Lucky21 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Hello, A few weeks ago I started to fell depressed. More of a moderate depression without a high level of anxiety. I didn't really mess around and immediately called my DR to take lex again. A few years ago I Severe depression with anxeity. I took 10 mg for a week and noticed improvement but I guess I had the day of euphoria that I hear others say they experienced. I did'nt get that the first time I took Lex so I guess at the time I mistaked it for kicking in super fast. Well since that feeling faded I guess I got worried so asked my DR if I could up to 20 mg after a week. Now I have been on 20 mg 5 days now after a week at 10. Right now about the only side effects I'm feeling is the sexual, dry mouth,a touch jittery, decreased appetite, mild insomnia and this dry throat feeling which makes me want to keep trying to clear my throat (anyone get that?) These all seem to be what I remembered from my last time taking the lex and all went away except the sexual one. 20 mg is what did the trick for me last time. I guess the question is, hypothetically if 10 mg would be and effective dose for me this time, what effect would taking 20 have? I read a study where they average effective does as like 16.25 mgs. I guess I have that impatience that most unfamiliar to AD's feel. I haven't even been on Lex 2 weeks yet nor a consistent dose for more than 7 days. As I remember from my last experience I took 5 mg for a week. 10 mg for a week then up to 20 mg. Midway through the second week of 20mg I seemed to cross the hump and things got better and better. My Dr. also precsribed me Ativan (generic) on a as need basis. And Restoril (Generic) for Sleep. The Ativan does make things easier to cope though I limit my intake to no more than 1mg (.5mg doses). This is how I did it last time till I started to feel the full AD effects. However I'm unsure of the sleep aide I was prescribed being another benzo type med. I try to do my best to avoid addictive meds getting by as best I can with as little as possible. But essentialy my main question is. Is 20 mg going to make a difference if 10 mg would have done the trick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyflower Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 If it was 20 mgs that worked well last time, then that's likely what it will take to work this time. The difference is usually in more in the side effects, and lexapro's are generally mild. I wouldn't expect much antidepressant effect for another week or two. I hope it works well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky21 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 If it was 20 mgs that worked well last time, then that's likely what it will take to work this time. The difference is usually in more in the side effects, and lexapro's are generally mild. I wouldn't expect much antidepressant effect for another week or two. I hope it works well for you. Thanks fro the reply Greenyflower. Today is only the end of week 2. After a week on 10 then to 20. I went back down to 15 yesterday. Wasn't sure if it was the 20 or just a by product of a dryer mouth, but just had a feeling of a itchy, dry throat that feels like it needs to be cleared (very annoying). I dropped to 15mg to see if it eases up on that. I tried to cannon ball it this time so some effects hit a littler faster. Last time I took Lex I eased into it with 5mg from a week, then to 10 for a week, then to 20 with a a significant lift in depression happening in the tail end of the second week at 20 (4th week all together). As of today I can tell there has been marked improvement since day one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 i know with many meds but i've experienced especially with SSRIs including lex, the side effects usually go away as your body becomes more used to the drug. all of the side effects i ever felt from either paxil or lex went away in about a month, except the sexual side effects, which were really annoying and why i stopped taking SSRIs and started taking wellbutrin. lex is a wonderful, mild drug and will probably kick in at its full effect in the next couple of weeks. SSRIs take a bit of time to kick in at full strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanophile Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I was hospitalized last March and they immediately put me on 20mgs of Lexapro and 60mgs of Cymbalta. I came out of the depression really quickly. They watched me like a hawk the entire time - I guess over the suicide stuff. It worked for me for a while but I'm bipolar - the AD's eventually take me to the bad bad places. They didn't know I was BP at the time. Still - the AD's worked to get me out of depression - unfortunately I went hypomanic and ended up trying to sign up for the Peace Corps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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