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Lexapro and bad side effects?

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Posted 3/25/2005 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
hello,
Just wondering if anyone else has had a tough time taking lexapro.I have been on it for 12 days now and it has been terrible so far,at night I get panic attacks and sit there for hours trying to fight them off,chest gets tight and feel like I cant breath,my whole body gets tingley. Some nights seem worse than others,when it gets really bad I take a half of a 5mg of valium which doesnt even seem to touch it.Then I go through the whole what if cycle which then only makes it worse.I have been on paxil which also increased my anxiety and panic at first but eventually subsided and same with the effexor,I am however thinking that because I have a cold which started the day after I took my first dose of lexapro that it is just intensifying the side effects of the meds.The first 4 days on it were fine but by the 5th night all he** broke loose and I am only on the 2.5mgs I couldnt imagine taking the whole 10mgs they would have to scrap me off the ceiling lol. Anyway just wanted to know if anyone had any input on this med.Oh I also am very anxious in the morning when I wake up for about the first 3 hours or so.

Tina
Posted 3/25/2005 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
When I tried Lexapro, the worst thing for me was that it basically put me to sleep. I yawned a lot, and when I woke up in the morning, it was nearly impossible to fall back asleep.

Paxil has helped me incredibly. It was tough for the first month or so, but now I'm 3 months strong on it.

One thing my anxiety therapist has told me to do is to try not to fear the panic--just let it happen, embrace the symptoms, and eventually you'll teach your body that panic and anxiety are ok, and so, you won't panic as often because it doesn't have your fear to feed on. Panic and anxiety feed on your fear of them.

Good luck.. I hope things get better soon.

Posted 3/26/2005 1:29 AM (GMT 0)

yes..i couldn't take lexapro.

for one i could sleep standing up, it was the craziest thing.

and i also got panic attacks, the last straw was one night after working out i had like this black out episode, where i couldnt see out of the corners of my eyes and my heart was racing so fast i thought i was dying and i was freaking even more bcuz i couldnt see!!! the celexa did the same thing to me, but with the celexa it sucked bcuz at first i felt FABULOUS on it, then boom.

im on zoloft. alot of people i know take it for panic.

good luck

Posted 3/26/2005 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tina. I too am on Lexapro and Absolutely Hated it at the beginning. I didnt want to take any meds at all but had to finally give in due to major anxiety and depression. The first 2 months were hell. I am an extremely active person and the Lexapro made me so tired. I felt crazy. I was yawning all the time. I also never sweat, but on Lexapro the sweat pored off of me if I walked across the room-LOL. I had Horrible pain in my head and felt lousy overall. I called my Dr. twice to wean off but he convinced me to stay on. I am so glad that I stuck out the horrible side effects, becasue I now feel better than I have in Years. I am the Old me again. I am happy and I Laugh(something I found very hard to do). My sense of humor and quick wit has returned and I started to do all the things that I have wanted to do in the past(I take horseback lessons and music lessons). I am only on 7.5 mgs and dont want to increase anymore than that. I didnt gain any weight at all, which was my biggest fear. Hang in there and give it some time. I think you will do great once you get over the initial effects. Some of us take longer to adjust to meds. Good Luck and keep us informed.
Tabbee
Posted 3/26/2005 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for replying,it helps to know that there are others that have had the same side effects from lexapro.I am trying to hang in there and hope that they will eventually subside and feel more like myself again.it just seems odd that we take meds to correct the problem of the panic and anxiety and it actually causes it at first,its like a cruel joke.I was joking with my hubby the other night about that saying "it gets worse before it gets better"I think that saying came from those of us starting on new meds for panic and anxiety.I was a bit better last night but today went to walmart and about lost it in the store,was tense the whole time in there fighting the panic,bad thing is once you finally relax from those episodes your muscles feel like you have been working out for hours on end, so exhausted.I sure hope I dont have to go through this for 2 months I dont know if I could stand this feeling for that long.I was on effexor before this but it made me so dizzy all the time,and paxil before that and it worked well but I had gained 50lbs from it,so far losing 30lbs of it and because of the lexapro side effects I am not able to really eat and have lost 10lbs in a week and a half.Anyway thanks so much for replying it gives me hope! 

Tina

Posted 3/27/2005 2:32 AM (GMT 0)

Glad to see you are hanging in there. What is it about Walmart? I used to feel like passing out in there all the time. I felt dizzy and walked to the side. I felt totally unfocused. I have read many posts stating the same thing. One post siad it might be their lights. GO figure.

Tabbee

Posted 3/28/2005 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
I think you are right Tabbee about the lights in wlamart,I cant go in there without sunglasses on, those flourescent lights just make me so disoriented and dizzy,or maybe they have subliminal messages tellling us to buy,buy,buy LOL,and we pick it up because we are so sensitive LOL!!!!I just know that anywhere I am and there are flourescent lights it does that to me so I go around wearing sunglasses all the time.People probably are thinking I am A drug addict trying to hide it lol.anyway I seem to be doing better a little each day I have my fingers crossed.Still have some anxiety at night and in the morning and some dizziness but hopefully that will pass.Hope everyone had a great Easter!!!  

Tina

Posted 9/29/2006 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
Im feeling crap on lexapro too and ive been on 10mgs for a week and 5mg 2weeks prior, its been a rough ride for me too ,so tired have no motivation (im an athlete) go figure!!rang the doc up today and he told me to go back to 5mg and give it a couple of weeks, guess ive done 3 weeks of crap already so i might as well stick it out.Good luck and keep us updated.
Posted 9/30/2006 9:50 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on Lexapro (10 MGs) for about 3 weeks now and it seems okay for me, but I'm also taking Ativan, which is like Vallium but a little different.

The Lexapro takes about 3-6 weeks for full results.

The Ativan is what calms me down when I'm panicing because the Lexapro has yet to take it's full affect.

Maybe you should ask your doctor to skip the Vallium and get a prescription for Ativan. Maybe a 1 milligram pill or something.

I take my Ativan twice a day every day and I'm pretty mellow the whole day. But drowsiness? None whatsoever as I'm only on a half a milligram. I haven't had any drowsiness on the Lexapro either but that's because my anxiety/panic is so intense. Occupying your mind with other things while you're about to go to bed is good too, I try to read a book, or draw, and try not to think too much about life as then I start panicing like a mad woman. (gone through 3 books in a week LOL)

Take care.

Sincerely,
Twiggygal
Posted 9/30/2006 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your input TG mucho appreciated I also am on ativan and valium as needed I do not take any ssri's I take so many meds for crohns and other illnesses man I feel like one of those bubble gum mchines ya know 18 in morning 16 at night and thats not including pain meds or meds for A/P
Wow am I lucky or what lol
Hey but I keep my sense of humor ........
Have to or I would lose my marbles
How you doing anyways
Lyn
Posted 10/7/2006 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
I took lexapro for two and a half months the first month was horrible. I came off because of sexual side effects and plus we want to have a baby. Not to discourage anyone but the withdrawal has been pretty rough as well. I will say after the first month I did feel much better and believe it or not I think about going back on it because the anxiety is making me wild. I'm going to stick it out for a while though to see if it's withdrawal or return anxiety.

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