[enchanted]

I have started taking 5mg of Lexapro, its been 4 days now and i feel so much worse, my anxiety has tripled, im super dizzy and have constant tension, its so hard to focus, im gettting to a point where im too nervous to leave the house and any thoughts of interaction leave me with diarrhea.

The dr said this was all normal and could take a few weeks to settle, she gave me Seraquil to take the edge off but as its an antipsychotic i dont want to take it as im struggling enough trying to adjust to the Lexapro. She wouldnt give me benzos as she said they where too addictive, worse than heroin she said??

Has anyone had any experience with this? i dont know weather to come off it and try to deal with my anxiety myself or weather i should stick it out, its pretty unbarable, i have had anxiety and panic disorder for years and the Dr told me i need to stay on Lexapro to help change my brain chemistry if im to deal with this anxiety. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

[sunnydisposition]

i went through the similar experience with Prozac. My anxiety shot up through the roof. I couldnt think straight. I was scared all the time. I waited 17 days, wethered the side effects, hoping that eventually they'll subside. But they never did. So i quit prozac. Im on lexapro now, day 11, and i have no side effects whatsoever. I had mild insomnia but its passed. What i'm trying to say is that, every one reacts differently to these meds. if the side effects doesnt wind down by the end of 2nd week, i suggest, exploring other ssri's.

And about benzo's, you're docs exaggerating. They are addictive but not if taken short term. They can be very helpful if taken wisely.

[*Laurie*]

I suggest you follow your doctor's suggestion and try the Seroquel.

[enchanted]

Originally Posted by Ravdeep Singh

i went through the similar experience with Prozac. My anxiety shot up through the roof. I couldnt think straight. I was scared all the time. I waited 17 days, wethered the side effects, hoping that eventually they'll subside. But they never did. So i quit prozac. Im on lexapro now, day 11, and i have no side effects whatsoever. I had mild insomnia but its passed. What i'm trying to say is that, every one reacts differently to these meds. if the side effects doesnt wind down by the end of 2nd week, i suggest, exploring other ssri's.

And about benzo's, you're docs exaggerating. They are addictive but not if taken short term. They can be very helpful if taken wisely.

Wow 17 days! im sorry that must have been torture for you! im lad you have found something that works for you

I agree about the benzos, i think starting anti psychotics would be much more addictive and stressful as i have to get used to them as well as the Lexapro and im struggling enough with them, and she said it will only be for 2 weeks so im not going to get addicted to them in such a short time but she has refused to give them to me so i guess i have to just suck it up and try to get through this, she recommended meditation and exercise, im sure that will help with my dizzy spells and extreme panic lol

Thanks for your advise

[sunnydisposition]

actually the jury's still out on whether lexapro will work for me or not. It hasnt kicked in. Stupid waiting period. This is my third ssri in the last 2 months. Failed with paxil, prozac. They both put me through hell. but i have a good feeling about lexapro, this may just be "the one", lol.
I agree on your view about antipshychotics. They should be the option for last resort, when everything else fails. Although Seroquel is pretty awesome, i took it for 6 months last year and nothing helped me like it did. Very efficient. Also helps you sleep like a log. A good nights sleep also helps anxiety. i quit coz of the weight gain it caused. sigh.

[venusss]

The dr said this was all normal and could take a few weeks to settle, she gave me Seraquil to take the edge off but as its an antipsychotic i dont want to take it as im struggling enough trying to adjust to the Lexapro. She wouldnt give me benzos as she said they where too addictive, worse than heroin she said??

If your body has hard time adjusting to one med it does not make sense to throw another quite heavy duty one in. What is the plan if you have hard time adjusting the seroquel prescribed to help you adjust to the first meds? You'll have another meds to treat side effects of the med that treats side effects?

Originally Posted by Ravdeep Singh

actually the jury's still out on whether lexapro will work for me or not. It hasnt kicked in. Stupid waiting period. This is my third ssri in the last 2 months. Failed with paxil, prozac. They both put me through hell. but i have a good feeling about lexapro, this may just be "the one", lol.
I agree on your view about antipshychotics. They should be the option for last resort, when everything else fails. Although Seroquel is pretty awesome, i took it for 6 months last year and nothing helped me like it did. Very efficient. Also helps you sleep like a log. A good nights sleep also helps anxiety. i quit coz of the weight gain it caused. sigh.

Shouldn't you be trying those for longer before you say they don't work? Maybe if there were really adverse effects, but you should stay on them longer than just a bit.

[sunnydisposition]

Paxil, on my 10 th day, i couldn't urinate for 8 hours straight even after drinking gallons of water. When i did finally go peed, there was like 5 drops that came out. I freaked out, i have health anxiety, and this kind of thinks puts my anxiety on turbo. I thought for sure, that i had prostate cancer, or stones blocking my urethra. It turns out when i finally googled the side effects of paxil, it said, "urinary retention, urinary incontinence". THAN i stopped taking it.
On prozac, day 17, i was this close to losing it if i hadnt stopped taking it. Prozac increases the anxiety like 10 tenfolds initially for some ppl. I got so paranoid i doubted all and everything i did. Am i walking right? whatif im walking with wrong form, my knees will cave in if i keep walking this way. Is that an bacterial abcess growing in my teeth, OMG, my teeths are gonna fall out. That mole i got checked up, and doc said it was nothing to worry about, whatif he's wrong. He didnt do any tests. It could be cancer. The sun feels so strong on my skin, im gonna get skin cancer. and so it goes...I couldnt take it anymore, i dont know what i would have done had i stayed on it for more longer.

My point is, i DO give these meds a sincere shot. But when they dont work they dont work. and your body screams that its not not working.

[Ronan23]

It's so strange how these meds and their effects vary for different people. Lexapro made me feel horrific, yet Prozac didn't increase my anxiety much. I don't get it because they're all essentially the same.

[sunnydisposition]

Originally Posted by Ronan23

It's so strange how these meds and their effects vary for different people. Lexapro made me feel horrific, yet Prozac didn't increase my anxiety much. I don't get it because they're all essentially the same.

I know Man, I feel the same way. Finding a right drug is like winning a freaking lottery for us.

[luvyrself]

Originally Posted by Ravdeep Singh

I know Man, I feel the same way. Finding a right drug is like winning a freaking lottery for us.

----im going to have genetic testing to guide the pdoc w med choices.

[sunnydisposition]

Originally Posted by luvyrself

----im going to have genetic testing to guide the pdoc w med choices.

sounds pretty cool. hope it helps ya.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm BP and certain ADs make me anxious and it causes worse moods so I have to stop them. And I'm also on seroquel for sleep (which is not addicting). But I do admit that seroquel at certain doses can completely wipe you out and it seems like your pdoc is just throwing meds at you're symptoms from other meds, which is never good. I believe the original med should either be stopped or adjusted, but hey, I'm no doc. I've just been around this block for 12 years now. As far as benzos go, hail no they aren't like heroine! That's absurd. If you take them on a as needed (PRN) basis and not every single day then you'll be fine. However when you do heroine, just one time at any dose could OD and kill you. As long as you don't have a history of addiction then I don't see why benzos are so bad. Honestly if this were my pdoc I wouldn't be happy. I wouldn't want to be on a med that made me worse.