About to start Escitalopram, few questions...

[jayjoe18]

Thank you Mike that's really helpful, I'm glad the Cipralex has had such a positive effect on your life, thanks for giving me detailed answers also that really helps!

Thank you also bab and Karen, that's all really good to hear

I'm ashamed to say I haven't started taking them yet though, I stupidly filled out the prescription and signed it myself not knowing doing this means you have to personally put the prescription in at the chemist and pick it up too! So it took me a while to work up to doing this! Then there's been a few events (sisters birthday etc) where we have had lots of visitors so I thought I'd better wait a little until it's more calmer.

So I planned on today and now I'm sat here scared with my first pill. Haven't taken it yet but I keep trying to, I was planning on taking it this morning but it's taking me hours to work up the courage. I keep going to take it and then freak out. Fingers crossed I'll be back soon to tell you all I took it.... I hope.

Thank you all though for your comments, really does helps

[Tunnel]

Hi I am new to the forum but have found loads of good advice and support already!! Been on Cipralex 5mg for anxiety for 9 days. I haven't noticed any difference yet is it a bit early? Side effects not too bad nausea and increased anxiety for a few days. If I have to increase will I get even worse side effects and basically be starting from scratch? Tunnel you said you noticed a difference straight away on 5mg - is this unusual? I don't know how long I should keep trying the 5mg? Thanks for your advice!!

I did notice improvement in my anxiety level almost immediately after starting on Cipralex. Over a year later and it has gotten better and better since then. I don't think its too common for it to happen that way, but everyone's anxiety issues are different. I just tried to carry on with my life as normal despite adjusting to the new medication. My mood did fluctuate up and down during the first month but I did not miss one day of work as a result of going on this medication, so all in all it was a pretty smooth transition for me.

Take Care,

Mike

---------- Post added at 10:15 ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 ----------

Thank you Mike that's really helpful, I'm glad the Cipralex has had such a positive effect on your life, thanks for giving me detailed answers also that really helps!

Thank you also bab and Karen, that's all really good to hear

I'm ashamed to say I haven't started taking them yet though, I stupidly filled out the prescription and signed it myself not knowing doing this means you have to personally put the prescription in at the chemist and pick it up too! So it took me a while to work up to doing this! Then there's been a few events (sisters birthday etc) where we have had lots of visitors so I thought I'd better wait a little until it's more calmer.

So I planned on today and now I'm sat here scared with my first pill. Haven't taken it yet but I keep trying to, I was planning on taking it this morning but it's taking me hours to work up the courage. I keep going to take it and then freak out. Fingers crossed I'll be back soon to tell you all I took it.... I hope.

Thank you all though for your comments, really does helps

Jayjoe18:

This exact same thing happened to me. I was feeling anxious about taking the anti-anxiety medication. I felt it for days prior to my appointment to get the meds right up to the second i took the first one.

If you read through my thread you will see in the very first post that i cried before the first time i took Cipralex and I am 40. It is scary in some ways, but 5 mg is not a large dosage and certainly not worth worrying about. You will not feel like a zombie, you will feel normal. You may go through the odd mood swing up or down for the first few weeks, but like everyone says including me.. Its really manageable and will even out eventually. You may feel a bit drowsy at different times of the day, but it lessons over time. If you lose your appetite, thats something that is easily remedied by eating small portions multiple times a day. I never once felt like i was going to be sick or anything by taking Cipralex. There is really nothing to be afraid of, i can totally understand the "anxiety" about starting an anti-depressant med when you have never been on one before. But for me the benefits far (by a country mile) out weigh anything else. My life is pretty damn good now mentally. Better then it has been in 20 years or longer and i know its because of this tiny 5 mg pill i take every morning. Just take it after you eat some cereal or something light and go on with your day. Try not to think about it. I remember the first day i took it i worked 8 hours. My mother happened to be over visiting that day, and my wife managed to convince me to go to a mall after work which i always hated doing. Big crowds always made me anxious. We got to the mall and surprisingly I had zero anxiety.... nothing. I even got a burger and fries and ate in the food court which i also never liked doing. I felt tired, but calmer! It was only the first day. Today, i find i dont worry about stupid things i cant control like i used too.

