Just switched to Escitalopram: my experience

[NervousKel]

Day 4 at 15 mg.

The anxiety ramped up last night, and stuck around today all morning.

I've been feeling a bit buzzy headed, and spacy yet.

My sleep's been awful. Last night, I got about 2-3 hours total. I haven't taken any trazadone for the last two nights though, so I guess that's good;-).

I'm kind of planning on staying on the 15 mg for only 4 weeks. If I'm not seeing any noticeable improvements by then, I'll move up to 20 mg, I guess. All thoughts of being back to my old self by Christmas has gone out the window. Now, the new goal is feeling good by March ;-).

[NervousKel]

Day 11 (I think??) on 15 mg.

Not much to update :-). I'm still having anxiety. My sleep is still horrible. I'm trying to avoid taking the trazadone as much as possible, and on the nights I don't take any I get a few hours of sleep if I'm lucky. It's hard to believe, but before March/April I was a champion sleeper most nights: able to take an afternoon nap, and still log in a good 8 or 9 hours at night! I sure miss that. I'm not sure right now if it's the anxiety that has me sleeping so poorly, or a side effect of the increase to 15 mg. Maybe a bit of both.

As for side effects of the increase, one I've really noticed is the jaw clenching! It was much worse moving up to 15 mg than any of the other increases I've done. It seems to be getting better now though.

A new side effect I had was getting lightheaded 2-3 times a day, always when I stood up after sitting for a while. I haven't noticed it the last few days though, so maybe that's also gone away.

I'm still having serious doubts that escitalopram will work for me. I'm tempted to switch to Paxil in a few weeks, since that's supposed to be more sedating. My luck though, that wouldn't work either and I'd end up right back on escitalopram again;-)!

[Sleepy]

Hello NervousKel, me again.

You have my sympathy. The jaw-clenching became a real problem for me on 15mg, and I’m still doing it after 2 weeks on 12.5. I still don’t know if escitalopram has caused my sinus/ear issues, but they’re worse than ever too. Headaches seem to have been added to the mix these last two days. Not a feature before.

I was on paroxetine for 6 years and it’s great for anxiety and sleep. Two caveats for me: I put on 56 lbs in just over a year without changing my diet. I haven’t been able to lose any of it until this year, twenty years later. The other one is withdrawal. It took me 18 months of hell to come off it. My doctor had numerous patients who just couldn’t get off it. He was horrified that he’d prescribed it to them.

Of course, there will be countless people who haven’t experienced this and are happy with the drug. This was my experience. I’d love to go back on it for its beneficial properties, but I just can’t face the negatives.

The lightheaded ness on standing, yes I had that but it got better.

Are you hyper at all? I was super agitated on 15mg, restless, wired and physically twitchy. Still twitching now, although the manic feeling has improved.

Like you, I’m fed up with it all. We’ve got some lovely things coming up, and I know it will all be spoilt by me feeling like cr*p. I also hate it when people say “how are you”? I just say “fine” now. Inside I’m crying😔

[roseywosey]

Hello NervousKel

I would think it should have worked by now. I reckon you should cut your losses and try the Paxil.

[NervousKel]

Hello NervousKel, me again.

You have my sympathy. The jaw-clenching became a real problem for me on 15mg, and I’m still doing it after 2 weeks on 12.5. I still don’t know if escitalopram has caused my sinus/ear issues, but they’re worse than ever too. Headaches seem to have been added to the mix these last two days. Not a feature before.

I was on paroxetine for 6 years and it’s great for anxiety and sleep. Two caveats for me: I put on 56 lbs in just over a year without changing my diet. I haven’t been able to lose any of it until this year, twenty years later. The other one is withdrawal. It took me 18 months of hell to come off it. My doctor had numerous patients who just couldn’t get off it. He was horrified that he’d prescribed it to them.

Of course, there will be countless people who haven’t experienced this and are happy with the drug. This was my experience. I’d love to go back on it for its beneficial properties, but I just can’t face the negatives.

The lightheaded ness on standing, yes I had that but it got better.

Are you hyper at all? I was super agitated on 15mg, restless, wired and physically twitchy. Still twitching now, although the manic feeling has improved.

Like you, I’m fed up with it all. We’ve got some lovely things coming up, and I know it will all be spoilt by me feeling like cr*p. I also hate it when people say “how are you”? I just say “fine” now. Inside I’m crying😔

Hi Sleepy! Yeah, I have a feeling I might have to do a bit of convincing so my doctor will prescribe Paxil;-). I do think it would be the best fit for me out of the 3 SSRIs I haven't tried (Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac). I have a feeling Zoloft and Prozac would both be too activating for me.

I'm not hyper on the 15 mg, just still having some anxiety (it was better today though) and feeling out of it. Also, my insomnia has gotten worse. If it wasn't for the insomnia, I'd be willing to give escitalopram at 15 mg a longer run. I think I'm going to make a doctor's appointment next week, and ask about switching to Paxil (well, the generic form of it;-).

