What is your experience with Lexapro?
“Lexapro has saved me! I didn’t want to take any medication, but heightened anxiety and a couple panic attacks made it difficult for me to enjoy life — so much that I was becoming depressed. The first week on Lexapro was awful! Increased anxiety, a clouded feeling, and tiredness!
What should you not do while taking Lexapro?
What Should I Avoid While Taking Escitalopram? Avoid drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs while you are taking antidepressant medications. They may decrease the benefits (e.g., worsen your condition) and increase adverse effects (e.g., sedation) of the medication.
How does Lexapro make you feel at first?
Lexapro is an antidepressant prescription drug used to treat depression and anxiety. You may experience side effects such as fatigue, diarrhea, or headaches within the first week or two of taking Lexapro.
How does Lexapro change behavior?
A history of suicidal thoughts or behaviors—Lexapro can increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior, especially in children, teens, and young adults. Bipolar disorder—if you take Lexapro without taking other medications for bipolar disorder, Lexapro may bring on a manic episode.
Does Lexapro make you feel happy?
Escitalopram won’t change your personality or make you feel euphorically happy. It’ll simply help you feel like yourself again. Don’t expect to feel better overnight though. Some people feel worse during the first few weeks of treatment before they begin to feel better.
Why does lexapro make you feel worse before better?
When you start an antidepressant medicine, you may feel worse before you feel better. This is because the side effects often happen before your symptoms improve. Remember: Over time, many of the side effects of the medicine go down and the benefits increase.
Does Lexapro have immediate effects?
patients should not expect to notice a change in their symptoms right away. Lexapro typically starts to improve the physical symptoms of depression first, so you might notice a difference in your sleep patterns, appetite, and energy levels after about one to two weeks.
What are the bad side effects of Lexapro?
In adults, common side effects of Lexapro include:
- nausea.
- sleepiness.
- weakness.
- dizziness.
- anxiety.
- trouble sleeping.
- sexual problems, such as delayed ejaculation, painful erections, or difficulty with orgasms.
- sweating.
Does Lexapro make you feel worse before you feel better?
Some people feel worse during the first few weeks of treatment before they begin to feel better. Once you’re feeling better it’s likely that you’ll continue to take escitalopram for several more months to prevent the symptoms returning.
Why does Lexapro take so long to work?
SSRIs work to inhibit the transporter that recycles serotonin by preventing the transport of serotonin back into the neurons from which it was released. Antidepressants take so long to work because they inactivate not just individual serotonin transporters, but also the genes in our DNA that code for the transporter.
When do Lexapro side effects peak?
Peak blood levels are reached approximately 5 hours after a dose but it may take up to a week for levels to become stabilized in the body. An improvement in depressive or anxiety symptoms may not be noticed for 1-4 weeks.
How long does Lexapro take to kick in?
Most people will take four to six weeks to experience the full effects of Lexapro as it works on the brain. Physical symptoms associated with depression and anxiety may begin to improve in as little as one to two weeks, while mood-related symptoms take longer to resolve.
What are the reviews of Lexapro on Drugs.com?
User Reviews for Lexapro Lexapro has an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 from a total of 1,940 ratings on Drugs.com. 68% of users who reviewed this medication reported a positive effect, while 16% reported a negative effect.
What are the side effects of Lexapro and escitalopram?
Taking any of these drugs with escitalopram may cause you to bruise or bleed easily. Avoid drinking alcohol, which can increase some of the side effects of Lexapro.
How long have I been on Lexapro for anxiety?
For Anxiety: “Currently 10 days into my second time on Lexapro. I’ve been on 10 mg since 2013 for Chronic anxiety. Last year I started to taper off on my own and I pushed it too far. A severe breakdown over the holidays showed me that I’m more myself with my medication. Oh boy the first week was horrible.
How old do you have to be to take Lexapro?
It affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause depression or anxiety. Lexapro is used to treat anxiety in adults and major depressive disorder in adults and adolescents who are at least 12 years old. Lexapro may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.