Lexapro and anxiety

[Joshgw]

I just started lexapro today, and the anxiety is unbearable. Crippling. Has anyone else experience this and how long did the side effect last. I took lexapro for 13 years before I went off last year but decided to go back on it. I remember it being good for my anxiety. Help. I'm dying here...

[Agora1]

Of course Josh, none of us are doctors and can give you concrete adviceespecially on restarting it after you have been off for a while.

I could say it takes time but your doctor is the one you need to contact.

I don't think he would do much on the very first day.

Anxiety is a monster for sure. Whether you are told to stay on Lexapro or

the GP puts you on another med, it will always be about getting through the

difficult days ahead before you see a significant difference. My best to you xx

[Breatheart]

Wow. Similarly I was on lexapro for 18 years and did great til it pooped out. On Paxil now and it’s doing nothing. I noticed on lexapro that I couldn’t go above 25 mg or I got severe anxiety.

[Joshgw in reply to Breatheart]

Paxil was horrible for me. I was on it before lexapro. I was on 20mg of lexapro the first time and it was great for my anxiety, and I know today is only my first day, but the anxiety is killing me.

[Breatheart]

They say to say start low and go slow. If u r having side effects start at a lesser dose

[Joshgw in reply to Breatheart]

Yeah, that's what they say. But for the first time in over a year some type of relief from severe suicidal ideation, I'm worried about efficacy. I'm on 10mg. I could go to 5mg but I'm afraid of losing that relief. I've had so much pain, so much sobbing, looking at my 12 year old and fighting my impulses.

[AnxiousSilver in reply to Joshgw]

"I've had so much pain, so much sobbing, looking at my 12 year old and fighting my impulses. "

You can do this.

It's normal to have mixed emotions on a med change.

Just keep your docs informed with what going on.

[Breatheart in reply to Joshgw]

That is huge! Stay on it then. It’s working those transmitters! ….If only I didn’t have constant suicidal ideations…I wouldn’t be so depressed. ( that’s almost ironically funny)

[b1b1b1 in reply to Joshgw]

I think the fact that you have some relief is a good sign, especially since you have not been taking it for very long. See what your doctor thinks. x

[Joshgw in reply to b1b1b1]

My doctor lowered to 5mg from the 10mg I was on. I'm worried about efficacy but hopefully it'll only be for a week or so.

[AnxiousSilver]

I've known people that have been on a med for years, went off, and either tried different meds, or went back on that med after a while.

It's going to take some time for your body to readjust.

Basically because it's been out of your system for so long, that your body got adjusted without it.

Now it needs to readjust with it back in your system.

.

How long will it take? It's kind of hard to say, because everybody is different.

Best thing you can do is to keep your doctors informed of what is going on, and remember that we are here.

[Dragonfly_50]

I’ve been on 10 mg for a few months. I posted a few weeks ago that it helped with the pits of despair (not totally but to a great degree) but did zero for my anxiety. Doesn’t touch it. It’s an awful, hopeless feeling going through that. I don’t know if there’s any words to comfort you or help because I know for me they’re aren’t. But just push, keep pushing, think about your kids and call your doctor. Sometimes side effects no matter how long, are too much. Your doctor should know what’s happening , please tell him/her.

[Joshgw in reply to Dragonfly_50]

Thanks. Seeing therapist tonight, psychiatrist tomorrow. It was great for my anxiety then. I was on 20mg then.

Started crashing tonight around 7pm. My first day, not surprised.

What do you do for your anxiety then? How do you cope? Mine is so crippling.

[Dragonfly_50 in reply to Joshgw]

Hey how are you doing now? (Despite just getting myself shamed on another thread unrelated, I’m still rooting for you.)

[Dragonfly_50]

I feel for you. The anxiety is my worst foe. I’m on a pretty high dose of Clonopin but honestly it doesn’t help much. I also get 10 Xanax per month, and when they are gone they are gone. I would say I just will myself to get to bedtime when I’m more successful at knocking myself out for a few hours then start again the next day. Neither one of us are living our best lives, I know. But there has to be some relief that gets us through this, there just has to be. One thing that helps knock me out at bedtime is medical mj. I take the 50/50 combo drops under the tongue. It’s called Doze and has no high to it because it’s a 50/50 mix, dissipating any high. I have a medical card for it & a doctor who is very knowledgeable in this area. They have drops also for anxiety but those don’t seem to help me.

[Davefales]

It's made for depression and anxiety and it don't cause anxiety in me instead it lowers it alot in me I still have some but not like before same with the depression

[Dragonfly_50 in reply to Davefales]

The trouble is a med can be intended for anything and not help with it. I’m glad you get relief from the anxiety but for me? It’s just as bad as pre med.

[Hydroplane]

Josh, I went from 5 to 20 over the course of about 2 months, at 5 I was concerned with what felt like side effects, more emotional etc, but was encouraged by 2 docs to stay with it. Now very glad i did and have been on 20 maybe 4 months i am guessing. very beneficial but it took a while to get there. As previously mentioned contact your doctor and get his recommendation. We are all different. First I was on wellburtrin and that seemed to just make me more weepy. Hang in and wishing you the best!

