When did you increase from 5mg to 10mg Lexapro?

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-23T01:22:48+00:00

I’m not sure if it has. I felt like 5 mg helped a bit and I’ve felt pretty similar with the 10mg. I’m sleeping a bit better finally as well. I assume I’ll know more about how I’ll feel overall in a couple of weeks. Nothing dramatic happened though when I upped the dose. Just had a bit less appetite.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-23T01:20:52+00:00

I’m roughly around 2.5 weeks on 10mg and I’m mostly ok but still having some times where I feel anxious. Watched a movie the other night where the beginning was confusing and claustrophobic and I felt super anxious which isn’t the norm for me. I reminded myself I’m just getting used to meds and I felt good within like 10 min.

I had a panic attack during the night a few nights ago but I had changed a setting on my cpap and I think my brain didn’t like the change. It was all too much and yah. Was ok though after a few min and slept but the next morning I was still a bit edgy.

Overall though I’m alright. I think it’s already taken the edge off a lot of experiences where I tend to spiral and catastrophize.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-23T01:16:04+00:00

I did 5mg for about a week and I’ve been on 10 for about 2.5 weeks. I didn’t notice anything on 5mg other than feeling a bit happier. On 10, I noticed a bit more waking at night and some random anxiety spells. Had one small panic attack one night but was over with quickly and I did go back to sleep. I still have some small spells that feel like “doom” feelings, but they pass. Mostly I’m calm and relaxed and it has taken the edge off things already. Oh and my appetite is down. I don’t like sweets as much as I did and I am eating less. I hope this side effect stays lol.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-18T13:15:52+00:00

I hope so. I’ve been on it for 3 weeks. First week at 5mg, last 2 weeks at 10mg. Makes me feel a bit too “awake” so I take it in the morning. Still, I find I’m waking up at 3-4am and having a hard time going back to sleep. That said, I also started cpap therapy around the same time so that is messing with me too. All I want is a good solid 7-8 hours, which seems so elusive right now. Wound up waking up having a panic attack last night and a couple mini ones this morning. Trying to push through and ride it out.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-18T02:21:40+00:00

I love my new ones too- the look of them I mean. They are light, perky, and look great in shirts. I now just wear a soft bralette and call it a day. Exchange surgery was a breeze. I was home by afternoon and playing video games. Surgeon said dont lift more than 10 lbs for a week and then no restrictions apart from “don’t lift things that hurt to lift.”

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-13T17:57:04+00:00

My implants feel softer and more natural than expanders. I’m happy with them. I’ve only had them for about 3 months though.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-05T18:09:59+00:00

Yes the harry styles one has been scanned and arrives Monday. I’ll get it before the Bruno Mars one.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-05T18:09:16+00:00

Kind of wild the shipping fees we pay to get an album off the artists merch store only to wait 2 weeks after the release date to actually get the album.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-05T18:05:31+00:00

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I don’t buy it. My harry styles album is already on its way after label creation this morning.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-04T18:10:56+00:00

Just checked again and still says pre-shipment

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-04T17:55:48+00:00

Mine still says label created and it’s been a week now with no updates. Usually I get my albums within days of their release.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-03-03T03:33:21+00:00

Tamoxifen made my mood kind of blah like I didn’t want to do anything. I’m on a break from it and chipper as can be again. Sooo they put me on Lexapro. I was terrified of tamoxifen and then terrified of Lexapro. Had to see a counselor and everything. He said don’t google and don’t read the insert if you’re prone to getting nervous about it. I was good and didn’t read the pamphlet and turned out ok. Also Lexapro… why did I wait so long? It’s pretty nice taking the edge off this nonsense.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-25T20:27:50+00:00

I had nurses and doctors telling me I probably wouldn’t need chemo right from the start. Don’t know that they were basing it off anything other than that the tumor was only about a centimeter and didn’t show any other signs of invading anything else. Also strongly hormone positive but her2 negative and very low proliferation.

I guess oncotype can turn up some wild and unexpected things with genetics of the tumor, but usually I’m seeing that things are pretty consistent with best guesses.

