escitalopram symptoms -errgghh help

[acj]

I have started on 10 mg of escitalopram today and am dizzy, have got an aching lower back and feel really light (which I can only describe that i feel like I am walking like an astronaut on the moon!!) having read some other threads I know this is "normal." Have many people found that this drug affects their driving? Also, have people experienced weight gain? (If so, is the weight gain a result of having an increased appetite or has it just happened??)

Really look forward to hearing some replies as i am completely new to taking any drug of this sort.

[andrea thompson]

hi hon

i am on citalopram and have taken seroxat in the past. since starting on citalopram i have had spells of dizzyness. sometimes feels like walking on a bouncy castle or very squidgy surface. i dont think people notice but i feel very unsteady. i have foud it seems worse when i am tired. but generally as time has passed these side effects seem to fade. for me the side effects are still much better than the horible anxiety and depression.

i seem to remember it was same with seroxat. all side effects gradually faded.

you will be fine hon - if you do have any concerns discuss with your dr or pharmacist.

take care

andrea x x

[acj]

Andrea,
Thanks for the reply, I have taken another one today and it doesnt feel quite as bad as yesterday so I presume its just a case of my body getting used to it!!
I totally agree that anything is better than feeling so low.
Take care,
Andrea (ACJ) xxx

[darline]

I am an escitalopram veteran. I started on it on 2006 at age 50. I wasn't [PHP]having panic attacks but I did have GAD and was starting to re-develop some phobias. The escitalopram worked fine and I had absolutely no side effects. In 2009 I chose to switch to 20 mg citalopram, because of financial reasons. It worked just fine, with no side effects, EXCEPT sexual ones. After 3 years I decided to wean off them with my doctor's approval because I "didn't think I needed meds anymore". HAH! After one miserable year (trying every natural remedy and herb under the sun), I decided to go back on them. I started on 5 mg on 3/19, and on 3/26 I started on 10mg. It has been very difficult this time. I don't know whether the meds changed my brain, or it was because I was so much more anxious this time, but the anxiety is definitely there and it has been there since 3/19.It is, however, a different (and oddly enough, better) kind of anxiety than the constant churning in my stomatch that I was having before. I am determined to stick it out because the Lexapro did work before. My new psychiatrist (who I really like) has tended to downplay the side effect issue, but I know from my own experience and the others on this website that they do exist. He did however, share with me a tip on the sexual side effect. Try taking the medication in the morning. I was very reluctant, because I was previously taking it at night (with a 0.5 mg Klonopin) and trying to sleep through the nervousness. After several weeks I noticed the Klonopin wasn't working quite as well. The doctor said that if the Lexapro wasn't fresh in your system, you might notice less sexual side effects. I did follow his advice, though I was scared of the anxiety. Oddly enough, I was able to handle the nervousness better earlier in the day. I do take a half tablet of 0.5 Klonopin occasionally in the evening, to kind of take the edge off the anxiety. Also, taking it in the morning did help get rid of the sexual side effect. I would really encourage you to stick your medication out for as long a period of time that your doctor recommends. I remember one member of this website said that they had to take their Lexapro for three months before the anxiety side effects went away. I do not think that is a typical time frame, I get the impression from this website that the side effects go away sooner than that.
Keep up the good work
from Darline