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How to manage start up anxiety / depression on Escitalopram

Posted , 6 users are following.

caroline50055
caroline50055

Hi - I posted this on the anxiety forum too.

I have posted a few other items on here and am going through a terrible time with severe anxiety and depression. I also am extremely sensitive to medication. I asked to try escitalopram but don't know how I will be able to get through start up problems particularly the increased aniety, depression and insomnia. I live alone which makes it more difficult. It might be that other side effects make it impossible for me. I am in despair at which medication to try as every one seems to affect me too much and I have not been able to be strong enough to push through. Perhaps I should have started sooner rather than leaving it for the depression/anxiety to take a greater hold thereby making any increase in anxiety/depression and other side effects feel intolerable as I am at my coping limit anyway.

I also worry tremendously that the start up seems to last a long time.

Any feedback appreciated.

0 likes, 16 replies

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  • lynne82155
    lynne82155 caroline50055

    Posted

    Like I said on the anxiety forum it is only you and you alone that can decide if you want to take AD's they all have side effects the more you think about it the worse it will be.

    I live alone with no family near by and I have had many medication changes with all different side effects

    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 lynne82155

      Posted

      Hi Lynne

      I worry about it being so bad I cannot function - insomnia and nightmares also worry me and sleep is a refuge at the moment. It does preoccupy me as medication seems to be the main solution and I have had such awful effects but am not getting better without it. I have been taking a small dose of mirtazaine at night to help me sleep but I am sure it has made me quite a bit more depressed.

      C

    • NooNooHead1981
      NooNooHead1981 caroline50055

      Posted

      Hi there

      Please please try the meds - I refused to go down the anti-depressant route after a head injury, post concussion syndrome and very severe anxiety/insomnia. No sleeping pill or minor tranquilliser seemed to work for me. If I'd taken the Citalopram two months sooner before everything got out of hand, I wouldn't have been prescribed a first generation anti-psychotic as a last resort by my GP which has consequently left me with the movement disorder Tardive Dyskinesia. 😥😞😩

      I know it is obviously your decision but Citalopram was literally the med that could have saved me sooner , if only I'd been less stubborn about taking it. 😳😒🙄😖

      Take care

      Xx

    • lynne82155
      lynne82155 caroline50055

      Posted

      I totally understand I have been on AD's for 16 years some good some bad all with side effects I do not want to take them but  I would rather be stable on AD's with some side effects than be suicidal without them

      Stay Strong

    • KMRC
      KMRC lynne82155

      Posted

      Amen, Lynne!  I have been own AD's for 40 years but without them I am suicidal.  I don't have any side effects anymore and am fairly stable being on them.  It is not my choice but for now, it beats the alternative!
    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 NooNooHead1981

      Posted

      Hi Nikki - did you get many side effects? and if so were they manageable - I am so scared my terrible anxidety / depression will get worse initially and I couldn't cope with that.
    • NooNooHead1981
      NooNooHead1981 caroline50055

      Posted

      Hiya

      Side effects from Citalopram were OK... Mainly the odd involuntary eye movements and slight restlessness, and at times I felt like my head was 'empty'😖

      There is no doubt about how severe the side effects were from Pericyazine (the first generation anti-psychotic) compared to anti-depressants... They make taking anti-depressants a walk in the park!

      Severe and acute dystonia reactions when I was on an anti-psychotic (for just a WEEK!) included akathisia, Buccolingual crisis and Opisthotonus.

      My gut instinct told me it was a very severe reaction but for some unknown reason I kept taking the damn drug. Why didn't I stop it go to A&E? God only knows, but now the damage is done and I have a movement disorder because of it, I want to warn as many people not to take anti-psychotics or any dopamine antagonist unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

      Take the anti-depressant, definitely. It may end up saving your life.

