Started Lexapro 9 days ago...

[Unapuffy]

I started at 10mg (my prescribed dose) 9 days ago. I took 10mg for two days, was a total mess , then went down to 2.5mg for 3 days. Now back up to 5mg. I’ve been having ongoing physical anxiety (tight chest and stomach ). I’m wondering if it’s helpful to steadily move the dose up to the prescribed dosage? I don’t want to overdo, but I do want to get to a dosage that will be effective and stay there. Any thoughts? The last week has been rough. Also would love any suggestions on sleep help? I’ve been taking a half dose of NyQuil to sleep and it’s starting to not work. If you have physical anxiety what helps you relax your body and fall asleep ? (Already tried melatonin - fail)

[Hidden]

It can take 2 weeks for some antidepressants to start to help. And, yes, those 2 weeks can make you feel worse before you start to feel better.

If you’re as worried as you seem, reach out to your doctor for advice. Maybe even your pharmacist.

[Agora1]

Hi Unapuffy, "Everydayisagift" is right in that it takes time for the medication

to reach full efficacy. (usually 4-6 weeks) However, you are prolonging the ill

effects because of playing with the dosage. Your doctor should be aware of

how you are feeling and adjust the dosage accordingly. There is no way to avoid

any side effects. Your brain needs to adjust to the medication.

I have been on Lexapro myself and noticed whenever even a small 5mg dosage was

upped, there were a few days of breakthrough symptoms. Since everyone reacts

differently to meds, it's best your doctor make the decision in what's best for you. xx

[Tbowler]

I started on the generic to lexapro at 10mg, took me a good 4 weeks to notice the difference originally. Hang in there.

[Thistooshall]

I’m sorry you are going through this. I’m having the same issues and I have found that .5 mg of Ativan helps me sleep and is also great for anxiety. I’ve been on .5 1 per day for 10 years and had to increase to 2 pills a few days ago for breakthrough anxiety during the day. I was also on 10mg of lexapro every other day for 5 years and started increasing it to every day the past week. Waiting for the cloud to lift. Should take a few weeks. Hang in there. We are all in this together!

[Hidden]

My phcatrics told me some meds are toxic to some people. Also he raised my dose of lexapro higher when my father died, and it made me really sick. So maybe you should ask yours to change your med to something else.

[stanislavski66]

I'm on 5mg. 10mg would be much more helpful but I can't get last 5 without suffering absolutely crippling anxiety. I'd need 5mgs to Ativan to subdue the anxiety which would just put me to sleep. So I stay on 5 and do derive some benefit