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Finally switched to Escitalopram!

Posted , 11 users are following.

kelly58470
kelly58470

I've had the bottle of pills in my cupboard for probably 7 weeks now;-). I'd just been too nervous to switch.

?Previously, I was on 40 mg. of Citalopram for 5 years, when it quit working for me. That was a huge and scary disappointment, because I'd just sort of assumed they'd always work for me, and I planned to always be on them. Citalopram was the first antidepressant I had ever been on, and I had a really rough time starting them, so I was not keen on switching to something else!!

?My doctor wrote me out a prescription to escitalopram. I'm hoping a lower dosage will be effective for me, so I had her start me at 10 mg. rather than the 20 mg, which is what the equivalent dose is for Citalopram. When I started Citalopram, my doctor (different one than this one!) started me on 20 mg, then bumped me up to 40 mg. after a week, so I never got the chance to see if 20 mg. would have worked for me. I'm hoping the 10 mg. of the Escitalopram will work; that way I can always move up if needed:-).

?I'll probably keep updating here how my switch is going. I cut the three pills in half, so my first 6 days will be 5 mg.

?So far, after taking the 5mg this morning the only side effect I've had was a very minor stomach ache about an hour after I took it, probably from taking it on an empty stomach.

?

0 likes, 38 replies

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  • kelly58470
    kelly58470

    Posted

    Day 12 on 10 mg :-)

    ?I'm definitely starting to feel some side effects now! The most notable is increased anxiety. It's not constant, in fact, I've had one really great day on Saturday when I had no anxiety and was completely back to my old self. But, the other days have had varying degrees of anxiety.

    ?I'm still having the out of it/buzzy feeling in my head at times. Also, the scalp tinging and occasional chills.

    ?I've been grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw more during the day.

    ?Sleep is still pretty much the same. I haven't taken any trazadone for the last 4 nights, but last night was rough. I was up a lot, and it took me a while to fall back to sleep.

     

  • kelly58470
    kelly58470

    Posted

    Day 16 on 10 mg

    ?I've definitely had an increase in anxiety the past few days. It gets better in the afternoon, then sometimes pops up again in the evening.

    ?I'm still having scalp tingling, and occasional chills. The spaced out feeling has totally gone away though, at least for now;-).

    ?My appetite declines as my anxiety gets worse. I've lost a few more pounds this past week. That's not necessarily a bad thing;-).

    ?I had two nights where I had a really severe headache.

    ?My sleep has been pretty much the same. Some nights I sleep great; some I don't. I do believe the sleep disturbances are all tied in to my anxiety, rather than a direct result of the medication.

    ?I haven't noticed a positive effect yet, of the 10 mg. I'm thinking it's very possible that I'll have to go up to a higher dose. I just hope I don't eventually have to switch to something else.

  • kyle26604
    kyle26604 kelly58470

    Posted

    Kelly, 

    I am in the same boat as you, but i recently moved up from 10mg to 15mg.  I am on day 10 of 15mg and have the same dreadful side effects that I did during start-up, but somewhat to a lesser extent.  My main side effect is just constant generalized anxiety that completely ruins my appetite, I have lost 15 pounds since starting Escitalopram 7 weeks ago.  

    My doctor said to bump the dosage back down to 10mg after the next two days if the side effects do not subside.  However, I am hesitant to do this because I know it can take time to adjust and don't wait the past 10 days to be a waste.  She says I just may be really sensitive to SSRIs.  What does everyone think? 

    • kelly58470
      kelly58470 kyle26604

      Posted

      How are you doing now, Kyle? Did you stay at the 15 mg, or move back down to 10?

      ?I think I'll be moving up to 15 mg myself soon....

  • kelly58470
    kelly58470

    Posted

    Day 20 at 10 mg.

    ?I'm doing better :-). I think the escitalopram may actually be starting to work!

    ?I had a great weekend. I bit of minor anxiety in the morning, which cleared up by 8 or 9 a.m. The rest of the time I was fine.

    ?Yesterday, (Monday), I had a bit of anxiety in the morning, and again late afternoon. Otherwise, I was fine.

    ?Today, I had a bit of anxiety earlier in morning, but it seems to have gone away by now (it's 8:30 a.m.).

