LEXAPRO ??

I know a few people on that. They started very low to avoid side effects and worked their way up and liked it. I dont know if that helos you but havent heard anything bad about it.

Lexapro (escitalopram) has been used with great success in people with anxiety disorders.

I'm a nurse and I've seen many,many patients respond favourably to Lexapro.

The usual starting dose is 10mg a day, moving up to 20mg a day if you are not responding satisfactorily to it. I see that your doctor has started you on 5mg.

I think that you'll need to go higher, gradually, with the approval of your doctor.

Side-effects? Many people don't get any, but some of the common ones are nausea in the first few days of treatment, which goes away quickly. It can also cause weight gain and loss of sexual desire, but again, not everyone gets these side-effects.

All people are different, obviously, and some derive no benefit from Lexapro. However, those that do derive benefit outweigh the ones who don't significantally.

The people who find it a wonder drug tend to be on 20mg daily, and many say hey would like to stay on it for life as it has made their anxiety so much better.

My view is that you try it, and if necessary have the doctor increase the dose.

It does take a good eight weeks to kick in fully, so be patient.

If it doesn't work for you, there are plenty of other anti-depressants that your doctor can prescribe. Not one medication suits all.

Jenni, you have nothing to lose by taking Lexapro and potentially a great deal to gain.

Please give it a try!

Hope this has been helpful.

Much love, Tess xxxxx

Hi! I am right there with you. I have had my prescription since May and only took one dose of 5mg because I am too afraid to take it, but like you I am at my wits end! If you don't mind me asking what symptoms do you have?

Hi Jenni.

I was prescribed this and it made me quite ill but everyone is different and you may be fine with it.

I am med phobic but the anxiety and agoraphobia I am going through at the moment are pure hell so I have decided it's time to try something.

I've been on diazepam for years, it is useless to me now, even an increase in the dose isn't cutting it and I know I need to brave it and try something different, sure it might not work and it might even cause some side effects at first but when anxiety becomes this debilitating it's a chance that I feel is worth taking.

I have a doctor's appointment tommorow to discuss new meds and have spent the past few days researching ones that might help, lexapro really stood out to me, I read a lot of reviews and many are very positive with good outcomes so I am going to ask for it.

If it doesn't work you can always try something else, at least by trying it you are making a start on overcoming the fear of medication which is actually a very common fear for people with anxiety.

I hope you can give it a try, it has to be better than being at rock bottom, good luck x

I absolutely loath taking medication, so I can understand.

I take an SSRI more for those around me than myself, as everyone notices a big positive benefit.

It's been my experience that you should try to find the SSRI that works best for you. I've tried all of the newer ones and had minor side effects, but now use a much older one (Paxil) that works best for me.

It stinks taking a medication and waiting a couple of weeks to see the benefits, at the same time waiting to see if there are any side effects. Good news is that it's fairly easy and harmless (my experience) to move from one to the other (with dr's approval of course).

I would recomend trying Lexapro, Celexa, and Zoloft first to see if one of them work for you before moving on to Prozac and then Paxil. Mostly due to the withdrawl symptoms with these last two.

It will take some time for them to work. You may have to alter dosages, etc. The trick (IMO) is to stick with it to you find one that works.

Another thing to consider (might be right for you) is Propranolol. It's a beta blocker, but totally helps some with Anxiety. It definitely helped me, especially preventing panic attacks. It also helps with public speaking, stage fright, etc.

Again, I hate to take meds, but after 20+ years dealing with Anxiety - it's great to have some help.