How long for upping doses?

[jayjoe18]

I'm only just into my 3rd week of Cipralex 5mg and just wondered when you should up your dose and how do you tell if you should up your dose? I will be discussing with my GP but just wanted to ask here before hand so I know more before committing to anything.

I have social anxiety and have had for 8 years so think maybe I might need a higher dose than 5mg?

I'm just confused when it comes to changing doses as you can tell how it's working until 4-6 weeks so how do you know if you need to change doses?

[Rennie1989]

Different diagnoses require different doses of medication. Some doctors begin patients on the lowest dose and increase it every two or four weeks. If you feel no benefit from the medication then a dose increase may be beneficial. But this is something you will need to discuss with your doctor as he knows your health better than we do.

But, from experience, I would not increase the dose unless the pros outweigh the cons. Once you are ready to come off medication it can be more difficult coming off them on a higher dose.