming up on week 3 for Lexapro. At first it made me sleepy and now it makes me hyper. I had big problems with constipation but that has subsided the last few days. It is helping with depression though and the least side effects that I have had with an SSRI.
I also take xanax to help with anxiety which hopefully I will be able to just be on Lexapro.
I am on day 9 of 10mg and I feel pretty great. Not tired but sleeping very well and my head is really clear. I seem to have little anxious moments which last ten minutes or so a few times a day but these are getting further apart. I do seem to be craving carbs but trying to resist! On the whole pretty pleased with so few side effects.
Today is day 8 on Lexapro. Only day 6 at 10mg. I still feel terrible. My anixety is pretty damn high. I have a slight headache. Enough that I think about it but not enough pain to make me stop what I am doing. I am waiting for the fog, anxiety to clear. Maybe 10mg isnt enough....however...I think I should wait until the side effects vanish. I have been on this med before but I do not remember the start being this tough. Klonopin is helping me through this. NEED HELP....THIS SUX
It took me a few weeks for this medication to start working. Give it time. Make sure get some exercise and take your vitamins. And use your klonopin!
I know it's not great in the beginning. If fact this medication was too strong for me so they put me on Celexa, which doctors say is not as strong. But... I was on it for a few months and remeber the lingering headaches - advil worked great for me. I would call your doctor though and let him know how you are feeling.
Taking meds is tough in the beginning but brighter days will soon be here!
I just went back on Lexapro after being off for about 10 months. The last time I took it, it took about 3 weeks to work and then I was fine. This time, it took 6 weeks. I took an ativan (.5 mg) in the am for the first few weeks but then it started to kick in and I no longer needed it. Maybe when you are on an AD and go off and back on it takes longer to work? Not sure about that but hang in there - it took a while for me but now I feel fine.
Still waiting for improvement. Today is 1 week on 10 mg and still having anxiety and not feeling well. I wonder if 10mg is not enough. Maybe 20mg should be the next step. Shouldnt I be seeing some improvement?
Still waiting for improvement. Today is 1 week on 10 mg and still having anxiety and not feeling well. I wonder if 10mg is not enough. Maybe 20mg should be the next step. Shouldnt I be seeing some improvement?
I know how you feel, those were my words exactly when I started taking lexapro. It took me about 2-3 weeks to start feeling the effects and all I can say it just try to tough it out till then.
One suggestion is don't say to yourself "I wonder if 10mg is not enough" and "Shouldnt I be seeing some improvement?". That in itself is just creating even MORE anxiety and making things worse for you.
Relaxing, taking a walk, meditation, reading a book, hanging out with my friends to keep my mid off things, that's the stuff I did which helped.
damn....it is getting worse as i am not having any relief and the anxiety is getting worse. 1 1/2 weeks into this and I am officialy getting ****** that it is not working.
Give it some more time!!! When I first started Lexapro I was sleepy then about 1 1/2 later I could of bounced off the walls. Now it is starting to mellow out and I do not have to take Xanax daily.
If it get to be too much call you Dr and see if can give you something till it kicks in. Hang in there I know it feels like a roller coaster but it will even out.
I was feeling better for the last 3 days and today is another anxious day. I am wondering about going up to 20mg or giving more time at 10mg. For three days I felt a little anxiety but now I am lightheaded again and it seems the anxiety is worse. I want to get off the small dose of klonopin I am on but now I am afraid too as I dont feel anxiety free yet.
Guys. The antidepressants are not going to be worth the side effects. My mother who suffers from the exact same thing as myself and most of the people on this site has been on paxil and buspar for, gosh 10 years now and she still has major amounts of down time. Please try the benzos as a long term solution. If you do have depression as well then there will be some benefit to SSRI's, but if you are talking strictly anxiety and panic then stick to the meds designed to fix that problem. Xanax, Klonopin, Vallium etc. They ARE addictive, but so aren't all the other drugs you are taking, but Benzos have virtually no side effects. Give it a go and see if it helps. I have 20 years of attempted use of SSRI's, so as you can see my mother has been at it even longer. Good luck to all of you. i hope you find your answer.
Some people can't take SSRIs and that is them. If you are on one it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to get the full effect. I have been on a couple - I know. If you don;t feel better after the 6 weeks talk to your Doctor and go from there. Aftet you start to feel better try to come off of the klonopin. I came off the klonopin after 4 weeks on Celexa. I don't have panic attacks but I still suffer from panic side effects. But this is forcing me to read, listen to tapes, and get additional help to make myself better and to learn to deal with this problem for when I am off the medication.
I tried to increase my dose from 10mg to 15mg and I couln't get up in the morning and just didn;t feel good. I spoke with my doctor and he said because you are only on day 4 of the higher dose go back down and see if this makes a difference. I did go back down and I was able to get up off the couch.
Each person is different so please keep on going. And if you need the klonopin take it. That is what it is there for.
I have been on 10mg of Lexapro since April and it has worked fantastic for my anxiety. It does take a few weeks to kick in and I had Xanax to get me through when I really needed it. It has been 6 months and I can honestly say that it is a very rare occasion that I have to take a Xanax. I just quit smoking on 9/11 and my doctor said that it was a good possibility that my anxiety would increase when I stopped but I have not had any problems. Give it some time and hopefully you will have great results like I did. Try to relax...constantly thinking about and stressing over it is only going to increase your anxiety.
It is really interesting how many of us are experiencing the same problems and each person will be have different respones to the medication. I've been dealing with anxiety issues for the past couple of months and for the most part have used Xanax (.5 mg) as needed to help me out. For the most part, this medication has worked wonders for me.
I am about 10 days into the Lexapro (10 mgs) and I'm starting to see some improvement during the day but I continue to take my Xanax or Klonopin without hesitation until the Lexapro has time to start working. Don't put yourself through the anxiety if you have a benzo that is working and give the SSRI some time.
My main side effect from the Lexapro is that I am waking up with anxiety more often and my nights have been more difficult. My sleeping patterns had been good until I started the Lexapro but I'm willing to fight through a few weeks to see if the medication works.
I like most of you get very frustrasted at the anxiety but really try to keep a positive outlook. It is very easy to let these type problems influence your attitude and mood but try really hard to stay upbeat and positive. Good posture, good breathing patterns, and stay as upbeat as possible.
Take your medications as prescribed and have regular checkups. Your physician should be able to gauge your response and get you on the correct medication and dosage.
Stay positive. We are all going through the same stuff and it does suck but one of my favorite sayings is "this too shall pass."
good luck to everyone and stay on the benzos when you need them!
