At what point did you know escitalopram was working?

[NervousKel]

Day 13 of 10 mg, and yesterday was a bad day. I'm now having doubts as to whether this drug will even work for me, or wondering if I'm on too low a dose.

I know it's probably too early for me to even be feeling any positive effects from it? I guess at nearly two weeks in, I had hopes that I wouldn't be feeling worse on some days.

When did you realize the medication was actually working for you? On the flip side, how did you know it was time to up the dose, or switch to something else?

[Sleepy]

I’m on 15mg now, and have been for about 6 weeks.

All I can say is the anxiety is much much better, but I have a restlessness now which means I can’t relax. It’s not like anxiety, because that jitteriness comes from fear. This just feels like over-stimulation. My brain won’t relax and I can’t sit still. I also have ear/sinus problems which are related to jaw clenching, at least I think they are. I also yawn A LOT!

My psychiatrist gave me the option to cut my dose down a bit, but I decided to give it a bit longer. He says he thinks I’m having too much of the drug (for me).

My sleeping is variable. I go off straight away (with a Zopiclone) but wake very early, and often can’t get back to sleep. If I wake at 7 that’s great, but 5, not so good.

I have to say, though, that this hyper state I’m in is making my brain function really well. I’m excellent at University Challenge atm!

I’d advise giving the drug longer, but I have to say I’m disappointed with it. I’ve not been well for 6 months now. I thought I’d be fine after a couple of weeks. I was with paroxetine and trimipramine.

Hope you improve. I’m sure you don’t want to have to change meds any more than I do.

[AntsyVee]

My husband said he noticed a difference in me after 3 days. I probably noticed it about a week and a half in. I noticed the ability to switch the channels in my brain more easily and not fixate on my worries as much.

[GiantMogwai]

2-4 weeks for me on 5 mg. When i tried to up to 10 mg i would get overwhelmed by excitement which would make me feel like vomiting or like i was going to pass out from excitement. Went back down to 5 mg.

Helped quite a bit in some respects, not a lot in others, but came off it after about a year I think when the side effects for me started to outweigh the benefits. Also while on this drug and severely stressed i started screaming in public for the first time so I blame this drug for that. I'd felt overwhelmed loads before but never reacted with screaming.

I dislike SSRIs in general but know people who it works for well. Most people I know who find it helpful long term are on Citalopram.

[AntsyVee]

I've been on Lexapro/Escitalopram at 15 mg for 4 years now. No issues at all.


You need to at least be on 10 mg. That's the minimum effective dose. A 5 mg dose is not going to do much for you except maybe keep you sick. Some doctors believe that staying on ineffective doses of medications actually trains your body to reject it.

[GiantMogwai]

You need to at least be on 10 mg. That's the minimum effective dose. A 5 mg dose is not going to do much for you except maybe keep you sick. Some doctors believe that staying on ineffective doses of medications actually trains your body to reject it.

Utter nonsense, at least in my specific case. In my case that's simply so far from the truth it is ridiculous. 5 mg is described as a placebo dose by some doctors but for some people that is far from the truth. Maybe I'm just sensitive to the drug but I noticed significant changes and significant side effects on 5 mg, including significant changes to heart rate. I appreciate that your experience is very different, but in my case the 5 mg had significant damaging side effects.

[Fishmanpa]

Not the same med but I was given Zoloft to help with depression after my 1st heart attack. I was taking it in conjunction with therapy. I personally didn't notice anything but friends noticed a difference in me after a few weeks. They said I seemed calmer and more upbeat.

Positive thoughts

[AntsyVee]

Utter nonsense, at least in my specific case. In my case that's simply so far from the truth it is ridiculous. 5 mg is described as a placebo dose by some doctors but for some people that is far from the truth. Maybe I'm just sensitive to the drug but I noticed significant changes and significant side effects on 5 mg, including significant changes to heart rate. I appreciate that your experience is very different, but in my case the 5 mg had significant damaging side effects.

There are always exceptions, but accepted practice is usually to increase to the minimum effective dose of an SSRI in a couple of weeks. Otherwise it’s hard for the drug to build up in some one’s system, which is how the drug works.

[NervousKel]

Thanks for all the replies :-). It definitely helps me to read about everyone else's experiences.

I think part of my issue is that when I first started reading about escitalopram, it mentions how it can start working as early as two weeks. Of course, in my mind ;-), then I'm thinking "Oh, wonderful, I'll feel so much better at two weeks!" Now, at two weeks, I've had a few bad days, and I'm worried that it won't work for me. I need to remind myself to be patient, and give it more time :-).

[YouRemindMeOfTheBabe]

I started on 10mg of it then the doctor put me up to 20mg a month later. I knew it was working maybe a year later when I was leaving the house again. I know a year seems like a long time but I wasn't helping myself much so that's a contributing factor. I went down to 10mg at the beginning of this year thinking I'd wean myself off it slowly (I've been on it, or variations of it for 16 years.) It was a mistake to go down, this med has changed my life. I'm so much more able to cope on the 20mg dose.