    ?I've been sleeping so much better the past few nights. When I wake up, I am able to fall right back asleep again. I do wake up about an hour before my alarm goes off (and can't fall back asleep), but that could be due in part because I've been going to bed earlier.

    ?Yesterday, I even took a little nap during the afternoon, and still managed to sleep great last night.

    ?I'm hoping this trend continues.

    • kelly58470
      kelly58470

      Posted

      Day 26 at 10 mg.

      ?After over a week of good days (just a few flashes of anxiety through out the day), I saw an increase of anxiety yesterday. Then, I had a rough night last night: lots of anxiety when I went to bed, I couldn't sleep, and had to take a trazadone, for the first time in nearly 2 weeks. I'm disappointed today, because I thought the rough nights were behind me, and now I feel like I've backslid.

      ?

  • darla_22432
    darla_22432 kelly58470

    Posted

    I’m really enjoying reading your journey, I just spent 8 weeks of hell on Zoloft and started 5mg Lexapro yesterday. Still having some panic attacks but no side effects the first 2 days that I noticed. Physically feel better already without the Zoloft. Doc wants me to be taking 10 but I wanted to start slow too. I might just jump up to 10 after the first week and try to get it over with. Stay in touch thank you for writing down your journey 
  • kelly58470
    kelly58470

    Posted

    On Thursday, I will have been on 10 mg for 5 weeks!!

    ?I'm not sure if escitalopram is doing anything for me, or not. There's maybe a slight decrease in anxiety, but that could just be wishful thinking. I'm still having worried thoughts, insomnia, and lack of appetite at times. Also, it seems most of the time I have either a low mood, or just feel flat....not many feelings of joy or happiness.

    ?I plan on giving 10 mg another week...and then I'll move up to 15 mg, and see if that dose helps.

    • darla_22432
      darla_22432 kelly58470

      Posted

      So I’ve been on 10mg for almost 25 days now. I’m having some diarrhea and headaches and just this week definitely noticed an increase in anxiety. Trying to take klonopin every other day instead of every day. I was feeling better but now I’m feeling rough again. I’m supposed to be starting my last semester of school, starting a new job, and moving so I am definitely under a lot of stress. I would like my head to stop feeling so out of it all the time though! And the idea of going out with friends literally brings me to tears. I go back to the doctor in 2 days. I guess I’ll see about going up a dose, I took 40mg of celexa before so I’ll probably end up needing a higher dose of this too, I was just really hoping to get by on the 10mg. 
    • kelly58470
      kelly58470 darla_22432

      Posted

      I was on 40 mg of citalopram, so I think I'm going to need a higher dose, too. 

      ?I'm now really regretting that I moved up doses so slowly. Three months on this med and I don't feel any different than when I first started.

  • kelly58470
    kelly58470

    Posted

    Day 11 on 15 mg

    ?Not much to update; I'm doing pretty much the same as when I first started escitalopram three months ago!

    ?With the increase, I noticed a major increase in jaw clenching. That seems to be diminishing. I also had several episodes of feeling light headed when I stood up after sitting.

    ?I'm still having anxiety, and at times my appetite is gone due to the anxiety.

    ?I'm still having insomnia. It's been worse for the past few weeks now. I try to avoid taking a trazadone every night, and the nights I don't take one I'm lucky to get a few hours sleep (a few nights no sleep at all). I'm also unable to nap during the day. I'm not sure if the worsening insomnia is a side effect of the med, or just anxiety.

    ?I'm not planning on making a doctor's appointment for next week, and see what they think about me bumping up to 20 mg soon. I'll then stay on that dose for at least 8 weeks before trying 25 mg, then 30. Ugh, this will all take months :-(. 30 mg is the highest I will go before telling the doctor I want to try a different SSRI (hopefully the generic of Paxil, as I think that could help the insomnia, being that it's supposed to be sedating).

  • zag6
    zag6 kelly58470

    Posted

    Why did you change? I'm currently on citalopram but I think it's causing me constant headaches despite being on it for 2 and a half years

    • kelly58470
      kelly58470 zag6

      Posted

      Hi zag6! I switched from Citalopram because it quit working for me, unfortunately. Otherwise I loved it.
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