Initial Lexapro Side Effects

[grandma loves arielle]

i am 19 days now on lex and this morning i felt fine so I took my half a dose of ativan later than usual. an hour later when it usually kicks in I felt all woozy and got so dizzy I couldnt walk. This really scared me ALOT! I sat down for awhile and than got really anxious. I remembered the previous post about house fire with garden hose so I got up still very dizzy and took more ativan and after another hour it went away. I know what others said about the anxiety being worse at first with the Lex but why is that anyone know? I took the lex so not to use the ativan regularly but now im taking more than ever! I want to hang in there with hope that it will settle down but I dont know how long to give it. Im not good at trying any meds so I was very brave in trying the lex. At this point im thinking i may as well just be on the ativan by itself at least i know what to expect. I just hate to give up too soon if its going to eventually work. ALso how would I know if Id need to increase the lex?(scary thought) Im on 10 mg.PLEASE HELP!!!

[Amy74]

Hi GLA,
You and I are in the same boat! I started Lex on 2/13 so am about 3.5 weeks in. I also have had a really hard time with it...agitation, increased anxiety, stomach upset, etc. and I'm only at 5 mg. I'm clearly super sensitive to it as it sounds like you are too. I was only taking .5 Xanax in the morning to help alleviate all the increased agitation and anxiety and it totally was not doing the trick. I went to see my doc this morning and he said I should take .5 morning and .5 at night and more in between if I need to. He said there is no reason to suffer so much. He said that the reason that there is so much increased agitation and anxiety is that your nervous system is adjusting to the meds and that tends to rev it up initially! But he assured me that, while not everyone has this extreme sensitivity to Lex or any other SSRI, that it is by no means uncommon and it does settle down as your body gets used to it. I, like many others, don't like taking meds and tend to only take them "when needed" which is usually when I'm feeling so sick and awful that I can't stand it, which he says in the wrong approach. I think we need to just accept that there will be a regimen of benzos taken preventatively while we adjust up to the Lex and that's okay. It doesn't mean we'll need them forever. We're just helping our bodies not feel so awful as they adjust to the Lexapro. And that's being compassionate with ourselves. Not being weak. So, I'm going to stick with it for a couple more weeks, upping my dose of benzos to help temporarily, knowing that when I feel better I can come down off of them. So, I'm going to hang in there a little bit more because I've heard that Lex can be wonderful when it works. But, I feel your pain and frustration. I feel like I'm walking around anxious and with a flu and it's no fun at all. It's worse than it was before I started. But I'm trying to live in the moment and let time pass and know that it is moving in the right direction and I need to exercise patience and that I could end up feeling much, much better! So, let's stick together in this and keep each other posted okay?

[grandma loves arielle]

Hi Amy, Thanks for your input it really helps! I was so scared this morning before work so I took xtra ativan but than I felt groggy for awhile.But than after 4 hrs I had the jitters again so I took another half of ativan.Finally after lunch I felt somewhat normal.I just got home and was debating if I should call my doctor and see what he says.Did your doc say how long till it gets better? The whole point of this was to not have to take ativan so much. I too always took it as needed and would wait too long and suffer. I always had a fear of meds and how I would feel.I would even have to force myself to take the ativan even knowing it would help.Have you been on any other meds?My daughter is a physc major and is very supportive and wants me to hang in there and not give up on the lex.My first week to ten days I felt great! I was so happy I was tolerating it so well untill this past week when the anxiety got worse. Ive suffered since I was 15 after my mom died. But it also runs in my family. It was just recently Ive accepted this as an illness and wanted to recover even if I need meds to do it. Like I said I dont have a good track record when it comes to meds.How are you sleeping? I take the lex before bed and sleep really good (so far). Its mornings when I feel the jitters and than that anxiety attack snuck up on me yesterday. Now Im scared of that happening again.Well I hope your having a good day keep me posted and thanks! By the way my name is Donna.

