First dose: Lexapro

Hi Alexandria, I have been on lexapro for 1 yr and it has helped me alot. I started on 15mg and then after 1 mo. to 20 mg. I no longer have panic attacks and the anxiety has much improved. This medication is very slow working so it takes a good amount of time to make a difference. You have to be patient with this med. Stay in touch with your doctor and try to keep busy,( with 2 children that should be easy). I also do yoga and meditation. God Bless and keep in touch.

Hi there Alexandria. Welcome and always feel free to ask anything here. The 5mg is a good, safe start. That is not an earth shaking amount so I would not fear starting at that. Literally every person reacts differently to these type of medications. It is common to feel new and uncomfortable sensations initially when you start. Also common can be for nothing at all to happen with some at the start. Give it a few weeks and let your doc know how things are going. I was almost suicidal when I was started with 20mg Lexapro and 1 mg of Xanax a day at day one. Very odd feelings for a week, long story short, my panic stopped. I only stayed with the daily Xanax for a month and then stopped it due to addiction fears and have stayed at 20mg Lexapro for 19 months. Saved me, I was in real trouble. At least for me, no serious side effects. We all know the first few weeks/months have much apprehension and worry. I personally have not talked with anyone who had an issue with heart using this but voice that concern with your doc. If the time comes your doc decides to increase the dosage, you will probably have (again) an week or do of new, odd feelings...that is normal. At dome dosage, the hope is that your fear and anxiety drop noticeably. Keep the communication with your doc open and keep asking questions here. It is difficult and asking for help can be difficult. Keep up the pushing ahead, you are doing the right thing.

Best,

Jim P

Hi Alexandria. First of all be reassured that your doctor has started you off on a nice low dose. I've been on prozac in the past and now on lexapro for 7 months, initially at 10mg and then 15mg. It's important you remember that it is a slow process and you need to give yourself time for the medication to fully get in your system, give it at least 3 months. Try not to get disheartened. It helps to keep a diary of your symptoms and feelings, as the change in you will be gradual, when you feel like you're not getting better it helps to look back and realise there has been improvement. And don't be alarmed if you do get a few side effects, it doesn't happen to everyone but if it does it's completely normal and means the meds are working, not the opposite which some people think and then they think the meds are making them worse and stop taking them. Please set yourself at least a 3 month time frame. I do yoga and meditation, and walking. Anxiety can be due to a build up of adrenalin in the body its good to burn off your excess adrenalin, it helps loads. I also take good vitamins including a b vit and magnesium. I find the magnesium helps lessen my physical side effects of anxiety, magnesium flake baths are excellent too. You can find very good guided meditations for anxiety on youtube. Keep reading forums and peoples positive experiences, this helped me get through the hard times. Good luck and remember there is support out there, we have all been through it too x

so this is day 7. they lowered my dose to 2.5mg because I couldn't handle the 5. the morning anxiety is awful! I take my medication with dinner (around 6 or 7pm). my doctor told me to use xanax for the anxiety. I'm doing ok but the last 2 days I've had no PVC's, now this morning I'm feeling them again. this is so weird!