Lexapro does work! Give it a chance.

A few more days in and most certainly feeling better. Not out of the woods yet but feeling very hopeful.

Thank you for posting this. I just started taking it and have been really depressed for the past 4 months. I moved away from grad school and my boyfriend of 4 years just stopped talking to me out of nowhere and started dating someone else that he says makes him feel better than I ever did. On top of it all, I really hate my grad degree as well. I just started taking lexapro and so far it has made me feel extremely anxious and I have insomnia. But everyone is saying to give it a chance so I am going to push through. Thank you for sharing your experience.

My name is Mark and I am 37 years old from Brisbane Australia.

In addition to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that resulted after a serious viral infection at 10 years of age, I have also dealt with strong depression and anxiety since a child.

After years of counselling, psychologist's, energy healing, herbal remedies etc, and just surviving, without any successful escape, I finally decided to go on medication in 2012 with Cymbata.

Although it took about 4-5 months, It CHANGED MY LIFE. During that time, I had experienced my only ever consistent breakthrough from depression and anxiety and fatigue, in my entire life. It was AMAZING. I was my "normal" self again. However, like many others I have read of, I too made the mistake of thinking because I had been so improved for 8 months I perhaps did not need the medication and so with my Doctors permission, let it go.

Within a few months I was back to my worst again.

After realising what was happening I immediately got back onto the Cymbata, yet after 6 months it still HAD NOT yet returned me to my previous positive state, or shown any noticeable improvement at all. I do not know why it took me so long to change my meds to another kind, but I wanted to look at dietary options as well as increasing the Cymbata dosage first. All the increased dosage did was make me severely tired, needing to sleep up to 15 hours on my days off from work, and barely making it through a half 4 hour shift.

A conversation with some friends recently gave me the support and encouragement to try lexapro. I do no know what the coming days or weeks have in store with adjusting to new medication. But I have no choice. I have to do this. I have no social life, I just stay home as much as I can.

The past 3-4 months, I have been falling further behind financially, as I have been needing more and more time off from work due to my mental and physical state. I have had to apply for financial support due to health reasons at this time. I Also moved house recently and so did not want to be adjusting to medication changes also at the same time, so I have waited till now to make the change.

My First Two Weeks on Lexapro:

The usual suspects really. Some increase in the depression and anxiety, sleep patterns all over the place with insomnia. Weird head space at times, reduced mental focus, Junk Food cravings like a crazy man, Hey Fever at times, Head pressure and sore muscles. Just generally feeling awful.

At 8 days I had my first slightly better day, met a friend for coffee and did some food shopping, and then lost that again.

At 16 days... I have had small increases in thoughts to organise, sort, or plan things the last day or so. The desire to "Do" things instead of the usual "nothingness" or anxiety at doing anything. Its small. but its something.

It may take some more time yet to stabilise.

Hi all! I am a 25 year old female and have been dealing with GAD and panic attacks for a mere 6 months. I was prescribed Lexapro in January of this year and for the first 4-6 weeks, I had my ups and downs. I can't pin point many side effects I had, just that one week would be fine and then the next week be a bit harder. My take on this medication is that it is wonderful because it pulled me from a dark place in my life when nothing or no one else could. I'm on about my 9th or 10th week of 10mg Lexapro (paired with .25mg of clonazepam) and I'm still feeling confused and dazed like. Should this be happening? I don't have the world's greatest family doctor, but he did prescribe me the Lexapro. I'm am grateful to have found a solution for what I was going through. I'm still in the works with a therapist, if I can find one to settle down with me, and psychiatrist, however those resources in my part of the country, isn't the greatest. I'm looking for some advice from others who have experienced this.

Thanks in advance everyone

I just started taking Lexapro, 2.5mg last thursday, 4 days on it. My stomach hurts and feels like hard as a rock.
Is this normal? Today my anxiety increased and I'm stressed out, because my back also feels hard as a rock, as if something is hugging me. I feel uncoordinated, pressure in my head, lump in my throat. Experiencing numbness all around body, migrating. Is this part of the side effects, sometimes it gets unbearable to deal with as I am trying to convince myself that is anxiety, but if it does not go away, I get scared.

Hi there

It does work you'll feel at peace giving you time to just be :) the only downsides i experienced were no sex drive & chronic weight gain. Not initially but 6 months in it packs on. Im very lazy & need tons of sleep. I never had any of these problems before. It does work for depression but beware it creatrs a whole other rainbow of problems.

Give the lexapro a good six to eight weeks before you give up on it. It often takes that long. It sounds like you are doing a little better though and that is something.

I am glad that the side effects subsided. They can be hard to weather.

I hope that you feel better soon. Welcome to the forum!!! Feel free to start a thread for yourself if you want to. I am sure everybody would like to get to know you better.

Hugs, Karen...

When we get depressed, that is just how we feel, like being in a dark hole. I think gradually you are going to feel better. Just keep trying to hang on and dig your way out. Pretty soon you will see some light and be feeling better I hope...

Keep posting as it does help us. I hope you feel better soon...

Hugs, Karen...

So, today I'm feeling okay. I keep waking up in the middle of this night and then I'm not able to fall back asleep for like an hour and half :/! I also don't really feel like crying but I feel as if I'm just going through the daily motions with not much emotion. Is this normal??? I'm really praying that this is still due to my body adjusting to the Lexapro and that it will eventually kick in and make me feel normal again. Im so frustarted! I want to enjoy life the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Hope everyone else is having a great day!

I'm not sure what happened to my earlier post but I'll try again.  I am new to Lexapro (two weeks) and my shakiness is getting worse.  Let me say I have always been a nervous "shaker" but am interested in knowing if this increase in the shakes is normal.  My doc wants to see me after I've been on Lexapro 4 weeks.  Thanks for this forum.  I have never ttaken an anti-depressant before so everything is new to me.

Oh, thank you!  I found the other forum and really appreciate your quick replay. 

I surely will give it a chance to work...my mood is definitely better and I am hopeful the shakes will gradually subside.

It sounds like it is starting to work. I am glad you are giving it a chance. If it doesn't, you can switch to something else. Or add something to it. Often we need a cocktail of medications. I do anyway.

Keep posting, don't give up.

Hang in there...

Hugs, Karen...