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Could Lexapro Be The Problem?

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comawhite

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I was always reluctant to use psychiatric drugs, but gave in after being hospitalized for suicidal ideation this past December. My psychiatrist put me on a low dose of Lexapro (5mg), and I'm now up to 20mg as of last week.

The initial nausea and headaches experienced an hour after consuming the drug have, thankfully, lessened. However, I'm wondering if Lexapro is causing more harm than good.

I've been having nightmares the majority of each week (usually they only occur once or twice) and my insomnia is verging on ridiculous. I either toss and turn all night, am unable to fall asleep in the first place, or wake up two hours early and cannot get back to sleep. It doesn't help when paired with the fatigue Prednisone and Crohn's present.

I also feel mentally and emotionally numb, as if the world is just passing me by. I can't really cry or laugh, even when I feel like I should be. When I do, it feels forced. I'd rather feel my full range of emotions, good or bad, than feel like a zombie. This could be part of my dissociation, but it seemed to worsen significantly once I reached 10mg.

I can't concentrate either, which is truly difficult when trying to succeed as a college student. I barely finish my homework and it takes hours to complete a simple task.

Has anyone else experienced these difficulties with Lexapro? Any advice?

I don't want to take more medications to help with these problems; it was hard enough starting Lexapro. Thankfully I'll see my psychiatrist this Wednesday.
 
Hey I also have PTSD + chrohns and had serious problems on lexapro last year. Quit after 6 weeks and vowed to never do ssris again. Yes lexapro CAN cause more harm than good. For some the symptoms fade, for others they get worse. Only you can gauge if/when to stop. Trust your instincts. Lexapro is great for some and a nightmare for others. Google other sites for lexapro reviews. You will find thousands.
 
Thanks! I wasn't sure because my psychiatrist said it wouldn't do much damage at all and there shouldn't be any real side effects besides nausea, headaches, and dry mouth.
 
That is exactly what happened to me when I was on Lexapro four or five years ago. I was on it for about four months and all I can gather is the insomnia, irritability, delusions, hallucinations were getting so intense, I had a psychotic episode and ended up in Psych ER. It was awful. I didn't have any of those symptoms before I took it except insomnia which was chronic.
I had not been diagnosed with PTSD then, but I had been diagnosed with severe depression. I will never take lexapro again because of it. Don't let my experience influence you to stop the drug, It is different for every one. You should talk to your doctor right away if you feel it is not the best med for you.

Take care and wish you the best. :hug:
 
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I often describe taking meds as "choosing your side effects". To paraphrase Carl Sagan...

"....but for myself I find it elevating and exhilarating to discover that we live in a universe which permits the evolution of molecular machines as intricate and subtle as we."

There are approximately 80 meds "for" ADHD. (Some off label use). I've been on most of them at one time or another. Now, ADHD is a lot simpler than PTSD, as are its meds. All but one of those are stimulants. Some with only very, very minor deviations from each other. They all do roughly the same thing. And yet? They all have very different side effects from each other. They all feel even more different.

Consider food. All food is roughly the same... Substances we can ingest and break down to use for energy. There are far more things that are not food, than are (trees, rocks, Barbie dolls, plutonium, gold). And yet? How different are the flavors of food? How many different ways can even the same ingredients be made to taste? To feel in the mouth?

Finding the right med, is very much an eating experiment for your brain. Some things simply won't work. Some things will make you sick. Some things supply what you need, but taste gawdawful.

The way you've found the right medication? Is that you feel like yourself. You don't feel high, or sick, or stupid, or enraged, or looooooooooove everyone, or depressed, or, or, or. The side effects are ones you like, or that at worst, aren't ones you dislike. A lot of people go into taking medication thinking it's as simple as what a thing is for. Nope. Food is all for eating. In an emergency (actively suicidal in the ER, etc.) any med (any food when starving) will do. In the long term? Medication use should be an active and ongoing discussion with your psychiatrist until you've found the exact right combo.

Because the other parallel with food & meds, is that mostly they come single component, and are added together to form the exact right cocktail. Our neurochemistry is all so unique, that there is simply no single med, nor combo, that works the same for everyone.

For long term med use, it generally take 6-18 months of experimentation over several families of meds, and even more individuals...to find the right components, at the right dosages. Few people luck out with the perfect mix the first go. Most are changing things around a whole lot in the first year or two.

If Lexapro is coming along with side effects that don't work in your life? Time to try something else.
 
I like you had a lot of sidea effects when starting lexapro that faded over a week or so. For about 6-9 months at 10 mg I did great. It helped so much but insomnia was a big issue. I didn't get numb emotionally at all even after several month on 20mg. I actually noticed I was having way to many distressing emotions to be on a med so I got off. I immediately felt so much better off - happier, more hopeful, sleeping better. I've had se pretty awful side effects of withdrawal that are just starting to fade though. Sweating and chills, pulsing electric shock sensations through my body, and generally feeling unwell. If you get off do everything you can to calm yourself and know that it's normal. I suggest scheduling a couple days off work about 2 days after you last taper dose because it's really hard to work while dealing with it. It is finally passing though and feeling better again.
 
I don't want to take more medications to help with these problems; it was hard enough starting Lexapro.

I was the same way about taking medicine, but things got so bad I agreed. I was on Lexapro and did fine initial dose. It helped. Things got worse as I moved-up - once I got up to 20mg...uhhh.. It made everything so much worse!

Turns out I have "Extreme Anxiety" and psychiatrist says higher doses can make everything worse with that. I was afraid to take anything after that.

I just started Zoloft at a very low dose (12.5mg to start - then maybe 25mg in a week or two). She said with my level of anxiety higher doses would make me worse - like Lexapro did. I've been on Zoloft for 5 days and I think it's already helping. It is helping with OCD for sure.

(Or maybe it's the Klonopin at bedtime that's helping.) Either way I'm starting to feel better. There is hope!

I'm also glad I agreed to try Zoloft.
 
@comawhite just a side note -- never take a psychiatrists comments at face value. Same for any doctor. The more meds you try the more you realize doctors are lying. Do tons of research yourself before taking anything they prescribe. I could go into detail about the complexities of the falsified statistics, skewed studies reporting, and pharmaceutical company alliances that are pushing dangerous and/or ineffective drugs on many people, but that would take forever.

Watch out for crohns meds, depression meds, acid reflux meds... You name it. I'm not saying avoid them all, just prepare and make informed choices, never rely on what you hear from a doctor these days. Sad state of healtchare. The more you learn, the more jaw dropping it gets. A lot of drugs mask symptoms temporarily then ramp up the disease 10x worse on the next round. Always read like a million reviews from real people to get a full look at the truth and a detailed understand of the chain of events which let's you know if/when a drug is actually gearing up to harm instead of help you.
 
I definitely get the hesitation when it comes to meds I've tried a lot and 99% never worked. Lexapro being one of them. I was put on Prazosin which is technically a blood pressure med but, for me anyways, helps my nightmares and flashbacks greatly. I also use klonopin for the anxiety. I agree with an above statement: don't take psychiatrists at face value. Most are just med pushers. Research them yourself or talk to your therapist or whoever, most of the time that works better than any meds would. In my opinion anyways...
 
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