good evening to the wonderful team, at the moment I'm at a dead end, three months ago I went to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with mixed anxiety and depression disorder, he prescribed escitalopram 10mlg to start with, I haven't started it yet because I have my fears of how they will make me feel in the first, I don't want to go to the emergency room anymore, now my problems are that I have cardiophobia and a feeling of dizziness several times a day, sometimes My wife tells me to go shopping and I avoid it because I will get dizzy or remember I only go out for a coffee very rarely in the morning, I'm young all the time worrying about getting something, now my question is, is escitalopram any help, at the moment I'm also taking atenolol 25mlg a day blood tests are generally Good, I'd like to hear positive experiences thank you
Anxiety Disorder : good evening to the... - Anxiety and Depre...
Anxiety Disorder
Hi Giorgos, for me, Lexapro was a god send after having gotten off 30 years of
benzos (which made me sleepy and unmotivated. Being on Lexapro has made me
feel more alive and clear headed.
Like you, I too was afraid at first. I had the prescription filled and then left on my
pantry shelf afraid to take it,. We don't know my friend what may just be the key
to our success unless we give it a chance.
I too also went through cardiophobia and dizziness before Lexapro. (signs of
overwhelming anxiety. I hope you give it a chance. Your choice. Good Luck
keep us updated. 
xx
Thank you so much Agora your answer was so wonderful just reading it put my mind at ease I have to give it a chance because the longer I leave it the worse I feel Thank you so much I hope you are well
I am well Thank You. Enjoying a beautiful Sunday xx
I'm glad that's why we here in Greece have Halloween and a lot of wonderful weather
My sister and her husband just came back from Greece
and told me how beautiful it was. xx
Nice, I hope you come sometime too, in the summers I work on a beautiful island in Kefalonia, there is a lot of nice and delicious food, as I work in a tavern
Hang in there Giorgos. Totally get you on the cardio phobia and anxiety disorder. U mentioned the other med ur on is that a beta blocker? Sounds familiar to the beta I use. Has it helped you at all? I don’t know much about the other med you mentioned but def try it out and see if it can help, if anything you can stop it if it’s not for you. Prayers up to you.
yes atenolol helps me a lot with palpitations and tachycardia, it keeps my heart in a good rhythm, but it doesn't seem to help with the psychological part, which makes sense, as long as I take lexapro the doctor told me it will help me have a good quality of life, without panic attacks and dizziness, you are taken atenolol
I take another don’t know how to spell it but from the olol family lol there is quiet a few they all end in olol. I’m so glad it’s helping you in that dept though. Do you have a therapist? Or do meditation? If not consider it cause it helps a lot by itself but with a beta and an ssri it can be even better and eventually if you don’t like the ssri you are able to wean off with the power tools u need to slap that anxiety and attacks. 🙏🏻
Hey Giorgos,
While my situation is obviously my own, I can tell you that Lexapro did not give me side effects I couldn't handle. I think I mainly had some issues with weight gain (likely easily combatable with exercise and a healthy diet) and male health related ones, but it did not cause any side effects that made my anxiety fly off the charts or anything physical that will make you fly off to the hospital. It's absolutely understandable to be skeptical and reluctant to try medications that are new. I always felt the same way.
Agora is one of the best on here and as she mentions, cardiophobia/dizziness are linked to anxiety very well. The Lexapro is worth a shot as much as any of the SSRI/SNRI medications.
The one medication I can absolutely comment on is atenolol....this is a good one for you. It's in a class of medications call beta blocker but it is cardio selective meaning it primarily hits the cardio beta receptors. This is good for anyone with asthma or breathing issues because other beta blockers aren't always selective. A common one that isn't is propranolol. A lot of people who aren't typical anxious are prescribed this medication for calming impacts on the cardio system in big moments: a big speech, a musical performance. It's a great medication if your pulse increases a lot during anxiety, your blood pressure is high or gets high during anxious moments, and for a lot of heart issues....so know you're taking a good heart medication if your mind starts off on a cardiophobic thought process. It truly has helped me a lot! On the heart side of things and anxiety.
As for atenolol....you're on a good dose (25 mg versus 100 mg being the max I believe a day) shouldn't cause major side effects. The one's I experienced when I began were orthostatic hypotension (suddenly rising from a chair can cause your blood pressure to crash until the body adjusts....basically you almost faint....just take it easy slowly standing up), some slight dizziness, and cold extremities. They all usually go away as your body gets used to it. All of those besides the cold extremities have gone away for me. I also want to suggest that unless your doctor has said otherwise, make sure if you're taking the atenolol on a daily basis that you continue to do so until you make a weaning plan to get off of it. Suddenly stopping atenolol can cause increases in your pulse and blood pressure if you go cold turkey AND take it on a daily basis.
Otherwise, it sounds like a good game plan to start off with and adjust as needed. I think you can confidently give this one a shot and please do know...truly...you're on a good medication for the cardio side of things. The Lexapro shouldn't be bothersome. Keep following up with your doctor for adjustments since the correct dose varies for each and everyone one of of us.
Best of luck and all the best!
thank you very much for your quick reply, atenolol really helps me physically a lot, now as for the side effect of lexapro it doesn't bother me at all as I'm losing weight I hope it helps more with panic attacks I'll start it one of these days because I can't stand being afraid to go out anymore
Hi Giorgos, I would give it a try. Medication can be lifesaving for some people. Just work with your doctor and best of luck to you.
i will do it is the only solution
Hi Giorgio’s Anxiety can sometimes take old of our perspective and the feeling of overwhelming can seem like reality, is a far of place being self aware of how we relate to our concerns and give us sense of appreciation. and gratitude gives us confirmation self worth we are all worthy of a higher purpose in life and positivity which helps build good relativity and mindset and putting past the the closet so In doesn’t clutter self assurance always best to understand the inner work which reflects our outlook like the mirror a new start to the day change makes like more achieving as to medication if it doesn’t fit so to say abolish and seek confirmation if it is relentless to healing mind body practioners always helpful to confirm cause effect hope you recover self aware and find peace
very good description. Anxiety is really something else.
This right here!!! It sure is something else.
thank you for the answer, it really takes a lot of work to find our inner peace, it will only happen if we can overcome our fears, because of that the key to our success is difficult but not impossible, thank you very much I hope you are well
I am on escitalopram for anxiety and depression and it has definitely helped me. You need to ask yourself if you want to keep living the way you are or not. If not, try the medicine. If you have any side effects that are MORE bothersome than what you are currently living with, you can always try something else. Finding the right antidepressant/anxiety medicine sometimes takes a few tries, but it is SO worth it! Keep in mind, you should give it at least a month to see the full effect. Good luck!
of course i don't want to live like this i don't enjoy anything anymore just survive i will give the drug a chance thanks be well
Giorgos, Lexapro has worked very well for me, although I had to be bumped up to 20 mg/day. No side effects for me. I have been taking it for quite a while. A few times, in the past, I thought that I would be able to "handle things on my own", and I went off the Lexapro. Then I really declined into anxiety and mainly depression. I've done that twice, and I will never do that again.
Good luck to you. It sounds like you have a plan, and that is very good.
and for me the final dose is to reach 20 mg, the doctor told me to start with either 5 mg or 10 mg with xanax either in the morning or at night, I'm glad it helped you I hope so for me, I can't wait to get to the point where I feel and we all deserve a second chance
Please let me know how you are feeling as you progress through the steps! 👍
yes I will definitely let you know how are you
You have to start the escitolapram (Lexapro). You need to be on some anti-depressant and Lexapro is a good one to start with. It may take several tries to find the right one, and you have to give any of them 4-6 weeks to kick in. If the Lexapro side effects are too much, you can just try another one. There are no side effects on any of them that are going to kill you or even be very serious; what is there to be afraid of? What's more serious is not being on one and letting the depression just grow and rule your life. Atenolol is a beta-blocker used mainly for heart problems and high blood pressure; some doctors give it for stage fright.
Good luck. PS. I am 75, been depressed for 50 years, and been on and off every anti-depressant on the market.
thank you very much doctors for your reply, that's what I'm saying too, how much worse would I be on the pills, than what I am now, I don't want to keep going to the emergency room and being told that I'm fine and that it's just a panic attack, little by little I have to start I'm taking my life back, of course you would know better after all these years, God bless you
It's tough. So many medications that are supposed to help, are hard to get off of to change the other ones because of the side effects of stopping them
good evening i would like to thank you all today at 12 noon after a lot of struggle i started escitalopram 5mg all i felt is a bit of a mild headache i hope everything goes well
since your post how are you? are the medicines working. may i ask cholesterol count.
I'm currently 4 weeks into escitalopram one day I take 10mg and the other day 20mg here and a week so far I haven't seen much improvement, simple at first it made my phobias worse, especially on day 5 when I went up from 5 mg at 10 I felt a lot of dizziness even now I drive the car with fear which I didn't have before the escitalopram, now the cholesterol 6 months ago was 180 so we measure it here in Greece, now I will test again next week to see the values again
Hi my friend Giorgos1973, I'm wondering why you fluctuate between 10 and 20 mg
Lexapro?? Was this your own doing or your doctors?
I'm on Lexapro myself and I can tell you by my own experience that it has proven to
be a good drug for me. The key to success with this medication is slowly going up on
the dosage (through Doctor's Orders) and then allow the medication to reach full
efficacy with 4-6 weeks. When you jump from 10mg to 20mg, I would think you are
not getting an even dose and that's why it may come with more break throughs of
symptoms.
Please talk with your doctor regarding how to take the meds as well as what time of
the day. I was started on mine in the hospital and have kept the same schedule which
is lunch time (since food helps it metabolize better). I wish you well. Don't give
up but check with your prescribing physician. My best to you xx
good evening after consultation with the doctor he told me for 15 days to take it alternately one 10 mg and one 20 mg for 15 days, he told me that in my case napsto goes slower, in two days I have an appointment, I still don't feel the full effect of pill even though I'm a month, I started for 4 days 5 mg then for 18 days 10 mg and now I'm a week alternating from 10 mg and 20 mg, I don't understand this either one day I feel good the next not at the same time I take 0.5 xanax , but so far I've seen little difference I'm sleeping better but the dizziness and social anxiety and agoraphobia are still there, all I can do is take the full dose and wait
I wish you well with your upcoming appointment. I see that you are following
your doctor's instructions which is good. I hope that your doctor can address
the way you are feeling. It just might need more time. My best to you xx
yes I do what the doctor tells me because I started it slowly and I had a lot of fears the doctor said we will take it slowly
I agree.. xx Keep us updated please. We Care.
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