      Don't end up like me and take anything stronger. The stupid doctor was only helping me in a crisis but God only knows what will help me now. 😥😩🙄

    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 NooNooHead1981

      Posted

      Hi Nikki - a low dose anti psychotic has been suggested for my anxiety - you are obviously saying no?. You mushc have been on  low dose and yet got lots of side effects - where ther eany others?. I got bad anxiety bad insomnia and stomach acid probs from trying citalopram. 
  • JackDM
    JackDM caroline50055

    Posted

    A good doctor will put your mind at ease. There are some very good antidepressants available today, and there is no reason why you should have to suffer when you start a new one. There are some great medications that can ease any heightened anxiety you may feel while you adjust to a new AD. People react differently to various ADs. The one that helped me the most with my anxiety was Venlafaxine.

    You could discuss the possibility of being admitted to a ward for the first two weeks of your new antidepressant. That way any trouble you might experience tolerating the new med could be observed and treated.

    Good luck, I hope things work out for you.

    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 JackDM

      Posted

      Hello Jack - what meds do you mean do you mean things like benzodiazepines?? I would be so scared on a ward  - I have hear some negative things about the one near me and you would share a room with a few others some who could be violent etc. 'I think that would make my anxiety sky rocketc. How many have you tried Jack and how did you manage to keep strong. I feel so physically unwell too. I don;t know if tht is the anxiety/depression too. But physical health problems led to the anxiety/depression in the first place.
    • JackDM
      JackDM caroline50055

      Posted

      Well, going onto a ward doesn't sound like a good idea if you'd have to share a room. There are meds such as benzodiazapines, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and meds such as cynirazine that can help with some of the unwanted side effects of antidepressants. 

      Not all benzos are heavy and make you dopey.

      I hope you'll see a doctor if you're feeling physically unwell

  • hilary95948
    hilary95948 caroline50055

    Posted

    Hi Caroline, I am exactly the same as yourself, I am extremely sensitive to antidepressants, on and off for the last 8 months I have been going down hill, took Fluoxetine for a month last July, and found I went worse, but ironic thing about it is, havethes tablets before, but did not notice the side affect in the past, but in the meantime, in the last 3 years I have lost my husband, and this did not hit me till last year, so i know how you feel being on your own...I now think Fluoxetine has a harder job to do.... I have been on Fluoxetine now 6 weeks, I don't cry as much now, but still have the anxiety, and shaking a little of a morning.....For me I think the tablets are going to take longer than most to take affect, as I have never felt as bad as this before..... and maybe it might just be      the same for you.... I agree the longer you leave it the harder it gets..... i have done exactly the same...... Most of the tablets will give you side affects, but if you stay on this forum, people will help you through, I have spoken with a lot of positive people...... Hilary   smile
    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 hilary95948

      Posted

      Hello Hilary

      I;m sorry to hear about your husband. How did you go worse? - I don;t think I could cope with that I am at my limit of coping now. It has taken feeling this bad to try and take them. Did you start on a low dose? Why was fluoxetine prescribed - was it because you had them before and asked for them. Also remember different generic makes can have different effects depending on the fillers etc.

      I do feel really bad - it is scaring me to think it will be like this day after day so I need to do something to help myself.

    • hilary95948
      hilary95948 caroline50055

      Posted

      Hi caroline,

      I think if my husband was still here I would have coped a lot better, maybe that's why I coped better on Fluoxetine last time, although i am beginning to think they get the tablets off cheaper labs, which may give you more side affects when they trying to make you better..... I didn't just lose my husband, I also lost looking after him, he was also a joker, always made me laugh, sometimes at my expence, but I didn't care, as it wasn't really meant, now I feel I have no purpose in life, I think that's what's made it harder, but I also went worse, as some of the tablets didn't agree with me, so I was swopping and changeing, or going weeks without, till in the end I new I had to stick with something, I must admit it is hard going the side affects, but i need to get myself better somehow..... Hilary x

    • caroline50055
      caroline50055 hilary95948

      Posted

      Hello Hilary

      How are you doing now? - I must say it is so hard being on your own with an illness like depression and anxiety which make you feel so lonely and vulnerable anyway. What were your initial side effects with Fluoxetine and which tablets made you go worse as you say above you also 'went worse' as some of the tablets did not agree with you?

      regards

      C

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