---------- Post added at 01:23 ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 ----------

Hello NervousKel

I would think it should have worked by now. I reckon you should cut your losses and try the Paxil.

Yes, I think that's what I'm going to do :-). I plan on making a doctor's appointment next week.

[NervousKel]

Day 22 on 15 mg.

Well, after deciding I needed to switch to something else, I had a really good weekend. We went to a hotel with an indoor waterpark, and, despite the chaos, noise, and crowds, I had little anxiety: just a bit when I woke up in the morning.

Then, this past Monday-Friday I did great. No anxiety. I was sleeping well. I barely thought about anxiety. I figured the 15 mg was finally, FINALLY starting to kick in.

Friday and Saturday nights, I've had insomnia again, so now I've got a bit more anxiety. It definitely goes hand in hand for me:-). I do plan on sticking with the 15 mg for a bit more time though, since I had such a great week last week. I still have an appetite (boy, do I ever!), so I figure that's a good sign! I've also been in a good mood.

For side effects, the jaw clenching and the light headedness are both totally gone. I've felt a bit spacy off and on, but that too seems to be improving. I've also been feeling like I'm starving at times; and probably eating way too much :-(. I can eat a decent sized meal, and an hour later, I'm hungry again. I've gained 4 pounds back in the last week alone. I hope this is a side effect that goes away!

[Sleepy]

Hello NK,

So pleased that you are feeling better. Very jealous that you have no more jaw-clenching!

I am still on 12.5mg. It’s very up and down. I had two brilliant days, followed by four horrid ones, and this Thursday-Sunday were really good again. The agitation is much improved. The anxiety has gone: I drove yesterday without a care in the world. Sleep still variable, and if I have more than one glass of wine I spend the first three hours of the night wide awake.

I still get the ear/sinus issues, but on the good days they almost vanish.

Seeing my psychiatrist today. I’m going to be telling him once again “I’ll just give it a bit longer..”

[NervousKel]

How are you doing now, Sleepy?

Day 35 on 15 mg :-).

I'm doing well. After my last post, I had a few days of off and on with anxiety and insomnia, and then for over a week I had no anxiety, and everything was great. I would say during that time I was at 100 %!

This past week, my husband got really sick. He went to the doctor on Thursday, was admitted immediately to the hospital, and they determined he had had a minor heart attack! He's doing good now, and just got out of the hospital. I dealt with it really well until last night (Friday), when I didn't sleep at all, and now my anxiety is back. I think that's quite to be expected under the circumstances, though. I do think I'm handling it much better than I would have a few weeks ago.

I hope everyone else is doing well :-)!

[Sleepy]

Hello NervousKel,


So sorry to hear about your husband, hope he makes a full recovery.


I'm still in the same boat. It's the ENT issues that are the worst. Anxiety and sleep are pretty good.


Just had a weekend in France, and I was much better. I seem to be better when I'm away from screens, particularly the Ipad and my phone. Is that insane? I'm trying to just use the PC this week and see what happens. When I look back at my better days, they all involve being away from the house or having visitors, so that I'm not using my tablet. Coincidence? On Sunday on the way home I used my phone and immediately started to feel my ears aching and fullness in my sinuses. Psychosomatic?



If there's no improvement this week, I feel I have to cut down to 10mg. Sigh.

[NervousKel]

Hello NervousKel,


So sorry to hear about your husband, hope he makes a full recovery.


I'm still in the same boat. It's the ENT issues that are the worst. Anxiety and sleep are pretty good.


Just had a weekend in France, and I was much better. I seem to be better when I'm away from screens, particularly the Ipad and my phone. Is that insane? I'm trying to just use the PC this week and see what happens. When I look back at my better days, they all involve being away from the house or having visitors, so that I'm not using my tablet. Coincidence? On Sunday on the way home I used my phone and immediately started to feel my ears aching and fullness in my sinuses. Psychosomatic?



If there's no improvement this week, I feel I have to cut down to 10mg. Sigh.

Hi Sleepy! Did you end up having to cut back to 10 mg?

---------- Post added at 17:20 ---------- Previous post was at 17:13 ----------

Day 47 on 15 mg.

6 1/2 weeks in on 15 mg, and overall I'm doing well. I'm no longer dreading the upcoming winter, I don't have morning anxiety when I wake up, and I'm usually in a pretty good mood, even when having a blip.

I continue to have sleep issues. I'll sleep fine for several nights in a row (sometimes even for a week or so), then I'll have insomnia, and it triggers anxiety. I'll then have lack of appetite, worried thoughts, etc.

I think I'll eventually have to go up to 20 mg, but I want to wait another month or so, just in case things even out. It's still relatively early days on the 15 mg.