Hello everyone

[Mmyani]

I’m new to this an my anxiety has been getting worse day by day. I been having anxiety since the beginning of my high school career, I was recently given Escitalopram 10MG -Generic for LEXAPRO. has anyone taken this medication before? If yes did it help you?

[Hidden]

Hello. Yes I take Lexapro and it does help. It’s a strong medication and the initial side effects can be strong so maybe start with half a pill first.

[Jane1989]

I was on lexapro for a while the 10mg has no side effects expect for tiredness the 1st few days I took it.

I started on the 5mg for a week then upped it to 10mg for about a month and back down to 5mg then halved the tablets myself so about 2.5mg for a week then came off them.

Found them really helpful and was only sorry I didn’t take them sooner I had them for ages but was concerned about the side effects. Personally just the initial tiredness and dry throat for the first few days and that was it then. Everyone experiences them differently but all you can do is try them and take each day as it come.

Hope this helps your decision.

[Mmyani in reply to Jane1989]

How was your anxiety attacks before you decided to take medication ? Is really nice talking to someone who’s having the same troubles as I am because today when I took the pill I was so scared and had an attack, I then had another one after a few hours. I read all the side effects and was so scared to take it.

[Jane1989 in reply to Mmyani]

My anxiety was quiet severe before I took it...yeah I find chatting to people who are the same as very helpful..it does take a few weeks to fully take effect tho..when I first started on the tablet I was afraid to be alone in case some of the horrible side effects happened me but eventually a week or two in I started to gain more confidence and now I don’t mind being on my own again I am off the tables about two weeks now and anxiety seems to be at bay...I still get anxious some times but it’s not as severe and doesn’t last as long..before I used to hate leaving the house because it was so severe, I have come along way since those days..best of look with the medication hopefully it will start to work soon with u.

[Mmyani in reply to Jane1989]

Thank you so much jane1989

[Agora1]

Hi Mmyani, since everyone is different I can only say that I have found Lexapro an excellent medication for myself. Have been on it for several years now. I like the fact that it keeps me clear headed and able to function w/o getting tired. Only complaint is dry mouth which just about every drug can give you. Good Luck and feel better soon. xx

[Mmyani in reply to Agora1]

Today was my first time taking it, I did feel tired but I was very scared to take it

[Agora1 in reply to Mmyani]

Lexapro like any other antidepressant (which works for anxiety as well) takes 4-6 weeks to reach full efficacy. It is meant to make you tired at first because it works on calming down your nervous system. The best thing you can do is not look up anything on medication tht you are prescribed. Your doctor choose that drug and that dose with you in mind. It is safe for you to take. If you have any questions it's always best to talk with your doctor or even the pharmacist.

You will be okay, try to work with the drug. When I first started I went to therapy as well as started to learn other methods that could keep my anxiety down. I wish you well. xx

[Mmyani in reply to Agora1]

Today after I took the pill I had an attack because I was thinking about it too much, I read on all the side effects and was so scared. I then had another one after a few hours. I’m taking the 10 Mg. You think I’ll be better for me if I cut the little pill into half?

[Agora1 in reply to Mmyani]

Hi Mmyani, your doctor is the best judge of that. Certainly reading all the side effects will only make you more afraid. I make it a rule to never Google as well

as never read the pamphlet enclosed. I take new medication with an open mind

since our anxiety can over excite our body once we start negative thinking.

I started with 10mg for a short time then went to 15 mg where I stayed up until

2 weeks ago and now am at the max 20 mg. It does take a little adjustment when

first starting. I have read some of the members of the forum havng started on 5mg and then their doctors increased the dose to 10mg. I'm sure if you checked with your doctor he would agree. Always do it will his approval.

Keep us updated. We're behind you. You'll get through this and hopefully start feeling better. xx

[MariaLove123]

I’m sorry you’re going through this Mmyani 🙁 I was on Lexapro for years and it definitely helped. The only reason I went off it was because my doctor recommended I move onto something else. I had been on lexapro for 10 years.

Glad you’re on here talking about it 🤗

[Mmyani in reply to MariaLove123]

Thank you so much for your support.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Mmyani]

You are just where I was 2 years ago. I too was so afraid to take the meds and researched them way too much. I've been on Lexapro 20mg for the past 2 years and they have really helped. Try and relax and not google everything. I know how hard this is as I still find myself on google daily. I think it is just something we anxious people do. After my first panic attack, I became obsessed with trying to figure a way out of this mess but 2 years later I still am scared to death each time one happens. I made my poor husband take me to the ER 10 times the first year as every time I had one, I thought I was dying. Boy I wish I had all the money I wasted on those trips. You will get better. I promise you that. I know how hard that is to believe right now, but it is the truth. If you need to talk, I am here. I will say a prayer for you as you begin to take the pills.

