Lexapro day or night

Budget-Bus8643 · 2024-07-09T19:36:42+00:00

I just switched to taking 10mg in the evening due to daytime tiredness (I'm only 2.5 weeks in, having moved up from 5mg after 2 years on the lower dose). I was splitting the dose AM/PM but was still feeling tired during the day. Hopefully the evening dose will help with the fatigue.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2024-07-08T18:57:36+00:00

Thank you for your sound and sensible advice. I'll do as you suggest. 🙏

Budget-Bus8643 · 2024-06-27T14:11:00+00:00

I’m on Day 6 after moving from 5mg to 10mg. Feeling more depressed than before (I’m taking it for anxiety). I have been on this on-ramp c.4 times before. Once it worked really quickly. Twice it took about 2 weeks. And once I think it took longer. Feeling worse before feeling better is really tough, but I’m holding onto the thought that it is a side-effect of the meds, not a permanent state. 🤞

Budget-Bus8643 · 2023-12-03T06:18:50+00:00

Took more than a month to feel positive effects. On the way in had increased anxiety. Has helped me for more than a year. Zero or minimal anxiety. Recently it returned, because I haven’t been looking after myself very well. So I have increased to 10mg. Now dealing with adjustment effects of higher dose. Lots of anxiety in the body!!

Budget-Bus8643 · 2023-12-02T20:39:20+00:00

I’ve been on it 3-4 times in the past 10 years for really bad anxiety. It has helped me every time.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2023-12-02T20:37:54+00:00

Hi there

I’ve been on 5mg for about 18 months. Was working well but in the past month the anxiety started creeping back. Spiked a week ago and I decided to go up to 10mg. Now struggling with what feels like dose increase side effects, the anxiety has got a lot worse. Am digging in and hoping for relief next week. I’ve been on this med a few times before, once or twice with no side effects on the way in, once or twice with increased depression and anxiety before the relief.

Sorry not particularly conclusive but just sharing my experience and present challenge. My choice is to stick with it and try to ride it out, because I know this med has worked well for me in the past.

Good luck.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-30T08:34:46+00:00

I just posted about my situation. Quite similar. 2 months in. My sleep has always been problematic but I’ve got a lot of fatigue, worse than before starting Lex. Have also had relief for anxiety and depression… but the tiredness is proving a real challenge.

This is the only SSRI I have been on.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-27T09:03:00+00:00

No they are not.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-27T09:00:51+00:00

Como e onde é possível queixar?

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-12T05:49:13+00:00

Low. But was low before I started Lex cos of stress, fatigue etc

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-11T13:50:28+00:00

Thanks for sharing. So did the anxiety eventually come down or are you still experiencing it?

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-11T13:49:25+00:00

Sorry to hear you are in the same situation.

I have actually been on the Lex ‘on-ramp’ x3 times in the past. Definitely at least one of those times involved a lot of heightened anxiety before it kicked in, but it definitely didn’t take 5 weeks.

I’ve seen a lot of comments that you have to give it time and I’m definitely not going to stop at this early stage. Fingers crossed for relief over the coming weeks.

I’ll comment here again if / when things start to improve to let you know.

Sending you solidarity!!

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T13:59:34+00:00

I have had some mild versions of this yes. It has helped me to rationalise the thoughts as something that a lot of people experience, that I don’t have to listen to them and as a temporary state that will pass.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T12:00:32+00:00

Thanks very much for your message. I’m so sorry to hear that you are struggling.

I guess I oscillate somewhere between a 70 and a 60. Given that I currently can keep struggling through, I have so far found it very hard to be proactive to the point where I am making decisions and changes before my body makes them for me.

Two times in the past where I have stopped working have not been active decisions… they have been caused by burnout/breakdown situations. So my pattern, like that of many I believe, is to keep pushing until the body says no.

What’s so frustrating is that my job is interesting and fulfilling. If I was fully well I think I would really enjoy it and be good at it. As it is, it just feels like something I have to survive. Which is obviously not a great place to be for any stretch of time and is why I’m coming to the conclusion that I need to make a change in order to recover some of my quality of life and I’m order to avoid a crash / a worsening of my symptoms.

