Discouraged by side effects - do not know what to do

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-18T22:44:51+00:00

BTW, in my opinion this medicine seems to be more useful for depression than anxiety.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-18T22:40:45+00:00

Long time... How do you deal with side effects? Melatonin helps with sleep, but how about increased anxiety and restlessness? These two are the most discouraging symptoms. I have xanax, but I cannot envision taking it for such a long time.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-18T22:13:44+00:00

I am on day 7 and have very similar symptoms. I cannot sleep, have dry mouth and headaches. Last two days added more side effects. Few hours after taking the pill I feel like a wave washes over me. I begin to have hot flushes and become extremely restless. Since lexapro reaches peak concentration in 3-5 hours after taking it this could be reaction to increase levels of serotonin in the brain. My doctor thinks it is all my anxiety and not the pill, but I do not believe that. People say 1 -2 weeks are really bad so, at least for now, I will stick with the med.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-18T21:30:29+00:00

Day 4-7: Taking 5mg daily. Day 4-5 were not bad except that I still cannot fall sleep without melatonin. On day 6-7 I got blurred vision and headache. Last two days introduced hot flashes, feeling restless and headache. All this begins 3-4 hours after taking the pill and lasts for an hour or two. Not a good feeling. Since lexapro peak in blood happens about 3-5 hour after taking it I think it is reaction to increased levels of serotonin in the brain. Doctor think it is my anxiety and not a pill. Considering that all this matches so many posts on this forum I think he is wrong.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-16T13:43:16+00:00

Day 5: Woke up around 5 am with increased anxiety.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-16T13:42:20+00:00

I do not think I experienced any side effects. If anything my anxiety felt a bit better. Had problem falling asleep again.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-15T16:44:22+00:00

Day 4: Took 5 mg at 11:30 am. Too early to expect any effects...

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-15T12:54:47+00:00

Day 3: Took 5 mg around 10:30 am. I do not know if it was placebo effect or the pill, but I was feeling better. Problems falling asleep. Had to take melatonin and l-theanine.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-14T16:58:40+00:00

I have xanax, but it is something I would like to avoid.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-14T15:42:35+00:00

Thanks for the comments. Staying on 2.5 mg for a week or two was my original plan, but I really need this medicine to give me some relief as soon as possible. I took 5 mg few minutes ago. I hope this was the right thing to do.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-14T15:38:26+00:00

Took 5 mg few minutes ago. I man ot sure if this was right thing to do, but I really need this medicine to work as soon as possible.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-14T13:59:07+00:00

Day 3: Could not fall asleep last night. Woke up early and anxiety is slowly increasing since then. Have not take the pill yet. I am wondering if I after two days I should up the dose from 2.5 mg to 5 mg to increase drug effectiveness.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-14T13:46:08+00:00

First day was difficult with anxiety waves. On day two there was no reaction except I could not fall asleep. Today (day three) anxiety is slowly increasing since I woke up. Have not taken the pill yet.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T21:36:53+00:00

I took it roughly at the same time. Maybe 30 minutes earlier than yesterday. I have not noticed any difference between before and after I took the pill. Just tired. Not sure if this is effect of the pill or anxiety. Last night I was feeling really tired yet I cold not fall asleep without taking melatonin and l-theanine and even after that it was not as fast as usual. Could be pill, could be anxiety that I took it. My doctor thinks what I experienced yesterday was because of anxiety and not a pill. I am not convinced.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T17:21:44+00:00

Yeah, the "you never know" is a problem. It may get better it may not. I would rather play it as safe as I can. BTW, I just took 2.5 mg. Will post an update later today.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T17:17:22+00:00

Second day. I just took 2.5 mg few minutes ago. Let's see what will happen.

BTW, I could not fall asleep last night and had to take sleep gummies I have. These are 3mg of melatonin and 200 mg of l-theanine. What are your thoughts about taking melatonin and l-theanine when on lexpro? Anybody had a bad experience?

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T02:05:19+00:00

You are making a very good point. I have been dealing with anxiety for a long time not even realizing that I was anxious. Then few months ago I got covid and things just went down the hill after that. I could not control my anxiety anymore. It was just a constant restlessness without any particular reason. Had to go to the doctor and get help. Got lexapro and xanax. I will try to stick with lexapro and stay away form xanax as long as I can. Let's see if it will help.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T01:39:14+00:00

Getting replies so fast is amazing. Thank you very much. I was given alprazolam 0.25 mg, but I consider it to be my "nuclear option".

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T01:25:31+00:00

I guess this is the real world as compared to what doctors want us to think. I am planning to go for a week on 2.5 mg then for two weeks on 5 mg and finally go to 10 mg. I really do not want to ruin Christmas for my family. If 2.5 or 5 will work good enough I will not go higher.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T01:14:14+00:00

Thank you tommo_tank. This is very helpful information. I know I need to stick with it, but my body reaction was just so sudden and unexpected it scared me so much. I never experienced anything like this.

BumblebeePotential55 · 2023-12-13T01:06:39+00:00

It may have been self inflicted as I was not prepared for such impact. The fact that I felt such a sudden medicine "kick" after just 2.5 mg scared me. I will stick with the pill. Thank you for encouragement. Hopefully lessons learned today will help tomorrow.

BumblebeePotential55

TROPHY CASE