[crazyrichie]

I am currently on Lexapro 20mg (upped it from 10mg, which I was on for approx 12 mos, a few weeks ago) and have always taken it at night on the advice of my doctor since it causes sleepiness in some people. But my mornings are often anxiety-ridden (my worst time for anxiety, just like when I wasn't taking any meds), so I wonder if I shouldn't take it in the morning instead? Then there's the argument that it shouldn't matter when you take it, since it's in your system after taking it for so long. Or maybe I need to try a different med, which would be a shame since I've tried many that required frequent bloodwork and/or had sexual side effects, which isn't the case with my lexapro.

Anyway, when does everyone take theirs, and have they swapped around the time the take it to any favorable results?

Thanks.

[dangergirl]

I've done both morning and night - neither made a difference for me (except in the very beginning). I take it at night now bc it's easier for me to take all my meds at once so I don't forget anything. My sister is on the same dose as you and takes it at night bc it puts her to sleep.

[confused]

It makes me sleepy so I take it at night.

[DustyJr]

At dinner time. It is an old habit now. In the early days I sleep better at night and felt more awake during the day.

[Lilybean]

I am not on it anymore but when I was I took it at night. Lexapro made me tired so nighttime was good.

[zenbean]

hmmm...i've been taking it in the morning because i thought it made me a little squirrely, but now i think maybe the topamax i was taking at the same time was actually responsible for the squirrely-ness (is that a word?)

i've been kinda draggy in the morning and blaming my seroquel, though i take only 50 mg at bedtime. i think i'll try switching the lexapro to HS and see if that helps with the morning grogginess. i hadn't thought before that maybe the lexi is the culprit.

thanks you guys! i'll let you know how it goes. (not gonna try until this weekend though, in case it is making me squirrely and i'm up half the night - don't wanna hafta to go to work the next day.)

[discovererant]

i take it in the morning. Morning was the worst time for anxiety for me too.

If you've been on it for a few months it shouldn't matter... technically. I found that if the dose is too low then I'm anxious before I take it in the morning. However I have been on it for years and years and I can tell when I'm getting abnormally anxious. Back when I was thoroughly looney, morning anxiety was normal and not a sign of a too small a dose.

Also you can always try taking it in the morning and see which is worse - feeling anxious in the morning of feeling sleepy in the morning. I go for sleepy.

[zenbean]

ok, i tried the experiment of taking the lexapro last night, and i tossed and turned. but i think i confounded the experiment results by ordering an iced decaf at dunkin' donuts in the morning, and i'm pretty sure the guy gave me regular, 'cause i was speedy most of the day and on into the night. (i'm ridiculously hypersensitive to caffeine.)

so will try again tonight - and probably tomorrow - and i can't sleep, i'll have my answer. no caffeine this morning, had OJ with bfast.

bean

[dangergirl]

Hey Bean,

Having experience with all of your drugs, here's my experiences, but I always issue the caveat YMMV:

Seroquel: knocked me on my ass and made me a zombie - if I didn't take it at night, I wouldn't be functional during the day. My new pdoc has recommended it for sleeping over and over again and I've told him over and over again NO!

Topamax: I've tried it both in the morning and at night - didn't seem to make a TON of difference but I preferred it at night. I think this was more of a combo of meds thing than a complete Topa thing.

Lexi: As I mentioned above, it varied - I think it would depend on the other meds. I've been considering moving it to the morning as well as the Lamictal bc pdoc keeps saying the Lamictal is activating...not sure which is the culprit - so like you, I'll be experimenting...considering I've done Lexi at both times of day and it never mattered, right now I'm blaming Lamictal.

Caffeine: This has always been a huge trigger for me and I haven't been able to drink it since I've been about 21. Even decaf has trace elements of caffeine in it and has been known to set me off. I would try to avoid coffee on the day you do your experiments if you can...as well as any sugar, if you can. You'll probably get a really bad headache from this and be a bit grouchy - these are normal effects of reducing caffeine and sugar...so it'll be a tough experiment...one where you may have to elminate sugar and caffeine for a while before you know for sure.

Just some thoughts from the front...glad to see that the Topa seems to have leveled out for you

[zenbean]

thanks for the info dg. you're absolutely right about the caffeine and sugar, i wasn't thinking. the seroquel totally knocks me out, so usually decaf isn't a problem, but i'm sure i was given regular instead. but it would've made sense just to avoid it altogether, which i'll do if i'm experimenting with my meds in the future.

fyi, i took the lamictal in the morning because it was way activating for me. i stated out taking it at night and could only sleep a couple of hours. this was before the seroquel, of course.

as for the topamax - ditched it. it made me really sick and the SEs just never let up. i'm doing ok with the seroquel and lexi for the time being, as well as the lyrica, which is prescribed for pain, but i think also tamps down my anxiety.

bean

[dangergirl]

I think you had told me that about the Topa before Bean...the Dopa seems to have made me a Dopa...LOL . It seriously caused giant holes in my memory. I think I'll try the Lamictal in the morning and see if it changes the sleep problems - thanks for the heads up with that! Aren't all these whacky meds fun?

