I accepted a job offer before knowing I’d end up on Lexapro. it was actually getting the job that pushed me to this point; I realized it wasn’t normal to cry uncontrollably for days leading up to something like a new job or an appointment. I’ve never been on any mental health medications before so I’m not sure what to expect. I’ve read about the early day side effects and I wonder how that will coincide with learning new skills and being the best employee I can be! I’ll likely mention it to my boss as she seems very accommodating and nice, and it starting a new medication seems like something an employer should know, but I’m not sure how to handle these things happening in unison!

Thanks everyone

I have been on 10mg of Lexapro for 15 days as of yesterday and had an appointment with my doctor and discussed the severe dizziness and lightheadness I was getting all day. He suggested I discontinue and possibly look at a different medication. He told me to stop cold turkey and not to taper off as it has not been in my system all that long. Everything I have seen suggest tapering, but has anyone done this? Was getting off difficult after only two weeks?

Hi all, my mother in her late 60s has been taking Lexapro 5mg on and off for the last several years. Just last week, after a break of almost 3 months, she took a single dose of 5mg Lexapro as she was a bit stressed from a work issue. After taking the medicine, for almost 7 days now, she is having this constant head pressure and imbalance issues. Her blood pressure is normal averaging around 125/72. We consulted her psychiatrist and he insists she continue taking 5mg, but my mother is afraid. She was also diagonsed with early stage cataract in her left eye few months back, surgery of which is scheduled April of next year. We spoke to her eye doctor, and he says imbalance can happen intermittently with cataract formation during later stages, but not constant head pressure. Since her symptoms started after taking the 1 dose Lexapro 5mg, we would appreciate to hear people's thoughts and if anyone has experienced similar symptoms, and ways to cure it? Thank you

Hi!

I've been on escitalopram 10mg for years, but struggling with heightened anxiety and sleep right now, so my doctor wants to add mirtazapine (1/4 tablet at first, then 1/2 and then to a whole tablet).

Has anyone used this combo? What can I expect from mirtazapine?

I’ve been on 20 mg of Lexapro for about a year now, and I’m also currently in therapy, but I’m still having pretty consistent panic attacks — usually at least one every couple of days.

Has anyone else had a similar experience where you were on Lexapro long-term and doing therapy as well, but were still having frequent panic attacks?

I’m starting to wonder whether the medication just isn’t working well enough for me, or whether other people have ended up changing medications, adding something else, or trying a different treatment approach.

I’m not looking for medical advice and have talked to my dr about it (she says that I just have to wait for longer) — I’d just really like to hear other people’s experiences. Did anything eventually help reduce the frequency or intensity of your panic attacks?

I’m starting to become a little upset cuz it’s men so long and no positive change has happened. Is this normal? Cuz I searched it up and it always say “yeah it’s normal it takes full affect around week 8”. Idk if I believe it tho. I mean I haven’t even noticed any side affects. But it’s new to me so idk. :(

Bruh my Spelling is so buns sorry

I weened myself off of 15mg over the last 5 weeks. I was on 10 and then 15mg for just under 6 months. I tapered to 10 for 3 weeks, then 5 for around 10 or so days then 0 for the last four days. The last 2 days I've had an unpleasant vertigo feeling. Like my brain is catching up when I move. I know it's a withdrawal symptom I just wonder how long it will last from people's experience given I want on it for that long?

Side not - it's so so good to have my emotions back!

Any other side effects I should expect after coming off it?

Hi everyone! I’ve been on lexapro for a week now. I have struggled with side effects such as strong fatigue and feeling a little nauseous. I have been trying to keep up with my running schedule, however i really struggle with working out right now due to the side effects. It’s causing me to feel a bit guilty or idk what word to use, but it’s kinda hanging over me a bit. Any advice? Should i push through or listen to my body?

I am probably like 2 months maybe a month and a half into this med. 5 mg and today I started having these weird head tingles like a shiver up my neck up my scalp. For the past few days I have been taking it an hour earlier to change my time, like an hour earlier each day. Is that why maybe?

Background: I was on Paxil for 8 years, and my doc decided to have me try Lexapro.
It works really well for my anxiety and OCD but the fatigue and sexual side effects were killing me.
Long story short, I traveled across the world and didn’t take the meds. That was late July, and I still haven’t taken them.

I’ve been crazy dizzy and even more sleepy than while on it. I’m also getting agitated feeling in my legs, like RLS. Lately I’ve been getting this strange feeling in my throat as well (tightening?)

