HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

I'm new here! I'm on day 5 of Lexapro for my anx$&, and I feel like it's gotten worse.

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
1 23
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/19/2014 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
Leno,

Glad to hear that you are feeling progressively better...may it continue so!!

Good job on apologizing to your kiddo for the moment of impatience. We need not be perfect as parents. In fact, making mistakes, and asking forgiveness when necessary is a life lesson that all kids need to learn. :)

Be patience with yourself and the process of your anxiety management...you are on your way and doing well!

S.C.
Posted 11/19/2014 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Cat. I totally agree with you about ice lessons. Ya know before my anxiety spells started 5 months ago , when I was "normal" lol. All my buddies use to tell me your always in a rush. Slow down, chill, relax, smell the roses. At dinner with friends Id be the first to ask for the check. Hated to travel. I'm a daily routine in my bubble kind of guy. So in the long term I hope Lexa not only helps with my anxiety but really helps me to chill and smell the roses on life ..
Posted 11/20/2014 10:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Leno! Sorry I didn't reply sooner; Lexapro has made a HUGE difference on my anxiety. I've been on it for 3 years. I was in the process of tapering down but unfortunately my mom passed away suddenly and my anxiety came back, so for now Im staying on it.

Give it a chance, I know at the beggining it's not easy but it WILL get better.

wish you the best, I'm here for you, if you have any other questions.
Posted 11/20/2014 10:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

Good to meet you and welcome how are you feeling today? I was on Lexapro a few years ago and found it to be a good medication to treat my anxiety but it stopped working after a couple of years and I changed to a new medication.

Pleased to hear you have looked into CBT as I think this will be very beneficial for you and it gets great results and teaches you how to manage your anxiety better.

Keep us posted

Hibee
Posted 11/20/2014 1:51 PM (GMT 0)
Well hello! Thanks for the responses. I'm glad to hear that Lex has worked for y'all. Today is day 7 . I'm about to take my med and For The 1st time in not as nervous. A little bit not staring at it for ever. Day 6 was better. Had like a caffine high feeling in the middle of the day. Wasn't like anxiety but like super heart beat and enerygy and like a tightness in my temples. But all in all the day wasn't bad. I didn't need a sleep med lastnight ( Kolonpin) either. So hoping today day 7 is better too! A little nervous about upping my dosage. Trying to figure out when to do it.
Posted 11/20/2014 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
Forgot to mention in Currently on 5mg. Doc said when I was prescribed to do 5mg for a week then when side effect subside go to 10mg. So I'm a little nervous about that .
Posted 11/20/2014 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Leno,

Your doctor is attempting to get you to a theraputic dose gradually...but there is no reason that you have to increase at exactly a week's time.

If you feel that you want to stay at the 5 for a bit longer...then call your doc, and get the okay for this course...but I am sure that it will be fine to increase when you are ready.

I am so glad that you are feeling better, and that you are less nervous about taking your med.:) This alone I believe will go a long way in terms of your anxiety levels!

Keep up the good work, use your coping skills for any rough spots/nervousness/tension...and keep us posted!

S.C.
Posted 11/20/2014 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Leno,

I was in the same boat as you about 7 weeks ago. My anxiety disorder literally came out of no where this year and knocked me on my rear (first time anxiety suffer). I was so afraid of taking medications but realized I had to do something quickly once I started missing work. My doc put me on 5mg of Lexapro and for the first week I experienced a significant spike in anxiety (it started to settle after 5 or 6 days). Then I upped my dosage to 10mg the second week and it TRIPLED my anxiety for another 5/6 days. I was feeling so discouraged at that point and was ready to stop the medication immediately. My doctor talked me off the ledge and I'm so glad that she did. After a full week on 10mg, things started getting much better. It wasn't an immediate fix, but I noticed I was able to start eating and sleeping more regularly in week 3. In week 4, I was able to go out again for social events with family and friends without feeling completely anxious and overwhelmed. In week 5, I no longer needed Xanax to sleep (dr prescribed me .25 for nighttime until the Lexapro kicked in). Long story short - Each week brought new "wins" that make me start to feel more normal.

Now being 7 weeks in, I still experience anxiety spurs throughout the day, but its so much more manageable. My doctor gave me the green light to up my dosage to 15mg a couple weeks ago but I am optionally try to cope with what anxiety I am still feeling on 10mg. I am not crazy about going through the start up effects on 15mg again but will suffer through it if I get to a place where 10mg is not enough for me.

I wish you the best of luck - I know how awful you feel right now. I will offer one more piece of advice that I wished I listened to - DONT GOOGLE EVERYTHING LEXAPRO. Its awful. I seriously wasted so many hours of my life on google my first month on the medication. I noticed I would start to feel crappy whenever I read a negative review and my body would even play tricks on me and mimic negative symptoms after reading about them. Just don't do it. I promise you it will not help.