[Amy74]

Hi Donna,
How was your day? Did you call your doctor? I saw my doctor yesterday and he switched me to taking Klonopin .5 in the morning and .5 at night and so far it is working like a charm. I still feel a little sick to my stomach and agitated when I wake up but once I get up and moving it subsides. I am curious if your doctor might switch you to something longer acting than Ativan. Klonopin lasts much longer. It sounds like the Ativan is wearing off too quickly causing you to have to take it more frequently which is anxiety provoking for you. My doctor said it is is common for people to have increased anxiety and agitation when starting Lex and that it is also very common to use benzos to deal with those temporarily. He assured me that we shouldn't feel bad about taking more benzos for a short time while our bodies adjust. He said everyone is different but if we've been on it for almost a month, our bodies should adjust within the next couple weeks at most and we should start to feel an effect. I am a psychologist and agree with your daughter! It is worth sticking with it to see if it can help. I was on Celexa for 7 years and it worked really well for me. I only went off it because I felt so great and I was having side effects (sleepiness, weight gain) that I didn't like. But, after a couple years and some stressful experiences my anxiety revved up again and I decided to go back on an SSRI to help, although eventually I'd like to try to manage it without meds. There is nothing wrong with using meds either temporarily or permanently as a tool in our recovery! I would definitely call your doctor and see if he has any ideas -- if a longer acting benzo might be better, or taking a bigger dose of Ativan initially or something. I know it is scary to feel like we rely on these meds (the benzos) but I think we just have to remember that it's just temporary and part of our road to recovery. The meds are very safe and won't hurt us, they can only help. My doctor told me that I should just commit to letting myself take benzos on a regular basis temporarily while my body gets used to the Lex and not beat myself up about it and make myself suffer more. My guess is that once your body starts to respond to the Lexapro, you will be amazed at hoe much it helps, and then you'll feel better and won't need the Ativan and it will be easy to go off. When I went on Celexa 10 years ago, I had the same problem and took Klonopin daily for at least a month if not more and then the Celexa kicked in and it was super easy to taper right off of the Klonopin. Keep me posted on how you're feeling!
Have a good Friday night!
Amy

[grandma loves arielle]

Hi Amy, today was a busy day.I had to work and my daughter was moving to her new home. I took your advice and increased my ativan in the mornings. It seems to be better although this morning at work I got pretty dizzy again so I took more ativan and sat down for 15 min or so. once the ativan kicked in i was fine rest of the day. Its funny you mentioned the chlonapin, my doc actually suggested it and said because its longer lasting but I got scared of switching to yet another new med.I do appreciate all youve told me otherwise i may have thru in the towel by now. I feel less scared and more hopeful thanks to you.I actually do feel the benefits of the lex and like you said we can soon wean off the benzos. How do you know when to wean down since I take it as soon as i get up ? Do you pick a day and just see what happens? This is all new to me.I hope your doing well and having a good day. Thanks for all the info and the courage to hang in there. Im excited to feel healthy and normal again.Talk to you again soon. Donna

[Amy74]

Hi Donna,
Just wanted to check in! Good for you for hanging in there. I am really starting to feel better. I feel like the Lex might be starting to kick in and my initial side effects may be subsiding. I have not had any bad anxiety for the last 3 days and have been able to sleep through the night without waking up early feeling anxious and agitated. I'm still taking .5 Klonopin at night and .25 in the morning. I'll probably continue that for a week or so until I've had a string of really good days. So, how are you feeling? Have you figured out a good system with the Ativan? I know what you mean about being worried about switching meds. It can feel so overwhelming with all these different options. But, if the Ativan continues to wear off so quickly, I might encourage you take your doctor's advice and switch to Klonopin. It's the same kind of med as Ativan so it probably won't feel much different to you -- just last longer. But, if you're starting to feel better and the thought of switching stresses you out, I would just stick with your current regimen. Do you keep a journal? I have been keeping a daily journal of how I feel. It's helped me see that each day is getting a little bit better even if I don't always focus on that (b/c of our wonderful tendency to focus on the negative or what's not feeling well instead of what is feeling better!) Keep me posted on your progress!
Amy

[grandma loves arielle]

Hi Amy, well its a month now on the lex and I feel pretty good.Still on the ativan especially mornings when i feel the jitters. I feel way less stress at work and when I get home I dont have that awful fatique.I did catch a cold though I think from my granddaughter.I talked to a blues on call nurse as part of a wellness program my companys doing and asked questions about lex. She said it can take up to 6-8 weeks to get full effects. Its so weird how every person is different in how we react to different meds. I just thank God everyday that I can tolerate the lex and that its working. I wish Id known this years ago!!Hope things are going well for you.It was so beautiful outside today SPRING FEVER! Have a great weekend and keep me posted. Donna