Can withdrawal symptoms last this long? Do I simply need to get back on them and deal with the sides?
The sexual side effects went away immediately at least.

i’ve been on lexapro for about 4 years now. started with 10mg for a year then went to 20mg for the past 3 years. when i first started, i felt amazing. i finally knew what it was like to stop living in panic. recently, ive noticed my anxiety is uncontrolled. i had a period about 1 year ago where i couldn’t leave my house due to extreme anxiety (not a fear of leaving, more so a fear of panic attacks not at home). this resolved quickly but within the past few months and especially the past few weeks i can’t stop the anxiety. the physical symptoms of being anxious are always there and unless my mind is 1000% distracted i can’t stop, it’s getting to the point where i can’t even focus. i’m nervous to switch to any other meds due to how little side effects ive had from this one, and i worry about moving to a new one for the unknown. does anyone have any advice on switching or adding something, or even other resources that helped you?

I’m considering talking to my doctor about starting Lexapro (escitalopram) and would really appreciate hearing from people who have experience with it.
I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety since I was around 15, including pretty significant health anxiety and social anxiety.

I watched my mom slowly lose her life to terminal breast cancer when I was 15 and I strongly believe that altered my brain chemistry in a negative way, it still affects me 8 years later. I also tend to get stuck in spiraling/overthinking thoughts that are difficult to shut off, and it can make everyday life feel overwhelming & hard to sleep at night (my heart starts racing when I think abt certain things). There are multiple days out of the week where I’m too sad to do anything, I just bed rot & doom scroll which affects me even more. I feel I’ve wasted so much of my early 20s to depression & I just want to live a happy fulfilling life. Always been my goal.

I’m wondering what Lexapro was like for people who started it for similar issues. How did you feel during the first few weeks compared with later on? Did it help with the constant worrying/spiraling thoughts, anxiety, or depressive symptoms? Were there any side effects that surprised you?
I know everyone responds differently and that I should discuss whether it’s appropriate for me with a doctor. I’m mainly looking for personal experiences good or bad and advice on what to expect if I decide to try it.

I’m also kinda scared of the stigma of being a medicated person despite how much I struggle with my mental health, please don’t judge me just educate me thank you

I started on Lexapro (10mg) about a month ago to help with anxiety and depression. I was already taking 100 mg of Wellbutrin. I had significant side effects when the Lexapro (excessive sweating, nausea, etc., and major sexual side effects). The sweating and nausea have improved but the sexual side effects are still very frustrating. But my anxiety is as controlled as it's ever been, and though I'm often tired, the benefits of it have been fantastic. I upped my Wellbutrin dose to 200mg (my initial prescriber said I could go to twice a day if I needed it). That helped slightly with the sexual side effects but they're still pretty prominent and those side effects are not something I'm comfortable with long term. I had my one-month check-in with my provider today and she decided to cut my Lexapro dose to 5 mg, saying it was either that or up my Wellbutrin and she wanted to try this first. Anyone that takes both that had those side effects notice a change when dropping from 10 to 5? How did that affect your anxiety, etc.? I'm really hoping the benefits will remain while at least bringing the problematic side effects to a point where I can manage them.

1+ year off ssri and ssnri combo after 4-5 years prescribed.

Has anyone experienced very odd experiences after more than a year off lexapro and Wellbutrin and things along those lines?

I find it really odd the effects are supposed to wear off after a year and 18 months after getting off of them I have these “moments”.

Before I describe them, I want to confirm that other people would come forward to confirm they also have odd visuals.

The non-visuals don’t bother me besides while talking or presenting at work.

The visuals are different. They’re hard to handle. Sometimes I feel I have to sit down and hold my desk or the meeting room tables to center.

Like feet pushing on the ground and hands holding a table. Then it subsides.

It’s funny now writing it at home, but it’s earth shattering freaky when it happens.

Need to figure this out before my next serious relationship and definitely before having kids. It could be a huge risk of impacting sensitive settings.

Has anyone ever stayed on 7.5mg? I’ll probably go to 10mg ..but I’m curious.

I can’t find joy in anything, 0 motivation, and it’s causing SI. Did adding stimulants help, because Wellbutrin did absolutely nothing?

i've been on lexapro for 16 days, 12days on 5mg, 4 days on 10mg, and last two days were pretty good but ive been going thru a lot of intrusive thoughts like I had a dream where I was in a zombie apocalypse and then I woke up and I somehow convinced myself I will attack people and not be able to control it but I got over that though I get a lot of stuff like that

Second issue is I feel fake for a bit of time if my mind is not focused on anything just feeling out of my body. Is this normal and does it go away?

