[alaralyn245]

Ok, for starters I have been able to move my psychiatrist appointment up to Thursday and both he and my therapist know of my current state.

I started trying psych meds again (after an unsuccessful attempt in my teens) back in July. First I was on Prozac which didn't help my anxiety and made me feel like a zombie. I wanted to sleep all the time, very little motivation to get things done, and still tired. I gave it time, but it never improved, or helped the anxiety. I had read and heard a lot of good things about Lexapro, so I tried that next. I started it November 1st. At first I seemed to have almost no side effects, and when the Prozac started wearing off I felt ok. I couldn't tell if I was getting any help for the anxiety, but I had a lot of hope for it. Well, end of December my divorce was finalized (we've been separated for a year - literally the only change was signing the papers in a mostly amicable divorce). So, two months on Lexapro. I feel like I have gone absolutely crazy since that point. I had a bad suicidal point around Christmas and it lasted much longer than pre-meds episodes (last one being back in May/June). When that started to clear, I started having horrible anxiety and panic attacks. Now...my anxiety level was already pretty severe. I have post-traumatic stress, in addition to some general anxiety, and I've had issues on and off for years. But now it's like it is on steroids. I've had a panic attack almost every day for three weeks now. I couldn't attend the class I planned (switched for another online class) and can hardly make it through work (today I left early hoping a break and rest would help, but it's back again). I'm having constant heart palpitations - even going to sleep, waking up, etc. I've also developed eczema - the last time I had that was on Anafranil. I've cut back on caffeine, I run 20-25 miles per week, I color and play piano, deep breathing, etc.

Would it take this long on the med to see such a terrible reaction? Especially if I had almost no side effects initially? My therapist thinks I'm reacting to the divorce, which certainly may have ramped it up some...but I feel like I'm absolutely losing my mind.

Also, I was on paxil and then anafranil in my teens (anafranil worked for my mom, who has severe OCD) and those didn't work either. I know it can take several different tries, and there are some classes of meds I haven't tried yet, but I'm freaking out about having another bad reaction to another med. I've had severe eczema break out on two different meds (anafranil and now lexapro), and there hasn't been even one med that made a noticeable dent in the anxiety. I'm at a loss and it's taken 6 months and I'm scared of reacting badly to another one.

[Skeezyks]

Hello alaralyn245: I'm sorry you're having all of this difficulty. Unfortunately I cannot really address your concerns. But I noticed no one had replied to your post. So I thought I would.

I was put on Lexapro years ago for a brief period. However, I developed little red pin-prick dots all over my calves & so I was taken off of it immediately. I don't even know for certain if the two things were related. I'm no longer on psych med's. They've just never done enough for me that I felt they were worth the expense, to say nothing of the side effects. The last AD I was on was Cymbalta & it was the best one (for me) I ever took. Anyway... best of luck with your upcoming appointment.

[possum220]

Have to say as a general rule that it will take about 6 weeks for an anti depressant to reach a therapeutic level in your body depending on the dose that your doctor has you on. If the doctor has increased the medication then that may account for the change in how your body is responding.

I took Lexapro about 8 years ago and I remember high anxiety levels and abnormal sweating. If your body hasn't settled by now in taking a certain medication then there are chances that it isn't the best one for you. Please talk to your doctor about this.

Hope you can find something that suits you better.

[~Christina]

I was on Lexapro for almost a year .... given pre Pdoc and diagnosed Bipolar.

My GP had me in and I was manic for the entire time and not the happy stuff

[TicTacGo]

Yes, there is the potential for a med to develop side effects a little later, depending on tiny differences in your body between when you started, and when the side effects began.
This happened with when I was on Zoloft. The nausea started a few months later and I had no idea what was wrong because it wasn't like any variable changed such as sleeping or eating habits.

Please see your doctor asap.

[emgreen]

TicTacGo's right. It would be wise to consult your pdoc. Different folks react to meds differently, but I've been on Lexapro for years & don't notice any ill effects. My pdoc lowers my dose down as low as possible when I'm not feeling too depressed, but when I'm really getting beaten down he increases it accordingly. Unlike my former pdoc, my new one micro-manages my meds in a much wiser manner. I like that...

[alaralyn245]

Thanks for the responses - my psychiatrist switched me to pristiq, but I decided to wean off meds entirely for a break before starting it. The withdrawal symptoms from lexapro just subsided starting yesterday/today (I've been off it completely for two weeks now) and I can confirm that some of the heightened panic was from the meds. I'm still not in a great place, but the smallest trigger doesn't set off the panic anymore.