Square 1 after a few good days

Hi Christine, we are all in the same boat and you are definitely not alone. Everything you're experiencing right now is what we've all experienced. We all know exactly the symptoms your feeling, too. You are at the beginning of treatment, and sometimes the old saying of "things get worse before they get better" seems to be how the Lexapro treatment plan goes. BUT IT DOES NOT STAY THIS WAY!!! You must believe that and in yourself and trust the doctors to treat you. Everything your doctor is recommending you to do is all excellent advice!!!!

It's okay to be scared, everything right now seems so overwhelming. But look, you have gone thru 12 days.... !!!! And you're going to go thru another 12 days when I'm sure you'll look back and say "I'm feeling better." Patience is so important to our health, and making small lifestyle changes are important too. Little things that helped me, personally, was to get out of bed immediately when I first woke up and felt the morning anxiety. I got busy right away and that helped a great deal. I also relied on Ativan. I never needed more than 1 mg a day, and I usually took a quarter pill throughout the day.

My daughter bought me a light box at CVS. I sat in front of it for 30- 60 minutes a day playing on my phone or organizing my computer pictures. Daily walks with my dog were key. Exercise boosts your good endorphins, plus, it's good for you anyway! I got up to walking 3 miles!!! But more than anything, PRAYER got me thru the hardest part of my recovery. I'm Catholic and I'm a regular church goer, and my faith means so much to me. Knowing that God would never put this kind of test in my path to destroy me but to strengthen me for emotional battles ahead really gave me hope for the future.

Christine, medicine is only one part of your recovery. Family support, small lifestyle changes and your doctors will all get you through this period in your life. You will come out on the other side of this, I'm sure of it!!!! I'm glad you came here for help. Remember, you're not alone and you will get better. It's one day at a time! Sending you hugs! God bless you!!!!

Aww, I didn't want you to cry. You are stronger than you realize. You will get better! Just keep telling yourself that and push yourself to get the little things done. They do matter and when you can control those little things, a. they take up time and help the day go faster and.... b. routine helps with feeling in control, something to count on. If you have to, make a list of things you'll do for the day. And stick to it. I know it's hard and I know your concentration isn't where it should be, but give yourself some credit for at least starting something, even if it's folding a basket of towels takes an hour!!! Your heart and mind may not be in the daily tasks of life, but they're getting done...by you.... And that's the important thing, to move ahead one day at a time! And rely on God to carry you through this, give him your fears. I often think of how Jesus suffered horrible anxiety the night before he died, and I tell myself my anxiety could never compares to his. And so he above anyone else knows what you are going thru and is with you even at this moment while you read my post. One day at a time.... God bless you!!

Christine... As Tammy has said we r all in this together and yes it's tough but it gets better and better.. Just read Lois Ann and Tammy's messages and it's all right what they r saying .. They were here b4 I came on the scene.. I'm up to 10 mg. of Lexapro and tomorrow will b my 7th week but not for 10 mg. it will b a week tomorrow for taking 10 mg. each day gets better but u will still have little break thru emotions..and yes each time u bump up even as little as 2.5 mg. u may r may not have different symptoms.. My case it's been somewhat different but not a whole lot of differents..just stay the course.. And yes I have had 4 hospital stays and yes they do some good but back when I went in to the hospital there was no blogs like this for support..You can do this and not leave your Precious girls and husband but if u feel like u need extra care then that is a decision you.. Your husband .. Your Therapist.. And your Dr. Must decide.. Just Pray about it and you will know how to handle it.. Take Care and keep posting.. Love and Prayers sent your way..😇

Hi Christine

Yes, hang in there

One day at a time...

I am now on week 6 of 10mg....have had way more good days than bad

For the past few days, some nervousness here and there, not sure if it is correlating with my cycle

But I know meds can take 8-12 weeks for full effect so definately staying the course!

I do like this med cause I have no side effects...

My pdoc is aware of progress and I'm seeing her in several weeks

Listen as ppl, we all have a struggle and right now this is ours

I just think of the good days I have and know that one day, it'll be all good

One day at a time...

Not sure where everyone's anxiety stem from but mine came out of nowhere...well had insomnia for a year then some health anxiety out of nowhere...

