Having Anxiety...Help!

[MissElizabeth]

I am hoping to gain a little insight into some struggles with anxiety I have been having. I have had anxiety all of my life and began taking Lexapro at age 19. I didn't take it correctly and was on an off of it until I had a massive anxiety attack that resulted in me losing a TON of weight and ending up in the hospital for severe gastritis caused by my anxiety when I was 20. I immediatley realized that I had to take my medication seriously. Anxiety is an illness and constant vigilence with medication is a vital part of recovering. I began taking my 10 mg of Lexapro religiously and sought therapy. I was terrified and ashamed of what had happened to me. However, I overcame my anxiety with the the help of my Lexapro. However, I decided to change to the generic form of Lexapro, Escitalopram, to save money about a month ago. I have been anxiety free for 2 years. However, ever since I changed to the generic form I started going down hill again. I had constant headaches and didn't feel myself. However, I played it up to be "viruses", but I ended up having a full blown anxiety attack last Thursday. I, of course, was terrified. I have anxiety about having anxiety, which ends up being quite the vicious circle. I actually had to leave work today and went straight in to see my doctor. She and I discussed what was going on and she said that sometimes switching to generic can cause problems. I had been ordering 20 mg of escitalopram and breaking them in half. She said the medicine in generics isn't always distributed evenly so one day I might have been getting 3 mg and the next day 17. I broke them in half evenly, but she said that didn't matter. I have actually needed to use xanax to even get through the day because my anxiety is so bad right now! I"m nervous about everything! Work, my dog, my anxiety, my fiance, my statistics class, concerts....EVERYTHING. I threw away my generic Lexapro (escitalopram) and now am beginning my regular Lexapro tonight. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Thanks!

I actually started, as advised by my doctor, to start 15 mg. So I started that last night. Along with my generic question, how long until I stop feeling extremely anxious and start to feel better?

[dazza]

Do you really expect someone on this forum to tell you exactly when you'll feel better?
(I think that's asking an awful lot... lol)

Are you saying you've been on daily medication since you were 19? How old are you now? (I.e. how long have you been taking meds?)

You should focus more on therapy than meds.
Meds are great for emergencies but not for such long term usage (sorry... but they're not).

Why are you so anxious? I mean... what's the underlying problem here?

[MissElizabeth]

I am about to be 23. And I've been anxiety free for 3 years since starting Lexapro 10 mg. And I see a holistic and CBT therapist, as well as my family practitioner. I meditate, use prayer, and breathing techniques. Although I focus on altering my behavior, Lexapro truly helps level my emotions.

I understand where you are coming from; I was simply attempting to see if anyone upped a medication and understood what I was going through.

And my anxiety comes out of NO WHERE. No specific trigger. I've had 2 massive attacks. One at 20 and one now...however my attack now is puttering out. Mornings are still tough, but I've tapered off my xanax.