Horrible night

[Gillyflower18]

I will never take Lexapro again. My already horrible anxiety went through the roof, I couldn’t sleep stomach is messed up and been running to the John this morning. I trying to recover but I feel so weak. Haven’t taken anything else since yesterday morning. Would it be ok to take an Ativan tonight? Anybody done this?

[mhg203]

I just tried to take Lexapro myself.

Took it for

3 days and my chest was burning I couldn’t sleep and my anxiety was worse than ever. I know I probably didn’t give it long enough to even start working but I knew I couldn’t live like that. I stopped and of course told my provider. I was unable to hold anything down for 4 days and ended up in the emergency room with severe dehydration.

How long have you been taking Lexapro?

[Gillyflower18 in reply to mhg203]

Just one dose that’s all it took. I feel awful just like you. How can you possibly give it a chance to work when it makes you so much worse!

[mhg203 in reply to Gillyflower18]

Agreed. Some people have really great results and they all just say “hold out” but that just wasn’t an option for me.

I was prescribed hydroxizine10 mg for anxiety/ sleep and it works pretty well

[Gillyflower18 in reply to mhg203]

I can see why not. I hope you’re feeling better now. I wouldn’t have had the guts to keep taking it that long.

[maggief9812]

Did your doctor tell you to expect these side effects? Because what you’re describing is well within the range of common side effects of *starting* these types of medications. They should decrease gradually over the next week or two. It takes up to 6 weeks to see a therapeutic benefit from the medication. Persistence is the key to seeing if a new medication will work for you. I know firsthand how shitty (literally! 😱) it feels in the first week, but I also know how much better I feel and how incredibly glad I am that I was able to stick it out.

[Gillyflower18 in reply to maggief9812]

I’m not as strong as you. My doc is away for a week so I can’t call him. I’ll let him know when he comes back. Perhaps he’ll have some ideas. I know when I first started Effexor years ago they had me take a low dose of Ativan every day for 2 weeks to counteract the side effects.

[maggief9812 in reply to Gillyflower18]

Aww, thanks. I’m not strong, I’m stubborn. And insane. And rock-headed! 😂😜

How many doses have you taken? Did you only take one pill last night? If so, you could probably stop until doc is available you shouldn’t really have withdrawal issues.. can you talk to him about starting on half doses and building up over the first few days? And maybe also the Ativan or something similar to ease the start?

[Gillyflower18 in reply to maggief9812]

Yes I only took the initial dose. That’s all it took. I’ve been dealing with this off and on for 50 years and I never had a reaction like that!

[maggief9812 in reply to Gillyflower18]

Wowza. I know your pain.

My doc started me on Celexa without any other med to offset the side effects and the start was rough. Wild heartbeat, higher anxiety, chest discomfort, diarrhea, dizziness, nausea... it was an exercise in endurance. If I’d have known what I was in for I’d have asked for something to make the start easier, for sure! I hope your side effects pass soon and you and your doc can come up with a less uncomfortable path forward!

[Gillyflower18 in reply to maggief9812]

Thanks. I’m just curled up in bed trrrrryyyyying to come down. The cat is keeping me company.

[maggief9812 in reply to Gillyflower18]

Thank goodness for our fur family! I hope yours brings you some comfort. 😻

[Hidden]

Lexapro is a powerful SSRI, I have been on it for a while but when I started I only took 2.5mg for a week and then 5mg for two months then 10mg for two months

[Gillyflower18 in reply to Hidden]

Maybe that’s the problem. He had me take 10 right off the bat. He’s my gp. I am seeing a new psychiatrist on the 29th. Maybe she’ll have a better idea!

[aaronm in reply to Gillyflower18]

I take 40mg a day of Lexapro. Its been a life saver for me.

[Gillyflower18 in reply to aaronm]

You must have an iron constitution!

[Hidden in reply to Gillyflower18]

I would have not been able to handle 10mg off the bat. I am extremely sensitive to meds. I was able to handle Lexparo and it really helped me out, but I had to start with a very low dose

[Gillyflower18 in reply to Hidden]

Obviously I am too! I just called my pharmacist and asked if it would be alright to take an Ativan tonight so I could get some sleep. Thank God she said it was fine. I’m improving very slowly. A litttle less anxious still ibs problems. At least I don’t feel like I’m hanging from the ceiling by my fingernails🤪🤪🤪

[Calm_mama]

Hugs to u. I took lexapro for a month and I just felt so weird. In hindsight I think it was my anxiety over taking it and just anxiety in general.

Lynnalice implemented an approach that seems to work better for some people- start very low and titrate up Maybe talk to your doc about "starting low, going slow"?

[Gillyflower18]

Thanks. Hopefully things will improve!