My experience so far

[mlondon]

Hi

I find it really helps to share experiences of being on or/and starting Escitalopram. This is my experience, if anyone has had anything similar or in deed different please write. I think my experience can't be solely due to the meds, I went on holiday 3 days after starting them, then it was christmas, then i went away again and now I am back at work, I am moving to Australia in a month, so all these things are exciting, fun and daunting.

Week 1: 2.5MG
Day 1: I had a vivd nightmare and fitful sleep. Felt sick and spent most of day thinking about nightmare and being scared of it. For the rest of the week these symptoms got less.

Week 2 and 3: 5GM
I take the meds in the evening, I began taking 5mg when I was in the Canary Islands with my mum. I would feel wierd just after taking them, had a headache, felt sick, head felt like it was shaking inside it that makes sense, felt on edge. When felt very anxious (getting plane home) felt like I was going mad and thought of nightmare images again which scared me.

I continued to take 5mg over xmas and new year, generally felt ok. Spaced out feeling which I had before started taking meds cleared up and began to feel a bit better though still anxious.

Week 4: - 10MG
Day 1 (saturday night just gone): Felt ok, bit shakey but then I was starting work then next day again so attributed it to that. Funny taste in mouth and dry throat.
Day 2: (Sunday) Dry throat, taste in mouth, couldn't sleep until 6am and then got up for work at 8am, felt on edge.
Day 3: (Monday)Felt on edge again as though going mad. Slept about 5 hours.
Day 4: (Tuesday)Still felt on edge. Exhausted , feel asleep in evening and woke feeling very strange, not really here or trapped, a bit in a daze. Slept 5 hours.
Day 5: (Wednesday) Today I feel very spaced out and tired. I had a panic attack in a work meeting and almost called my mum to come and meet me, I felt detached, short of breath and unable to speak. Still feeling quite spaced out.

[alias_kev]

Hi. Sorry to hear you are still suffering with the meds.

Nausea, Dizzyness, Insomnia and Sleepiness are all listed as common side effects of escitalopram. Dry Mouth is often mentioned with SSRI's in general.

They don't mention vivid dreams BUT many people do list this as an effect. Ofcourse it maybe that in releasing some of our depression/anxiety the medication just allows us to sleep deeper or dream differently. We may have a pent up amount of dream material and that could be why people dream more intensely. Or it may be the changes in brain chemistry by the drug do just make it happen. The important thing is to remember that its just a dream and no matter how vivid it 1. isn't the truth, 2. isn't a hint about real life and 3. cannot hurt you unless you believe (1) or (2).

It may even be that we normally dream like this BUT the SSRI alters our ability to remember the dream on waking. So we remember more detail and intensity for longer. Whatever the cause it should improve with time. If you are not someone who "normally dreams" or rather not someone who "normally remembers their dreams" then I think this could all be quite intense, weird and a bit of a shock.

It generally seems quite common for SSRIs to cause (initial) increases in your anxiety and for some people this can get a bit dodgy as they get LOADS of extra anxiety. I guess this is because their seratonin cycle is taking a massive beating and the levels are all over the place. In theory this should stabilise after 4-6 weeks. SSRIs are also linked with confusion and a sense of unreality - which may be what you are describing in saying you feel spaced out.

As I said in another post I was already suffering from sleepiness in the day but insomnia at other times and so did not notice much affect in that area. I had a lot of headaches also although I do remember them seeming worse in the first few weeks of the meds.

I still recommend taking the meds after food and having a snack at bedtime so your blood sugar is not too low in the morning.

[mlondon]

Thanks

Day 6 of week 4:

Feeling a bit better today. I found out I have got my visa for Australia and my flight is booked this might help. Just generally pretty tired!

[alias_kev]

Just generally pretty tired!

Sadly this is hard to pin down as all components of our possible conditions (stress, anxiety, depression) and the meds can make us more tired. The best thing initially maybe to give in and sleep whenever you can. Its proabbly best to try and keep a normal overnight sleep pattern as well though! In your case that could be 12 hours out of step with the rest of us all ready for your trip!