lexapro dosage increase

[enrapture]

I've been taking 10mg of lexapro for panic attacks/anxiety the past 5 years. Recently I've been to my gp to tell him how I've been experiencing a few extreme panic attack episodes this past week (i usually only get a couple of bad ones a year lately). He's suggested increasing my lexapro to 20mg. I'm a bit anxious about it as i hate the fact Im on it as it is.

My husband and i also want to try for one more baby in the next few months, so the thought of being on 20mg worries me. When i was pregnant with my last son, i managed to decrease to 5mg for most of pregnancy then went back up to 10mg towards the end.

I would love to hear of any other experiences with lexapro :-)

[Malyn]

Hi
I been on Zoloft for a long time. I stopped when I was feeling better but I got relapse on my anxiety so I started with 50 mg the side effect was so intense then after 2 mos the side effect subside but I still get really anxious and panicky. I upped to .75 then .87 I still get anxious everyday. I don't think the Zoloft work for my anxiety now. I went to see my psychiatrist and she want me to reduced my Zoloft and started me with 10 mg lexapro. I am scared to take it coz I am worried about side effect. What was your side effect on lexapro. Was it bad and how long before you see improvement

[enrapture]

I also tried zoloft when i first had panic attacks and i couldn't handle the side effects. Lexapro was the 3rd one i tried and it didn't make me feel anywhere near as terrible as the first 2 ssri meds i tried. Mild nausea at first but didn't last long. I've tried to come off it in the past though and no luck :-(

[becki]

My dr wanted me to try 20 mg of lexapro after 10mg wasn't helping me as much as I hoped. I made a deal and said I would try 15mg and I'm feeling fine on that. See if that helps before jumping to 20 of course as your doc!

[enrapture]

Well I've been taking 20mg now for nearly a week. Have had 2 panic spells where i thought i was going to faint. Today at work i ended up taking a valium as i was that bad. Thinking it's my body's reaction to the extra dose? :-(

[loverofmedicine]

I also tried zoloft when i first had panic attacks and i couldn't handle the side effects. Lexapro was the 3rd one i tried and it didn't make me feel anywhere near as terrible as the first 2 ssri meds i tried. Mild nausea at first but didn't last long. I've tried to come off it in the past though and no luck :-(

[ralph180]

Does lexapro really help for anxiety? I take a combination of Zoloft and Wellbutrin.

[longfacecase]

Hello,

Before upping Lexapro, consider if there were any specific triggers behind these most recent attacks, change? stress? Do you drink caffeine? Cutting out caffeine completely can be possibly one of the best moves a person with anxiety/panic can make. However, if you do decide to increase the dose, I wouldn't be too worried about it (dont feel bad about it) I used to hate the fact that I was on it but finally accepted it when I realized what life is like/was like before/without it.

Do be prepared though; upping the dose will most likely cause an initial increase in anxiety for the the first week or so, this is normal and it will pass, but be prepared for it. After the first 2 weeks are over with though you may be extremely pleased and happy that you did it.

Please express ALL of your concerns with you doctor as well.