Escitalopram anyone?

[nathanhalford]

Hey,
Just looking to chat with anyone that feels they can relate to this..

Started taking escitalopram 10mg 3 days ago..I know about all the side effects and so on,have taken it before,suffer with very bad anxiety..but I have been suffering with real bad dull chest pain,unable to sleep at night,dizziness,nausea and a very dull headache..I know it's the side effects of the tablet,although my anxiety does make me think there's something wrong when I feel these symptoms but I've managed to calm myself down..I'm just looking to maybe chat with someone who has had the same side effects and if they have come out the other side of them??

[Fieldmarsh]

Hi Nathan,

Been using Escitalopram for 20 years and benzo's off on on during that same time frame. Diagnosed at age 13 with all the Anxiety Spectrum disorders. OCD, Panic Attacks etc.

Sorry your having a crappy time. I've been there. I was very lucky when I started taking meds as there was no internet (wow I feel old). My point is, there was no way for me to google the side effects of the drugs. The Shrink just said, "you might get some cotton mouth, so carry lollipops". With the way my mind works, it would have been tough to go through the side effects, because I would have been going over my body with a fine tooth comb. But I don't even know if I was having side effects because I was not looking for them.

Currently, when I am in a rut, its a completely different story. I get prescribed an antibiotic and I'm on the internet looking for when it will reach peak plasma levels, what the side effects are etc etc etc. And as soon as I read about the side effects, I get them. I had a great doctor once, who said I was Psychosomatic that I could probably will myself to grow a third arm if possible.

Please do not think I am saying you are not having these symptoms. I am sure you are. What worked for me and my Shrink when I was obsessing about a symptom, was to give the symptom enough time to subside as would a person without anxiety disorders. (NOTE: If your having chest pains and you can't move your arm, a person without anxiety disorders would most certainly rush to the hospital, so I am not telling you to ignore any symptom you get). The key for me was to work with my Doc. We discussed what a "rational" response would be to a symptom. LOL and believe me..I realize "rational" in the state you are in is tough to decipher. It is for me when I am there.

Bottom line was for example, if I thought I felt a lump, I would go to doctor and get it checked out. This was okayed by the Doc. Now If I went to 4 doctors to get different opinions (which I have done) that was deemed excessive and the Doc and I had to figure out a new therapy technique or an adjustment on the meds. For me and sorry for the cliche but its true....Acceptance was the key. I had to accept the fact that a trained MD had told me, "You are having side effects", and that if that trained MD was wrong....there wasn't a GD thing I could do about it. I had to accept that my life was in the hands of a trained MD. This acceptance mantra has helped me go from a quality of life at a level 2 out of 10 to a 7 out of 10. (And please note, if the trained MD was sh!tfaced when they diagnosed my symptoms then I certainly wouldn't "accept" it. Again it goes back to was my shrink and I discussed about what a person without anxiety would do. They'd get another opinion. They WOULD NOT hire a private investigator to see if that MD really graduated form college LOL. I actually never did that... BUT WAS CLOSE!

I hope this helps. I know how much obsessing over symptoms SUCKS. Lemme know how its going when you get a chance. Hang in there!!!! - Field marsh