Started taking Lexapro & Toporlol, looking for help from you great people on the side effects!

Long post warning! (sorry so long, but I’d love if anyone could read it and help!)

I’m 30 year old male and have never had any depression/anxiety/stress issues until recently. I got two big promotions in two weeks back in October and have a very tough desk job. I’m grateful to be making a ton of money, but I am seeing the cost of it now. I also have 3 kids (7, 6, 2), and recently moved into a new house. A lot of stressful things going on at once.

My first week on the promotion I was doing heavy training, fast paced intense staring at computer screen for 10 hours and trying to learn complicated things. During a conference call I was looking at my screen and my eyes crossed and locked and really freaked me out...I felt light headed, dizzy, felt really off so I went to patient first and they took my blood, listened to my heart and told me I looked great. I thought maybe I just didn’t eat breakfast and it effected me. Fast forward two days and I was at lunch with my wife on a Saturday and it happened again. So this time we drove to ER at a good hospital where we live (Richmond, Virginia). They gave me a cat scan for my brain, took my blood (diabetes was a worry), and told me once again that I was healthy. Said that It was probably stress. I was having a little vertigo and dizziness in between the eye episodes so they told me to see a neurologist. So I did...and same thing. Told me it looked like it was stress. That was in October and after that I never had my eyes lock on me again...I transitioned into the tough new job, received another promotion and raise, and have been killing it at new job.

Over the last few months, I started noticing my vision feeling kind of lightheaded and a little blurry. I didn’t think much of it until I was out to eat a month ago and couldn’t focus on anything...that night I came home and felt tingly, blurry eyed so went to bed. The next day I felt off all day, got some sushi for dinner, ate it and went and took a shower. I had the first panic attack of my life in the shower and threw up when I got out. I felt like I was dying as many of you know. So I went to sleep and woke up the next day really worried and scared. Got through that day, and then the next day went to church, only to have crazy blurry vision and have another panic attack in the bathroom. This is when I knew something was really wrong.

I took the next day off and went and got my vision checked at an eye doctor. Perfect 20/20. So check that off the list. At this point I’m starting to realize...maybe I really do have an anxiety problem. I can’t focus, I’m tingly, ears are ringing, I’m sore physically, I’m anxious 24/7 and having panic attacks. I have lost 20 pounds in a month because I cannot eat I never have an appetite. Three days later I had another panic attack that night and decided enough was enough. I’m going to see a doctor. 

The doc put me on 10mg of Lexapro & 25mg of toprolol to help with heart rate and adrenaline. I only take half of the toprolol dose since day one though. Mainly for my worry that since it drops blood pressure, I will get dizzy like I have been. Again, The meds were given to me for anxiety and stress, not depression (just a side note).

I’ve done a ton of research and know to give these meds time to work because it takes weeks/months for them. I am on day 10 of the meds so far.

So first few days, were hard as expected, nausea/tired/dizzy/lightheaded/headaches/ear ringing/high anxiety/side cramps. I definitely knew to battle it out and give it time, and I’m so glad i have. 

It has revamped me and made me feel great in only 10 days, for the most part. I have had better mood, more energy, not scared to get out and moving. I have gotten through a bunch of the side effects...now I am having very little headaches, no more tingly arms, little ringning in ears, no more nausea, no more tiredness, and most of all my appetite is back 100%...it has been great. There are some things I’d like to discuss with everyone though and I’d really appreciate your help.

1.) mornings are VERY hard.  I take my doses in the morning. It just feels like every day, it takes time to get to feeling normal...although I will say the time has felt like it’s decreased more and more and I’m hoping I can just wake up and feel good from the get go soon. The morning stomach pains are gone, it’s primarily just feeling anxious and having a hard time with my vision.

2.) I get flutters I’m my heart area...they aren’t painful, they aren’t constant, they are just a little scary. Wondering if anyone else had these?

3.) my blurry vision comes in and out but it’s very frustrating and makes me feel anxious when it does. It’s hard to focus and it’s just scary. It has gotten a tiny bit better I think. I’m just wondering if anyone here as had this much of a problem with their vision with anxiety, and then if the meds took a while to fix it. (Doesn’t help that it’s a side effect too).

4.) I had a setback (mentally) yesterday. Day 9 on meds...I was dumb. I woke up after only sleeping 4 hours...took my son to his opening day of baseball. I took my meds without eating (first time doing that), and then made a major mistake. I drank a latte from Starbucks. Again with no food. And I haven’t had caffeine in a month. So 7 hours after I woke up I had meds, a latte and finally lunch. And with lunch I drank a soda (more caffeine). We then had our car packed and drove 90 mins to mother in laws house for kids to have Easter egg hunt (I drove). My stomach was hurting and when we got there, I got out and I was so lightheaded I thought I was going to pass out. It felt like I was going to have another panic attack. I used the bathroom and went and laid in the guest bedroom the whole time we were there...now I was thinking it was a minor panic attack but honestly I was just lightheaded and stomach hurt. When we drove home I got to feeling normal again so I researched caffeine and saw a ton of people had issues with it on lexapro. So I definitely will stay away from caffeine now. I only ate a bowl of Cheerios for dinner and felt fine last night. I woke up this morning for church and felt really lightheaded again so drank some water and ate some breakfast and it eventually went away but was unpleasant nonetheless for about an hour. I came home and took a nap and woke up feeling off but now I’m better. I am really hoping the last 24 hours isn’t a setback and it was just a result of the caffeine because I’m loving lexapro and I don’t want that lightheaded feeling anymore, it is the worst thing In the world to me!!! Does anyone else have this caffeine issue?

Last note, when I switched jobs twice in a short span and I was so busy I missed enrolling for my health insurance which has been a nightmare. A lot of these questions will be able to be answered by my doctor that I can see starting April 1, now that I am enrolled.

Again, I really like the posts in this community so i wanted to give my full back story to see if anyone can relate to these issues. I am trusting the medicine and I hope it all sorts itself out in the lint run.  Thanks for anyone that reads this and replies it helps more than you know!!

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