[Mmyani in reply to cortisolqueen]

Thank you so much, I started getting them and then I started getting my parents worried, they took me to the ER twice already. I had an attack just by taking the pill yesterday because I was thinking about it too hard. Yesterday was my first day taking it. Would it be better to take it with food? I remember yesterday my body felt heavy and I was tired most of the day. Do you remember how it made you feel the first few days? You started on 20mg?

[cortisolqueen in reply to Mmyani]

yes, it is very scary to start a new medicine. I also have OCD which I developed when I was about 16 years old. I never realized that OCD was a form of anxiety until I saw a therapist for the panic attacks. I had always dealt with the OCD really well. But after the first panic attack it all changed. I started to become a hypochondriac, thinking every little body sensation signaled that I was surely dying of some terrible disease or having a heart attack or stroke. It is really amazing what our minds can think up to scare us.

I remember feeling really scared to take the Lexapro, like you I caused myself panic attacks just worrying the pills were going to cause me harm. I felt nausea and had a few headaches the first few weeks, but after that I settled down pretty good. They are known to cause the anxiety to get a little worse before making it better. Did they give you anything like Xanax or klonopin to help until the Lexapro kicks in? May I ask how old you are? Is this your first experience with any sort of anxiety?

I am still praying for you! Hang in there. I am still going strong after 3 years and probably a million dollars worth of tests. LOL. Every test I have had done comes back normal. I was diagnosed with Celiacs disease 2 years ago. But it is under great control. I am turning 60 in November. I am here if you need to chat.

[Mmyani in reply to cortisolqueen]

My first experience was back in high school, but I didn’t pay much attention to it because I didn’t wanna worry my parents. I then started having them more but not often but last year it because a problem I started having them every month and now is just horrible. Im March of this year I took a long trip to France and on my way back I had an attack in the plane. I was ready to cause a scene and beg for them to land. My friend helped me out by hugging me and telling me everything will be okay. I started feeling better and tried to keep my mind busy but I was too scared. After my trip I started getting them a lot. I took another trip a month ago and on my way there and coming back the attacks where coming Every few minutes. It was so horrible I told my self I’m never traveling again and it makes me sad. After the last trip I started having them every day. Then it turned to more than once a day and last week I decided to get my self checked out and they subscribed me lexapro. I made a bad decision on searching on google all the side effects. Have a family member in California who took the same pills and she told me they were horrible and not to take them so that got me more scared. Thank you so much for all your support, I’m turning 25 this September.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Mmyani]

Bless your heart, you are so young to be struggling with this. I am so sorry!! It can be so scary. I also see Dr. Google everyday. I really try not to, but I just find myself not able to resist it. I think we are just trying to figure a way out of this mess. I have read every book I can get my hands on about anxiety and all of them say the key is acceptance and to not fear the symptoms and that they are harmless. Obviously I haven't had much success with accepting it. I know you can beat this. You are stronger than you think. Just try and take the Lexapro and not over think it or read anymore about it. I have found that I over think everything. It is so hard to think I was perfectly normal and extremely happy go lucky 3 years ago, and that a panic attack scared me so bad that it has caused panic disorder. But if you read the books, that's how it starts for all of us. We have an attack and then we fear having another and so the cycle begins. We just have to find a way to break that cycle. Do you wake up with attacks or do they mainly happen during the daytime? Are you sleeping all night? I actually got so afraid of having them that I could not sleep for fear of waking up with one. Another vicious cycle.

It will take at least 4-6 weeks before the Lexapro kicks in and they may increase the dosage. Hang in there and remember you are not alone, there are millions of us out here going through the exactly same thing.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Mmyani]

I take mine in the morning with food.

[Hidden in reply to cortisolqueen]

I can’t even count how many ambulances rides I’ve taken due to panic attacks.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Hidden]

I finally stopped after a year. I felt sorry for my poor husband and they really never did anything to help me anyway. Just give me some Xanax and sent me on my way. When you have on, do you feel like you are actually going crazy? This is the scariest part for me, that it is not just anxiety and that I am really going crazy.

