Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello,
I am starting to take lexapro again after being off it for about 6 or 7 months. I do well once I get adjusted to these meds but for whatever reason, the startup is brutal for me. Does anyone have any start up advice that I probably have forgotten since last time?
posted this is the escitalopram group also, but it doesnt look very active.
0 likes, 8 replies
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ian90586 brian04174
Posted
Hi,brian. Starting treatment on any antidepressant is brutal,you don't say if you're primary condition is anxiety or depression. If it is anxiety,then lots of people experience heightened anxiety at the beginning along with side effects, that's why people come to these forums for support through those times when things are worse. I only experienced escitalopram once for a short time before going back to Citalopram, as I found it especially potent and hard to endure. The only advice I would give on starting treatment,is to expect that things will probably worsen for some time,get your head down and stick with it knowing that it doesn't last,and look forward to when improvement in your condition comes.
brian04174 ian90586
Posted
Thanks for your reply. I am taking for both depression and anxiety. You would think I would remember what all it was like starting up again, but I do know once you are better that you kind of forget it. Both times I have been on it, I remember that things didnt really turn around for me until I got to the dose that works for me which is 20mg. Not sure how long that will take, but I have started out slow with it at 5mg.
ian90586 brian04174
Posted
That's exactly right about forgetting. The brain soon cuts out the bad memories,but I've had it several times where I think I don't need to take a little pill every day,I'm Ok and tapered off,only to relapse after some months and then got to start all over again. I was on 5mg,but the heightened anxiety was too much for me, it's much stronger than Citalopram. Best to start low and titrate up slowly. Good luck..
TaraLin brian04174
Edited
Hi Brian,
The same thing happened to me last year. I was on escitalopram for about 6 months and then decided to quit taking it because I wanted to lose weight. I thought I would be fine. I relapsed and my anxiety was worse than ever. I'm definitely regretting going off so soon. I decided to get back on with citalopram instead because I thought maybe the long-term side effects would be less of a problem (weight gain). But, as it turns out, this go has been extremely hard for me. With escitalopram, the worst was the first two weeks, and then I was lucky to have it get easier from there out. This time, I'm into my eighth week and it's been hard the whole way through. I have been taking 15mg and I think that either it's too low of a dose (two days ago I bumped up to 20mg), or I'm simply paying the price of yo-yoing on and off these meds in a short time frame. I've heard that can make the adjustment period longer as well. In any case, I wish you the best of luck. I've experienced the whole run of side effects with the worst being the heightened anxiety and later fatigue. I think the best reminder I can give is that it gets better with time, but that you have to be really patient and just accept the process and all the weird uncomfortable side-effects that come with it. Every single person is different. Also, I can wake up feeling terrible and know that within several hours that feeling will shift. I still might not feel great, but it won't necessarily be as intense, or the same symptoms. Forcing myself to get outside and move also helps me to mentally stay positive.
Hang in there!
brian04174 TaraLin
Posted
Thanks for the reply,
From what I understand the dosing for citalopram is double what it is for escitalopram. I could be wrong about that though, at least that is what I thought I had read somewhere. I can remember from last time that it was a long drawn out process. When you feel like this, that is really hard. I ramped up pretty slow last time, I am wondering if I should just go faster this time to get to the dose that worked for me. Thinking about going too fast is a bit scary.
TaraLin brian04174
Posted
Hey Brian,
Sounds about right; per the web: "The dosage range for depression for citalopram is 20-40 mg/day, this is according to the new FDA recommendations. Previously, the dosage was 20-60 mg/day. For escitalopram the range is 10-20 mg day."
Before, I was taking 10-15 mg/day of Escitalopram, which would be equal to 20-30 mg/day Citalopram... and here I've only been taking 15 of Citalopram... so it stands to reason I'm probably shy of what worked for me before. My increase to 20 mg three days ago is feeling crummy and I'm still trying to decide if I just want to change directly to Escitalopram (this is what the doc is recommending if I'm not better by next week). I have no idea if that's the best thing or if I should just wait for Citalopram to work. Two months has felt like an eternity to feel this uncomfortable. I am now really wishing I had just gone back on Escitalopram instead of Citalopram. The increased anxiety is such a bugger. It makes us all paranoid about dosing and drug mixing and symptoms... being at work is terrible... everything is stressful.
I think you are smart to titrate up to your desired dose as slowly as is comfortable for you. But that's why it took me so long to get to 20 mg of Citalopram. I was waiting for the 15 to work. From what I hear, 10-14 days is a good amount of time between dose switches. I wish I'd adhered to that.
brian04174
Posted
I had forgotten how horrible mornings were. Maybe I didn't totally forget it but I just didn't remember how rough they are. Has anyone found anything to make them any better?
brian04174
Posted
Well, its been 6 days and my sleep has been tough. I fall asleep really easy but I then wake up a few hours later and have a terrible time going back to sleep if at all. How long does this phase usually last?