Was seeing a therapist who says I'm only anxious about being anxious and I think he's right

At this point though, he's given me great tools to use and I truly don't believe that therapy is what I need at this point because he can find nothing in my life to point to otherwise and my life is pretty great. The anxiety is my only stressor lol

Anyway one day at a time for us all...

Lois

Thank you Tammy... today was a rough day for me.. A lot of crying and some panic attacks... I keep thinking this has to get better but i’m so glad I have you ladies for support... ❤️

Hi!!!  

Thank you so much..  today was a rough day for me.. crying a lot and scared.. just want to feel like myself again. 

I have no idea where my anxiety came from although I’ve always been the anxious type..  In October I got bad case of vertigo and I haven’t been right since.. Right now I feel like someone is choking me and it scares me.. 

I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.. hope you had a good day ❤️

Thank you Nickie..  

Did you notice any side effects moving to 10.  I’m on 7.5 now and it’s only been one day and was thinking up just sucking it up and moving to 10. 

Today was rough.. could only hope for better days.. hope you had a good day.. ❤️

Wow, sorry to hear honey

My anxiety presents with that nervous, butterfly, tense, sad feeling

I have no physical symptoms but I tell u, I'd rather have the worse menstrual cramps that anxiety lol

Yes all we can do is take it one day at a time

L

Christine... Now my response is only my symptoms.. When I started on last Friday ... Not any difference but by Monday morning had a bad panic attack right when I got out of bed .. Came right out of the blue.. Normally I know what brings my panic attacks on but not this time .... Not to say u will and then I have this choking thing that I just can't get rid of.. It hit me this afternoon at 5 pm and here it is 10:30 and it's still with me.. I chew gum and suck on hard mints to kind of lessen the effect .. I'm crying a little and a little flat feeling...I was doing pretty well on 5 mg. just some underling aniexty.. But felt like I needed a little more as did my Dr..so went up to 7.5 I think I stayed there for 2 weeks but still had aniexty and now I'm on 10 mg. and praying it gets better in a few days if not may drop back down but I'll give it a couple of weeks to see if it kicks in and makes things better.. I still have my phobias hasn't really helped in that area.. But I'm probably the oldest lady on here .. I'm 63 but very active.. But this GAD has took the BEST out of me ...So I had to do something.. I've never had any good luck with meds. IThat is why I have had 4 hospital stays..So my new OBGYN did a saliva test on me and when it came back it said that Lexapro would work well with my DNA.. So here we r.. It may take more than 10 mg. for me we will just wait it out.. You Take Care And Keep Posting.. Love and Prayers.. Your New Friend From Texas..😊

Lois!!! Lol. Menstrual cramps x1000!!! Yay hysterectomy! No kidding, right?

Nickie and Christine....

Since I've been in therapy, I have been able to pinpoint why I have anxiety and panic. It stems from a childhood injury that I had when I just tuned 5. Missed the last half of kindergarten back when we started at 4!!! Sled riding accident where I broke all three bones in my leg, had to stay in the hospital for 3 days and came home Christmas Eve. Parents refused to have pins put in my leg so I remained in a cast till May. Then it was time for the cast to come off and they slid this metal ruler down my cast and used the cast saw to take it off. I thought they were going to cut off my leg, I remember screaming for help. Crutches for months after and would fall down if I tried to run.Ever since then I've had butterflies and that nervous feeling all my life and I thought it was normal. But when I was 36 I fell off a ladder and bent my knee so far behind me that my right foot was up by my right ear. My prognosis was horrible. On top of that, I was alone, it was in October and it was raining and gloomy that day.... Which is why I dread winter months and changing the clocks, being alone.

I'm from the Pittsburgh area and my knee surgeon was one of the top and told me he had never seen an injury like mine before. So you can imagine what my mental status was at that time. That was almost 20 years ago and through all that time, I've had six knee surgeries and a knee replacement. So all of my anxiety stems from my personal health.... but this summer my daughter came home to live with severe depression and anxiety.... she quit everything. That was new for me, to feel anxiety for someone else. Thankfully she's doing way better than I was. And she's not on any meds!!! My poor husband...

