cannot get up the courage to start
hi
i have gone so far as to cut my pills in quarters, starting at 2.5mg of lexapro, per my therapist's suggestion. but i cannot find the courage to start the pill even though i really need to get some relief from my anxiety. i'm just so scared. the pandemic is really burdensome and my bucket is full. i
do you think that 2.5mg is going to have any side effects? I am not sure what time of day to take it either. I like to have a couple of glasses of wine at night, which my therapist is fine with, but I don't want it to interact with the meds. should I take it in the morning? does it really matter?
help me get up the courage. I need to do this.
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
I'd probably be dead without Lexapro. I'm on 20 mg a day and I love it. I find that the people who are worried about side effects are the ones most likely to have them...they create a psychosomatic reaction in their bodies. In other words, it's their brain that cause their own physiological response with worry.
Here's a schedule I would suggest: 1 week on 2.5 mg, then the second week go to 5 mg, then third week if you're doing okay, bump it to 10 mg. 10 mg is the lowest effective dose. You're not going to see much of a difference in yourself if you keep it too long on a substandard dose.
It doesn't matter what time of a day you take it. I take mine at dinner. If you find it keeps you up at night, switch to taking in the morning. If it makes you sleepy, take it before bed.
Here are some other things to keep in mind:
1) They work by building up in your system. You can't just pop them like an aspirin for a headache. You need to be on them for at least a year, and it often takes 6 to 8 weeks to see the full effects of any dosage.
2) For some people, as your body gets used to them, have some start up anxiety in the first 4-6 weeks or so. This is normal. Just keep taking them and power through it; it'll even out. Gradually upping the dosage helps with this a lot.
3) You have to find the right dosage that works for you. You may need to up the AD after the first few weeks. Again this is normal, and finding the right dosage is a trial and error process, so be patient.
4) They don't replace therapy to deal with your issues. They make you less likely to dwell on your issues, but you still have to do the work to change your thinking.
Good luck!
Vee
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cofo
do you think that 2.5mg is going to have any side effects?
Side-effects may still occur but they will likely be mild. The two things to keep in mind about side-effects is that they don't indicate harm, ADs do not usually cause physical harm, and side-effects are not necessarily caused by the med. An anxious mind is quite capable of producing our worst nightmares if given the chance.
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I am not sure what time of day to take it either. I like to have a couple of glasses of wine at night, which my therapist is fine with, but I don't want it to interact with the meds. should I take it in the morning? does it really matter?
it doesn't matter. After you've ben on a dose for 2 weeks plasma levels will stabilise to a steady-state and then not vary much across 24 hours.
However, go easy on the wine, especially when first taking an AD. The AD+alcohol combination can be unpredictable. Some days you may be able to drink a herd of alcoholic elephants under the table without raising a sweat, on other a small glass of wine could turn legs to rubber. be careful until you work out how the combination affects you.
The second issue is that alcohol can inhibit the mechanism by which ADs work. They stimulate the growth of new brain cells (neurogenesis) to replace cells killed, or prevented from growing by high brain stress hormone levels, mostly of cortisol (PDF). The therapeutic response is produced by these new cells and the stronger interconnections they forge, not the meds directly.
The problem is alcohol has the same affect on hippocampal neurogenesis as cortisol. Even moderate drinking can reduce hippocampus neurogenesis by nearly half (see also: Morris SA, 2010; Crews FT, 2003).
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
I've been on 10mg for years (max dose for my age) and find it great.
It's one of the gentler ADs so the side effects aren't too bad.
I started on 5mg for a week and then went up to 10mg.
Like Antsy I found it to be a life saver.
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
thank you all...this really helped
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
Have you begun taking the escitalopram? If so, how is it going?
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
i have not checked in on here in a while. it took a long time, and i started with an 1/8th of a 10mg for 2 weeks. i upped it by 1/4th every 2 weeks and by the time i was on 5mg i felt so much relief. i am now on 12.5mg and i'm considering one more 1/4 to go up to 15mg. I feel better than i've felt in so long...years. i still have some anxiety, but it's so much more manageable. and my friends and family are so happy to see me back to my old self.
has anyone done 15mg of lexapro?
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cofo
i have not checked in on here in a while. it took a long time, and i started with an 1/8th of a 10mg for 2 weeks. i upped it by 1/4th every 2 weeks and by the time i was on 5mg i felt so much relief. i am now on 12.5mg and i'm considering one more 1/4 to go up to 15mg. I feel better than i've felt in so long...years. i still have some anxiety, but it's so much more manageable. and my friends and family are so happy to see me back to my old self.
has anyone done 15mg of lexapro?
I was on 15 mg of Lexapro for a long time, now I'm on 20 mg. I ended up increasing mine when I went through a major life even two years ago. I thought about going back down to 15 mg, but with how this year is gone, I think i'll stick to 20 mg for now.
Re: cannot get up the courage to start
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cofo
I feel better than i've felt in so long...years. i still have some anxiety, but it's so much more manageable. and my friends and family are so happy to see me back to my old self.
That is very good news!!! :emot-highfive:
ADs can be very ornery meds, particularly at the beginning, but when they work they dramatically change lives for the better.
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has anyone done 15mg of lexapro?
It is not an usually dose. It comes down to individual biology. Some of us are faster metabolizers who need to take near maximum doses to get optimum results.