Just stay positive and give the medication a chance to work. :)

Post Edited (LynneGoesLive) : 11/20/2014 9:48:34 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/20/2014 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
Lynn thanks for the reply. Cat thanks again for checking in on me. Yes I totally understand the Google thing and it hurts . I assume we see more bad because the thousands of people with success stories don't enter them they just move on and live! Well I'm nervous about upping the dose still. Today is day 7 so I will make my decision soon. Today so far so good.. Had a little hitter in the morning but i exercised now feel a little more content. So i will update soon..
Posted 11/20/2014 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I know I have tried Lexapro and my symptoms were worse Also. I started to actually have more panic attacks. I just wasn't comf in my own skin. Maybe you should try something else.
Posted 11/20/2014 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Eeeeewwww. Not what I like to hear :-( I was told to keep going till 4 weeks to see the benefits.
Posted 11/20/2014 7:23 PM (GMT 0)
Keep going Leno!! It really does get better!! Increasing your dose may make you more anxious for a few days but it's worth it in the long run. What are a few bad days compared to feeling better all the time!!!
Posted 11/20/2014 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Bambi for the encouragement. If I still feel a spike in anxiety on 5mg here and there should I go to 10 or wait a while? My doc said go to 10 in a week and that would be tomorrow.
Posted 11/20/2014 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think there's any rush in increasing if you are comfortable at 5mg but I'm not a dr lol 😜. Usually a higher dose is more therapeutic. I know most people increase after a week but my dr told me to wait a month until most of the side effects were gone. I would call your dr and see if it's ok to hold off. I would hate for you not to increase it because you could feel better sooner!
Posted 11/20/2014 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
Leno - If you had a spike in anxiety when you first started, it is very likely you will have another when you up your dosage. This is very common and not something to get discouraged about.

In my case, I was still anxious on 5mg but went directly to 10mg after a week, per the docs orders. The first couple days were similar to my first couple days on the 5mg (not any worse... just the same heightened anxiety). This faded after 5 or 6 days though. I felt much better on the 10 once the start up anxiety faded. Hopefully you will too.
Posted 11/20/2014 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Lynne! Maybe I'll jump to 10 Monday so I can enjoy weekend . Lol but I don't want to disturb Turkey day either ! Geeze decisions
Posted 11/21/2014 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
I decided to take the 10mg this morning. It's done and in my tummy with breakfast. I hope to feel better by Turkey day so I can have fun with family. God please bless this medicine in my body. In Jesus name amen! Yesterday was day 7 on 5mg and I had some anxiety all day because I was worried about starting the 10mg today. So here's to hoping and praying for a good day . I have my chill pill on stand by just in case .. I've gone 2
Days without those :-).
Posted 11/21/2014 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Nicely done, Leno! I know its difficult. Sending thoughts and prayers your way in hopes the 10mg does the trick! Keep us posted :)
Posted 11/21/2014 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Lynne
Posted 11/21/2014 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
Best wishes on your increase Leno!!

Try not to anticipate any s/e's...you may not have any! :) Hope for the best...

...if you do end up having any issues, they are generally milder than your start up experience...so know that you can get through it.

Use those coping skills! Keep us updated.:)

S.C.
Posted 11/22/2014 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
Well yesterday was day 8 and the 1st day of 10mg and it went well. I felt decent all day.( not 100%) No bad episodes and even took my son to the movies last night. Maybe I was overthinking the jump to 10. My buddy said as soon as he went to the 10 it knocked his anxiety out. So today is day 9 and will be 2nd day of the 10mg . Hoping today will be equivalent or better than yesterday. God bless and hope everyone has a good day.
Posted 11/22/2014 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Leno

Glad to hear the increase is going well for you that is great news and I hope you have a good day keep us posted.

Hibee
Posted 11/22/2014 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
:-)   turn cool tongue yeah

Continued progress!!  Great news, and well done!

Thanks for the update, and keep them coming!  Looks like your wish for a good Thanksgiving is going to be realized..yeah!

S.C.

Posted 11/23/2014 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
Day 9 ( yesterday) was for the mostt part was good. No flare ups. Coached my sons soccer game, went to the mall with my wife. Slept ok. Today is day 10 feel a little edgy but not too bad. Hoping it goes good.
Posted 11/23/2014 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Day 9 ( yesterday) was for the mostt part was good. No flare ups. Coached my sons soccer game, went to the mall with my wife. Slept ok. Today is day 10 feel a little edgy but not too bad. Hoping it goes good.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
123