Bite the bullet and take it today, tomorrow it will be easier to take.. the next day easier still and on and on. Hopefully, in a month you will be feeling a lot better and by Christmas feeling really good.

Take Care,

Mike

[Vonnyj]

Just an update on my Cipralex journey!! Day 21 5mg - now having good days where I am practically anxiety free! On bad days i have nausea but it is getting less and less and I am feeling more positive. Stopped losing weight - I lost 21 pounds. Still not sleeping great (which was what kicked all of this off) but it doesn't seem to bother me as much and I am not waking up sweating or in a panic - I seem to be able to drift back to sleep. Still can feel a little bit anxious in the morning when I wake up but I can cope with it. I am going to stick at 5mg if I can. Don't be afraid to take this I am very sensitive to meds and my side effects with this were just slightly increased anxiety and nausea all worn off now.

I have also been doing lots of other things to help - relaxation, mindfulness and having counselling - all of which are helping. good luck everyone and hope you all feel well soon.xx

[Tunnel]

Just an update on my Cipralex journey!! Day 21 5mg - now having good days where I am practically anxiety free! On bad days i have nausea but it is getting less and less and I am feeling more positive. Stopped losing weight - I lost 21 pounds. Still not sleeping great (which was what kicked all of this off) but it doesn't seem to bother me as much and I am not waking up sweating or in a panic - I seem to be able to drift back to sleep. Still can feel a little bit anxious in the morning when I wake up but I can cope with it. I am going to stick at 5mg if I can. Don't be afraid to take this I am very sensitive to meds and my side effects with this were just slightly increased anxiety and nausea all worn off now.

I have also been doing lots of other things to help - relaxation, mindfulness and having counselling - all of which are helping. good luck everyone and hope you all feel well soon.xx

Vonnyj: Your post sounds exactly like how my Cipralex experience started. I lost about 12 lbs if i remember correctly. Don't worry about the weight loss, once you feel a lot better you will probably gain it back. I was feeling so good i didnt care anymore about all the bad things i was eating! LOL. The sleeping issues you describe is about the only thing i have left in terms of side effects, but it is exactly how you describe. You wake up for a brief couple of seconds, i sometimes even sit up.. Then i lay back down and go right back to sleep. Its not a panic attack or anything. Sometimes its in reaction to a dream. I work at 6 AM, so some of it is me being worried about oversleeping my alarm.

Glad everything is looking up for you!

Take Care,

Mike

[Vonnyj]

Thanks for replying Mike... its a very lonely thing anxiety.. and I am lucky in that I have hopefully got on top of it fairly quickly. Took a couple of weeks off work as I was exhausted with not sleeping.. going back Monday its a very stressful job so hope I will be ok, in fact thats what set it all off. I will just have to change my attitude and take things a bit slower... I do everything at a 100 miles an hour!! Lol! Reading about your journey was a great comfort and thanks for sharing this... If it wasn't for you I would have been tempted to up to 10mg Cipralex but seeing how you have managed on this I am staying on 5mg too. Everyday anxiety is getting less so fingers crossed. Its great that people from all over the world are helping and supporting each other. Take care x

[debs71]

jayjoe18.....how are you getting on, hun?

[Vonnyj]

Aaaargh!! Seem to be having bad setback! Last few days I have been waking at 3am and feeling really nauseous and nervous (since speaking to my Boss on Friday about returning to work) Been off 2 weeks work stress has caused my anxiety supposed to go back today but dont think i can. Going back to Docs today. On 5mg cipralex think i am going to have to increase to 10mg. I can't go on like this. Should I see a big difference going up to 10mg and will I experience all the side effects again? Anyone know what a normal amount of time off you need for work related stress/anxiety? Please reply!!

[jayjoe18]

jayjoe18.....how are you getting on, hun?

Hi debs & everyone, well I've done the two weeks! I'm on day 15 today and I'm so pleased I've managed to do it! I didn't want to write anything too early, just wanted to wait and see how things went but so far, so good. I don't want to jinx myself *touches wood* but so far I haven't had many side effects, I'm super happy about that

I thought I would be really sick but haven't had any nausea or loss of appetite that I was worried about thankfully, I did have a little wobble last week when my vision went a bit funny but that hasn't happened since *again touches wood!* so I think that might of had something to do with the lightning/fireworks, anxiety and maybe dilated pupils from the tablets.