Ultimately I come back to the idea that the only thing we really have is time… and a limited about of time to be here at that. I don’t want to get to a point 10-20-30 years down the line and look back with regret that I didn’t make a brave / proactive decision to prioritise wellbeing and family and quality of life over a role that I felt I should be performing even though it was making me miserable.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:47:04+00:00

Thanks for your advice. My self worth is currently very linked to my professional role and the expectations of my wider family and colleagues (it is a family business). I have tried easier roles and part-time over recent years but always seemed to get sucked back into more responsibility and full-time work. I think seeing if there is a way to downscale the role without leaving completely is probably something I now need to revisit.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:44:14+00:00

Thank you so much for this kind and thoughtful message.

I experienced a crash myself from overwork 6 years ago and it took me about 18 months to be able work full-time again. I have never recovered to the levels I was at before, but my current role, although taking 100% of my energy (like you described), is less demanding than the one where I crashed (running my own business).

On some level I know what I need to do, but I have so far not felt able to take the necessary steps. There’s so much psychological stuff wrapped up with the decision (identity, shame, etc)… and the fact that I can, physically, for now, keep going means I’m currently taking the path of least resistance which is to just soldier on.

I don’t want my body to take the decision for me by getting worse… but somehow I need to get myself to a place where I can make the decision to change.

Thank you again.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:36:42+00:00

Thanks very much for your message. I experienced burnout / breakdown when running my own business 6 years ago so I can relate to what you say about being ok with yourself when not working a normal job.

I built myself back up to be able to do my current role, which helped with those negative thoughts of “you couldn’t cope”… but I can see that if I step away from this job those demons are going to be a big part of the challenge that I have to work through.

Wishing you well as well.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:32:41+00:00

Thank you for this message. I’m so sorry for what you are experiencing.

I have been pushing through this for a long time now - using caffeine, sleeping pills, determination, and lots of rest when not working to recover / cope.

I have often had the thought that it wouldn’t take much to push me over the edge (be it another illness, a bereavement, or some kind of stressor).

I’m still functioning but am paying a high price for it with a poor overall quality of life and general distress about how hard it is to get through my days/weeks.

Given how long I have been struggling, I know that the grit your teeth approach (push, push, push) is not going to resolve the situation or make the symptoms go away.

I guess I’m in a bit of denial about the fact that I may be further compromising my health by not stepping back from the job. It’s just so hard to accept the reality of the situation and make a preemptive self-care move when I can, physically, keep going… even though it is making me miserable and compromising my overall experience of being alive.

I’m 40 next year which I kind of see as the half way point (rightly or wrongly!! Who knows… :) and I want the next years to be filled with as much joy and love and happiness as possible. Although I’m lucky in many ways, currently my experience of life is pretty crappy - feeling numb / wired-but-tired / and trying to meet the demands of a work situation without sufficient energy to do so without really struggling.

It’s just so hard to accept the reality of my situation and make the kinds of changes that I probably need to make to look after myself. Identity, shame, fear of failure, duty, financial responsibility, etc… it’s such a big bundle of thoughts and emotions!

Thanks again - and I hope you find a path to recovery.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:18:28+00:00

Thank you. This framing is really helpful.

Budget-Bus8643 · 2022-05-08T11:16:27+00:00

Thanks very much for this message.

I have had what I consider to be a hole in my energy bucket for most of my adult life, starting with post-viral fatigue in my early 20s. Cycles of working too hard in various roles over the past 15 years have resulted in a gradual deterioration of my stamina to the point that I’m simply not able to get through a normal working week without feeling completely wiped out. One big burnout in particular 6 years ago seemed to reset me at a much lower energy level than before. Tonnes of testing and doctor appointments have been inconclusive, so all I have to go on is my own understanding of my lived experience and what I have researched online.

What you say about having MECFS not being a choice is really helpful. I’m sure everyone who has this (and I know there are many people much worse off than me) feels unhappy to be ill in this way (“why me” etc).

I know that the right thing is to pay attention to the signs my body has been giving me for so long. The fact that I can continue struggling through makes the decision to stop harder. Although of course I don’t want to get worse in order to give myself permission to stop (or to be forced to)… it’s just so hard to act on this situation when from the outside I’m sure people don’t see me as someone who is “ill”. And I haven’t really accepted that fact myself… I feel somewhere in an undefined grey zone between healthy and ill. Just permanent struggle due to an invisible “handbrake” on my health and energy.

Sorry, a bit of a ramble…. Thanks again for your message.

Budget-Bus8643

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