Mr Kane Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi all. So I have been on lexapro 10mg for about 9 weeks. I feel about 60% better from day 1 but feel I may have peeked. I still have the occasional bad days but mornings always suck. I still wake up panicked and my anxiety is pretty high in the AM. This goes away by early afternoon which is significantly better than how I was before, when it would last 24-7. Any way my doc added Wellbutrin which I took for about a week and asked to stop taking. It made me incredibly angry and irritable among other things. I'm sure those are normal side effects but I don't see the need of going through another 8 week startup when lexapro seemed to work for me. My doc agreed and upped my dosage from 10mg to 20mg. Basically my question is; is the jump from 10mg to 20mg as bad as the original startup? When I first started the 10mg I experienced every negative side effect imaginable and it was not until week 8 I noticed improvement. Anyone make this jump and if so how was it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzy Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi Mr Kane, I did Citalopram, but have heard it is similar to Lexapro, and I also started the 10mg then went to 15mg and then to 20mg. For me, going from 10mg to 15mg and then to 20mg was no where near as bad as the initial start up of the 10mg. The start of 10mg for me was horrid, but at that time I didn't have another medication to help with anxiety like I do now. I have been on 20mg for a while with minimal start up effects, nothing dramatic, but need more support so as of today I will be upping to 30mg for two weeks and then onto 40mg. I hope this answered your questions. I know upping is a can be difficult, but you're not alone, and keep posting here if that helps you. I wish you the best with you transition! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hazzy your response is exactly what I needed to hear! I also am prescribed Xanax as needed, so I'm hoping that helps with any side effects. I don't mind having some side effects in fact I expect it, but I can't have it be as bad as the startup for 10mg. I don't think I can go through that again. Best of luck with your transition as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anxietygirl7 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I went from 10 to 20 as well and it was sooooo much more tolerable than the startup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer_lady Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I may be going from 10mg to 20mg soon as well. Just wanted to say it is reassuring to hear it wasn't so bad for most people! My start up was not very fun either. Hope the upped dosage goes well for you if you go through with it, Mr Kane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDepressed Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I have done this also. I went from 5mg all the way to 20mg. What I did was step it by 5mg each time. Instead of jumping straight to 20, I went to 15 for a couple weeks and then 20mg. I really believed it helped me with side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks all for the encouragement. I will be starting the 20mg tomorrow. I will post and update my side effects for future people in my position to let them know how it goes. Drummer_Lady best of luck if you decide to make the jump! Keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASJ Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi All: Can you let me know what start up side effects you have experienced? I went from 5mgs to 10 mgs after being on 5mgs for 2 weeks and the 5 to 10 upgrade has been torture for the last week. It's been 12 days now that I have been on the 10 mgs and I have been having mini panic attacks all day long and have this worrying about worrying constantly. Has anyone else had this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hey ASJ. Let me start off by saying I'm the most impatient person in the world so for me to say stick with it says ALOT. I had the worst startup ever. I've experienced things I've never experienced before. ITS NORMAL so don't worry. The second I would wake up I'd be in a panic. This would last all day. I felt that I was in this deep dark hole and would never get out of it. I experienced a helpless/hopeless feeling I've never felt before. I was never suicidal but often had thought of not wanting to go on. It's scary. 1 week, 2 week....5 weeks went by and nothing. Felt like I was never going to get better and as you are probably experiencing this only makes you panic more. 8 full weeks went by and nothing. I'm not trying to scare you but I'm also not trying to sugarcoat it. IT SUCKS. And then all of a sudden like someone turned on a light switch I started to feel better. The 9th week is when it really kicked in for me. I felt great. Significantly less anxiety/panic. Depression 100% gone. I still wake up panicked but by early afternoon it lifts. I still have bad days but much more manageable and much more good days in between. For these reason I'm jumping to 20mg to try and limit the morning panic and bad days, but if I had to I can easily survive on the 10mg. Long story short stick with it. Everyone is different. Took me 9 weeks but it may only take you 4 weeks. Don't give up and keep coming to this board. It helps a ton. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracyistrying Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I just switched from 10 mg to 20 mg this past week and I haven't had any of the regular startup effects. I've barely noticed the transition. When I first started Lexapro I had terrible nausea and some anxiety attacks. Good luck with the upped dose!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Thanks Tracy and good luck to you too! I guess I'm sensitive to medicine because I'm experiencing pretty high anxiety the last few days. This is day 4 on 20mg and I definitely notice the side effects but they are not nearly as bad as the original start up, which is good. But my anxiety is bad, depression is creeping back a bit but other than that I seem to be ok. Hopefully the anxiety dies down soon because its paralyzing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracyistrying Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Sorry you are experiencing the bad side effects of the medication, Mr. Kane. Hopefully these will lessen for you soon. Anxiety can be a really awful thing. Never realized how anxious of a person I was until all this started last fall. I am so glad my doctor prescribed something for depression/anxiety that worked for me on the first try. Wish I could find a sleep med that worked as well as Lexapro!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 I know, me too I'm glad lexapro seemed to work so far. Question for those who made the jump from 10mg to 20mg. It took me 9 weeks to notice a positive result on the 10 mg. The 8 weeks leading up to that were hell. My question is did upping your dosage to 20mg take as long to see positive results as the original start up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Update for those considering making the jump to 20mg. My experience/suggestion is to absolutely do it if your doc gives you the okay and do not worry about the side effects. So far I'm almost two weeks in and the difference between 10mg and 20mg is night and day. I can't imagine it getting better than this but again I'm only 2 weeks in so maybe it will which is very exciting. The first week I experienced the normal start up effects such as increased anxiety and depression but not as bad as the original startup. 2 weeks in they seem to be gone. I still have up and down days but completely worth it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKB48 Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Just wanted to thank everyone for posting here about their transition. My dosage was recently upped from 10mg to 20mg and tonight will be my 3rd night taking the increased dose. I've been really worried especially because I had read so much negativity about Lexapro on the internet when it was first prescribed to me back in January, so it was so comforting to read about your experiences. Thanks again! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer_lady Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I'm on day 4 of my increased dose from 10mg to 20mg. So far so good, though I know it's too early to tell much yet. It's definitely encouraging to hear the positive results everyone else has had though. Thanks for sharing, everyone! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Kane Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Best of luck to you two. I am almost at 3 weeks since making the jump to 20mg. Today is a one of those down days I spoke of. But it's soooo much more manageable than the down days off lexapro and the down days during the start up of 10mg. I agree that it was scary to make the jump since all I read everywhere is how terrible lexapro is and what not. So I'm glad starting this topic helped. Hopefully you two have no issues! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustyRoad Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I've posted lots on Lexapro. I've had two starts with the drug. The first time without SE, second with SE. Mostly as a few others have noted, I feel weak and tired, some good days and some not so okay ones still after 9 months. Changing to more is always with more tiredness. That's all for now. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5ZVP Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 The nausea is ******* me. I know it has only been a couple weeks and need to stick it out but feeling like I am about to throw up all time is the worst! Then I am also tired which does not help me cope. I don't want to take meds anymore. I just want to go back to the days before my anxiety started. Miserable... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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