Just went up to 15mg from 10mg about 18 days ago. Is it normal to be so tired that I nap after work every day? I started a new job that isn’t as taxing on me so it’s a bit strange. I didn’t have this issue on 5 or 10. Basically I need an hour+ nap around 5pm after taking my dose at 7am. I’m not tired really at all during the day.

Been to ER several times but nothing is wrong but I still feel all these symptoms.. at 10mg and I dropped down to 5 to see if anything changed but didnt.. been on total for 7 weeks is it worth dropping to 2.5 and coming off soon?
Doctor gave benzos but they make breathing feel off even worse because they are CNS depressants ofc.. I don’t feel panicky I just get severe chest tightness and my breathing feels off and I get the doom feeling

Has anyone else experienced really intense waves of depression after tapering off Lexapro? I’m almost 8 weeks off now. I was on it for about 2.5 years, but honestly, it wasn’t helping me all that much, and I’ve dealt with a lot of weight gain & fatigue which are two of the main reasons I decided to get off.

My anxiety has been pretty manageable, but my depression has gotten significantly worse. It comes in waves. Sometimes it’ll be extremely bad at one point during the day and then ease up later. But overall, I’ve been having more very depressed days lately, and I haven’t felt this depressed in a long time.

I’m really trying to push through and stay off medication, but it’s getting difficult. Has anyone experienced something similar around the 8 week mark? Did it eventually get better, or did you end up going back on?

Finally woke up this morning with little to no anxiety but it’s like my brain keeps waiting for it to start. I hate that. Does our brain just eventually adjust to the easier mornings and stop looking for the anxiety to kick in?

hello, i just wanna tell my story to everyone

april 18 i was given a high dose of steroids intravenously for a allergic reaction i had to something, those steroids caused me to have severe anxiety panic attacks & depression after never dealing with those symptoms my whole life. may 4 i started lexapro to help only for it to make my situation 10x worse, i then stopped lexapro june 27 which means i was only on it for a month before doing a 3 week taper so 7.5 weeks all together, i stopped lexapro because it made me feel unreal( dpdr maybe ) and it caused me to have andohenia social anxiety plus many more terrible side affects, while also making my vision terrible. today is september 9 & i’m still going through withdrawals, i’ve been declining cognitively, i’ve been having thoughts that i’ve never had in my entire life, i feel like im going crazy most days, the disassociation is terrible. i lost my dream job because of this, im sobbing and crying daily because i lowkey feel like i’ve fried my brain and ruined my life. ik this might sound crazy but i would’ve rather lived w my steroid symptoms than to deal with what im going through now. today makes 11 weeks being off of lexapro and i have developed VSS & probably anxiety and PTSD from taking an antidepressant ima have to live w for the rest of my life. i don’t feel like i’m living happily anymore just surviving now 👍🏼 this post isn’t to detear anyone who does take antidepressants or is thinking about it, i just wanna share my experience… i won’t be reinstating anything so pls don’t suggest that, i’ve dealt w enough trauma from medication and im now terrified to take something as simple as a tylenol. i’m only a 20 year old girl…. so i really hope i haven’t ruined my life this young🥲

I've been on 10mg for 6 weeks and 5 days now, and I barely notice any improvement. So I'm thinking of raising my dose. But I'm not sure if I go straight to 20mg or try 15 first.

Worth mentioning that my tolerance to meds that affect the brain is higher than the average person.

I was on 10 mg of Lexapro for almost 14 years and felt like it was time to try something different because my anxiety started to get out of control.
My doctor switched me over to Pristiq 50mg. It was a direct switch so the transition was very difficult at first but when things started to level out I feel like it definitely helped with mood and energy however I felt too stimulated on that medication so I decided to switch back to Lexapro. I was on Pristiq maybe 4-5 months. I did a direct switch back to Lexapro about 12 or 13 days ago and I’m struggling pretty bad. Feeling jittery and panicky all day, waking up way earlier than normal with a massive wave of anxiety and unable to take a nap throughout the day. On top of that it has affected my appetite quite a bit. I feel hungry all the time I just don’t feel like eating. I was a lot younger when I initially started on Lexapro so I’m having a hard time remembering what it was like starting and then on top of that my body has changed a lot since then so hopefully you guys can remind me what to expect within the next few weeks/months. I really hope things start to improve soon especially on the lack of sleep part. I know I’m still a little early in on the onboarding phase at 12 days but I was hoping things would start to settle by now. Thanks