I've also had a little blurry vision that lasted a few minutes for a couple of nights but that seems to have passed. Then I've had some yawning which is fine (just made myself yawn even typing the word haha!) and I had some hunger pangs in the first week so I put a food routine together and that seems to have helped.

I can deal with these and other than that everything seems to be going OK, can't quite believe it

I'm still on 5mg, due to go back to see my GP either tomorrow or next week, depends when I can get myself there but she's given me an extra 14 days worth of tablets to cover me until I can get there. It hasn't touched my anxiety so far, but obviously far too early for that anyway so that's fine I know it's going to take a while.

I do seem to be a little more anxious sometimes, I've noticed I have to keep touching wood just incase, sort of OCD ritual, even now writing this I feel like I need to touch the door so I don't jinx myself. I guess it's just the meds. I tried to go out Saturday but couldn't, I felt quite anxious, but it's not a problem, I'm just riding the waves, the anxiety is nothing I can't handle, I'm just so so grateful that the side effects are minimal.

Will keep posting as I go on, hope everyone is well xxx

[Tunnel]

jayjoe18: Sounds like you are doing very well. I found the first 30 days the toughest. After that my system seemed to really settle in. 5 mg is not a high dosage, so i think it might be a little easier for us to start out then people jumping to 10 mg or higher at the beginning. Stay the course... sounds like your side effects have been minimal overall and that i am happy to hear it. I started my Cipralex journey on October 11th last year and by Christmas i was feeling pretty good overall, so keep it up!


Vonnyj: One thing i noticed straight away when i first started on Cipralex was my body started showing different symptoms when i got triggered with bad anxiety. Before the med i would lose my appetite, distance myself from people, cold sweats, minor trembling, insomnia and when really bad would start having panic attacks. The first time i got an anxiety attack on Cipralex was about 5 days or so after i started the med. I was sitting on my couch worrying about something when out of nowhere my whole body heated up and i started having a huge hot flash. It went from my feet all the way to my head. Being male I had never experienced anything like that before. It scared the shit out of me. It went away in like 5 minutes, but i couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. That was the worst one i have ever had, i think they are called body flushes. Since then i have had others, but not for the same length of time. I don't think i have had one recently, i know i had one in August when i was in Disney World, something triggered me. But again, it passed very quickly. I think these body flushes have replaced full blown panic attacks for me now, because i haven't had one of those in a year. So keep in mind your body could do minor weird things that you havent experienced before, but it becomes more and more manageable with each passing month. Also, I am sure you know this med isnt a complete cure for anxiety. I think if it was a cure everyone in the world would be on it. I do not get triggered anywhere near as often as i used to. Maybe once a month at the most, and i would call those anxiety attacks minor. I think the best way to describe it for me would be this, Cipralex allows me to maintain my composure when i am triggered, making it far easier to rationalize my negative thoughts and emotions. The longer i have been on this med at 5 mg, the easier it has become for me to deal with things i found so tough handling in the past. I work 9 hours a day, Monday through Friday.. and like you i need to be focused when i am at work in order to be productive. My biggest worry going on Cipralex was how it would affect me at work while starting up. I went to work and carried on with my day to day affairs like any other day and it was fine. The first two months I didn't miss a single day of work after starting on Cipralex, i thought keeping my life on my normal schedule would help me keep my mind busy. Make sure you are eating properly too, i find that helps.

Take Care,

Mike


P.S. I used to say "touch wood" all the time too!

[Vonnyj]

Thanks for the reassurance Mike - the anxiety has passed over and I am feeling ok now. Think like you say everything takes time to settle down. I have gone up to 7.5mg last 2 days and will see how this goes. Think my anxiety got worse thinking about work as it was work which triggered it all working ridiculous hours 6 days a week in a very stressful job, also lost my mother in Law, and 3 other family members this year, and likely menopausal too so hardly surprising really. Definitely felt better this week, but it seems I can have a few good days then one or two not so good, but at least I am having good days where some people dont get any. Also my anxiety only started a couple of months ago so I have not had to deal with this long term. I know what you mean about getting the anxiety but just seeming to feel in a better place to deal with it. Think this must be the effects of the Cipralex. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply - it really helps. Vonny