Cipralex pls give me hope....

I’m on day 18 of 10 mg cipralex for severe panic disorder and c-ptsd. I have taken this medicine last year during a breakdown after unrelenting panic attacks but after 5 months thought I was feeling so well I didn’t need it anymore...you learn the hard way! I can’t really remember the time scale last year of feeling dire to feeling better but it was definitely a gradual process. I had made myself extremely physically ill also so it was a long road....
I was in pretty bad shape the first week I was on it this time but it was difficult to differentiate between my sky high anxiety levels and possible side effects so I just rode it out the best I could. Day 14 I was feeling good, no panic attacks and my obsessive ‘doom’ thinking seemed to be feeling like it was letting up! Mornings are hard for me I wake up feeling extremely nauseated, shaky, panicky and just generally really ill but it usually improves as the day goes on.
Yesterday day 17 I felt like I was back at square one, extremely anxious, panic attacks that kept me awake all night, high alert to every tiny noise.....just terrible. My stomach was grumbling like hunger pangs yet I had eaten some in the day! I’m losing faith this is going to work....are days as bad as these ‘normal’ as this stage? I was hoping for better results by now.....

I'm right there with you. I've been on escitalopram now for almost 3 months, and although I've had good days (even a few in a row), I then go right back to square one, and end up spiraling down again (mostly because I'm so discouraged that the meds aren't working).

I just bumped up to 15 mg four days ago, and I'm so hoping I'll see some results at this dose. I stayed at 10 mg for over 6 weeks with no noticeable improvements (in fact, I was doing worse).

It's still early for you at just 17 days in, and, from what I've read, very common to have bad days while the meds are kicking in. Hopefully you'll start having more and more good days, and fewer bad days soon :-).

I don't know how long it is for me but it's been a couple of packets of 10mg and all is good.
When do you take yours?
I find taking mine with breakfast works best for me.

I am taking it at night as that’s the time I’ve most likely to have managed to force down dry toast, I’m not able to eat till late afternoon as I’m so nauseous however, this all existed way before the meds so I’m not suspicious it’s side effects just doesn’t seem to be easing the symptoms at all.
My panic attacks are still happening so frequently they don’t seem to be reducing in anyway at all. My stomach is absolutely shredded from this sky high level of anxiety and my weight is hovering at dangerously low.
My doc has just left so I’m going to have to find a new one and wait for an appointment so for now I can’t take medical advice on my situation which is really adding to my anxiety. I just so vividly remember sitting with my doc on week 1 and her saying just get to week 2/3 and it will all be worth it....well, I’m here and I’m seriously questioning whether I’m ever going to feel better xxxx

Thank you for the replies xxx

Hello Gale,

Sorry to hear about your situation.

I’ve been on this drug since March. It took at least 8 weeks for the anxiety to improve. I have found this to be a very slow-to-act drug. My anxiety is almost gone now, but I suffer with side-effects, the main one being agitation/feeling hyper which only kicked in when I went from 10-15mg.

Each change in dosage has taken several weeks to kick in.

I’m now 2 weeks into 12.5mg and hoping to feel less wired.

It’s horrible to have to go through this long wait when you’re feeling so awful, but there will most likely be an improvement given time.

Wishing you the very best of luck x

Hi there,

I've taken Escitalopram and its predecessor Citalopram for 16 years. So there's a few things I'd recommend, definitely take it first thing in the morning when you get up, don't take it at night. My first psychologist said that SSRI drugs seem to have a better affect when they're taken in the morning, he also recommended keeping busy and motivated to improve their effectiveness. Easier said than done sometimes mind you.

When I first started taking them I nearly blacked out and had to be carried to the bathroom because I couldn't see, I had diarrhea then. But that literally happened once and after that I was fine. I would say some of your symptoms are more related to anxiety in general rather than the meds but I know it's so easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of assuming the meds are causing all this.

Escitalopram has worked really well for me. I had recently gone down to 10mg from 20mg this year but have decided to go back up to 20mg as I felt more comfortable and stable on that dose. I think it's mind over matter, the meds are there to help stabilise you to a point where you can then focus on retraining your brain. That's what I've tried to do.

You will feel better soon, you really do had to fight the negativity with everything you have though. It's tough, so tough but there are so many people here who'll have been there and will support you. Even just posting on here is a massive step in the right direction. It gets the thoughts out of your head and in the open.

Good luck! 🍀