Fear of pills / Lexapro

[Krissttea]

I have had anxiety / panic attacks / obsessive thoughts of worry for 7 years. I have been taking xanax .50 4 times a day and it has helped until recently. I was hospitalized for one night and couldnt handle being locked in a unit, so bugged them til they let me go. I went to my psych doctor who gave me lexapro. He wants me to start at 5 mg for 5 days and then up it to 10 mg. I have heard that it can make your more anxious..... so of course this scares me, I have come up with every excuse in the book not to take it for the last week. I am not getting any better. Anyone have any insight on lexapro and how it worked for them? Is taking xanax within hours of taking lexapro ok? I guess it is or my doc would have told me. I am just extremely nervous to begin taking it. Any insight from anyone would be appreciated. I work full time in a high functioning job that keeps me busy, but have to be able to hold it together better than I have been.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Me too! For the last three months I have been suffering. I finally gave in and started the pills and I feel like crap but have slowly been doing better. Taking zanex will help in the start up. I have been fearing that for weeks. I recently found a cite that can help ALOT. Go to Ilovepanicattacks.com

Hope this helps and be strong!

[Krissttea]

Are you now taking lexapro? If so how many mg and how long until you noticed a difference?

[TheWhiteRabbit]

No, I'm taking Prozac 10 mg in the morning. I take .5 Valium in the mid morning and then in the evening. I was scared to death for a while, but nothing bad has happened. It does get worse before it gets better. But I figured it couldn't be any worse than it was. I have been on it for two weeks. Still have anxiety and crying spells but the Valium takes it away for now. I just keep telling myself it's ok and I will get better.

Hang in there I know it is really hard!! Message me if you need to, we can support each other.

[bhamlaxy]

I know the idea of taking pills can be anxiety-provoking. But they can be EXTREMELY helpful. Always combine them with aggressive therapy attacking the root causes of your anxiety. But in the mean time, medicine can make life much more manageable.

I was reliant on daily ativan for over a month. It worked absolute wonders. 10-20 minutes after taking it during a panic attack and it was gone. I started lexapro and it has almost completely eliminated my anxiety.

[luckyb]

Hi Krissttea, I've never had any experience with xanax, but I was on lexapro for a little under 2 years. I was on 5 mg for the first 6 months until i asked my doctor if I could be bumped up to 10mg - which i was on for the next 18 months or so. Its understandable that you would be anxious about starting new pills, but believe me, it will help! I was skeptical at first, but after a week or two you do actually notice how much more calm you are. The reason I went up to 10mg after 6 months is i started to feel the anxiety coming back, but after the dose increase, I was fine for the remainder. Now, the reason I'm posting - I wanted to give you a slight warning. You may experience a few side effects like I did (though everyone is different). The main being that I had lost motivation to get anything done, I became lazy and lethargic, and felt tired all the time! It was worth it up to a certain point because I was just happy to not be constantly worried about everything. And the other thing is - it really affected my sex drive (in a bad way). I'm not sure how it affects women vs men, but its something to take into consideration. In summary, it was definitely worth taking lexapro for the period that i did, as I learned how to live life without anxiety (most of the time) and deal with situations which would have set me off! I eventually came of the drug because I was tired of the side effects (mild, but still noticeable), and felt i could live without them, but it was tricky coming off them - you have to taper down VERY slowly over months, with a feeling thats hard to explain - but doesn't last. Hope this helps!

[Krissttea]

Thank you all for your positive responses. I actually was/am being a baby about it because of my fear.I took 2.5 mg last night and tonight, tomorrow am going to do the 5 mg for about a week and then up to the 10 if it doesnt give me side effects. Xanax actually makes most people very tired but I have been lucky with that. I have a high maintenance job that makes me use my brain more than physical. I havent been able to concentrate at work very well lately and I know its because I am constantly worrying about something so I NEED to do this. Its just nice to get some reassuring words from those who have taken the pills. Positive words mean everything when your trying to do this, so I wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your feed back. Fingers crossed that we all become anxiety free!

[loyada]

Hi Kriss
I have been on Lexapro for 7yrs. 10mg for 5 yrs and 20mg. for 5yrs. It has changed my life! It takes at least 6 weeks to work in your body. I recently started to feel like I need to up my dose because I have been feeling more anxiety lately.