[Hidden in reply to cortisolqueen]

I usually think that it is the end for me and then after I have been medicated I just feel so depressed that it was a panic attack and I worry that I’m never gonna quit having them. That’s why I am reading books and trying to figure out why I’m having them.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Hidden]

I understand completely. I am obsessed with finding a "cure" for this disorder. I have failed miserably so far. I will be good for a few days then back to square one. I have no idea why I started with them either and why in the world I just can't let it go. I spend almost every waking moment working my poor brain to death searching for a way out of this Hell.

[Hidden in reply to cortisolqueen]

I get it. Me too. Tired of feeling this. Some days are better than others. But this is definitely a challenge.

[Mmyani in reply to MariaLove123]

I’m glad I’m on here too, is very helpful and I’m glad I found people understands how I feel.

[Lindsey14]

Ive taken lexapro but i recently switched. Also i understand how you feel

[Mmyani]

This was very helpful, thank you so much. I did feel a bit weird when I took them yesterday. The reason why I looked on google was because a year ago I took a Tylenol pm and it cause me to get dizzy. I was so so scared I ended up in the ER. My attack lasted me for 30+ minutes. It was the worst attack I ever had. Since then i have been afraid to take pills, specially if they have a side effect ( dizziness )

[Calm_mama]

Hi Mmyani,

Take a look at my profile and check out the resources I repeatedly recommend. You can completely recover.

I recommend getting Claire Weekes books ASAP and listening to her “enlightened” Audio first. She was a genius. Completely figured out anxiety and panic. Had it herself. Recovered.

You’ll understand better as you read/ listen a few times. Essentially, you want to completely change your perspective on anxiety and panic. Both are natural, common, even normal. The symptoms are completely harmless. The more you practice bravely embracing each panic attack, the more they subside. With enough practice, you will fly to France again and say. “Ok anxiety, bring it on/ give me a panic attack!” And if you’ve come so far as to truly mean it, you simply won’t be able to have one😀 Anxiety responds so well to acceptance and removal of the fear of it. Many, Many people have recovered this way! And while they may still have occasional anxiety or panic, the change in response to it means you don’t end up spiraling down or tied up in knots.

Lexapro- extremely safe Med. Makes most people tired, a little foggy, dizzy, weird at first but this is temporary. You don't need to google it anymore. You are on a super safe Med.

Best of luck to you!

[cortisolqueen in reply to Calm_mama]

That post was very informative and helpful. I just wish I could actually do it. I try very hard because I do believe that is the way out of this mess but I keep just feeling so frightened by all my symptoms. Have you suffered with panic and anxiety and is this how you recovered? Thanks for the post, it gives me hope.

[Calm_mama]

Yes of course! I'm doing great these days. I've been through unbelievable anxiety just like many folks here. I have anxious days but I implement what I know and tell my anxiety "SO BE IT" and carry on with my day. "OMG WHAT IF THE PLANE CRASHES?!?" "Well Anxiety, so be it". OMG WHAT IF YOUR DAUGHTER GETS INTO A CAR ACCIDENT? AND HURTS OTHER PEOPLE? AND HERSELF? AND...." (my daughter is learning to drive ha ha ha)... "Well, so be it anxiety". Practice that. Practice So Be It all day long. Please do look at Dr. Weekes' work, especially her audio, it's AMAZING. And the other resources - Hugo Rock, Paul David's book (incredible), swamy G (a coach called life), and definitely NOTHING WORKS. (here's the link: nothingworks.weebly.com/) When you read Nothing Works- reread the "STOP AVOIDING" piece. Over and over. Don't avoid. SHOW anxiety what's up, don't just tell it. Take anxiety out into the world and show it that flying to France (or doing whatever) is NOT dangerous. Say SO BE IT and get on the plane! Let the panic come, and show anxiety that the panic doesn't make you run away. That you survive. That's how anxiety learns that it's making a ton of mistakes!! Your goal is to have as many panic attacks as possible every single day. They are utterly harmless. The more panic attacks you have, and the more you practice INDIFFERENCE at the symptoms, CURIOSITY instead of horror, INTEREST in what is happening to your body- the more you pretend that you are on a rollercoaster or going bungee jumping, and that the feeling is a THRILL instead of a nightmare (it is, by the way, the exact same physiological response), the better you will get. You will go through a phase where you are a PRO at panic attacks and they will be more of a little twitch than a big old deal, then eventually, they fade away. But it won't matter to you anymore because you won't CARE if you get one again- it's just adrenaline. A normal chemical that we all get pumped into our system now and again. That's how to recover from anxiety. You should have tons of hope! It takes time, and practice and patience! But you will get there...