Feel like I am going mad

[mlondon]

Upped my dose to 10mg of Escitalopram 2 days ago and feel like I am going to go mad, is this normal? Its horrible!

[alias_kev]

Sorry to hear its bad for you. I started on 10mg and went up to 20mg. Worst symptoms I remember were some nausea, headache and sleepiness. But i already had a lot of headache and sleepiness so I just slept a lot!! To be honest i was either lucky or so messed up already that the meds did not take too much of a toll. I already had a bit of a wild sugar chemistry though - although apparently my blood tests are ok - and the escitalopram seems to have made that worse especially at the beginning.

We do hear that some people take a bad hit from any SSRI. What time of day do you take them? When do you eat and how much? I ask as I think its a factor in how they affect me.

In what way do they make you feel "mad", that could cover a lot of ground? Talk to us and maybe we can help. Obviously if it gets too bad you should talk to your doctor. You need to put up with it for a while if you can BUT not if its making things too extreme. Especially any dodgy thoughts.

Kevin

[mlondon]

Thanks, I am feeling a bit better now, just very on edge all the time as though something bad is going to happpen and I keep imagining what it would be like to go crazybut then sometimes i feel normal. I am very sensitive to the meds, I started on 2.5mg and felt a bit wierd, then 5mg and felt funny but I must say I am also feeling better in other ways. I have been on 10mg for 4 days now so not long. I take them at night and find it very hard to sleep, the first night I didn't sleep until 6am and went to work at 8am, then the next few nights I have been getting to sleep about 1ish and getting up for work. I don't want to take them in the morning incase I feel bad at work but will try and take them early evening tonight and see if that helps.

[Lenna]

I just want to say that I know exactly how you are feeling, as I felt the same when I upped my dose to 10mg. I simply could not cope. I thought I was loosing my mind. It was a really really strange feeling. So, I went back to my original 5mg dose.

I have been taking Cipralex for 6 weeks now, and I can say that, in some ways, I feel better, but I still get this weird feeling in my head from time to time. So, just like you, I am wondering whether I should stick to Cipralex or ask my doctor to prescribe something else.

I hope somebody else can explain whether this is a normal reaction to this medication.

[darlinggirl]

I too feel like I am going mad on this medication - did you sleep mlondon when you took it early evening? I am taking it in the morning and I can't function properly at work

[alias_kev]

Hi - Can't properly comment on the spaced outness. Get that but had it already from my anxiety/stress/etc.

You could if your GP approves change to taking the does at night. Some people have reported that this makes sleep disturbance or (near) lucid dreaming more of an issue. I found I had to take some at night inorder to overcome the whirling bad thoughts that kept me from resting at night. My GP took the (unusual) step of splitting my dose to half morning/night which is unusual as ALL the info I can find says take a single dose.

That aside the drug has a longish half life, 27-32 hours, which means the levels in the body take more than a day to halve. I wonder if some poeple metabolise it in or out faster than most or are more sensitive to the dosage present so: the take pill - boost level - drop over 24 hours is too much of a seesaw for them.

If its not helping overall and you've got through the 4-6 week settling in period you should atleast discuss it with your GP. If he/you decide to change meds you need to come off these really slow. Even the manifacturer advice leans to a reduction of the dosage by 5mg a week and longer for some.

[bab]

Hi there

its totally normally to feel spaced ut for a few days even week or so when upping from 5mg to 10mg - stick with it even though its horrible as it will pass

[mlondon]

Hi all

Thanks for your comments. I have been doing much better recently, almost felt normal but then have had a dip in the last few days. I can been on 10mg for 2 weeks now so maybe it is still taking time to stabilise. I find it does affect my sleep and have started to take it early evening instead which helps.

[mlondon]

p.s. you are all great!

[Lucky07]

I know this is an older post and hopefully you are doing great now. I just wanted to add that the first couple of weeks on Lexapro were hard for me as I kept feeling like 'what if I go crazy' and being scared that they were going to have to admit me, and what if I commited suicide and didn't realize it, etc. From what I read on here those feelings are normal as you adjust to the meds. By 4-6 weeks or so I didn't have anymore weird thoughts and the drug works well for me.