Would appreciate hearing your experiences of Escitalopram

[Bicnod]

I've been prescribed Escitalopram (5mg daily starting dose) by my GP after years of anxiety and low mood which has escalated over the last year to the point that I know I could do with some sort of re-set.

The packet has been sat in my cupboard for the past 2 weeks - I'm really nervous about starting taking them (have never taken SSRIs before). I can't quite put my finger on why. I'm worried about side-effects (particularly interrupted sleep as my sleep is crap at the best of times) but I think I'm mostly worried about not being me anymore? I'm not even sure what I mean by that.

Anyway, if anyone has experience of taking Escitalopram that they would be willing to share I'd be very grateful.

@TaraR2020

Op, have taken it in the past and had zero issues with it so a positive experience.

If you don't get on with it, or it doesn't help as much as it should, speak to your gp - there are plenty of other options that can help.

Keeping on keeping on is all well and fine to an extent, but the danger is that you reach a point where you just crash. It's not weak to accept help, much like its not weak to take iron supplements when you're aneamic!

Thank you - you're absolutely right. My GP said it sounded like I could do with some help increasing my serotonin levels which I thought was a very helpful way of looking at it.

Thanks for all your responses, they were all really helpful. I've decided to go ahead and try and took the first 5mg pill this morning. Hopefully it will help the anxiety and allow me to switch down from being on constant high alert. Thanks again.

Escitalopram and citalapram are the same. A psychiatrist told me this.

I couldn’t tolerate one, so was advised not to take the other one.

Escitalopram and citalapram are the same. A psychiatrist told me this.

They're not the same. A psychiatrist isn't a pharmacologist.

Hi again, I'm struggling with insomnia since a couple of days into taking escitalopram. Did anyone else have this side effect? I know it's a fairly common one but what I really want to know is does it get better??!!

I'm on day six and last night I was awake from 2am until 6am (so I got about three hours sleep) and the same the previous two nights. If it's only a short term thing that will get better I'll stick it out but I can't do this for the long haul.

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences with insomnia and escitalopram.

Bump

What time of day do you take it? I would take it when I woke up as it lessened the effect of vivid dreams which I mentioned before, they were much worse if I had it later. I don’t remember having insomnia exactly but the vivid nature of my dreams meant I felt I was floating and felt like I was awake even though I wasn’t, if that makes sense.

Escitalopram and citalapram are the same. A psychiatrist told me this.

I couldn’t tolerate one, so was advised not to take the other one.

They are related so it makes sense that if you can’t take one, you can’t take the other, but they are not the same, as in you can’t substitute one for the other. The dosages are different for a start. I’ve had both and they did not feel the same.

@Blueroses99 - thank you for your reply. I've been taking it first thing in the morning. How long did your vivid dreams last? I'm really hoping that the sleeplessness will settle over the next week or so.

The vivid dreams lasted for the 2-3 years that I took escitalopram but they did reduce in intensity after the first few weeks when it was quite crazy and disturbed my sleep.

I only stopped because I was TTC and decided with the psychologist that I would stop rather than switching to another drug.

Good luck. Give it a few weeks and see how you feel. Hopefully the sleep will improve soon.

Thanks - I will give it another week or so and if the sleep is no better I'll chat to my GP.

I've been on 5 mg since July last year, prescribed for low mood/ depression. I was originally prescribed 10 mg which I took for a couple of days but I found this was too strong, I had some unpleasant side effects so started breaking the pills in half. I've never felt the need to up the dose as it's works wonders for me.
I feel so much better now, I have a positive outlook and it's done wonders for my mental health. I feel like the 'ols me'. I take it at 10 a.m. each morning- if you're still getting insomnia I would suggest switching to a morning dose instead which will help. Good luck!

Thanks @theyoungishman - I'm also on 5mg as a starting dose. Did you have any issues with sleeplessness in the very early days? And did it pass? I'm already taking it in the morning.

I don't recall any issues with sleeplessness, for a week or so I felt a bit spaced out and had no appetite... I guess everyone has different side effects. Have you tried melatonin at night? Or if you have access to anything stronger such as Valium just as a short-term option to get you through this hopefully short term sleep issue?

There is also a really good Lexapro support group on Facebook which you might find useful to join 😊

Thank you 😊

Hi - sorry I know this is an old thread but did you have any luck with the 5mg? I am just starting out and not liking the side effects but will persevere if it ends up helping (for anxiety)