[Joshgw in reply to Hydroplane]

I was on 20mg the first time around and it was really good for my anxiety then too. I left it because I felt I was just existing, no joy, I felt like it was not a life. I had this paralysis/inertia that prevented me from doing things. So for the last 14 months I tried trintellix, seroquel, Zyprexa, ECT, TMS, ketamine. I had severe suicidal ideation and depressive/emotional pain. Nothing worked. Lexapro was the only thing that gave me a safety net. Today, my doctor lowered me to 5mg from 10 and I'm really worried about efficacy.

[Dragonfly_50 in reply to Hydroplane]

Do you feel like the general consensus (obviously different for everyone) but just generally speaking, that 20 mg helped with anxiety more than 10 mg for example?

[Artyhype]

Have you tried Buspar for anxiety? It's non narcotic so the doctor would have no problem prescribing it to you. I'm on that instead of an SSRI and it helps a lot but everyone is different. Adjustment periods are never easy hang in there!

[Joshgw in reply to Artyhype]

I'm on 20mg of buspar now. Don't think it's doing much

[Dragonfly_50 in reply to Artyhype]

Buspar for me, is like taking a tic tac. It does zero for me. And that was before I was ever on Clonopin or Xanax. Glad to hear it works for somebody because I don’t know a single person in my life that it helped either. Just shows everyone is different I guess.

[grlewycky]

it takes 1-2 weeks for the Lexapro to kick in fully, its not like an aspirin sorry......Lexapro what dosage ? you might need something else for the anxiety, Lex is more for depression...

[Iteach in reply to grlewycky]

I take buspirone for anxiety and Prozac for depression and they seems to work for me. Good luck.

[Joshgw in reply to grlewycky]

I've been on lexapro before, I know the drill. I started at 10mg yesterday and I noticed a difference right away, but my anxiety skyrocketed as a side effect. The first time lexapro was great for my anxiety. My doctor lowered me to 5 this morning and I already notice a drop in my mood. In the 14 months since I left lexapro I tried everything. Other meds, ECT, TMS, ketamine. I was also hospitalized. I had severe suicidal ideation and depressive/emotional pain. I can't go back there, but 5 isn't enough. I'm already on klonopin and buspar for anxiety. Didn't help. I didn't need anything for anxiety the first time. And lex is approved for generalized anxiety disorder

[WayOutThere]

Give it a week or two to kick in. If no change, it may be that you may have to switch to a different type of antianxiety medication. Good luck. I understand.

[Joshgw in reply to WayOutThere]

Ive been on lexapro before. I started at 10mg yesterday and I noticed a difference right away, but my anxiety skyrocketed as a side effect. The first time lexapro was great for my anxiety. My doctor lowered me to 5 this morning and I already notice a drop in my mood. In the 14 months since I left lexapro I tried everything. Other meds, ECT, TMS, ketamine. I was also hospitalized. I had severe suicidal ideation and depressive/emotional pain. I can't go back there, but 5 isn't enough. I'm already on klonopin and buspar for anxiety. Don't help. I didn't need anything for anxiety the first time.

[Kamgal5]

What else besides meds are you doing to help the anxiety? I exercise, do yoga, meditate, pray, read ( recommend Claire Weekes book- hope and Help for your Nerves… or DARE), I inhale Vicks Vapor rub when I feel it coming on or peppermint, or put ice cubes in my hands and sit down and focus on the sensation. I have been on a baby dose of effexor XR on and off for 18 years… my Dr told me not to go off since I am perimenopausal, and I guess this drug is now being prescribed to reduce symptoms. Good luck and give it a few weeks

[Joshgw in reply to Kamgal5]

I do breathing exercises or muscle exercises. I've tried the ice thing. I've also tried guided meditation, but I'm so anxious I can't even relax enough to listen and pay attention to it. I was on lexapro for 13 years and went off a little over a year ago. I felt like I was just existing. No joy in life, and paralysis/inertia like I couldn't do anything. I thought there must be more to life than this. So the past year has been hell. My doctors couldn't stabalise me. I had severe suicidal ideation and depressive/emotional pain. I wound up hospitalized. I tried other meds, ECT, TMS, ketamine. Lexapro was the only thing that gave me a safety net regardless of the other issues I had with it. I started at 10mg and it helped almost right away, but then came the crippling anxiety. My doctor lowered the lexapro to 5mg this morning and I'm crashing like a stone. I'm suicidal all over again.

[Kamgal5]

Then you need to go to the ER if you are suicidal.

[Astarisborn18]

Try to focus on something positive like a happy place you've been to, or sometimes what helps me is I surprise some with cookies or a small favor it gets me out of my head. Hope that helps( ꈍᴗꈍ)

[Joshgw in reply to Astarisborn18]

Thank you for your note. I saw my psychiatrist and he lowered my lexapro dose from 10mg to 5 to combat the anxiety. 10 gave me relief from my depression right away, but in came the unwanted anxiety. Lowering to 5mg made me crash like a stone, down the rabbit hole once again.

[Astarisborn18]

We'll try my suggestion and sometimes I color. Coloring is very. therapeutic or some kind of art. ( ꈍᴗꈍ)

Elephant I colored

[my2bordercollies]

Lexapro 10mg works great for me. I also take wellbutrin 75 mg and xanax 0.25. I have taken this combination for years