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Increased panic attacks first week of lexapro? Should I lower my dose or stop taking it?

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Posted 3/28/2014 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all, I am 20 years old, I am a past drug abuser who has gotten sober (7 months) but I still suffer from anxiety issues that come from my substance abuse. I was prescribed lexapro a week ago by my doctor for GAD. I had basically a constant level of intrusive thoughts that were pretty tough to bear with.

He started me at 10mg's a day. The first couple days I had really bad nausea and couldn't eat but they passed within 3-4 days. I had one bad day of anxiety but I thought that was from starting the medicine. Also my sleep was messed up but I read from many that I should wait 3-4 weeks and it should pass.


It has been a week and I was feeling much better until around 12 o clock today, I had some bad anxiety followed by a full panic attack a half hour later. I was convinced my throat was gonna close and I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. Since I stopped doing drugs I usually have some bad anxiety but nothing close to full blown panic. The only time I've ever had one that bad was nearly 7 months ago in the first week after I abused.

Does anyone have any experience with these sides when starting lexapro? I'm confused as too what I should do. I'm afraid that the medicine might make me worse , mess me up even more etc. But I'm not sure if I should stick it out and see if it passes. My doctor gave me the option of lowering my dose to 5mg which I think I might try ,otherwise I'm going to get off of it for a while.

*reason for edit: specific drug references are not allowed due to the influence possibilities to younger members/trigger factor for some members

Post Edited By Moderator (Scaredy Cat) : 3/28/2014 1:13:30 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/28/2014 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome!

First of all, congratulations are certainly in order!!! I am really glad to hear of your substance recovery.:) I know that getting sober is really difficult, and I commend you on your efforts...that is awesome!

As far as your Rx goes, it is common for anxiety to be slightly increased upon start up of this type of med. This is not unusual, and should phase out as the med levels and your body adjusts.

Great job on sticking out the s/e's so far. If you can keep going, then you may end up with a medication that works really well for you...even in spite of a rough start.

If your doctor okayed the decrease that you mentioned, then that may be a good move for awhile...then increasing when you both agree it is an apporpriate time.

For now, I am going to post some great self-help anxiety/panic exercises and coping skills. These could get you through the rest of your start up. They are really effective if practiced daily!

Self Help sites with breathing/relaxation exercises instructions

Panic attack relief exercises:

 

http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessons/

http://www.healthyplace.com/

http://www.stress-relief-exercises.com/

http://www.ehow.com/video_4405003_breathing-exercises-panic-attacks.html

http://www.psybersquare.com/anxiety/panic_relax_I



Keep talking with us. We care, understand and support is key!

Scaredy Cat

Posted 3/28/2014 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
thank you! I'm meeting with a therapist today so hopefully he'll help me implement those ideas and more.
Posted 3/28/2014 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
You might want to switch to Celexa instead of Lexapro. Celexa is the same molecule but mirror image which is better for panic. (read the stereochemistry part of this Wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citalopram). It has a calming affect in addition to an anti-depressant effect (as explained by my psychiatrist). I have been treated for panic for about 20 years. The first 10 with Serzone which wasn't that effective and was then taken off the market due people having liver problems from it. That was the best thing that could have happened because I then went on Celexa. Within a few days of starting Celexa I felt vastly better. Normal actually. I've been on it now for 10 years and have had no panic episodes at all. The only side effect is that I can feel very drowsy during the day if I'm just sitting around. Celexa has been around a lot longer than Lexapro.
Posted 3/28/2014 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
Mr no more panic thank you I will keep that in mind for the future. I have heard good things from a friend who has been on it.

Carl,

Now that I've calmed down a bit I do agree with you, that seems like the most rational way to go about this. I will stick with this dosage for a while longer and see how I progress. After a week I can say that the lexapro has helped a great deal for my my constant intrusive thoughts. I have been able to study again and function pretty well so I do hope this works out. My question is let's say after this I keep getting these panic attacks and there is a definite connection. Would dropping the dose from 10 mg to 5mg after 2 weeks cause any sort of "withdrawal" effects or rebound anxiety?
Posted 3/29/2014 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hello! I can just tell you from my own personal experience, that with Lexapro, I had a horrific increase of anxiety and attacks! After 5 days I had to stop the Lexapro. I called my Dr. crying times on the last day I took it and he said to stop taking it. So I just stopped right away. It was such a scary experience for me. Since then I have been afraid of anti depressants because my worst fear was increase in anxiety and that is exactly what happened to me. Currently I am only taking Xanax for anxiety which although can make me super sleepy, it still helps a tremendous amount! Also, I was taking Remeron (Mirtazapine) in the past and it really worked well. You take it at night, it makes you sleepy (rarely ever hear of increased anxiety with it,but they do say every med works diff for diff people) gives you a good nights sleep and is good for staying relaxed throughout the next day. I stopped taking it because I made the mistake of upping the dosage and going back down for whatever reason I cant really remember but it felt like it didnt work as well after that year that I changed the dosage. So it may be worth looking into! I hope you figure this out and everything works out for you, good luck! (:

Lacey
Posted 3/29/2014 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Oops, Three times on the last day**

Sorry!(:
Posted 5/21/2014 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I am a bit late but I just started lexapro started last Monday on .5 for 4 days then 2 days 10mg made me sick 3 day did 5mg but dr said stick with the 10mg it's day 4 of 10mg I can't sleep wake up with anixety, hardly eating and heart is racing. Has anyone experience this? Will it go away? I called Dr 3 days ago but feel I have to call again. Thoughts anyone?
Posted 5/21/2014 12:23 PM (GMT 0)

Bananas20 said...
Hello, I am a bit late but I just started lexapro started last Monday on .5 for 4 days then 2 days 10mg made me sick 3 day did 5mg but dr said stick with the 10mg it's day 4 of 10mg I can't sleep wake up with anixety, hardly eating and heart is racing. Has anyone experience this? Will it go away? I called Dr 3 days ago but feel I have to call again. Thoughts anyone?

I've been on 10mg LExapro for 3 days and I feel the same. Last night I actually felt better for about 10 hours but then the anxiety came back. Hopefully that means it's starting to work and the side effects are lessening. Before last month when the pharmacy gave me the wrong SSRI (Celexa) I had been on LExapro for 2 years and it worked great. If I recall correctly, the nausea and loss of appetite went away in about 5 to 8 days. The anxiety at that point started lessening as well. But your mileage may vary.
Posted 5/21/2014 1:10 PM (GMT 0)
hi bananas,

I haven't posted in a long time because I have greatly improved. I do think a lexapro played a great part in my recovery and I am probably going to taper off in the near future. My doctor said the same thing. He said 10mg was a "baby dose" and I should get no sides from it. However I felt like crap for the entire first week nausea, more anxiety , sleeplessness etc. I cut the dose back to 5mg and my side effects got MUCH better and eventually vanished. Then 2 weeks later I went to 7.5mg then 10mg. And since then it has been working welll for anxiety while I get CBT and use Claire Weekes method.

I'm not a doctor but I do suggest started with a lower dose because some people like me and you may be much more sensitive to side effects. BTW if you've been at 10mg for >3 days don't drop directly to 5mg. It gave me such bad depression for those 3 days that I wanted to cry. At the time I didn't realize it was simply from lowering the dose so I thought I was losing my mind. But it passed in 3 days and I felt better after. So I suggest 10mg -> 3 days at 7.5mg then 5 mg.

GL my friend.
Posted 5/21/2014 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi mase641,

Good to read how well you have done and look at you - nearly ready to taper off of the Lexapro.  cool So many people quit the medication early because of the side effects only to move on to a different AD and go through the same issues starting a different medication.

I hope things continue to go well for you and keep on talking with us whenever you feel like it.

Thank you for responding to bananas. Peer support is crucial to healing.

Kindly,

Kitt

Posted 5/21/2014 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on Lexapro for a couple months now, and my doctor warned me at first I may have more anxiety at first(thankfully I do get xanax), but because of my fear of taking medicine he really started me out on a low dose only 5 mg's for the first couple of weeks, which was really a good move on his part because he knows my fear of medication. Sometimes I think 70 percent of my symptoms from the medication are mental, but they feel real none the less. They could put me on a skittle candy and I would probably have some weird reaction smilewinkgrin

I am up to 15 mgs now and it does seem to be working very well, I will increase it to 20mg which my doctor says could be my therapeutic level, but I want to do a few more days at 15mgs, as I have stated in other posts it seems like as soon as I am doing well with my dose it's time to up it again, but this should be the last increase for a while, or maybe 20mg's will do the trick and I can go out and save the world.

Take care
Posted 5/25/2014 10:01 PM (GMT 0)
I had increased anxiety and just stuck with it took me to about week 4 before it went away...give it time!
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