BrotherZoot Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I know that none of you can tell me what to do and that I need to work with a doctor (which I am) but this is my first time taking an anti-depressant and I just don't know what's going on or what to do here. I have been taking Lexapro (actually, generic Escitalpram) for almost 7 weeks (6 days at 5 mg and this is the very start of my 6th week at 10 mg). I have issues with anxiety and depression. When I started the medication I was at a very low point, After starting it, I went even lower for a few days, and then the 5th and 6th days, for at least parts of them, I felt actually really good. Anyway, I have had some occassions of feeling focused, more calm and contented, but I've had pretty significant anxiety throughout (it comes and goes). I honestly just can't tell if it's working or not. Sometimes I think it is and others I don't think it's dong much. I felt that I was progressing, but then the last week I've felt worse (not as bad as before starting the med, but quite low). In addition, I have terrible insomnia. I had sleep problems before but not like this. The worst my sleep had got was the two days before starting the med--I woke up at 4:30 and 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Now, I regularly wake up 2 hours after falling asleep and then another 2 hours after that, and just can't really get back to sleep at that point. If I take 75 mg or Trazodone, that helps, but I never took a sleep aid before starting the Lexapro. And I have no appetite. Some days are better than others, but I often force myself to eat. I had some issues with appetite before, but not like this. My weight was already down and since then I've lost about 6 lbs. At this point, is it possible that the Lexapro will kick in more consistently? Will the insomnia or lack of appetite go away? Could increasing or decreasing the dose help? If I stop the Lexapro I'm concerned I'll relapse into a really bad depression. If I increase the dose I'm concerned I'll get even worse side effects. If I decrease the dose, that would put me at 5 mg and if 10 isn't really helping the anxiety and depression that much, is 5 likely to help? Really any experiences you've had that can help me make an informed decision would be great. My doctor suggested switching to Pristiq, but it's very similar to Effexor which freaks me out (I tried it for four days before the worst of my depression/anxiety and hated it). She also suggested just switching immediately to Pristiq (e.g., today I take my Lexapro, tomorrow I don't take Lexapro and take Pristiq instead). I'm concerned that if I do that, I'll get start up effects of Pristiq and discontinuation effects of Lexapro. I will add that the insomnia and lack of appetite could be due to me stressing out about what to do with the medicaiton. I have health anxiety issues and I monitor myself constantly for side effects and I obsess about the medication. One side effect I do know I'm experiencing from the Lexapro is burning skin sensations, particularly at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I'm obviously not your doctor (or any doctor), but if it were me, I'd want to try going up to 20 mg before giving up on it. I take citalopram which has the same psychoactive molecule as escitalopram (Lexapro), and it helps my anxiety as good as any benzo ever did. That's my 2 cents, but I think you need to be communicating all this with your doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherZoot Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks for your reply. I have discussed all of this with my doctor. She's a great GP but, partly because of my uncertainty and anxiety, is not forceful with what to do. She suggested stopping the Lexapro and starting Pristiq, but is open to other possibilities. If I asked her to increase my Lexapro dose, I think she would do that. I feel that she thinks it's a bit of trial and error and that it's not clear what "side effects" I'm experiencing are due to Lexapro and what are due to my own anxiety. Then again, if I'm experiencing that much anxiety while on Lexapro at 10mg, is it likely to help to increase to 15mg? (That was her suggestion fo a dose increase several weeks ago.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherZoot Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 I am, though, wondering about people's own experiences with starting Lexapro or another SSRI. Did anyone start one and still experience fairly intense anxiety at the 6 week mark and have it improve? Did anyone have insomnia at that point and have it improve? The more I think about it, the more I wonder how many of my symptoms are really due to my own anxiety. (Though if I'm experiencing this much anxiety at this point, that doesn't seem like a good sign...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherZoot Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 I talked to my psychologist and then my doctor and I'm going to try going up to 15 mg. Has anyone had any luck decreasing anxiety with a dose increase if 10 mg was only a little helpful? Any chance my insomnia will improve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I don't know about insomnia, but expect some increased anxiety for a while until your body adjusts to the higher dose. This doesn't mean that the Lexapro won't work for your anxiety. It's just often that way with SSRIs; anxiety increases in the beginning and at dose increases before it gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Lexapro was my first anti depressant and for the 6 weeks I was taking it I was nauseous, had no appetite, was highly irritable and would go to bed at 10 and lie awake until dawn when I would get at most 2 hours of sleep. It didn't make my anxiety worse but I did have an extra 7 or so hour of torturous intrusive thoughts a day. I was taking it for GAD and OCD. Edited June 3, 2015 by Queenie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherZoot Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Wait, so you took it for 6 weeks and then discontinued it? I guess the side effects were too much for you to take? I think my insomnia would be the same as yours except that I'm taking Trazodone. Did you start taking another SSRI that worked for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I'm guessing the insomnia will eventually go away. I got night awakening at first (that is, where you wake up at 2 or 3 am and feel like you slept the whole night) but that went away. In my experience, the nausea goes away also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherZoot Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well, one good thing is that the Lexapro is so activating that I'm not particularly tired once I get going in the morning (at least not until about 4 - 5 pm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 After stopping the lexapro I was put on mirtazapine and oxazepam gained 12kg in 2 weeks (it's a shame because this was good). Then was changed to fluvoxamine and olanzapine, fluvoxamine was good but the olanzapine was to sedating so I stopped that and was put on seroquel. So I'm currently taking 150mg of fluvoxamine in the morning for the anxiety and OCD and have just started 25mg of seroquel twice daily for hyperarousal, sleep and intrusive thoughts. This seems to be helping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts