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SUZY Q
17-04-09, 18:10
Ive been on escitalopram for 17 days now. Im on 5mg as im very sensitive to tabs. First week was terrible like pretty much everyone says. This week i have had three days that were really good. I was able to go up to the shop and buy a paper. Ive driven around with my husband in the car. Popped round to my friends for about 2o minutes. These are things that 3 weeks ago i couldnt of done. Today though i have been very tearful and anxious. It was the first day in about a month that i was going over to my mums for lunch with my husband and son. She lives about 5minutes away in the car. Also my father in law was coming around to our house in the evening (He came over to us for BBQ last sun so i have seen him recently). I found myself getting in abit of a state throughout the morning suddenly panicking that i couldnt cope with both of those things in one day(also forgot to say that its time of month). I had to ask my husband to cancel my father in law coming over (which i feel terrible). But we did go over to my mums for lunch. I felt quite anxious for a while. But i did manage to drive home and wasnt to bad. I just wanted to know is it normal to still have on and off anxious/panicky days . I will be on the tablets 3 weeks on Monday coming. :unsure:

suzy-sue
17-04-09, 18:25
Hi Suzy,yes having the odd day of anx and panic is quite common.Thre weeks isnt long and your meds will settle after 4-6 weeks.Dont feel bad about your father in law,im sure he will understand.Youll find you cope better with things once your theraputic dose has kicked in .Until then ,take small steps, things will be fine.All the best Sue :hugs:

SUZY Q
18-04-09, 12:21
Thank you Sue that has helped me. I suppose like alot of people when you have had good day/s its very hard when you feel panicky/anxious again. You feel that you are going backwards but like you said it takes a while for the tabs to kick in properly. Could you or someone tell me when the tabs kick in properly do they take the anxiety/panic completely away. I know that i will still probably feel nervous about doing/going different places to start with. :)

Dreamer029
19-04-09, 15:53
Suzy,
I had a horrible first week on it. Then it started to fade and eventually it became so that there were more good days than bad. It has really ended up being my saving grace. I do still get panic attacks but not very often and definitely not as intense as before. Stick with it, it is very worth it. The medicine can take up to 4-6 weeks to work and it sounds like you are on your way! I would say 90% of my panic is gone, and I have the strength to conquer the 10% that's there with confidence. Today is one of those so-so days so I decided to visit the site :) Keep in mind the dose of 10mg is the recommended amount so try and work up to that. (I am actually a few months away from graduating with my Masters of Physician Assistant which is kind of an equivalent of an Nurse Practitioner where you are from, so I have learned a lot about these drugs because someday very soon I will be prescribing them!)

Hope that helps,
Feel free to msg me if you need anything or have any more questions
Lauren

SUZY Q
19-04-09, 17:57
Hi Lauren, Thankyou for your words of encouragement.It really does help when you hear other people who have been through it and come out the otherside feeling so much better. Im going to speak to my doctor in the morning and i will ask her about the 10mg. I did ask her before but she didnt seem that keen for me to go onto 10mg as im so sensitive to tabs.
:)

bab
21-04-09, 21:20
Hi Suzy
I have been on cipralex about a year now. I am also very sensitive to tabs but found that after getting through the horrible first few weeks of 5 mg i only felt slighly more effects from going up to 10mg and its really turned my life around.

SUZY Q
22-04-09, 09:49
Thankyou. I took my first 10mg last night. Im feeling quite nervous today and tearful. Think im just a bit worried about how im going to feel. Just really hope that i dont get awful side effects like before. Im feeling a bit dizzy at the moment but that might be me thinking too much also i didnt sleep well last night. Any more reassurance would be really appreciated. :unsure:

alias_kev
22-04-09, 10:12
Hey Suzy, Gonig back to the extra anxiety you had on the day that you were seeing more family:

I think that can be very common in anxiety sufferers and little to do with the meds. Even those without any broad social anxiety can feel a lot more anxiety in having to meet/deal with/be accepted by family. I suspect its common even in people without a clinical condition. Its a combination of history/obligation/feeling judged - even if the other person is a saint. ;)

So your anxiety will have been running higher and the low dosage was overwelmed. Feeling worse is then a powerful impact on us - as its a surprise, a let down and in those prone to panic syndrome a panic trigger in itself. Especially on the subtler meds its quite natural that life can sometimes demand more than they can buffer for us. As you gain strength in yourself you should cope well with more things.

Well done for handling the dosage increase. I found that eating at least a snack before taking my Escitalopram helped to mitigate an instability in my overnight blood sugar which the med seemed to make worse. This can be especially helpful since poor blood sugar management is a trigger to anxiety. even in normal people. Also - unless your GP has advised something specific - there is no specific time of day written into the PIL and SPC for Esc'. You may find a different time of day (but the same every day ofcourse) suits your body/mind better.

SUZY Q
23-04-09, 10:57
Thankyou Kev for your help. It makes alot of sense what you have written.