[zenbean]

dangergirl, on Feb 23 2008, 07:36 PM, said:

Aren't all these whacky meds fun?

so much fun i can barely stand it!

took the lexi at bedtime last night - no caffeine during the day - no trouble sleeping. i think this might work better. we'll see.

[netsavy006]

I take the lexapro in the morning. That's just the way I've done it and have been doing it...

[MikeInVa]

I take mine at night because it was making me drowsy during the day & that was just the 10mg dose.I'm currently taking 30mgs per day before bed but my pdoc wants me to switch to Paxil since the Lexapro appears to be crapping out on me.

[Latin Girl]

Sorry.......double post

This post has been edited by Latin Girl: 25 February 2008 - 09:46 PM

[Latin Girl]

I take 20mg of lex and ambien CR plus all Vitamins at night.
I also take 5mg of xanax as needed.

I can take the xanax any time of the day when a panic attack hits. Sometimes with a shot of tequila if its really bad.

But I just got used to taking all my pills before bed. I think its easier so I won't forget.

And......lex has screwed with my sex drive. No pun intended.

I rather be sane than horny!
(Wow..I can't believe I said that)

LG

[KG85]

I take 30 mg of lex in the morning and 10 or 20 in the afternoon. I can feel it wearing off pretty significantly after 9 or 10 hours.
I reeeeally want something to at least augment it so I dont have to take so much of it though. It makes me feel rather emotionally flat. If I even bump it down to 20 mg a day, within 5 minutes of walking through the door at work I start getting questions like "whats wrong? are you feeling okay?" like I used to get every day of my life.
I've tried so much shit im kinda out of options though. I might go back and try paxil again, or zoloft... heck if I know, nothing has ever really helped me reach the state of social semi comfort I would like to be at. I believe I am going to continue trying some different ADD meds to hopefully replace my adderall. Adderall has been the only thing that has ever really helped with my social anxiety so im going on a theory that perhaps the boost in dopamine is what helps me so much.
:le sigh:

This post has been edited by KG85: 02 March 2008 - 09:56 PM

[Rabbit37]

I take 10mg in the morning. Not exactly sure why, was it activating for me? I can't remember! Anyway, I take that, and 50mg seroquel, and feel good, so I don't plan to switch the time.

[MikeInVa]

KG85, on Mar 2 2008, 01:01 AM, said:

I take 30 mg of lex in the morning and 10 or 20 in the afternoon. I can feel it wearing off pretty significantly after 9 or 10 hours.
I reeeeally want something to at least augment it so I dont have to take so much of it though. It makes me feel rather emotionally flat. If I even bump it down to 20 mg a day, within 5 minutes of walking through the door at work I start getting questions like "whats wrong? are you feeling okay?" like I used to get every day of my life.
I've tried so much shit im kinda out of options though. I might go back and try paxil again, or zoloft... heck if I know, nothing has ever really helped me reach the state of social semi comfort I would like to be at. I believe I am going to continue trying some different ADD meds to hopefully replace my adderall. Adderall has been the only thing that has ever really helped with my social anxiety so im going on a theory that perhaps the boost in dopamine is what helps me so much.

I take 30 mg of lex in the morning and 10 or 20 in the afternoon. I can feel it wearing off pretty significantly after 9 or 10 hours.
I reeeeally want something to at least augment it so I dont have to take so much of it though. It makes me feel rather emotionally flat. If I even bump it down to 20 mg a day, within 5 minutes of walking through the door at work I start getting questions like "whats wrong? are you feeling okay?" like I used to get every day of my life.
I've tried so much shit im kinda out of options though. I might go back and try paxil again, or zoloft... heck if I know, nothing has ever really helped me reach the state of social semi comfort I would like to be at. I believe I am going to continue trying some different ADD meds to hopefully replace my adderall. Adderall has been the only thing that has ever really helped with my social anxiety so im going on a theory that perhaps the boost in dopamine is what helps me so much.
:le sigh:

Sorry to hear that the Paxil didn't work because it definitely seems to be working better for me than the Lexapro is & if nowhere near as sleepy on 20mgs of Paxil as I was on 30 mgs of Lexapro.Starting tomorrow I'll be titrating down from 20mgs to 10mgs on the Lexapro & by next week I'll be off of it entirely.

[zenbean]

the experiment was succesful! by switching the lexi to bedtime, i'm much less sleepy in the morning, which is a big help. now i'm taking everything at night except my vitamins and lyrica, which i take tid.

bean