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View Full Version : Upped to 20mg no effect after 3 weeks


hubble
12-08-18, 17:16
Maybe its too early, but other than additional drowsiness during the day I've notice nothing good (or bad) about Lexapro. Still have exaggerated startle response, still drowsy during the day all day, still palps, still hyperventilation, still cold chills/hot flashes.

I would have expected to see *something* (even tiny) by now.
roseywosey
13-08-18, 04:08
its always been a quicker one to work for me.

Were you on any other before this one?
hubble
13-08-18, 15:00
No this is my first SSRI or anything like this.
NervousKel
13-08-18, 21:47
It'll be 5 weeks for me on Wednesday at 10 mg (and 1 1/2 months before that on smaller doses), and I'm still not sure if it's doing anything for me. I'll have a really good day, then a bad day, etc.....and this repeats itself, over and over.

How long were you on a lower dose before moving up to 20 mg? I feel like it's probably time for me to move up a dose soon.
matrix123
15-01-20, 16:01
3 weeks is not enough. Give yourself close to 8 weeks to really feel the difference. In my case it worked well
panic_down_under
15-01-20, 21:42
I would have expected to see *something* (even tiny) by now.

It typically takes 4-12 weeks for ADs to kick-in from when a therapeutic dose is first taken (10mg+ for escitalopram) with most beginning to see a positive effect at around 5-7 weeks.

Antidepressants have no direct effect on anxiety, or depression in the way say aspirin has on a headache. They work by stimulating the growth of new brain cells (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC60045/) (neurogenesis) to replace cells killed, or prevented from growing by high brain stress hormone levels. The therapeutic response is produced by these new cells and the stronger interconnections they forge, not the meds directly, and they take time to bud, grow and mature. For a more detailed explanations see: Depression and the Birth and Death of Brain Cells (PDF (https://www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/files/20057610584_306.pdf)) and How antidepressant drugs act (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025168/).