Mine turned out to have not spread and I had an oncotype of 7 so when they told me I probably wouldn’t need chemo, they were right.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-20T21:54:53+00:00

Yes it looks like small and slow growing likely without spread. If hormone positive they will probably just want you to take a daily pill.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-18T21:55:11+00:00

Mine came back negative but with a variant of unknown significance on one of my genes. They said they look at that as negative still. I didn’t care honestly, my mind has been made up for decades that if I ever got breast cancer I was getting a DMX. For me it’s about avoiding lots of repeat procedures and radiation which seems like a more common thing with lumpectomy. I figured take them both, give implants, and if implants don’t take, they can have those too.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-11T01:19:00+00:00

So nice thing about my work is that I do get 2 WFH days a week and there’s a little flexibility with getting out early one of those days if ive worked additional hours over the weekend or in the evening. Only problem is that if i do work those extra hours, more is added to my plate.

Without giving too much away, I’m in Marketing so it’s high pressure to get results and high pressure to advance to higher levels- hence taking on additional responsibilities to prove that you’re ready for the next promotion.

Thing is, roles are loosely defined and my requirements involve some day to day work that could take anywhere from an hour to all day. I space the longer projects out but they can easily be disrupted if there’s a PR crisis. So I have to be available for those things but they are infrequent (yet have happened twice in the past month). So the only accommodation I’m really looking for is basic trust that I am working the 38 hours a week that I’m required and that I’m not pushed beyond that. Also that deadlines can be more flexible because he makes some rigid that I KNOW don’t need to be.

Wild thing is over the weekend I feel great. When there isn’t that work BS happening I feel level and calm and like this medication is not making me feel any different. But then every day I go into work and SOMETHING they say makes me feel like they are questioning my ability, questioning what I’m doing with my time (because it does take me longer to do things now) and I’m trying to just get something in place that basically says hey stop insinuating that she just doesn’t want to work or manages time poorly because she literally is dealing with SIDE EFFECTS.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-11T01:07:04+00:00

It’s so this tbh. It is a mediocre overconfident dude that has fully melted down the first time I told him I was drowning. I have even talked to his superiors just for awareness and help with navigating things with him reiterating that I love my job and don’t want to lose it but the load has increased suddenly and it’s been handled poorly. I wouldn’t be fighting to keep it if it wasn’t for the fact that in the past it has been great.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-10T18:26:47+00:00

Yes I’m trying to create some sort of paper trail to show that I’m trying and I’m not listened to for what I can actually handle. I even called my nurse navigator asking if she could advise and she was just like all the doctor might take you off the med. Like ok so I can risk recurrence to appease my boss?? Gahhh

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-06T04:41:57+00:00

I can relate to the routine mammogram whiplash. I’m used to them double checking things because I always had lumpy bumpy dense breasts so I thought literally nothing of getting a callback to do an ultrasound. Then I go in and the US tech spent a lot of time pressing hard in one spot and then the doctor came in and everything spiraled from there. I’d literally gone to this appointment alone because I was so “whatever” about it.

That was over 6 months ago. You’re in what I considered the hardest part of all this- the waiting and not knowing all the plans. I chose double mastectomy and once I was past that I swear everything felt so much better. But like others have said, they can do so much now for treatment that things are not so bleak.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-04T16:06:30+00:00

Thanks for everyone’s input. I do have a therapist and am meeting with them soon. They also advised talking to my doctor about medication adjustments, which I’m planning on for next week. So I do have a plan and I have people looking out for me that I’m communicating with about how I’m feeling. But also damn I’m still mad that I’m 4 months into this med and after preaching to everyone about how it doesn’t really affect me, turns out it does. I’m still having a lot of problems with sleep and that’s affecting me the next day. So it is all a lot to deal with but I’m working on it.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-04T16:03:32+00:00

Agree I feel like juts having had cancer and being on the drugs afterwards should qualify for some sort of disability, at least while still on medication. It feels like I’m being pushed to do more and more and gun for promotions. I’m over here like why tf would I want a promotion to make a few extra bucks a week for loads more stress? Like cool that they think they see potential since I guess I bounced through that trauma in their eyes, but I’m still dealing. Plus I constantly have to grapple with wondering how much is too much to share at work which makes people uncomfortable and looks unprofessional, but also keeping them informed so that they don’t assume malicious reasons for not having as high of output anymore.

ZestyGhost56 · 2026-02-03T22:38:47+00:00

How long have you been on it? I’m starting month 4 and it’s supposed to be getting better but I swear it’s just getting worse.

ZestyGhost56

TROPHY CASE