Anyway, long story, I'm sorry, I tend to ramble, but I started because I think all of our anxiety stems from somewhere; trauma, sickness, fears, etc. I know now that everything I could possibly go thru besides actually death will probably not kill me and something I have to manage, even when it's unexpected. That's the worst, when it's unexpected. When my knee injury happened, I was alone, and now I'm afraid to be alone later in life, fear that I'll loose my husband, etc. But I'm already preparing for those situations mentally by telling myself that I'll get thru it, need be, I won't be destroyed.... That I still have to live my life.

We all have triggers, and if we can identify them and face them head on, then we possibly could squash the fear we hang on to.

So if you lafies are feeling a bit anxious or sad today, just think of me working in the church kitchen for our fish Fry with a bunch of old ladies that bicker back and forth all day long!!!! And say a prayer that I don't strangle one of them! Lol. (I do love them, though, they're like surrogate grandmothers!)

God bless you all!

I hear you Tammy

Me and my pdoc are trying to see if this could be pms or pmdd

Back in August 2017, my anxiety popped up a day before my period

I had never experience this before and had been on ocps for 10 years....coincidentally, I took my self off ocps around the same time by anxiety started but technically I was still taking the ocps when the anxiety started

The anxiety improved days into my period and I noticed that it seems to come back few days before my menses so I don't know...

Pmdd is possible cause my mother, sister and several family members have it

I see my pdoc March 13th and were gonna explore that

Even if that's what it is, the first line treatment is ssri...Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, lexapro, etc so I'm staying on the lexapro for the full 8-12 weeks and then I'll see if I need a dose adjustment

Hope you ladies enjoy your weekend !

L

Hi ladies!!!  

First, Tammy I will be thinking about you working the Fish Fry today.. that made me smile..  I also live in the Pittsburgh area myself.  

Today I am going to the hospital with my husband to get a psych evaluation done.. not sure whether they will

Keep me or fast track me into their outpatient program which i’m Praying for.. I talked to my girls last night and told them I was going through a tough time and that i’m Trying to get better for them.. 

If you don’t hear from me that means they kept me and my cell phone goes away..  

Sending love to all you ladies.. have a good weekend.. i’ll let you know when I can.. 

Xoxoxo ❤️

Hi Nickie!! 

Sending you my love.. Hang in there.. you may need time to adjust on the 10.  I’m thinking you will feel better soon.. I too have that choking feeling.. it really scares me. My throat gets tight and I will like someone has their hands around my neck.. it is hard to take..  so I feel for you.. sometimes if I drink something hot like tea it lessens. 

I’m thinking about you.. hang in there .. stay the course like you lovely ladies tell me.  

Xoxoxo ❤️

I wish you the best and if they do keep you, know it's for the best so you can help the right help you need

I'll keep you in my prayers

L

Hi ladies.. 

Just wanted to update you and let you know that they did not keep me in for inpatient care but hopefully next week I will start an outpatient intensive treatment program that consists of 3 days a week of counseling and therapy for 9 hours a week..  

I was happy to not stay there and leave my family.. my girls have a competition for Cheer in Cleveland and I didn’t want to miss it.. 

They suggest I move my Lexapro to 10 tonight so I may just do that and get it over with.. I’m so nervous about it.  

Hope you all had good days feeling well.. have a great weekend ladies. ❤️

Thank you for your support.  

Xoxoxo 

I'm glad you got checked out! and I'm so happy that you will be getting intensive outpatient care! You're aware that you need help and you're pursuing treatment to get well again! ALL GOOD THINGS!!!! you are definitely on the right track. God bless you and protect you on this journey, you're going to be a stronger person when you come out on the other side! We all will!!!! XO

Glad to hear they released you

Yes u might as well move to the therapeutic dose so you can be on your way to improving Be patient but healing will come

I myself am keeping track of my cycle and moods to see if I have pms or pmdd....

Either way, lexapro helps all that

Enjoy your weekend ladies. At a bed and breakfast with the boyfriend

L

Definitely keep track because my husband always tells me my anxiety peaks right before my period.. 

A bed and breakfast!!!  How nice!!! 

Enjoy ❤️

Thank you Tammy!!  

You are correct..  WE all will come out of this better and stronger!!  

