Started taking Lexapro (escitalopram) today, feel absolutely horrible, help?

[DrOnline]

Hey,

I have social anxiety and depression, but I have felt better this last week. I asked to try medication to prevent from going into depression from bad social experiences, which I think is what happens to me.

So I started taking Lexapro today, never tried this stuff before. 10mg/day. And I feel atrocious immediately.

I am super wired, basically fired up.

Sweating palms, grinding my teeth (clenched jaw), tremors... restless? Oh yes.

It's like I have had some terrible drug, like amphetamine (never tried) or like somebody shot me up with a huge dose of caffeine.

I'm just shaking here.... is this normal? Does this die down after a while? I dunno if I can stomach taking another pill tomorrow if this is why new reality, this is ghastly.

[RealisticTrain]

Hey,

I have social anxiety and depression, but I have felt better this last week. I asked to try medication to prevent from going into depression from bad social experiences, which I think is what happens to me.

So I started taking Lexapro today, never tried this stuff before. 10mg/day. And I feel atrocious immediately.

I am super wired, basically fired up.

Sweating palms, grinding my teeth (clenched jaw), tremors... restless? Oh yes.

It's like I have had some terrible drug, like amphetamine (never tried) or like somebody shot me up with a huge dose of caffeine.

I'm just shaking here.... is this normal? Does this die down after a while? I dunno if I can stomach taking another pill tomorrow if this is why new reality, this is ghastly.

It's a general rule of thumb that with antidepressants, it gets worse before it gets better. Many of the side effects you are feeling is your brain's reaction to the increase of serotonin. Generally, these symptoms will get better within a couple of weeks, at which time the medication might start to give you relief. The biggest mistakes my patients make is not giving enough time for a medication to work.

In the meantime, try asking your doctor if he can give you some anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines. They are not a long term solution but they work fast and will be able to tide you over until your lexapro kicks in. Let me know if you have any other questions.
- Dr. Dan

[DrOnline]

It's a general rule of thumb that with antidepressants, it gets worse before it gets better. Many of the side effects you are feeling is your brain's reaction to the increase of serotonin. Generally, these symptoms will get better within a couple of weeks, at which time the medication might start to give you relief. The biggest mistakes my patients make is not giving enough time for a medication to work.

In the meantime, try asking your doctor if he can give you some anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines. They are not a long term solution but they work fast and will be able to tide you over until your lexapro kicks in. Let me know if you have any other questions.
- Dr. Dan

Thanks. I read your post hours ago, just wasn't able to answer. Yeah it was pretty heavy for a while there, but the anxiety, tremors, jaw clench etc died down. I went to a friend to calm down. If this continues through the week I will hit my psychiatrist up for some benzos, but I will try to endure without them, I've seen people on that and they are zombies. I'm a bit apprehensive about taking the next pill tomorrow morning, but I know now that the discomfort will go away, and that will help.

Can I ask you, are you an actual medical doctor? For me it's just a nickname... I'm an engineer.

[RealisticTrain]

Yes, I am a resident psychiatrist working in Toronto. Now that being said, remember to discuss any advice I give you with your own psychiatrist or doctor before acting upon it.

[DrOnline]

Yes, I am a resident psychiatrist working in Toronto. Now that being said, remember to discuss any advice I give you with your own psychiatrist or doctor before acting upon it.

I definitely will. Thanks a lot.

[DrOnline]

I took another today, and I had sweaty palms, some jaw clench, restlessness for a few hours etc, but it didn't cause me much worry, because I was prepared for it now.

I think I had such a strong reaction yesterday because I wasn't prepared at all for the rapid onset and intensity of the side effects, I figured it would be like taking ibuprofen :D

I'll post again later this week about how it went, just so new users who stumble across the thread can get some info.

[DrOnline]

The side effects aren't so bad any more. The ones that persist are some insomnia (I wake up a lot during the night) and sometimes I almost have to tear my dong clean off my pelvis to get off, but otherwise I am fine.

And I feel a lot better. My rumination is gone, I don't worry nearly as much... Very happy with the results. I am socially much higher functioning now.