1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Escitalopram

Escitalopram advice please? (4 weeks in)

Posted , 1 user is following.

mwm
mwm

Hi All,

Long story short, I've suffered with crippling anxiety for as long as I can remember. I'm 24 now, but have been on and off of medication since I was 18.

I've been sliding downhill rather rapidly for the year and then I became stuck. I have been on and off of Mirtazapine out of desperation but found that this did very little for my anxiety - If anything I felt worse on it but was concious of how SSRIs made me feel before initially.

I asked to try Citalopram as I'd read some good things about it and it seemed to be very popular.

Anyway, I took that for around two weeks before I had an appointment at a Psychiatrist (which I had to be dragged to), and it was decided to move me on to escitalopram as the side effect profile is apparently better. I've been on this now for almost two weeks.

So i've effectively been on citalopram / escitalopram for 4 weeks as of today.

I had terrible nausea at the start, and have had increased anxiety throughout. Still finding it incredibly difficult to do anything and have been off work now for the duration of taking these tablets. Some days I'll wake up not feeling anxious, for it to come on in full force later in the day or if i go outside. These 'good' days usually seem to follow with an awful day the following day where I feel unable to leave the house.

I tried going to the gym a week ago and had to leave due to my heart racing, feeling very light headed and nauseous. Tried again yesterday and although the initial anxiety wasn't as bad, my heart was racing, I was still very unsteady on my feet / light headed and a little nauseous, so had to leave again. Felt extremely nauseous when I got home and then felt pretty anxious, wiped out, light headed etc. for the rest of the evening and the same has continued into today.

Persistent side effects at the moment seem to be: dry mouth (very irritating and worse in certain scenerios. Some days worse than others), dizziness / lightheadedness which occurs more often when I feel drowsy or during pyschical activity, anxiety through the roof, drowsiness and mild headaches.

I'm not sure whether to give the medication more time or whether it's just not suited to me. Is anybody able to offer any advice? Did you have a similar experience after this amount of time and did it get better?

The only other SSRI I've been on in the past was Sertraline but that was some time ago and switched initlally due to sexual issues.

Appreciate any advice.

Thanks

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Lee1993
    Lee1993 mwm

    Posted

    hi I have just come off these and started fluoxitine they were OK and take about 6 weeks to 8 weeks to work fully I was on them for about 2 years but I was also on propanolol which really helped they are horrible for me coming off tho I cut down really slowly and still getting withdraws I have also taken citalopram which was my first antidepressant and they were good too but I think after taking the same ones for a year or 2 they wear off. What mg do u take?
    • mwm
      mwm Lee1993

      Posted

      I'm certainly not looking forwards to the withdrawal later down the line with how hard they are to start taking!

      I'm on 10mg escitalopram.

      Did you switch because they stopped working?

    • Lee1993
      Lee1993 mwm

      Posted

      well they worked but I think propanolol is the best medication for physical symptoms like heart racing and I think if I didn't take propanolol the escitalopram wouldn't of worked very good
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.