Xoxoxo

Christine ❤️

Tammy I Sooo can identify with the fear .. Being scared .. Not wanting to b alone..all from previous trauma of some kind.. It really helps me to go back over our blog and reread the posts we all have written.. I tend to miss some things and when I reread them I catch more than I did not he first time I read them.. Tammy if u don't mind me asking how old r u.. For the most part I'm probably old enough to be y'all's mother.. My daughter is 36.. Take Care and Stay In Touch.. 💞& 😇

I'm 53. We have a 32 year old and a 26 year old. So I'm no spring chicken!!! ??.

So I'm going along okay.... Had crazy dreams last night and have a bit of anxiety the morning. And immediately I'm feeling sad. I'm pretty sure it'll pass, but it's unnerving. I feel quivery, too. Uggg. But it's only about 2 full weeks on my new meds and I know it's not fully in my system. Anyway, I'll be okay. "Just keep swimming swimming swimming". (that's from Finding Nemo).

Have a great day!!! 😊

Hi Tammy,

R u on lexapro or effexor, cant remember

Yea ssris are effective, they just take several weeks to fully kick in...as much as 8-12 weeks sometimes....

I'm 7 weeks into the generic of lexapro...still have some mild nervousness/dysphoria that semed to worsened around my menses but praying by at least week 8 that it all goes away

I do like lexapro as I have not had any lasting side effects. If I have to go up on dosing I'm ok with that but we'll see....

L

Hi Lois,

Not anymore. After 10 weeks starting at 10 and going up to 20 after 3 weeks, my anxiety really worsened to the point I couldn't function, even the simplest of tasks. So now I'm back on name-brand Effexor XR 75mg. I had taken the generic from many years, over 10, when my generic was discontinued and substituted with another generic. That's when I started having all the Breakthrough anxiety and panic so my doctor decided that it was probably best to go on Lexapro because it had the least amount of side effects. Not so with me!!! So I'm doing a lot better!!!! It's been two weeks back on the Effexor and although it's not completely built up in my system, just stopping the Lexapro made such a huge difference in my anxiety, just cutting it back to 10 mg for 5 days before starting the effexor again!!! There last few days I've been very mild anxiety in the am. It goes away by 8 am. I still hate it though.

So it sounds like your symptoms are lessening after 7 weeks. That's wonderful!!! Unlike you, my triggers were health related, not hormonal. I had a hysterectomy a year ago, still have ovaries, but probably am starting menopause... Which when I look back over there last year, no wonder my anxiety was odd the chart. I think we're all doing better these days, Christine is just starting her journey. She went back to work this week!!! Progress! I'm keeping everyone in my prayers!

glad to hear!!!

Yea am anxiety is the worse

Yes I'm tracking my progress and taking it one day at a time

Cheers to all us brave souls

L

Lois Ann ... Do u know why Aniexty and Panic is worse of the am... Is our bodies trying to tell us that a lot of our Aniexty and panic is Hormonal.. I know b4 I had my complete Hystorectomy I had horrible pms with panic and aniexty and all know nods of moods from 1 moment to another and horrible pain.. It makes me think that even though some of us have had trama in our lives .. Hormone is to blame for some of it.. What is your thoughts on that... I do use hormone cream but not much ...

I'm not sure of the answer to that but hormonal changes may be a factor.....

I'm still currently trying to figure out if my hormones may be causing my anxiety/dysphoria

I noticed that I had some anxiety about 7 days before my menses this month, that appeared to worsen when my menses started on 2/14. It's 7 days into my menses and still have mild tension so I don't know but will discuss with my pdoc 3/14

Hoping that after a good 8-12 weeks on lexapro, that anxiety will disappear...

L

Lois Ann... Did u start on 10 mg. when u first started Lexapro ? It gives me hope that after about 4 more weeks on 10 mg. I'll feel better.. Because I started out so slow on such a low dose... It's only been 11 days on 10 mg.and if u r feeling better in 7 weeks .. I have hope that I'll feel better soon... Take Care 🤗💞😇

I started out on 5mg for 1 week, then been on 10mg for 7 weeks tomorrow

Remember that it takes about 7-10 days for meds to reach the steady state, the state that the meds in your body on a constant level so you count after you've reached that steady state. Therefore you pretty much just reached the steady state at 11 days on 10mg

It can take 2 weeks to start seeing changes, 4-6 weeks to really start feeling it then 8 -12 weeks for full effect

But remember we are all different and some ppl start feeling better a lot sooner

One day at a time😊

L