Hello all,

It's been 3 years since I have actively been on the forum, and in that time I've had a manageable time with my anxiety, controlling bad flares as needed but in the past few weeks I have gone to a very dark place with my anxiety and panic disorder and have finally said yes to an ssri.

Yesterday (Aug 21) was my first dose of escitalopram (5mg). Within 2 hours I was so fatigued, weak, light headed. My head felt a bit woozy or cotton filled as my cousin says. I was overwhelmed with nausea & upset stomach. These feelings persisted for about 11 hours then dropped off somewhat.
When it was time to sleep I found my mind racing, but I fell asleep around midnight. At 2:30am I woke up in a wave of nausea and a panic attack. Jittery legs. Hot flash.
I took .75mg of Ativan (lorazepam) and managed to fall back asleep until 8:30am.

I have not taken my 2nd dose yet, but still feel nauseated. And a bit muddled.

I reached out to the clinical pharmacist who works in tandem with my doctor and she suggested I could try to see how I handle 2.5mg. She also suggested trying to take it later in the day in hopes that I would sleep through some of the crummy feelings.

My fear is, then when I titrate up, will the sideeffects be just as bad, or am I then giving my body a better chance to adjust? Should I just stick with the 5mg and try to ride it out for a few days?

It feels just awful.

I am having a really hard time eating the past 2 weeks. Just keep chewing on TUMS (calcium tablets) and once in a while having half a banana or some crackers. This nausea from the meds is not helping the cause.

So I guess I'm wondering if someone can give me hope that they were that bad with side effects and it resolved quickly and they now feel great or if someone can say if they have had a good experience going from 2.5 to 5 to 7.5? Anything positive please!

Anddddd can someone please tell me that I will want to eat again???

(Stats if they are at all helpful. I am 32-years-old. 5"0. 140lb)

Thanks

-Dora

Sad to be back, happy there's a place to come back to